49 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
49 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
+++
|
||
title = "Luke 9:18–27"
|
||
date = "2022-11-30"
|
||
+++
|
||
|
||
### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk9.18-27)
|
||
|
||
After feeding the multitude of people, Jesus and His disciples somehow manage
|
||
to get that retreat they had planned. Jesus spends much of His time in prayer,
|
||
but He also takes the opportunity to reveal some of God's mysteries to the
|
||
disciples. At this point, they probably don't understand fully, and it's not
|
||
until later that they remember His words.
|
||
|
||
Jesus contrasts popular opinion of Himself with who the disciples think that He
|
||
is. Peter, acting as the spokesman for the disciples as usual, gives the right
|
||
answer: "The Christ of God". (_v. 20_) "Christ" is Greek for "anointed", and is
|
||
the same as the Hebrew "Messiah". It hearkens back to the priests and kings of
|
||
Israel being anointed with oil to signify God choosing those men to fulfill
|
||
those roles; they had been set apart from the rest of the people for a purpose.
|
||
|
||
Because the people didn't understand what the Messiah's role was going to be
|
||
this first time, Jesus keeps His disciples from revealing this new
|
||
understanding to anyone else. He then explains that He is going to suffer and
|
||
die at the hands of evil men, but after three days would rise again. This
|
||
sounds very obvious to us in the Church Age, but at the time the disciples
|
||
didn't get it, mostly because God kept them from understanding until the right
|
||
time.
|
||
|
||
Even still, Jesus continues to teach them the consequences of following in His
|
||
footsteps. They too must be willing to suffer and die, but the rewards they get
|
||
from God will more than make up for it. The disciples must have been completely
|
||
shocked to hear Jesus talk like this. It'd be like someone saying today, "Tie a
|
||
noose around your neck and follow me," or "Put a bullet with your name on it in
|
||
your pocket and follow me." None of those sound like good ideas! But the point
|
||
Jesus is making is that it is worth it. Don't be ashamed of the truth when
|
||
people scoff and mock, or torture and kill you. For then God will not be
|
||
ashamed of you when He comes in glory to set right everything on the earth
|
||
again.
|
||
|
||
Finally, I'm going to punt on explaining verse 27. There are lots of possible
|
||
ways to interpret it, and they all sound reasonable. The meaning of "see the
|
||
Kingdom of God" is less important than the encouragement that the disciples
|
||
received from hearing Jesus say so.
|
||
|
||
* * *
|
||
|
||
Help us to live for Your kingdom and not our own lives and pleasures. They are
|
||
not a lasting legacy when compared to Your glory.
|