Wednesday: The Christ of God
Read Luke 9:18-27. Why would Jesus have asked the disciples a question whose answer He already knew? What lesson was He seeking to teach them not only about Himself but about what it means to follow Him?
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Who do you say that I am?
(Luke 9:20, NKJV). The question that Jesus asked 2,000 years ago still haunts history. People have given many different answers. A great teacher. A profound ethicist. An embodiment of truth. An edifice of self-sacrifice. A fearless prophet. A social reformer. A great model of everything a human being should be. But no answer short of the confession that the original question drew from the lips of Peter will do.
After revealing His authority over nature (Luke 8:22-25), His power over demons (Luke 8:26-35), His might over diseases (Luke 5:12-15, Luke 8:43-48), His ability to feed the 5,000 out of almost nothing (Luke 9:13-17), His power over death itself (Luke 8:51-56)-Jesus confronts His disciples with, really, two questions: first, what others thought of Him; next, what the disciples themselves thought. He didn’t ask in order to learn something that He didn’t already know. Rather, He asked in order to help them understand that who He was would, in fact, demand from them a commitment that would cost everything.
Our knowledge of Jesus must never be at second hand. We might know every verdict ever passed on Jesus; we might know every Christology that human minds have ever thought out; we might be able to give a competent summary of the teaching about Jesus of every great thinker and theologian-and still not be Christians. Christianity never consists in knowing about Jesus; it always consists in knowing Jesus. Jesus Christ demands a personal verdict. He did not ask only Peter, he asks every one of us:
-William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, (Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2009), vol. 2, p. 161.You-what do you think of me?
Our response to the question Jesus asked cannot be anything short of Peter’s confession: Jesus is the Christ of God
(Luke 9:20, NKJV). Christ means the Anointed One,
the Messiah, whose mission is not that of a political liberator but the Savior who will free humanity from the grip of Satan and sin and inaugurate the kingdom of righteousness.
It’s not enough simply knowing who Jesus was. Rather, we need to know Him for ourselves. If, then, you claim to know Jesus-what, in fact, do you know about Him? That is, what has your own personal knowledge of Jesus taught you about Him and about what He is like?
(27)
First question stated: Why would Jesus have asked the disciples a question whose answer He already knew? What lesson was He seeking to teach them not only about Himself but about what it means to follow Him?
God told the prophet Amos to write-"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
Amos 3:3 (KJV).
From the two questions Jesus asked, 1st about what others are saying about Him and the 2nd one to what the disciples says He is, I believe that our Lord was letting His followers know the importance of having the right conception of their leader. This is important according to the question asked in Amos 3:3 that two can only walk together except they have a mutual agreement on the basis of their journey. Many will leave the path of following Christ because their acceptance of Jesus was based on a false idea of who He is and what is expected of them. Jesus clearly laid down the conditions of discipleship in verses 23-25. Self denial and unflinching witnessing is marked out for all who would by faith take the path that Christ has walked before us.
I would like to ask a question - of myself and of the others on this blog: What does it mean "to know Him for ourselves"?
How do we "know" Jesus for ourselves? I believe it means we have a personal, spiritual, experiential, interactive relationship with Jesus through the Word and the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
The Word has many examples of how the LORD meets people where they are, he interacts with them in terms of their past and present experiences at their level of spiritual maturity. However his plan is not to leave them at that level but to develop them and to raise them up to a higher plane.
Because people have different temperaments - practical or idealist, extrovert or introvert, empathetic or tough minded - have different learning styles - word, pictures, tactile, experiential - I believe the LORD interacts with each of us in the most effective style for each of us.
Accordingly each one's relationship with Jesus will be unique. I believe the biggest difference between only knowing about Jesus and "knowing" him is interaction. Do you talk to Him and does He talk to you? Do you trust Him? Has knowing Him changed who you are? Do you appreciate His character? Do you want to spend more and more time with Him? Do you want to be like Him? Do you want to tell others about Him? Do you love Him with all your heart, mind & body?
Great point at the end there Shirley "Accordingly each one's relationship with Jesus will be unique. I believe the biggest difference between only knowing about Jesus and "knowing" him is interaction."
And those interaction questions are good for self review... God Bless and Praise the Lord.
Regarding the question, "what does it mean ‘to know Him for ourselves'", what does the Bible say?
• In the context of Luke 9:18-23, only the disciples (Luke 9:18) following their Master could “know” Him. This includes self-denial for His sake (Luke 9:23).
• In John 7:17, Jesus makes clear that knowing Him requires willingness to obey the will of God.
• The one who wrote 1 John is described as in John 13:23 as “leaning on Jesus' bosom” and as one “whom Jesus loved.” Can we do better than the apostle John in answering what it means to know Him? He speaks plainly, perhaps too plainly for the comfort of some. To have fellowship with Him is to walk in the light (1 John 1:6). To know Him includes keeping His commandments (1 John 2:3-4). If we abide in Him we walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). If we hope to see Him, we will be pure (1 John 3:2-3). “Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” (1 John 3:6)
• To “know” a spouse in marriage is an intimate giving of oneself to the other (Genesis 4:1), a giving which should produce “fruit” (Romans 7:4). This submission, motivated by love, illustrates the relationship of Christ with His church (Ephesians 5:21-33) and produces holiness (Ephesians 5:27).
While Bible study and prayer are essential and must be personal and meditative, they are not enough to save if, in consequence, the life doesn’t reflect that communion. To know Him, I must yield my will to God. The remnant certainly do have faith in Him, a faith that manifests in keeping His commandments (Revelation 12:17; 14:12).
Hi John,
Thank you, good points, I see you answering the requirements for knowing him and the results of knowing him, please could you expand more on the how of knowing him.
I am a practical person and tend to concentrate on the concrete aspects and need more assistance on the abstract aspects.
Because "knowing Him" is an ongoing process (rather than a "do it once and be done" event), the requirements are part of the process. The disciples continued with their Master until He sent them out, and then, unlike earthly masters, He sent His Spirit to continue with them in His place (John 14:16-18). And we have the privilege of working under the direction of the same Spirit (John 17:20). Those who walk in the light must continue to walk in the light, or they are then in darkness (1 John 1:5-7; 2:9-11). The intimacy of marriage - body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23), must continue or we soon don't really "know" our spouse; we grow apart from each other.
God constantly invites us to know Him. He reveals Himself through revelation, nature, the moving of the Spirit, and His providence. In these, our part is to receive what He imparts. At the same time, we will respond to what He reveals (Matthew 7:13-14). If we want our "knowing Him" to be growing, then our trusting Him will be seen in our praying to Him and in obeying Him. In praying to Him, we open the way for Him to reveal more of Himself (Jeremiah 29:12-13). In obeying Him, we will study all He reveals of Himself (2 Timothy 2:15), and will serve as He served (John 13:13-17, Matthew 20:25-28).
John, what has fascinated me for years is that little thing Jesus talked about with the wide and narrow gates (Mat 7:13-14).
While we usually home in on the difficulty of the paths that doesn't seem to be the force of the passage just like whenever there is a sermon on Gideon and his mighty 300 it usually is about the 300 and misses the real message in that whole story.
The punch line in Mat 7 is, "and there are few who find it." While it certainly is true that the narrow path is difficult the problem is in finding that little narrow sliver of a gate that everyone is missing. There are two things involved first is finding the narrow gate. If we don't find it the difficulty of the path becomes meaningless. Once we find the gate then we can discuss the difficulty of the way. In other words the vast majority of people don't even know what to look for and to me fanaticism plays a big role in that problem. There is that fine edge on a very slippery slope, that delicate middle ground between legalism and the faith only advocates who rebel against law.
We are to keep the law but only by faith in the one who can change our hearts. It is what the new covenant is all about. We can talk law until the cows come home but if it isn't based on the inward working of Christ on our hearts then we would have missed the narrow gate big time because outward compliance is worthless. That is what the discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus was about and why Jesus routinely condemned the Pharisees as whitewashed tombs that looked great on the outside but were rotten on the inside.
Thank you, Tyler, for your reflections. I think we are pretty much on the same page. Your comments on the gate got me thinking. How big is that gate? Could it be that the gate is plenty big enough to see if we are willing to go through without any baggage? I think of the story of the rich man in Matthew 19:16-26. The one who came to Him (verse 16) saw the narrow gate but chose not to enter (verse 22), choosing His possessions rather than Christ. Those possessions may be material things, or theological constructs, or, as you mentioned, fanaticism.
John, I will have to think about what you said. I am just not sure that the gates are about our relationship to things. Right now I am wrestling with an apparent contradiction in statements between the apostle John and Ellen White, at least to a degree anyway, concerning how we relate to the world. Consider what John states, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 Jn. 2:15-16 NKJV). And then what Ellen White has to say:
I am asking myself what then is the problem with the world? Maybe it isn't what we have or the goals we set but how we choose to get them and maybe that has something to do with the gates in Mat 7.
At first glance, there does seem to be a conflict. Could it be, in these two instances, that John uses the word "world" in a different sense from Ellen White's use of the word? "World" can refer to the physical planet, or our personal sphere of action, or a culture opposed to God, among other things.
Thank you for posting all three of the paragraphs from the Review and Herald. Please note her central point in the middle paragraph: "The important question with you now is, how to so choose and perfect your studies that you will maintain the solidity and purity of an untarnished Christian character, holding all temporal claims and interests in subjection to the higher claims of the gospel of Christ." This statement helps us interpret the rest of the passage.
We must, as followers of Christ, prioritize our activities in line with God's principles. What we have is not as important as whether we are doing with those things what God wants us to do. God allows us to set goals while He calls us to keep those goals in line with His goals.
Thanks Shirley. I enjoyed reading your comment indeed.
Shirley, you bring up a number of truthful opinions. Much relevancy
and insight. There is a persistent tendency to evaluate what others do or do not do, based on what we believe. A "one fits all" mentality. As you point out we are all different, and to have an intentional relationship with Jesus is not entirely dependent on our abilities or desires. Jesus loved us first, while we were unworthy sinners. He come to seek and save that which was lost. Most of us relate to those conditions in some way. The last line and question that you ask, is what I label as the "11th commandment" and is a piercing question that may not be answered as easily as it should. Our only salvation is His grace without limit that is greater than all, our sins.
To answer the question _ what does it mean to know Jesus for yourself? Its like visiting a pkace for yourself so many people tell you about the niagra falls but you go there to see it yourself. You experience it. You know Jesus for yourself when you connect with him through the Bible and prayer. I do not mean running through a scripture... no through quiet
rmeditative readings and prayer. To know Jesus is to also believe he is there in that way you can approach him as you approach a friend and meet him for yourself. Do I know Jesus?
To know Jesus for yourself is to believe that he is there and to experience him through quiet bible study and prayer.
I love this quote so much from one of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Thanks for sharing this Ray. Much appreciated!
This question was actually a test of faith and believe to his disciples, knowing that the expectation of the Jews was a royal messiah who would deliver them from the Roman rule. On seeing the miracles he was performing, they associated him with the old testament prophets but not the messiah they were waiting for, No wonder Nathaniel asked if something good can come from Nazareth any way.
Jesus wanted his disciples to understand clearly his love towards the fallen world and his mission of salvation. In humility he bore our iniquities, he took our position of fallen beings that we may be reconciled with our father in Heaven a gain.
For instance, to understand who your friend or parent is, you therefore ought to be intimate with him/her, that is how we can tell who they are. We can therefore be true witnesses of who they are. Jesus wants his disciples me and you to be intimate with him, trust him, have faith in him and dedicate our life to him. Then we shall answer like peter that "You are the Christ of God" because we have tasted his goodness and that the Holy spirit has given us his testimony after experiencing his saving grace and love.
People can give you information about something but they can't give you experience. That is something a person can only get by himself and is what a relationship with Jesus gives you.
I could be wrong, but the more we read and think about that question, the more we get to know God, it Solidifies what we think of Him. What He is, would not be mere experiences of learned men, but what He is, will be what we experience with Him. There can never be one true answer. I say He is my deliverer.
What amazes me most about the accounts given in scripture is that even with the obvious miracles that raised deep questions about who Jesus was the disciples still really didn't have the right answers. Right up until Gethsemane they were still arguing over who was going to be the greatest and sit on literal thrones in a worldly kingdom on earth (Lk 22:24). They couldn't get past the literal to see the spiritual so they seemingly didn't understand anything about God's kingdom or its principles. What they saw was to them just another great leader like Abraham, Moses, or Elijah who worked miracles just like they did only more so. Yes, to them He was to be king of Israel but what kind of king were they thinking of? Another David (Isa 9:6-7) or perhaps another Moses (Deut 18:15), a warrior who was going to defeat the Romans and make Israel a great nation again like it was under Solomon?
Statements of faith like Peter voiced in Matt 16:16-17 really didn't come from him as such any more than the statement of Caiaphas did, "being high priest that year, said to them, 'You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.' Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation" (Jn. 11:49-51 NKJV). Those ideas came from the Holy Spirit who worked through them much like He did with the donkey Balaam was riding on (Num 22:21-33). It was Peter's nature to be the first to say something, to be out in the front of the pack. That was the reason he hacked off the ear of the servant of the high priest in the garden of Gethsemane without understanding what was happening or the whole attitude of Jesus toward the mob.
Knowing about Jesus and Knowing Jesus are worlds apart. The word 'about' jumped out at me as I read the lesson. It is like a barrier in the relationship between Jesus and the nominal Christian. When the Bible speaks of a man 'knowing' a woman it was the kind of intimate knowledge that led to the blessing of a child - no amount of 'knowing about' would have the same results! True Christians need to have the same intimate relationship with Jesus - the kind of intimacy that brings forth fruits of the spirit.
Thanks for the powerful perspective Maureen. Much appreciated
Praise the LORD, as I was thinking more about the question of how to "know" the LORD for myself, I was watching TV and the speaker quoted from EGW's Steps to Christ and it was confirmation on what I had written about the key being interaction. So I would like to share what she wrote under inspiration so it might inspire you and me to commune more with the LORD.