(Sermon text: Luke 9: 18 – 24)
Given at Church of the Redeemer, Cairo, IL
“But you, who do you say that I am?”[1] Jesus’ question comes leaping off the pages of Holy Scripture, bypassing the passage of time and the remoteness of first-century Palestine. It burns a hole in our hearts as we read those words.
“But you, who do you say I am?” This question was the central question for those first disciples, the ones whose discomfort matches ours as we scramble to provide an answer to the healer, the demon destroyer, the charismatic teacher who stills the waters and raises the dead to life again, the one whose eyes must have looked intently into the faces of those first followers, and whose eyes look intently into ours, 20 centuries later.
For the answer to this question will determine where we are willing to follow, and how far.
Our answer will determine what God is able to say of us, when all is said and done, when we see Him face-to-face.
So, let’s look at two progressions in today’s passage:
- The progression of groups in those giving the answers
- The progression in the answers given
Note, first of all, the progression in the groups:
- At first, the crowds are the providers of the answer to Jesus’ question, as Jesus asks, “who do the crowds say I am?”
- Then, the disciples themselves are asked to provide the answer, Jesus posing the question directly, using the (plural) word “you”.
- John the Baptist
As I look at these two progressions, I think I see that the focus is clearly on Jesus. Let me explain:
- The answering groups: progress forward through the text from “crowds” to “disciples” to “you” (and ultimately, to Jesus Himself).
- The answers: progress backward through the text from “John the Baptist” to “Elijah” to “one of the prophets of long ago”.
We should stop here for a moment to reflect on Peter’s answer….
The title “Christ”[4] carried with it in first century times certain expectations. Some of these expectations were royal ones, and some were prophetic.
Let’s consider both, from a first century perspective:
- Royal: the coming “Messiah” was to be the one, sent by God, to redeem captive Israel from the invading, Gentile conquerors, the Romans. The “Messiah” would come in the same way and same sense as King David of old, uniting God’s people, freeing them, and creating for them the wealth, status and power that the old King David had gained for God’s people a 1,000 years earlier.
- Prophetic: The “Messiah” would restore God’s voice and authority, speaking God’s truth and ushering in God’s reign, and completing the work of the prophets of long ago.
Now, the answer provided is Jesus’ own answer. The spotlight falls directly on Jesus.
Using Peter’s answer as a springboard, Jesus pushes the disciples and us to a new definition of who He is, and into a wider understanding….He says, “the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the Law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
The key to this new definition and wider horizon lies in Jesus’ use of the term Son of Man…..
We know from Daniel 7:13 that the “Son of Man” is a figure who will ascend to the Almighty at the end of time. We also know, from some contemporary Jewish writings of Jesus’ time, that the title “Son of Man” had gained understandings that were “messianic” in nature.
We also know from a careful reading of Luke (see 6:5 and 6:22) that the title has already been applied to Jesus.
The title “Son of Man” takes on eternal, “big-picture” meanings. Meanings that suggest that God is at work in:
- The person of Jesus
- The things Jesus came to do
- The things that He came to experience
Jesus’ answer pushes aside all the limitations, royal and prophetic, of Peter’s answer.
It redefines the title “Christ” or “Messiah”.
It shoves our faces into the reality of this “Messiah”:
- A person who would come, not to he hailed, but to be rejected
- A person who would come, not to be honored, but to suffer
- A person who would restore life to God’s people, not by killing the oppressors, but to be killed by those same oppressors.
At the beginning of this sermon, we noted the direct impact of Jesus’ question on us….and so it is true….Jesus’ question rings in our ears, “But you, who do you say I am?”
Jesus provides the answer Himself, in the very next statement He makes, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Having just told His disciples (for the first time) what the true nature of His “messiah-ship” was, He now applies the path that awaits Him as he makes His way to Jerusalem, to His trial, suffering, and crucifixion, to His disciples as well: “take up (your) cross daily (emphasis mine) and follow me.”
Therein lies the clue to today’s reading for you and me: Jesus is asking us to share in His redemptive work.
Think about it: what was the central meaning of Jesus’ suffering and death? It was to offer redemption to the world.
In order to bring about this redemption, Jesus had to:
- suffer rejection
- deny His own welfare and safety
- face the un-faceable
Jesus’ suffering and death brought about new life – and notice that Jesus does not omit “the rest of the story”
[6] in telling the disciples just where His rejection, suffering and death will lead…it leads to His “being raised to life.”If we are to follow Christ, then we must “take up our cross daily (notice the recurring nature of that word “daily”) and follow Him.”
To do so, it means (for us), just as it did for Our Lord, that we must be willing to:
- Suffer rejection
- Deny our own welfare and safety
- Face the un-faceable
In so doing, we make Christ’s redeeming work available to the world around us. Following in His footsteps, we are able to extend His kingdom (the royal aspect) and His word (the prophetic aspect) of God’s work in the world.
One final thought – a reminder, actually, of something we said at the beginning: what we say about Jesus, answering the question “who do you say I am?” will determine what God is able to say about us, when God’s purposes for us and for this world are completed.
May God enable us to gain a new understanding and a wider horizon of the person and work of Jesus Christ.
AMEN.
[1] I am quoting the NIV translation of this question, since it repeats the word “you”, which is present in the original Greek (the second “you” is understood by the person and number of the verb).
[2] Luke has previously reported that John the Baptist had been beheaded by King Herod (Luke 9: 7 – 9).
[3] Notice that Jesus confirms John’s status as a prophet…In Luke 7: 26 (speaking about John), Jesus says, But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.”
[4] The word comes from the Greek word for “anointed one” (“Messiah” is the Hebrew equivalent).
[5] The commentator R. Alan Culpepper, writing in his commentary on Luke in the New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, p. 200, cites two first-century Jewish writings to underwrite his assertion concerning the use of the title “Son of Man”: I Enoch and IV Ezra.
[6] The radio announcer Paul Harvey’s famous line
