Who do you say that I am?

 

 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

- Luke 9:18–27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately to a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.   

 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."   My study Bible comments that, as in every generation, what the crowds have to say about Jesus is usually unpredictable and misguided.  

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  My study Bible claims that "Who do you say that I am?" is the ultimate question in Scripture and in all theology.  How one answers this question defines the universe.  "Christ" (in Hebrew, "Messiah") means "Anointed One."  The declaration of Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God is a revelation that Jesus isn't just another anointed king or prophet; rather, He is the long-awaited Savior.  

And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  My study Bible says that Jesus desires to keep His identity as the Christ hidden in order to avoid popular political and theological misunderstandings.  It is only after His Passion and Resurrection that  His identity as Messiah can be properly understood.  Note in this context that in yesterday's reading, for example, we were told that Herod Antipas has become aware of Him and wonders who exactly He is. Additionally, there is already friction and conflict with the Pharisees (see this reading from chapter 7), and there remains the popular anticipation of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader like a great worldly king.  Moreover, Christ's emphasis on faith is not about coercion through signs, but the desire to find those of genuine faith.

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."  My study Bible asks us to note two things in Christ's teaching here.  First, each person must take up his own cross.  The burden in this world is different for each person, and each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for his own salvation and the salvation of those around him.  Second, the cross is to be taken up daily.  It says that commitment to following Christ isn't only a one-time event.  It is, instead, the continual practice of faith and obedience.  This means even to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world.  

"But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  My study Bible comments that this is a reference to those who will witness the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36, tomorrow's lectionary reading), as well as to those in every generation who experience the presence of God's Kingdom.  

In today's reading, the central event is this recognition and definition of who Christ exactly is -- in Peter's words, Jesus is the Christ of God.  He's not simply an anointed king or prophet.  He is the Messiah, the Christ, for all the world.  As my study Bible says, this is the most important question in all of Scripture, because the identity of Jesus Christ also defines many other things we want to know and to think about for ourselves and our lives.  The "people of God" or the "church of God" that will gather through faith in Christ will not just be from one ethnic group, from one nation or country, from one state or political grouping, or any other nominal sort of worldly grouping or classification that we can think about.  Those who will become a part of His Church through faith will be from throughout all the world and throughout all the ages of the world.  There will be no barriers to becoming a part of this Church save through faith.  But it is, indeed, more than a Church, as Christ has said.  "Those who hear the word of God and do it" are His mother and brothers (Luke 8:21), His family.   St. Paul, in his letters, writes several times about the spirit of adoption that makes this family.  For example, he writes to the Romans, "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father'" (Romans 8:15).  We cry out "Abba" ("Daddy") as did Christ (Mark 14:36), for we are a part of His family through this spirit of adoption.  It is only because of His identity as the Christ of God that this is understood.  Moreover, such a notion makes it conceivable that St. Paul can write to the Galatians, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:26-29).  Christian faithful can only become Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise (Genesis 17:1-7), if Jesus is the Christ of God.  As the Christ of God, Jesus becomes relevant to the entire world, creating the potential for all of us to become true brothers and sisters, and "heirs according to the promise."  The power of that call toward a basic understanding of humanity as equally offered Christ's salvation and redemption becomes an acknowledgement of the radical truth of God's love for all, for each.  It enables us to recognize this spiritual call as one made to each, from all walks of life, ages, classes, categories, where there are no boundaries to God's love nor to its recognition by each of us -- save through faith alone.  Each may become a part of the great cloud of witnesses, joining in with the worship in heaven we glimpse in the vision of Isaiah, in which the seraphim cry to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isaiah 6:1-3).  We may note for ourselves that the seraphim declare the whole earth to be full of the Lord's glory.  Only if we understand Him as the Christ of God does this become fully manifest for us in its meanings and potentials.  It is only through this understanding that all human beings are elevated through the gift offering of Christ for salvation, which awaits only our own love in return to join in this communion.  Finally, the understanding of His true identity after His sacrifice and Resurrection means He offers Himself truly "for the life of the world."  In this identity as Christ of God He gives each one to another, for we have many brothers and sisters, from all ages and places of the world, whom we don't even know.  Let us consider the many gifts we're given; and how they continually give more, even those we can't yet know or name.