PETER’S CONFESSION OF FAITH
Luke 9:18-27
Key verse 9:20
“But what about you? he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Christ of God…’”
We have all been asked questions all of our lives. A day will not go by when someone does not ask you a question about something. “Who do you think will win the World Cup? Will Brazil win?” Some of these questions, no matter how we answer them, will not make much of a difference to our lives. Other questions, like exam questions or interview questions or questions that our boss may ask us, will have a bigger impact in our life. How we answer them can potentially affect our present life and our future. But there is one question, depending on how we answer it, that has eternal consequences. How we answer this question will determine our eternal destiny. This is the question that Jesus asks his disciples and all of us here this morning. Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”
This is a question that none of us can ignore. Who is Jesus Christ to you personally? We see that through this question, Jesus wants us to have a personal confession of faith. Why is a personal confession of faith important? Romans 10:9 says, “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.” Through this life giving confession, Jesus then directs how we are to follow him as the Christ. What does he expect from us? What should our attitude be towards our life if we truly believe that he is the Christ?
Part 1. “But what about you? Who do say I am?” (18-20)
Look at verse 18a, “Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him…” The author Luke shows Jesus praying more than any other gospel. Luke 5:16 says that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 6:12 says that Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the whole night praying to God. Jesus prayed after he had been busy all day with crowds that he proclaimed the word of God to and healed. Especially, Jesus prayed before important events, such as the choosing of the Twelve.
Now was also a very important time in his ministry. This is why he stopped to pray in a private place during the day. His disciples had been around him for at least two years. They had seen numerous miracles. He healed the paralytics, touched the lepers, healed the blind and deaf, raised the dead, clamed the storm and drove out demons. They just experienced a great miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand on just five loaves and two small fish. His prayer was that his disciples may know who he really is. That is, their spiritual eyes would be opened up. Now it was time for an exam for the disciples. The exam had two questions. The first one is in verse 18b, “…Who do the crowds say I am?”
This question was like a public opinion poll. If we went out and talked with 100 people and asked them who do they say Jesus is, then what would we get? Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do the crowds say I am?” Let’s look at verse 19 to find out what the general idea of who the people thought Jesus was. “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.’”
Their answers show that they thought that Jesus was a great man of God, like a prophet of some sort from the past who had resurrected from the dead. Some said he was John the Baptist who preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins in the Jordan desert. Some said that Jesus was Elijah, one of the greatest prophets who ever lived. According to the Bible, his coming back would soon usher the coming of the Messiah. Still others said that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. We can see that none of them could agree 100% as to who he was. Some say this, some say that and still others say still another thing. None of these answers was right.
Today, the responses might be similar and yet different. Some might say he was a good man, others would say he was a religious and moral teacher comparable to Confucious, Buddah or Mohammed. Many people in their answer, try to humanize Jesus. Over time people’s ideas change about who Jesus is based on what they read in magazines and books and what they hear from others, and even movies, such as the Last Temptation of Christ and more recently, The DaVinci Code. People are easily influenced by others without really truly and honestly and prayerfully searching for themselves. They will listen to and believe the latest heresies and second and third hand sources instead of going to the Bible, the best source. The answer the disciples gave shows that the crowds of people still did not know who he was, because they had not spent enough time with him.
Then Jesus turned his next question to the disciples. The second question he asked was towards them. Look at verse 20a, “’But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am?…’” Again, the disciples had seen all the miracles he had performed. They had been with him for over two years now. Day by day they saw him, ate with him and listened to what he said. No one else had such close contact with him. Now it was exam time for them. It was the final exam question and it was also a very personal question to each one of them that would make them search the depths of their own hearts. Jesus had patiently waited until this time for this directed and pointed question. It was like an arrow shooting at their hearts. Jesus asked them very bluntly and plainly, “But what about YOU? Who do YOU say that I am?” Wow! What a question! Perhaps as Jesus said this, their was a pause and it became quiet in heaven as all the angels sought to listen to hear what the disciples would say.
Who spoke up first? Why, of course it was big- mouthed Peter, who always had to get the first word in. But look how he answered. Verse 18b he says, “…The Christ of God.” We call this Peter’s confession of faith. His answer was exactly 100% right. In Matthew 16:17 Jesus says this after Peter’s confession, “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” Peter was most blessed to make this confession of faith because it was a life saving and life giving confession by the help of God the Father. It was a spiritual revelation from God. It was a great blessing because his spiritual eyes were opened up to see that this man named Jesus who was standing before him, was not just another prophet or a great rabbi or moral teacher.
But he is the Christ of God. Jesus is the Christ of God, revealed to Peter personally. What does that mean “Christ of God?” Christ is Greek for Messiah. Messiah is Hebrew for “God’s Anointed One”. This means that he is the one whom God promised after man fell into sin, that would come and crush the head of the serpent, that is Satan or the devil (Gen.3:15) The Christ of God is the one who will save man from their sins. God promised he would come from Abraham’s line. That is, one who all the peoples on earth would be blessed through (Gen.12:3) The Christ was also promised to come through David’s line (2 Sam.7:12-13) The Israelites were eagerly waiting for the Christ to come, just as many people eagerly wait to watch the World Cup soccer matches.
This Christ whom Peter confessed is every man’s personal Savior. Peter knew that he needed a Savior. He knew that he was a sinful man before Jesus. This was his confession after Jesus helped him to catch such a large number of fish that his nets began to break and their boats began to sink. He said to Jesus after that, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Lk.5:8-9). His spiritual eyes were opened up at that time to see that he was a sinner, but at that time it wasn’t yet revealed to him personally by God that Jesus is the Christ. But now after spending time with Jesus day after day he knew without a doubt who Jesus was. His confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, opened the door for him to have personal salvation. This is no small deal. This is a big deal! This means forgiveness of sins and eternal life!
We all have to answer this question, “But what about YOU? Who do YOU say that I am?” This is Jesus’ personal question to YOU. This is like a final exam question, except that there is no partial credit. There are no D’s or C’s or B’s. You either get an A, 100%right or you get an F, 100% wrong. It is pass or fail. If we confess and believe that Jesus is the Christ, we are saved, if we don’t confess and believe, then we are condemned to hell(Mk.16:16). But like Peter, this has to be revealed to us from God the Father. It can happen as we hear Bible messages, personally read the Bible, think about what it says and pray. We have to find out and search out ourselves and open our hearts and ask God in prayer for help. Then God the Father will begin to reveal to us his great love that he showed by sending Jesus to die for us on the cross.
Before I studied the Bible if you asked me who Jesus was I probably would have said, “ He is some religious guy who lived a long time ago who founded the Catholic Church.” As a non-religious Jew living in a neighborhood of Jews and Roman Catholics, mostly of Italian descent, I saw no difference between them and me. In fact, I thought I was a little bit better. I also felt no need for religion. But as I got older the fear and anxiety about the uncertainty of the future began to possess my thoughts. I thought more about death and its finality. But later after I was invited to Bible study and began to read the Bible personally on my own I began to think about who Jesus was and what he said. Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This verse really hit me. “Whoever” meant me. It was as if God was talking directly to me that even someone like myself who never grew up in Christian family could believe. Eternal life was what I really wanted. It was a fact that Jesus died on the cross. I couldn’t deny this fact. The act of God’s love in the Bible was made clear to me. God helped me and opened my heart to believe that Jesus was my Christ. That was the beginning of a new and exciting life because I felt the personal touch and love of God.
Why do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? Is it because someone told you to? Is it because someone told you that you had to? Some people say they have always believed in Jesus, even from a little child. We have to remember that it is not merely head knowledge to believe. Knowing about him and knowing him are different. Our belief must come from the heart. It is a personal conviction. Then it is the confession of faith that saves us.(Ro.10:9,10). Each one of us must come to know that what we really need is a Savior from all our sins. If we don’t, then we can’t experience God’s wonderful love. We can’t see Jesus as God’s gift of love. There is no one else qualified who could or would die for our sins, except the Christ of God. Accepting God’s love personally is to make this confession that Jesus is the Christ of God.
Part 2. “If anyone would come after me.” (21-27)
Let’s read verses 21-22, “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, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’” After this confession Jesus warned his disciples not to mention this to anyone because Jesus knew that it might cause the Jewish religious leaders and the common people to become restless and that it might stir up problems with the Romans who governed the land. It was also not yet Jesus’ time to die.
But Jesus revealed to his disciples new things about himself. These things show what he must do as the Christ. They are the gospel in a nutshell. It says that he must suffer, be rejected and must be killed. These terrible things had to happen to Jesus if he was to be the Christ. They show the sin problem of man and God’s solution, Jesus’ suffering and death. But Jesus did not just merely talk about suffering, rejection and death. He also mentioned that on the third day he would be raised to life.
Jesus planted the hope of his resurrection and continued to do so until he was later arrested, tried and condemned. Between Peter’s confession and their arrival into Jerusalem, he told them on at least five different occasions that he would be killed and rise from the dead. So Jesus’ suffering and death was no twisted act of fate. It was the plan of God and purpose of God for Jesus and Jesus knew it and prepared himself and his disciples for the event.
Now let us see how Jesus showed his disciples the way they could be his disciples after the confession of faith. This is open to anyone who believes. We call it the way of discipleship. How are we to follow him as our Christ? What should be our attitude? Let’s read verse 23, “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.’”
Jesus first mentions to deny oneself. This does not mean to ignore yourself or not think about yourself, this is quite impossible! What it means is letting Jesus be the Lord of your life. Let him be the focus of your desires and passion. Let him be the one who you want to imitate and the one you want to please. For example, if someone says something that hurts us our immediate response is to become angry and even seek revenge. This is because we want to please ourselves and defend ourselves and have our own way. But when we deny our self, our first reaction is not to take it personally, but to pray and ask God’s forgiveness and to have God’s love for that person. Denying ourselves is a spiritual struggle that sometimes involves intense prayers and self-discipline.
Getting up early in the morning to seek the Lord in prayer and to study his word, going campus visiting after we are tired from school and work and being rejected, takes a lot of self-denial. Sometimes in our hearts we are resistant to God and moan and groan. “Lord, let me sleep a little more, I’ll read the Bible later. You know I need just a little more sleep today.” Or “Lord, even if I go out to witness to students, I meet the same ones and they reject me anyway.” But through self-denial, we can experience more of the life of Christ as Christ grows in us. We see the old nature dying and the new nature, in Christ growing in us and making us more Christ-like. Then later we say, “I am glad that I denied myself today. I experienced the joy of Jesus and the grace of God today more personally than I ever have.”
Look again at verse 23. Jesus also said if we want to come after him, “Take up his cross daily and follow me.” Jesus mentioned to take up the cross daily, not just five times a week and then not to take up the cross on the weekend. What does Jesus mean to take up the cross? The cross here is to daily believe and receive Jesus’ love when he was crucified on the cross. Jesus shed his blood and gave his body for us. This is God’s wonderful expression of his love for us. As we take up our cross daily, we are accepting this love and believing his love and this victory that he has given us over our sins. We are believing it even though we are weak and full of mistakes. And we are not giving up because we sometimes fall. We are looking up at the cross and on it is written victory for so and so, and forgiveness for so and so, victory for so and so and forgiveness for so and so. Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”
In verse 23, Jesus also mentions the words, “…and follow me.” These words are a little better explained for us by Jesus in verses 24-26. Let’s read what Jesus said in verses 24-26, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 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.”
These verses seem paradoxical to our own way of thinking. “What! Lose my life?! Why shouldn’t I want to save my life? Are you crazy or something?” The singer Billy Joel once sang a song, “This is My Life” He said this is my life go ahead with your own life and leave me alone. Live your own life, but not on my time. The person who wants to save his life and live for himself looks like he is gaining life. He looks like he is enjoying his life because everything he is doing is for his own benefit. He looks like he is gaining the whole world, adding wealth, materials and friends to his long list. But what good is it? (Verse 25)
What good is it if he loses his eternal salvation? The problem is that he has ignored God and lived only for himself. He is not following Jesus, but denying Jesus by his lifestyle. He has put his hope and all his effort on temporary things that perish, spoil and fade. He is like the people of Noah’s time who only thought about and engaged in eating, drinking, building, planting and marrying. They ignored God’s love for them! Then the flood came and destroyed them all (Lk.17:26-27) This is what will happen when one tries to save his life. However, they will not be destroyed by a flood, but by the wrath of God.
But the person who loses his life is the one who follows Jesus. And he is no loser, he is a winner! This is because God rewards those who are faithful to him. 2 Timothy 2:11 says, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him, if we endure, we will also reign with him…” Look again at verse 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.’” Here is another way that we follow Jesus as the Christ. It is a very difficult and challenging verse for us especially as we live in this society that tells us to be politically correct and to accept all different kinds of beliefs and alternative lifestyles.
Sometimes we don’t want to be known as a Bible-believing Christian. We don’t want to be thought of, and people make these up in their own minds, that we are one-sided, close minded and extremists. They say to us when we let them know that we are Bible believers, “Oh, you are one of those! You take the Bible literally!” They want us to change with the society. They want us to think it is a ridiculous thing to believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation.
But we should not be ashamed because the gospel is the power of salvation for everyone who believes. We should be proud of Jesus and his grace of forgiveness for all. This is what the difference is as I saw it as I witness, especially to Muslim students. They can’t save themselves and they have no assurance of the glory of heaven. Jesus promised he would come in all his glory, as well as with the glory of the Father and the holy angels. What an incredible scene it will be! He will reward us who followed Jesus, who were not ashamed of him and his words to the very end.
Let’s believe in Jesus and have a confession of faith that he is the Christ of God. Let’s follow Jesus as the Christ of God and experience his salvation day after day.