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 raised on 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 

 

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and 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 that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into 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 indicates that Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" is the ultimate question in Scripture and in all theology.  It notes that how this question is answered will define the universe.  Christ (from a Greek word equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah) means "Anointed One."  This declaration by Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God reveals that Jesus is not simply another anointed king of prophet.  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 raised on the third day."    My study Bible tells us that Jesus desires to keep His identity as the Christ hidden in order to avoid popular political and theological misunderstandings.  It's only after His Passion and Resurrection that His identity as Messiah can be understood.  Other factors involved include the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders, and our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on miraculous works or signs.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus quotes from the prophesy of Isaiah, emphasizing that Christ is the fulfillment of that Servant of whom Isaiah speaks (see Matthew 12:16-21).  My study Bible comments that this Servant first of all refers to Christ, and by extension to all who follow Him (as expressed in Jesus' words in the following verses).

 

 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.  First, that each person must take up one's own cross.  The burden in this world, it says, is different for every person, for each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for our own salvation and for the salvation of those around us.  Second, we note that our cross is to be taken up daily.  So, a commitment to follow Christ isn't merely a one-time event.  To follow Christ asks a continuing practice of faith and obedience -- 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 indicates that Christ is here referencing those who will witness the Transfiguration (Matthew 9:28-36).

 

 Jesus asks His disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  The disciples give the answers from the crowds:  "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  All of these answers are mistaken, of course.  The crowds don't know who Jesus is, and collectively they can't come up with the answers.  My study Bible remarks upon this that, as in every generation, what the crowds have to say about Jesus is usually unpredictable and misguided.  Perhaps in our modern day and age a similar problem has been magnified and is ever-present with us in the form of social media, the internet, and other popular media such as television, various news media, and film production.  As usual, the crowds so often get it wrong.  Today there are also new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), that aggregate whatever information is available, and make computerized "guesses" to draw new conclusions, often extraordinarily wrong.  A friend is a distinguished academic, well known in his profession.  He told me that using AI in an internet search on his own name has become a strange adventure, as AI will generate all kinds of information that is made up out of whole cloth, in addition to whatever might be true -- even books he's never written, and awards that don't exist.  I'm told that in AI technology circles, this phenomenon is referred to as "hallucinations."  So what passes for the crowds in our modern, connected world is just as unreliable as in the time of Christ.  But what we need to focus on here is not necessarily "the facts" about Jesus reported by the crowds, because -- in whatever age we might choose -- even the facts available to us are not necessarily the reality presented by God.  For God will always surprise us and work outside of the box that is our daily, worldly reality.  God is not limited by what we consider to be worldly.  Christ's miracles and signs point to the presence of a reality beyond ours and not limited by our understanding.  So when we speak of Jesus, or when we today encounter God in the myraid ways that are possible for us (such as through worship, prayer, icons of the Church, saints, and so many other ways in which grace might express itself), we need to hold the door open, so to speak, for things we can't expect, for things we don't know, and facts we can't know which are beyond our grasp and in the mysterious working of grace and the Holy Spirit.  The truth about Jesus, that He is the Christ, is beyond the capacity of the crowds to grasp even as their own expectations of what the Messiah will be are false and skewed by their own desires.  Again, we live in a world in which every desire (and its fulfillment) is magnified and indulged through modern technologies, from the food we consume, to how we dress, to what we interact with online, and to things that are harmful such as certain drugs, and internet pornography.  In the ancient practice of the Church, our desires and passions are things we're taught to regulate, and to learn to master, in order to perceive spiritual reality more clearly, and not to be misled by our own fantasies.  Heresies are things that are defined by that which looks like the truth, and even resembles it, but they're not the truth.  One detail might be missing that skews the whole truth picture (for example, those who would say Christ wasn't really human, or that He wasn't divine).  This is why we turn to tradition to understand, why we practice traditional disciplines like fasting, we keep a guard on our hearts, we take note of how easily we can be misled by our own desires and fantasies.  Let us note here Christ's emphasis on His own suffering, on taking up His Cross, and how His disciples must do the same with their own unique crosses each day.  For our faith is not one based on fantasy or self-indulgence, but on the truth of God, and evading our own traps  and desires to find what Christ wants of us.  Jesus has come as Servant, not conventional or worldly king, to usher in a spiritual Kingdom that lives within us and among us.  In a world filled with crowds and pitfalls that grow ever more powerful, let us remember the tools we're given to stay grounded in spiritual truth, and the revelation of God that defies the world's predictions and expectations.  As my study Bible says, "Who do you say that I am?" remains the most important question we can ask, for the answer defines our universe and the way we live in it.

 

 

 

But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God

 

 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 

 

 On Saturday, we read that Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and 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 that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into 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 here 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 notes that who do you say that I am? is the ultimate question in Scripture and in all theology.  How this question is answered will define the universe.  Christ (in Hebrew, Messiah) means "Anointed One."  This declaration of Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God is a revelation that Jesus is not simply another anointed king or prophet, but in fact 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."  Why does Christ wish to keep His identity a secret?  My study Bible comments that He wishes to avoid popular political and theological misunderstandings.  Only after His Passion and Resurrection can His identity as Messiah be properly understood.   My study Bible adds to this reason the growing hostility of the religious leadership; the people's belief that the Messiah will be an earthly, political leader; and that Christ's desire is to evoke genuine faith not based solely on marvelous signs.  Jesus' words hearken to Isaiah's prophecy of the Suffering Servant, including the mission to the Gentiles (see Isaiah 42:1-4).

 

 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 that we note two things.  First, that each person must take up one's own cross.  The burden in this world is different for each person, for each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for one's salvation and for the salvation of those around oneself.  Second, our cross is to be taken up daily.  Commitment to following Christ is not simply a one-time event.  It is, in fact, the continual practice of faith and obedience, 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 calls this verse a reference to those who will witness the Transfiguration (in Friday's reading, Luke 9:28-36), as well as to those in each generation who experience the presence of God's Kingdom.

The emphasis found on our last verse by my study Bible seems to be very important at this time.  It's essential that we understand the responsibility for this experience and the living out of faith that falls on each generation.  The presence of the kingdom of God is an important experience and understanding.  We might feel this presence "where two or three are gathered together" (Matthew 18:20), and so we learn that kind of fellowship that is present in such circumstances.  It is a subtle experience, that might make itself understood only after the gathering and in retrospect, but so often there is a hidden current running through such times that make them special.  Upon reflection, we find insights that come from inside the group or the meeting that don't happen elsewhere.  We can find this with Bible Study circles as well, in which important questions are asked and answered, and there is a group experience of a hidden thread of common experience that feeds each one somehow -- each with one's own life experiences, and one's own answer.  Often it is in the practice of worship that we will find "quiet moments" although we are in the midst of many people, and a transforming type of energy gives insight, or space to reflect and accept what we never manage to otherwise, even alone with no one else present.  These are common, subtle experiences of the presence of the Kingdom with us.  It is important that we recognize such things when they occur for us in our lives, because each experience is a testimony to that presence, and serves us as a foundation for forward movement, deepening faith, and our own testimonies we may wish to give to people and so share the gospel message.  The emphasis my study Bible places on each generation is important, because while we can rely on "the Church" and all the myriad ways we see efforts to evangelize, and ever-expanding translations of the Bible and biblical literature that publishers will place on the market, ultimately the Church rests upon each one of us to carry on, and carry into the world in every generation.  There will never be a substitute for this, nor a doctrine promoted that substitutes, nor even a book published that does the same.  This is because the presence of God is something that gives life to everything else, and without that reality somewhere in our vocabulary of life, we're not going to understand the Gospels or the Bible anyway.  This is not an abstract exercise, and Jesus did not give us purely theoretical concepts to think about and judge.  He gave us commandments, most notably the "new commandment" to love one another.  For it is that love that really forms the Church, makes it real, makes it work in our lives, and helps us to share it with others.  There is no substitute for this.  Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, and He gave two as His answer:  to love God with all one's heart and soul and strength, and to love neighbor as oneself.  In Luke's Gospel, we will read a version of this question and answer in which Jesus is also asked, "Who is my neighbor?" as a follow up question.  He then responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan, found only in Luke's Gospel (see Luke 10:25-37).  These "greatest commandments," and also the parable, affirm for us the importance of faith as based in living, in action.  If we follow Christ's command to love one another, then we find that our lives are equipped with something that all the slogans and doctrines and theories in the world cannot give, and that is love.  Our Scriptures tell us that God is love (1 John 4:8), and so we may conclude that where two are three are gathered in the name of Christ. so love is there with us.  If we are truly living our faith, this is what we will find that binds us, giving a sense of what we can give and share with others, even if we feel our own resources are scarce, for this is truly what the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us.  We will find that we have something that is a part of us that we won't find elsewhere, and that is love.  It is in this linked sense in which we deny ourselves, and take up our cross daily, as Jesus teaches.  For the practice of love is about giving, and in so doing we strangely gain.  We find that our lives our saved by "losing" and then "finding" ourselves in this sense.  Christ's commandments are commandments of love, and the living of love.  It is a power that supersedes all others, because nothing else is like it.

 

 

 

 

 

Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me

 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the Holy angels."  And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

- Mark 8:34-9:1

Yesterday, we read that Jesus came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to the house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi, and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  My study bible tells us, "After Peter's confession, Jesus injects a new, solemn tone into His ministry by speaking about suffering and by teaching the people and the disciples the cost of discipleship:  self-denial, carrying one's cross (a symbol of suffering), and obedience to Christ.  By saying let him deny himself, and take up his cross, Jesus means His followers should separate themselves from their sins and from the inclination of their hearts towards evil (Genesis 8:21), crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24)." 

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."  A note in my study bible tells us, "To save one's life means to base one's earthly life on self.  This is the opposite of self-denial, and ultimately results in the loss of eternal life.  To lose one's life is to accept suffering and sacrifice for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom, which ultimately brings salvation.  Discipleship is costly:  it requires giving up all claim to everything the world holds dear."

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  A note here reads:  "Soul (Gr. psyche), also translated 'life' (v. 35), can refer to our spiritual nature or the whole human being.  Nothing is more valuable to us than our souls."    This soul (psyche) is like the breath of God, the breath God breathed into us to give us life.  Our lives, the implication is here, transcend far beyond the material and the worldly, all the things we tend to base our fears and anxieties on.  There is a much greater issue of survival and life beyond the things we're usually consumed with.

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the Holy angels."   Sometimes the things we suffer for Christ make us ashamed in the sense that they may call us out of the norm, the group, a worldly sense of belonging.  You may find yourself standing up for things others don't care about, even against the things others are concerned with.  Some examples come to mind of including those who are not as socially desirable as others in a particular group, or perhaps standing up for a scapegoat or bullying victim, because we choose to follow Christ.  But more pertinently, He's speaking to them as the One who will be a stumbling block because He will suffer and be crucified.  Will they be ashamed of Him?  Will we be ashamed to say that the material life and all the status, for example, that goes with it, isn't everything?

And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."
  My study bible says, "The kingdom of God present with power is connected to the previous words about the Son of Man coming in glory.  A foretaste of this glory is granted at the Transfiguration [tomorrow's Gospel reading], which anticipates future revelatory moments of God's great power:  the Resurrection of Christ and Pentecost, as well as the consummation of the Kingdom."

Christ's words about self-denial hit home.  We always have to ask ourselves, "In what way am I called to carry my cross?"  I think that His words tells us that in all times and places there are ways in which we, too, will be called to carry our own crosses in following Him.  Perhaps the type and shape and meaning and form of that cross will vary from generation to generation or place to place.  Most likely it will vary from person to person.  The emphasis on the cross that belongs to each one (that is, He doesn't tell us to take up His cross, but the separate one that belongs, in some sense, uniquely to each of one us) tells us that somehow, in ways that might be unique to each of us, we'll be called upon to take up our own crosses, and thus doing so, we will be following Him.  It kind of doesn't matter in what way we are crucified; that is, in each of our lives there may be things we hold dear and precious that we have to let go of, we should consider losing, because this is the way that we are called by Him, in order to follow Him.  If you value a social reputation beyond all else, there may be times in your life when you are called to suffer as outcast, simply because in that place you will find life -- the things that are beyond what you hold dear, where Christ is still with you.  This thing that my study bible calls the focus on the self is really a kind of tiny and limited version of ourselves, one constructed by the thoughts based purely on worldly things rather than the things of God (as Jesus told Peter in yesterday's reading).  The soul, the psyche in the Greek, on the other hand, is something we're given by God.  And that is eminently flexible and capable of growth far beyond the limitations of our worldly sense of ourselves, the self that only knows its own constructions, and cannot imagine the places Christ will call us to go.  This is a life -- the life of the Cross -- that consists of transcendence:  transcendence of the things that limit us, and keep us away from becoming more like Him.  The mystery is in the nature of that process with its continual stripping away, that sense of sacrifice that is in fact opening us up and emptying us in order to be filled with that which is far beyond our own sense of ourselves -- taking us to a place where Christ has us become like Him.  The journey of faith may call upon us to give up many things we cherish.  Perhaps we hold certain relationships dear that call us to wear blinders.  Perhaps there are ways we think of ourselves that need to change.  Perhaps we're used to giving in, when we need to stand up to someone or something in truth.  Perhaps, in other ways, we're used to defending ourselves, and we need to let things go.  Whatever it is, in that place of giving up, of sacrificing, of crucifixion to the "old self,"  we find the discipleship in His words telling us to "Follow Me."