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Luke 9:23-25 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”
THINK for a few moments on “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” This is a frightful picture. This is to purposefully give up eternity, so you can have the temporary. It’s as if someone comes to you and says, “Give me your life, and I’ll give you the one thing you most desire.” You would refuse such a ludicrous offer, wouldn’t you? What point would it be to gain that one desire if you must lose your life for it? But is this not what the world “sells” us each day? That was the devil’s temptation to Adam and Eve, wasn’t it? Regardless of where I’ve traveled to meet people throughout the world – including the man in the mirror – there is a compelling desire within us to forfeit our eternal wealth for the temporary “riches” the world promises. Oh, I know we don’t die physically to get the material possessions we want. But we are prone to easily lose the life of peace, joy, love and purpose that is ours in a disciplined life with Christ. Our sin nature causes our minds to naturally seek the temporary rewards at all costs. We barely have a thought that such a view could cost us our eternal life. That’s why Jesus’ needed to shock his disciples here. Think of their response to, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” The cross, Jesus – take it up? Good grief, the cross was the cruelest of executions for Rome’s worst criminals. Crucifixions were sometimes done En masse with hundreds, even thousands, of men executed at one time. To take up a cross was to pick up your own deeply humiliating and agonizing death. Certainly the disciples who had just confessed to Jesus, “You are the Christ of God.” (Luke 9:20) were now wondering, “What will happen to us now?” The answer they would learn and we must know is this: Focus on your eternal life. When the world says, “Go, pursue all you can. Hold nothing back. You can accomplish anything you want.” You say, “No, I’ll pursue my Lord with all my heart, soul and mind. I’ll completely die to my earthly desires. I will set my mind to live into Jesus’ purpose for my life.” This is not to say material possessions are bad or condemning. But this is to say, “Your Lord’s call on your life is the highest purpose in your life. You will need to die to your own desires. You must be prepared to sacrifice everything – even your life – for the Lord’s cause because you eternal reward is sure. Keep your eyes on eternity. Die to the earthly things that keep you from Jesus. Live for his eternal purposes. Prayer: Lord God, help me to know in my heart, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). Amen. Luke 10:23-25 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”
SOMEONE comes to you and says, “Give me your life, and I’ll give you that one thing you most desire.” You would refuse such a ludicrous offer, wouldn’t you? What point would it be to have something if you must die for it? But is this not what we are “sold” each day? Regardless of where I’ve traveled and people I’ve met throughout the world – including the man in the mirror – there is a compelling desire to use our lives to get some earthly desire. Sin’s effects on our mind is to seek the temporary rewards at all costs with no mind on our eternal reward. That’s why Jesus’ words here are so shocking. Think of his listeners’ – even his closest disciples’ – response to, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” The cross was the cruelest of executions. Crucifixions were done sometimes En masse as the Romans punished Jews, who revolted against them or enemies they conquered. A death on the cross was agonizing and humiliating. It was designed to dehumanize its victims and quiet other thoughts of rebellion. Certainly the disciples who had just confessed to Jesus, “You are the Christ of God.” were now wondering what tortuous cost the Christ was requiring of them. The cost is this: Give up yourself. Die to your own desires and live for my purposes. If you don’t your desires will consume you. You may achieve the material and temporary things you desire. But if you put me aside to pursue your own desires at all costs, the cost to you for what you want will be your eternal life. Think for a few moments on “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?” This is a frightful picture. Denying Christ and keeping your own desires, you purposefully give up eternity, so you can have the temporary. This is not to say material possessions are bad or condemning. This is to say, “Your Lord’s call on your life is the highest purpose in your life.” Keep your eyes on eternity. Die to the earthly things that keep you from Jesus. Live for his eternal purposes. Prayer: Lord God, reveal to me the temporary things to which I forfeit my soul. I pray I die to myself and I live for Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen. Luke 9:19-20 The disciples 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.” 20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
JESUS asked his disciples a faith question in Luke 9:18b “Who do the crowds say I am?” Today we have their response. Is their answer a picture of the world’s response today? It seems so if we consider the following views of Jesus from the Barna Group Survey defining five views of Jesus in the United States:
These are certainly faith issues, aren’t they? As the Jews and the Gentiles who saw and heard Jesus preach denied Jesus’ deity and the Bible’s teachings, so does most of the country – and you could say, so does the church. We are prone to get to a certain level of belief – “Jesus was a man.” But then see the many faithless paths leading people astray. So few are fully committed to a full faith, to all of Jesus. Even Peter’s confession, “(You are) the Christ of God.” could be seen as a limited view of Jesus. “Christ” means “messiah”. The Jews expected the Christ would sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem, not on the throne of Heaven to the right hand of the Father. But because Peter said, “Christ of God”, Peter faithfully declared, “You are the One God has chosen above all others, the One who will bring salvation.” (from The Reformation Study Bible, Copyright © 2005 by Ligonier Ministries. All rights reserved.) Further, in Matthew 16, where this conversation is also written, Jesus is recorded to affirm Peter: Matthew 16:17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in Heaven,” Note, also, that when Jesus said, “Who do you say I am?” he was separating his disciples from the rest of the world. He wanted to hear his closest disciples to faithfully confess he was of God. There must be no equivocation, no doubt, no compromise of the Bible’s teaching of Jesus. Know this: Jesus also wants to hear what you say? Are you prepared to faithfully affirm and live for the Christ of God? Prayer: Lord Jesus, I confess you are the Christ of God. You are my Savior, who calls me to faithfully speak your true identity to all. In your name, I pray, amen. Luke 9:18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
IN our last lesson, we considered the challenges of our upward conversation – prayer – with God. Let’s look now at the horizontal conversation – talking with other Christians. What is essential to Christians’ conversations? I seldom hear it. Sometimes I speak it, but there is little response. Or Christians become uncomfortable and look for a way out of this essential conversation element. The essential is – you named it – Jesus. We see this in the question Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do the crowds say I am?” Christian conversations are to be centered on Jesus Christ. You might say, “That’s obvious.” But when was the last time you had a good talk about Jesus with someone in your church? Christ-centered conversations include asking such question as, “Who do you say Jesus is?” “What does it mean for you to have a personal relationship with Jesus?” “How have you seen Jesus this past week?” “Where are the places you had the opportunity to show Jesus to someone in the past month?” “How have you become closer to Jesus this past week?” I asked someone that last question a few weeks ago. The man is a Christian, who has expressed a deep faith in Jesus. He reads his Bible daily and regularly attends Bible studies. He also has a servant’s heart and expresses gratitude often for his salvation. Yet, the question and his answer was uncomfortable for him. But he did answer, and his answer grew to an expression of how the Lord had directed him in the preceding week. Later he thanked me for asking him the question. He appreciated the opportunity to consider his walk with God. I was surprised he thanked me for the question. I felt comfortable asking him because of what I see in him. But apparently no one had conversed with him in this way. Shouldn’t Jesus-centered conversations be the norm as we gather in church, a Bible study or fellowship over a meal? What keeps us from asking and discussing, “Who do you say Jesus is?” When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do the crowds say I am?” he wanted them to stop and consider their response. He was checking their hearts as well as the Jews’ hearts. He knew the answer, but he gave them the opportunity to stand up and confess their teacher as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The Lord desired his closest followers to confess out loud, “You are Lord of my life.” Too many Christians, though, will say, “My faith is private. I don’t need to speak of it to anyone.” But our Lord says you do: Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name. See also Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. And remember this one: Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Know this, my friends, if you are unwilling to converse with others of your affection for Jesus and of his authority in our life, perhaps you ought to converse with God about your relationship with him. Something may be sorely missing. True conversations with God and with other Christians are visible signs of your faith. Converse with God and talk of God to exalt the Living God. Prayer: Open my mouth, Spirit, to speak of my faith in the Holy God. In Jesus’ name, amen. Luke 9:18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
JESUS has paused from his miraculous work to pray and talk with his disciples. Our first lesson here is to understand the importance of stopping our work with God for two types of conversations: one is to talk with God. The second form of conversation is with his people. Both are necessary for our faith walk. Let’s focus on the first. How is your experience talking with God? This is prayer, isn’t it? I say it’s “talking with” because the Bible repeatedly points us to prayer as a two-way conversation. From what I hear and read, prayer is a difficult conversation for most of us. Truly, I can’t recall hearing anyone saying, “I’m very satisfied with my prayer life. God and I have a good time together!” Once, I attended a conference to sit under teaching from three pastors who lead very large churches. Each one of them, too, confessed he struggled with prayer. I struggle with prayer. We all wonder, “What’s wrong?” I don’t know about you, but I think there are three wrongs of my prayer life. One is my “let’s get it done” attitude. My mind has an impatient unwillingness to sit for a while and spend time – use up time, if you will – talking with God. There are two methods I’ve used to overcome this impatience. First, I get up out of bed earlier, so I have ample time to read the Bible and speak with my Lord. Second, I consider Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Being still, being quiet and being at peace with God opens the conversation to we and talk with your loving Father in Heaven. The second challenge I have with prayer comes in the listening part. Perhaps it’s easy to speak to him. There are days I have a heart’s desire to pray for many people (for some a list or prayer journal works very well). But am I really willing to hear from him? It has been times of prayer over the years when God has said to me, “Come, join with me to …” Those were moments he pointed me to new, very different steps in my faith walk. Those new places have changed nearly everything about me. Praying today, I have this restless uncertainty that he’ll say something new I don’t want to hear. So I’d rather avoid the discussion than to listen to the Lord. A third reason prayer can be difficult is that we don’t know what to pray. We’ve prayed for certain things for so long, we may be tired of God’s silence. Or we may not trust he’s listening. We get very uncomfortable speaking to someone who is silent, don’t we? We stop talking to the person and distance ourself from him. Could it be we feel this way about our Lord on too many days? If so, I’d encourage you to stay focused on reading the Bible to see the many ways God has revealed himself to his faithful people. That revelation is essentially what Jesus is about to do in this passage. He is conversing with the Father. And then he speaks with his disciples to draw them into a most compelling conversation. We’ll talk more about the question tomorrow. Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, teach me to pray, to speak and to listen to you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Luke 9:14b-17 But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
WE have looked in previous lessons at some ways Jesus and his ministry fulfilled particular promises and prophecies from the Old Testament Law and Prophets. Could this Scripture be the fulfillment of Isaiah 12? Let’s “listen” closely to the prophet’s inspired words: Isaiah 12:1 In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” Jesus had already demonstrated how God had turned his anger from the Jews to comfort them with his saving powers to forgive, heal and preach for the salvation of many. Then, when Jesus prayed that day with his eyes “up to heaven and gave thanks”, God made himself known even more intimately among the people as he fed them all with much to spare. God had done the same through Moses and Elijah. The Jehovah Lord once again provided a bounteous bread supply. In addition, Jesus’ prayer and the praises of well-fed people were certainly songs to the Lord. These words honored the Father for the glorious ways he had come to feed his people their “daily bread” (Matthew 6:11) and the Bread of Life (John 6:35). After all, his is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Oh yes, Isaiah’s words rang true that day. The “five thousand” fed had reason to, “Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” God stood with his people, and they saw his salvation. Wow – wonder of wonders! Here’s a thought. When you pray, sometime stand and open your eyes up to Heaven. Give thanks as you remember how God has come to be “among you” in this very personal and eternal way the apostle Paul wrote: 1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Yes, rejoice. Eat and drink of Jesus’ salvation. Stand and pray, “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.” (Psalms 136:2626) Prayer: I stand before you Father. My hands and eyes are lifted up to you to praise you for eternal feeding of my soul. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, amen. Luke 9:12-13 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish — unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand were there.)
LET’S consider faith. The Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is “being sure” and having hope in God’s care the unseen moments right now and into the future. But have you thought of faith as looking back in life? Do you remember the times you experienced God’s hand on your life in some very loving, personal, even miraculous event? You certainly have experienced this if you confess Christ as your Lord. This miraculous confession happened because the Holy Spirit awakened in you a faith to believe in the gospel. Perhaps you look back in faith on your life each day to consider, “God has provided for me a job, a home, a family and food.” In faith, then, you look back and say, “God has given me life.” With this past faith view, you will look into the future unseen moments “being sure of what (you) hope for and certain of what (you) do not see.” This why God repeatedly told his people to “remember” the miracles of the exodus, Passover, Red Sea crossing, manna in the desert, etc. He wanted them to look to their past in faith, so they would have faith in what he would do into the future. Such faith is a source of great peace for you, especially when huge issues loom large in your future view. Remember what God has done. Trust him to be with you again and always. This is the faith view the disciples needed that day as they stood before a hungry congregation. If they looked into their past – just a day, a week, a month or a year before this day – to remember Jesus’ many demonstrations of physical and spiritual healing, perhaps they would have eagerly and faithfully acted into Jesus’ instruction, “You give them something to eat.” Faith in God is about looking back and looking ahead. Why are you “hungry” today? Do you hunger for someone to listen to your frustrations? Are you hungry for healing for yourself or a friend? Do you even starve for peace in your heart? Might you want to more personally “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8)? A good place to satisfy your hunger is to faithfully remember that Jesus urges us to receive his nourishment: John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” In faith, see that through Christ’s salvation and the Spirit’s power, you “have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19) Faithfully remember what God has done. And you will steadfastly live with a sure and certain hope. Prayer. Lord God, I pray to always faithfully remember your great works in my past life. I trust you for the future. In Jesus’ name, amen. Luke 9:10-13 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him, and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. Jesus welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
COULD this be one of the grandest moments in world history? The Son of God walks the earth. The Spirit of God empowers him to preach kingdom good news and to “heal those who needed healing”. Such a scene is comparable to Genesis 1:31-2:1 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. The Creator had spoken, and his creation was good, meaning “of God”. When we experience joyous, beautiful moments, we sometimes exclaim, “This is Heaven on earth!” Surely Heaven came to earth that day in the small village of Bethsaida. God’s people went to God. God re-created lost souls to salvation. He restored broken bodies to health. Surely “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” This day, too, is Matthew 6:10 “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” What might be your favorite Scripture identifying God’s goodness over his people? From Genesis to Revelation, God’s love, compassion, healing and forgiveness pour out to those who eagerly go to him. The Living Word cared for his children that day to demonstrate his eternal salvation power. I wonder why so many rejected him? Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving us this glimpse of Heaven through your Son and Spirit. I pray my heart, soul and mind are always eager to go to you. Amen. Luke 9:7-9 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.
WE learned in our previous lesson that Herod did not meet Jesus until the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. Today we examine a reason why Jesus did not go to this evil ruler to condemn his sins, including the murder of John the Baptist? Why wouldn’t Jesus have gone to preach the gospel to this sinner as he did to the vast multitudes? Wouldn’t Jesus have wanted to remove the demons that ruled Herod’s soul? To ask such questions, we could also ask, “Why didn’t Jesus go to Rome to confront the emperor who said, ‘I’m god.’?” Or why didn’t Jesus go to Pilate to preach? Let’s extend this further. Why doesn’t the Holy Spirit go in Jesus’ authority today to many such leaders as Herod? The world has no shortage of evil rulers. Where is God’s power before these horrible people today? The answer to these and every other “Why God?” question lies in understanding and submitting to God’s sovereign rule. The Bible tells us there are times God has appointed sinful leaders to be his tools to judge the Jews. Babylon’s conquest of Judea, leading to the Jews’ exile is one example. Other times, God appoints such rulers to point to his power to save us from such enemies. We see this also in Babylon as the book of Daniel describes how God reigns amid the evil there. As Daniel, Gideon, Jeremiah, Jesus’ disciples and other disciples throughout history have been persecuted by evil rulers, we are to stand firm in God’s ways. He is eternal. He is just. He is the Creator, who determines to do his will on earth, even to rescue you from evil. Yes, we must remember our ultimate battle is against the evil that reigns in mankind’s heart. Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Remember, Jesus is on the throne. Hebrews 10:12-14 But when Jesus had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Are you one of those “being made holy”? You are if you confess Jesus as the authority to forgive your sins and to raise you into Heaven’s rule. The sovereign Lord judged Herod for his sins. His life on earth ended horribly, and we can be sure he suffers torment in Hell today. This is the destination for all who reject God. Put aside worldly concerns. Rejoice in God’s sovereign, eternal rule over your life. Prayer: You are the authority of my life, Father. Grant to me wisdom and understanding to trust your sovereign rule. Amen. Luke 9:7-9 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.
HEROD was one of four (“tetrarch” means divided into four parts) rulers in the territory that was once Judah, the Southern Kingdom of the Jews, and Israel, the Northern Kingdom. Althogh he was referred to as King Herod, he was not a king but a governor. And remember he is the son of Herod the Great, who ruled in Jerusalem at Jesus’ birth. Rome’s greater authority was over all rulers of these smaller provinces. But the Romans granted local rulers as regional governors. History and the gospel’s record here of Herod executing John the Baptist are evidence the man had the ultimate authority over the Jews’ lives. He was by all historical accounts a very evil man. Why then, do you believe he expressed desire to see who was responsible for these accounts of healings, resurrection and massive crowds? One reason would be political. He wanted to protect his meager “throne”. Great crowds listening to a Jewish rabbi historically meant rebellion. More than one rabbi had stirred crowds against other governors, Herod and Rome. The rebellion leaders paid with their lives in tortuous ways. And the Jewish people also suffered severely. A second reason Herod wanted to see Jesus could be for entertainment. We see this evidence when Herod finally did meet Jesus on the day Jesus died. The only thing Herod wanted from the Lord of Life was a miracle to satisfy Herod’s depraved pleasure. (See Luke 23.) Third, Herod may have been hoping for a way out of his sin. Scripture records he often questioned John the Baptist about God. Sometimes people seem to have many questions about God, but such people often really don’t want an answer; they want a loophole into their own beliefs. They would have to change if they would truly believe in God. Maybe Herod was hoping for a loophole that would ease his burdensome conscience. I don’t believe Herod had any interest in the truth. If he did, he would have used his power to go to Jesus. He ruled Galilee. What could stop him? A guilty conscience stopped him. A guilty conscience avoids God’s Word. Herod wanted no reminders that his throne was meaningless before the living God. Are you perhaps allowing a guilty conscience to keep you from Jesus? I get that way at times. It’s easier to read about the Lord then to go to him and say, “Teach me your truth. I submit to your gospel. I confess my sin.” But this is what the Lord requires. Let’s be continually mindful of our Lord’s love and forgiveness. Truly, faithfully seek his life-giving power for your life. Tomorrow, we examine why, perhaps, Jesus didn’t go to see Herod. Wouldn’t this have been a prime opportunity to evangelize? Prayer: Lord, I come to you with guilt on my heart. I know I sin. Forgive me, Father, and turn my heart more deliberately to you. In Jesus’ name, amen. |
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November 2024
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