#55 Luke 9:18-26 Who Do You Say I Am?
On January 22, 2022 by Amy BurginJoy: Episode #55 Luke 9:18-26
Welcome
Amy:
Welcome to The Christgazing Podcast. We are so glad you’re here. I’m Amy Burgin.
Joy:
I’m Joy Burgin.
Amy:
If you are anything like us, you desire to spend time with Jesus every day. Or maybe, you don’t know who Jesus is. Put aside what the world or religion has taught you, and see for yourself.
This podcast makes space to spend time with Jesus and his words directly. Each week we read a passage from the Bible several times and create stillness after each reading that we also might be still and know him more.
We are in a series that takes us through the book of Luke.
Pour Out Your Heart to God
Amy:
Before Joy reads today’s passage, take a few moments to give God the things that are on your mind. Maybe it’s a heart bursting with love, grief, frustration, gratitude, anxiety, or a mix of some of these things and more. Whatever is on your mind, name it and bring it to the Lord in this next minute.
What Does This Passage Say About God?
Joy:
As I read the passage for the first time, consider the question, What does this passage say about God?
Luke 9:18-26 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Again?
Luke 9:18-26 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Take the next few moments to answer the question, what does this passage tell you about God?
[Pause and know]What Does This Passage Say About People?
Joy: As I reread the passage, consider the question: What does this passage tell you about people?
Luke 9:18-26 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Take the next few moments to answer the question, what does this passage tell you about people?
[Pause and know]Lord, What Would You Have Me Know Or Do Today?
Joy: As I read for the last time, ask God the question, “Lord, what would you have me know or do today in response to this passage?”
Luke 9:18-26 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Take the next minute to ask God the question, “Lord, what would you have me know or do today in response to this passage?”
[Pause and listen]Blessing
Joy:
Christgazer, your delight is in the Word of the Lord, which is why you’re listening to this podcast. Therefore, you are blessed as it says in Psalm 1:2-3, you are a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all you do, you prosper.
This is the Word of the Lord.
One Response
Amy:
One thing that stands out to me is how Jesus uses the word disciple, a word we talked about in the previous episode. We noted the definition: a disciple is a student, a learner. Jesus says that to be his student and learn from him, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow him.
So, a disciple is a daily follower.
It’s worth repeating.
A disciple is a daily follower.
There’s a lot to unpack in this passage. Something else stands out to me today. Jesus poses an important question, perhaps the most important question on the planet. He asks, “Who do you say I am?”
In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis ponders possible answers to this question and concludes Jesus must be either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. He writes:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.
Closing
Amy:
You can find a transcript of this episode at amyburgin.com, where you will find Amazon links to the book Mere Christianity and Lewis’ 8-volume set, which includes Mere Christianity and other titles such as The Four Loves, A Grief Observed, and The Problem of Pain.
If you purchase through the links provided in our transcript, Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase to Africa New Life Ministries. This will help break the cycle of poverty in Rwanda by providing education, spiritual insight, and basic provisions at no extra cost to you.
Joy and I will be back next week to go Christgazing together. Until then, don’t forget, when you put your trust in Christ, you are one in whom he dwells and delights, a dearly loved child of God. You are royalty in his strong and unshakeable kingdom. Though trouble abounds, Christ prevails, and so do you.
It blesses me to hear from you! Please leave a reply here.