Who Do You Say That I Am

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So we're in Luke chapter 9

Luke 9 · chapter mention

versus 1 through

27

this morning. So go ahead and we will

read the word of the Lord.

And he called the 12 and gave them

power and authority over all demons to cure

diseases.

And he sent them out to reclaim the

kingdom of god and to heal

And he said to them take nothing for

your journey, no staff, no bag, nor bread,

nor money, and do not have 2 tu

and whatever house you enter stay there

and from there depart. And whenever they go,

do not... And they do not receive you

when you leave,

that town shake off the dust from your

feet as a testimony against them, and they

departed and went through the villages preaching the

gospel and healing

everywhere.

Now, Here, the Tetra heard about all that

was happening and he was perplexed

because it was said by some that John

had been raised from the dead,

by some that Elijah had appeared and by

others that are that 1 of the prophets

of old had arise, Harriet said John I

beheaded,

but who is this about whom I'm hearing

such things and he sought to see him.

Verse 10 on the return, the apostles told

him all that they had done.

And he had took them and withdrew

part to a town called Ba sad.

When the crowds learned it, they followed him

and were welcoming

any welcome them and spoke to them about

the kingdom of God, and cured those who

had need of healing. Now, the day began

to wear away and the 12 came and

said to him, send the crowd away

to go into the surrounding villages in the

countryside to find a lodging and get provisions

for we are here in a desolate... In

a desolate place.

But he said to them, you give them

something to eat.

And they said we have no more than

5 loaves and 2 fishes unless

we would go and buy food for all

these people. For there about 5000 men, and

he said to disciples, have them sit down

in groups of about 50 each.

And they did so, and he had them

all sit down and taking the 5 loaves

on the 2 fish. He looked up to

heaven, and he set a blessing over them.

Then he broke the lows and gave them

to the disciples set before the crowd and

the 8

and were satisfied.

And what was left over was picked up

was about 12 baskets of broken pieces.

Now it happened that is he was praying

alone, the disciples were with him, and he

asked them who do the crowds say that

I am.

And they answered him John the baptist, but

at others say Elijah,

And others that 1 of the prophets of

old has risen, then he said to them,

but who do you say that I am?

And Peter answered

the Christ of God.

And he strictly charged and commanded them to

tell this to no 1 saying the son

of man must suffer many things

and be rejected by the elders and the

chief priests and scribes and be killed and

on the third day raised.

And he said to all, if anyone would

come after me.

Let him deny himself and take up his

cross daily and follow me. Forever whoever would

save his life will lose it, whoever loses

his life for my sake will save it.

For what does it profit a man if

he gains the whole world and and forfeit

fits or loses us himself.

Forever is ashamed of me and of my

words of him, will the son of man

be ashamed when he comes in his glory

and the glory of the father and of

the holy angels. But I tell you truly,

there are some standing here who will not

taste death

until they see the kingdom of God. This

is the word of the Lord.

Father ask that you drawn here to us

through your word.

Now, we hang on your promise that word

doesn't return, void that you're always working that

you're always moving that you're always speaking so

come and speak to us.

Give us open ears, let us hear, Lord

today. H spirit come and shows the beauty

of who jesus is and what he's done,

may that become more real may at in

our soul and unlock worship and gratitude, To

mean that worship should be pleasing to you.

We pray that in your name, God. Amen.

So when I lived in

Iowa in in Des moines for several years,

I I made a bad decision 1 time.

Like, I I probably made several bad decisions,

but only share 1 for right now.

I I agreed to train with a boxer

named 7 Ramirez who went to our church.

I I literally do not remember how this

came to be. Like, I can't imagine that

I would would've have asked him to hit

me in the face or anything like that,

but The scenario still happened. I found myself

in a real boxing gym

in a little bit of a sketchy side

of town, standing in front of a man

with possible pinned up anger issues.

Who came from a boxing family, and he

was gonna teach me a thing or 2

about boxing.

When I say serious boxing family, like all

of the brothers in this family thought,

and and 1 of his brothers was an

actual professional boxer, like, not a Youtube boxer

like now, like, he was... He fought for

belts and and and Juan.

And Stephen was no s. He

likely stop competing because he had a family

early.

And so this was kind of his track

record, and I was

overweight with no workout regimen at all.

So I was worried quite worried to to

say I was fearful would have been an

understatement. At the time, I I didn't know

really what I was walking into? I didn't

know did did he wanna teach me to

box? Was he trying to help me get

fit?

Do you just wanna spend time

with me? Or did he actually not like

me at all and he wanted an Ali

for beating the guitar out of me and

not getting arrested for it. I

I didn't know. But either way, I found

myself in this boxing gym, and we had

to start from square 1, like, a complete

novice in this whole boxing arrangement. So what

did it start with? Teaching me to to

wrap my hands properly at least so I

don't break my hands and teaching me how

to stand and how to hit pads and

how to do combinations and how to snap

a jab and how to move your hips,

and we had to start from a very

early

spot with all of this. And surely,

slowly, but surely, we work past some of

the just the the the basic things into

hitting pads for about a minute at a

time in rounds.

If you've never tried that, like hitting a

a pad over and over for a minute,

wall out of shape,

Like, I don't recommend it. It it's it's

not fun. Who knew that moving in a

circle trying to hit pads and combinations could

make you wanna throw up so fast, but

but it did.

And then 1 day, it escalated even more.

Stephen decided that we would spa.

And I've I've learned how to wrap my

hands. I've hit pads and almost throwing up,

and now we're gonna try and hit each

other in the face. Awesome.

And I was terrified. He could have killed

me and luckily, he he didn't... I'm grateful

for that. My wife is grateful for that.

My face, my nose is grateful.

For that that he didn't take it

out too hard on me, but quicken into

spa, I found out AAA couple things just

really, really fast.

First, I do not like getting hit.

It's not fun, like 0 out of 10,

not recommended it at all.

And the second thing that I learned really

quick is I'm not good at not getting

hit. Which is not a great combination.

Right? If you if you're tracking, that's a

problem getting hit stinks, and and when you're

standing in front of a person who's boxed

all their life, Like, I'm I'm getting hit

a lot. And a big part of my

problem, outside of the complete utter lack of

skill or

stamina, like, it's out of shape. A big

part of my problem was what we'll call

the defensive

conundrum of boxing.

Boxing, you're meant to keep your hands up

and your head down so you don't get

blasted in the face. Right? You're trying to

not get knocked out. So you gotta keep

your hands up at all

times.

So you don't get dusted in the head.

But but if you keep your hands up

all the time, what does that do? It

leaves you wide open to get hit in

the mid section.

And as bad as getting hit in the

faces. It's it's... Again, 0 out of 10,

don't recommend it, getting hit in the stomach,

when your gas being an out of air

and trying not to throw up. It is

is is it is pretty awful

in its own. Right? It's back to the

idea again of me not liking to get

hit very much. So here was my problem.

When I kick my my hands up, I

I would just get belly blasted and immediately,

then like, drop my hands and leave myself

open to getting hit in the face. Right?

I I couldn't just absorb the shot and

keep moving. Apparently, that's what boxer do. They

have stomach muscles. And you hit them in

the stomach and they keep moving.

But I'm not sure I have stomach muscles.

I've never seen them.

It's plausible and impossible that I have a

genetic defect and they just don't exist.

Anyway.

I couldn't take a body shot back then

I didn't have the core strength to do

it. I probably still cancel. Don't try.

But if you hit me in a stomach,

I'm gonna drop my hands with the quick,

like,

and then I'm gonna get hit in the

face, and it's gonna be over and not

fun. So my my boxing career didn't last

very long. III quit before

too long and

Though I wasn't a very good boxer or

this kind of stomach to ahead, conundrum and

paradigm is is 1 that you'll hear boxer

talk about a lot or comment or coaches

when they're training a box to say hey,

go ahead and work the body over and

over and over,

and slowly, but steadily, it... It's gonna pay

dividends for you if you do it. The

the shots that you you hit someone in

the stomach with. They're not really meant to

knock them out. But the

accumulation of them over time will open up

something else bigger down the road. It'll set

them up for for dropping their hands and

having the the big shot to the to

the head. Now this idea of a steady

diet of 1 thing leading to something bigger.

I bring that up because it's all like

I think of. That's the imagery that was

in my head all week when reading this

text.

Luke has been pepper in a specific idea

over,

in over and an over. In a way

that you may or may not have paid

much attention to. I've I've tried to kinda

keep it ahead of us.

Yet, he was kind of setting up for

today what we'll call the the question, the

the big shot.

And the question that he has been setting

up that he's been an in all along

is just simply who is Jesus

to you or who do you say that

he is?

That question is not what I call a

Build d to bear Jesus question. It's not

well, who's Jesus to you, And and what

kind of personality and persona and look would

would you create for a savior that you'd

wanna worship to like the creation gets to

mold the creator? It's more of a personal

in nature question?

Who who do you think Jesus is?

And what does that mean to you? How

does that change your life? How does that

affect your life? Who is he to you

And what does that do?

If we step back and look at Luke

from a... What I call a 30000 foot

view. If you zoom out a it a

little bit, and you look not just into

the to all the nuts and bolts, but

you look back at the themes of what's

going on, you're gonna see the opening of

Luke was an announcement that Jesus was coming.

And then Mary, the mother of Jesus

before he was ever born,

declared in a section called the the mag

hot that Jesus was

the Lord.

God the savior in the flesh, the 1

in whom blessing would come

to the children of god in a broken

world.

But since that declaration of Mary over who

Jesus was, the rest of the book shows

us this ongoing

wrestle with people to answer that same question.

She declared who Jesus is, but we see

this ongoing wrestler where other people are trying

to figure out who he is, and they're

they're struggling a little bit. The answers are

many. They're all over the board.

Notice maybe in in Nazareth right after Jesus

earthly ministry kicked off earlier in the book.

Jesus goes to his hometown. He begins to

to minister. The question is who is this

Jesus? They would answer it with...

He's just

not much of anything at all. He's just

the son of Joseph. Like, we know where

that kid grew up. We... We've seen him

grow up. He... He's a nobody.

That's all we see him as.

So in Jesus because they answered it that

way, begin to speak authoritative

to them.

If you remember they tried to throw them

off of a cliff for it.

Then we shift a little bit later, Jesus

Heals a para man in front of a

group of ph,

and he also tells the man that his

sins are forgiven in that that dialogue to

which the ph he said

to the question who is Jesus well Jesus

just a bla.

Because only God can forgive sins and we

don't think that you are God, so they

rejected him, then a little bit later. Jesus

heals a widow son and the crowd who

saw it it said that which Jesus was

surely a great prophet.

That's all that he was to them. He

wasn't the god man.

Use just a cool man doing good things.

You may or may not actually speak for.

Got it. Or you follow in the ins

and outs and the struggle.

A little after that, the ph declared that

Jesus was a glut and a drunk.

All you like to do is is love

and hang out with sinful people What what

they're doing to the of who is Jesus,

is they're implying, Well Jesus is just a

morally compromised person.

That's all he is. And then in a

dinner party, people struggle with Who Jesus is

and they ask the question themselves, Who is

this?

Who can do the things that he's claiming

to do and then Jesus calms the the

storm on the boat with the disciples, and

they asked the same question. Who is this?

The commands the the wind and the the

waves and they listen to him?

And after that a demon declared that Jesus

is the most high God.

And he begs Jesus not to torment him

and throw him into the abyss.

Are you kinda seeing the pepper, the the

body shots that the constant press of 1

question of who is Jesus. Luke is pressing

this over and over?

Who's Jesus to you? What does that mean

to your life? What does that mean to

the rest of humanity and all of that

sets up Jesus just flat out asking the

question?

Who am I?

Follow this. In the text today, we shift

from Luke showing us how other people

wrestled with the question of who is Jesus

to now Jesus going yeah yeah. Okay.

But what about you?

I get that everyone trying to wrestle and

figure it out, but But I don't wanna

talk about them anymore. I wanna talk about

you right here right now, Who do you

say that I am. No more kind of

beating around

the Bush who You. It's time to decide.

What is your answer?

Now let's be clear though I've used the

analogy of body shots and and head shots.

Jesus isn't trying to knock you out.

But he is trying to make sure that

you can process this and you don't ignore

it.

As we dig through the large text for

today, maybe it's easiest to see that there's

2 themes that gets bounced through a little

bit. We'll call them the commission

and the question.

And versus 1 through 6 in the opening,

and then we skip a little bit to

10 through 17,

it deals with the commission

while the rest versus 7 through 9

in 18 through 27 deal with that question

of who is

Jesus.

We see at the opening of the text

Jesus calls the 12

disciples,

and he gives them power and authority over

the demons and the ability to cure

diseases. And then he sends them out. This

is important.

To pro claim the kingdom of God and

to heal. This is the the commissioning of

the apostles. Prior to that, the disciples it

just followed Jesus around.

They listen to him preach. They saw him

navigate people and situations. They saw him perform

miracles and won works, but they're just witnesses.

They're sitting in the stands. They're their fans,

just kinda watching what Jesus does, the action

from the sidelines, but now Jesus is involving

them into the work as the sent ones.

Jesus at this point is is going, hey,

I'm appointing you to this ministry to to

join me.

And noticed that he doesn't just appoint them.

He equip them.

He's been training them. He's been teaching them.

He's been disc decipher and showing them what

to to to do.

But now he gives them the power and

authority to do it on their own. They're

going to be the apostles, the sent ones

to do the work of the church in

the early stages

of the church through the new testament.

So we see that Jesus gives them power

and authority,

but it's for a purpose.

So that they can pro preclude the kingdom

of God.

This means he didn't send them out to

reclaim the overthrow rome, and he didn't send

them out to to pro claim that they

were gonna bring Israel back to a world

power stage. You didn't send them out to

pro claim a gospel of of a autonomy

or into that individuality or prosperity.

He sent them out to reclaim the kingdom

of god this is what I want you

to do claim the kingdom of God.

Now the concept of the kingdom of God

may feel a little bit distant or hard

to to pin down, but Jesus said if

I came, and cast out demons by the

finger of God,

well then you know the kingdom of God

has come to you.

Jesus saying 1 way that you'll know the

kingdom of God is here

is you're gonna see the king's power at

work. And you go, oh, okay. I I

see it. And he later said that the

kingdom of God isn't visible in the way

that you speck, meaning the kingdom of God,

you're not gonna have somebody go, oh, there

it is. Oh, or or over here it

is because the kingdom of God is actually

within the people of God.

What Jesus is framing up is this combination.

The kingdom of God

is the power of God.

That comes to bear in places and spaces

and people

who are under the reign of God, the

sovereignty of God. You you follow that. The

the kingdom of god is where the power

of God is is is revealed through the

people of God under the reign and sovereignty

of God.

That's why the the kingdom of god is

not a geographic location. You can't like map

out the The outskirts of it like you

would Boone County, the kingdom of God is

where you see the power

of god working.

Most specifically when people

have got reigning and ruling over their lives.

To preach the kingdom of God to anyone

is to declare that god reign over things.

It's to declare God reign overall, and you

could live inside of his power under reign

in his freedom as his children with an

inheritance forever and in his love.

You can accept that and live in light

of that or you can reject it and

live outside of it.

Now in their day, if we think about

this, the the cross has not happened yet,

we we we need to understand we... We

we're given, like, all the notes ahead of

time, and and they're on the early side.

So the the cross hasn't happened. So they

would have preach maybe AAAA tad differently than

we would about the kingdom of God. We

now preach the kingdom of God.

By by preaching that King Jesus died on

the cross.

To adopt sinner and redeem them and reconcile

them to god so that we can live

in and walk in and participate in the

kingdom of god if we believe

in Jesus for the work of salvation for

us,

and then as Romans says we we confess

him with our mouth and follow him with

our life.

If we do that, we get to walk

in the kingdom of God, and that's the

place where Jesus reign and rules over our

lives and we're waiting for him to come

finish what he started.

So when Jesus commissions the 12 to go

out and preach the kingdom of God.

He tells them something interesting. He says, hey,

take no staff or no money bag,

No bread.

Don't bring 2 2 next. What he's saying

is don't over pack.

But I don't over pac he means don't

pack much at all. Just go.

This is like the anti of when my

family goes to Colorado.

Right? Bike rack loaded to the to the

gills. We have the the the the rooftop

loaded to the gills.

I can't hardly see out of the window

because the back backseat loaded to the gills,

like, he's saying don't do that.

The reasons that he's saying this are are

many, but I think a lot of them

kind of boil down to the idea of

dependence.

Remember you're sending the 12 out and they

have new power over demons

into cure diseases

and have mighty works happen.

I don't I don't know about you. May

may maybe maybe you have them more together

than me, but

For the 12, if you have this, like,

newfound power,

it'd be a little bit easy to start

thinking that your pretty hot stuff.

Did you see that miracle? Did you see

that? Did you see what just... Did did

you see that amazing thing? Did you see

how the crowds were react It it would

have been really easy for them? To get

high on themselves. So Jesus tells them don't

go out over prepared or what I'll call

over insured so that you stay depending on

me.

I'm not trying to hurt you.

But I'm gonna make sure that you don't

boast yourself, and you're gonna need to connect

to me in order to carry this out

and move my faith.

Further, many religious leaders the time, they were

all basing what they did on on acquiring

money and wealth and status and safety and

Jesus says, you know what?

I'm gonna have you take nothing to demonstrate

what you're preaching is different.

We're not seeking money. They didn't prioritize

safety. They prioritize the message of the kingdom

of God. This is what matters. God has

come to do something.

Among his people,

Notice this Jesus also says and when you

go when a person doesn't receive you.

I mean, that I won't have anything to

do with with your your message of the

kingdom of god,

says when you leave that town, shake off

the dust from your feet as a testimony

against them and just walk away.

The point was there's an urgency to go

preach.

But there's also an urgency to preach to

those who will listen.

Jesus is beginning to tell them, do not

spend too much time, begging people to hear

you.

Begging people to believe worry that they won't

accept you or your message or your ideas

in front of them, preach to those who

will hear and accept the truth.

Now there's an interesting element here. He you

can contend, and you can try and persuade,

and you can give some some some discourse

for for the desire to change people's mind

about the kingdom of God, but Jesus saying

don't beg them and don't linger too long

if they're hard hearted.

I find this powerful encouraging to my heart.

I often believers have this sense. When when

they said, okay. I'm gonna go do the

thing. I'm gonna go gonna go share the

gospel. I'm I'm gonna go share about Jesus,

but they have the sense that when they're

sharing the gospel that they're kind of begging

and pleading and hoping, please please please where

you accept what I'm saying to you.

Please like our Jesus.

Please

allow our jesus into your life. Please listen

to our gospel. Well, please come to our

church. Please don't think that we're weird. Please.

Come come come as if we're sowing like

a crummy used car or or an extended

warranty on a 20 dollar item.

Pray that we see clearly that we're not

selling a lame product.

Right? Do you understand this is what Jesus

just say, hey, go preach and share. But

if they're not gonna accept, don't beg them

to take it,

We're declaring the good news of Jesus isn't

in his kingdom,

which is the single most constant good of

all creation and everyone needs it. You don't

have a bad product or a bad thing.

You have to truth and the light, and

that's what you're sharing. And some will accept

it,

and some will refuse it.

If we cannot understand that someone will refuse

it and move on,

then we'll probably get disheartening and stop sharing

altogether spend too much time with the same

person never realizing there are other people who

could hear.

And, I'm encouraged by that. You have the

truth.

No matter what the world says to you.

You have the truth.

Then the text shifts to the question

setup part.

It looks at King Hair. He was the

same guy. If you remember the text earlier

in the book who be beheaded John the

baptist.

Here hears that the 12 are going out,

and they're doing what Jesus did. So now

it's not just 1 guy. It's more

a whole lot more and the 12 claiming

the good news,

of the kingdom of God and that it's

doing something.

Which makes Harriet perplexed and he starts getting

worried. He starts wondering how who is this

guy.

He can't actually be John the baptist. I

had that guy's head cut off. It it...

People are saying elijah that doesn't make sense.

Is it is it a prophet of old

Harriet sees the effects of the kingdom of

God breaking onto the scene. Remember this is

king Here,

and King Hair doesn't want anybody challenge him.

So he's trying to figure out is this

Jesus a threat to me. Even he's asking

this question who is this, not because I

wanna know and follow

He wants to know if he's should try

and take him out.

That's why he says that he sought Jesus,

not to hear the gospel. He he wants

to know. Is is this another problem that

I need to take care of?

Even he was wrestling.

After Jesus sends the 12 apostles out, they

return for a debrief,

Then this is a great lesson on disciples

ship, I think. Right? He taught them, empowered

them, sends them out, then they come back

to tell their stories of how it went.

This went really good. This was awful. I

said the dumbest thing in the world. I

didn't know what to do here. Like, they're

they're coming back to debrief,

but the problem is the crowds learn what

they were doing and followed them.

So Jesus began to speak through the crowds

about the kingdom of God and heal any

who had need of it until it got

late on that night.

And the 12 disciples said to Jesus, should

we send the crowd away? I I kinda

think that we should.

It's getting late.

Send them out to go get their own

provisions to get their own food and and

and get their own place to stay. I

mean, we're a long ways off, Jesus. Like,

it it's getting late. You you really need

to send them away.

Twitch Jesus replies.

You give them something to eat.

Like, that's a fairly wild thing to hear

in the moment. There is a crowd of

5000

men not to mention women and kids conservatively.

There's probably well over 15000 people. This is

not like a little group. This is a

massive crowd they have 5 loaves of bread

and 2 fish and jesus goes,

launch feed them. Like, what do he what

do you mean feed? Like, How how am

I so how am I supposed to do

that?

And Jesus took the small amount of food

and he broke the bread and he blessed

it and he split the crowds into groups

of of 50 and he fed them all.

And here this point because this is the

part that I think has meant to jump

off the page.

To the point that they were all satisfied.

Not just to where like, they could get

home

or they were okay where some were satisfied,

what Jesus provided to those people? There was

none who would go, like, I just I

just don't really feel like I got what

I needed here.

They were all satisfied. And afterwards, there were

12 baskets of leftovers picked up of extra.

Again, you you need to process what Luke

trying to show you. Yes, Cool miracle, but

he's showing us other things as well. They

had 5 things of bread. Like, probably pretty

tiny. I might give me my daily bread.

It's supposed to last 1 man, 1 meal

or 1 day, and a couple little fish.

And after Jesus does this work. There's 12...

That's 7 items. I'm I'm pretty good at

math. That's 7 items, and now there's 12

baskets left over.

Crisis sufficient to satisfy all,

more than sufficient.

Won't sit long in the miracle even though

it is amazing, but I think it's another

invitation for the disciples to believe though.

Remember during the storm when they thought they

were gonna die, they didn't allow themselves to

consider Jesus at all that he was there.

And now on the feeding of the crowd,

they didn't consider Jesus once more. Again, that

Jesus was with them. Again, and again, he's

teaching them, do not forget your faith.

Remember that question, where's your faith in this.

Don't forget me even when things seem impossible.

Remember in my kingdom, I have the power.

So come to me. Believe in me consider

me, even when things seem impossible to you.

All things are possible for me. So come

to me. I have what you need.

And again, in light of the

the truth, and I have what others need.

Never forget it.

I what satisfies,

I am the world that never goes dry,

He he's beginning to show, like, I have

the power, but I need you to see

me as more than just a miracle worker.

I am your satisfaction.

Friends that's what we're searching for.

This gives a perfect transition

To a little bit later, Jesus is off

praying with the disciples. Remember, Luca showing us

this consistent pattern of getting away to get

close with the father.

And Jesus sets it up? He asked them?

Who do the crowds say that I am?

This question is 1 of popular opinion. It's

external.

Who do others say that I am. What

what is the what is the word on

the streets? What what what what would Twitter

be saying about me

to which the disciples give an answer very

similar to what Her does, will some think

that you are a John the Baptist.

Others elijah, others just another prophet,

He's showing them or they're giving an answer

that everyone's wrestling in in different ways. Some

people think that you're just

fiction and don't even exist, and some people

have crazy ideas. Like, the the ideas are

many over who you are, and then Jesus

says, okay. Cool. Cool. Cool Cool.

But what about you?

Outside of others, outside of the popular opinion

outside of all the noise. What about you?

Who do you say that I am?

All of a sudden, it's not external anymore.

It's personal.

All

What about you?

We worry so much about other people's lives

and other people's faith and Jesus will not

let us. What about you?

Peter ended up answering

the Christ of God.

Now, Peter's answer, it it it may be

harder for us to under stand,

we're we're used to hearing

the the the term or title Jesus or

or Jesus Christ, or, we're we're used to

maybe hearing some of those. So we We're

gonna miss in here that Peter

says the Christ and he's using a Greek

word for a hebrew title of messiah.

Which also means anointed 1. Peter is confessing

out loud. He's saying more than you're the

Jesus Christ. He he's saying you were the

anointed

1

the messiah of all,

you've come to say to the people of

God.

You're the 1 that people have been waiting

for since King David,

the savior who had overthrow the enemies of

Israel and all humanity namely sin.

You were going to gather up from from

the 4 corners of the Earth God's people

and establish an usher in a perfect rain

over the earth.

While people... While Peter and the disciples didn't

understand every detail perfectly, what they did see

and pro and agree to hear. Is the

biggest pictures that Jesus is the promised 1

of God.

The entire old testament is about you. You're

the 1. You're the messiah,

you are the scent 1. You're not just

a prophet,

You are the redeem.

The long awaited savior, the hope of salvation,

you are the deliver.

Kent Hughes says this again, they've just been

asked who do you say that I am?

Ke Hughes says what we think about Jesus

is everything.

Acceptance or rejection of him makes all the

difference. We must understand that he is

messiah.

God's son who came to us in human

flesh and was crucified, buried and raised from

the dead, thus paying the full penalty for

our sins.

He now reign in heaven and 1 day

will judge every human who's has ever lived.

To be there with him, we must believe

this,

we must rest our lives on this.

Now interestingly, Peter's confession of who Jesus was

was correct.

But do you notice what Jesus says to

him right after? He he strictly tells him

and in the words here, it's like, almost

a rebuke. It's a, a heavy.

Don't tell anyone yet.

Keep it quiet.

That that that seems a little bit confusing.

Like, a I nailed it. I got it

right. Don't tell nobody.

What?

He tells him why because the son of

man must suffer many things and be rejected

by the elders and the chief priests and

the scribes in and here it is and

be killed.

But on the third day rise again, this

had to be a a shock. Remember, I

I just understood that you're the Messiah, the

set 1 of God, the the the anointed

1 to come and be the redeem, Now

you're telling me you're gonna die.

Again, the why why the secret.

Why the weight to proclaimed Jesus messiah.

They'd already been telling people about the kingdom

of god being at hand.

Why why couldn't they spell out that that

Jesus was the long awaited 1. And the

reason for this

is that many wouldn't have understood what it

meant and they would have tried to make

it mean what they wanted it to mean.

All explain that. If they started to claim

Jesus messiah, the long awaited 1,

there would be many who'd go

okay. Yes. Love it, and they begin to

try and push a political agenda to to

overthrow any cost and make Jesus win.

Many un regenerate, unsafe people would push Jesus

forward without ever looking to him for their

sin.

Were their adoption to the kingdom of God.

I want you to be the 1 who

fixes things. I don't know necessarily want you

to be my savior. This is the worry.

They just look at Jesus as a means

to get what they wanted. So Jesus is

letting them know. My reign has to come

with rejection and suffering.

My work isn't to come march in

power earthly kingdoms like rome,

I've come as the anointed 1 to die

to pay for the sins of the lost,

He's telling him, you can't say everything yet

because I can't have other people stop my

death.

Or through my per. I remember I've come

to die.

The messiah is the lamb of god, the

lamb has to be slain.

So you can't tell everyone yet. It's not

time for that.

If we read versus 18 through 27 1

more time.

We'll begin to try and figure out how

to thread the needle a little bit.

Now it happened that as they were praying

alone, the disciples were with him, and he

asked them who did the crowds say that

I am,

and they answered John the baptist, but other

say Elijah,

And others the 1 of the prophets of

old has arise. Then he said to them,

but who do you say that I am

and Peter answered the Christ of God.

And he strictly charged them and commanded them

to tell this to no 1 saying the

son of man must suffer many things and

be rejected by the elders and the chief

priests and the scribes and be killed and

on the third day raised period.

The next verses go with those.

And he said to all,

if anyone would come after me, let him

deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow

me,

forever would save his life will lose it

whoever loses life for my sake, we'll save

it.

For what is it profit man if he

gains the whole world and loses or forfeit

himself for whoever is ashamed of me and

over my words,

of of him, will the son of man

be ashamed when he comes in glory and

the glory of the father and the holy

angels. But I tell you truly,

there's some standing here who will not taste

death until they see the kingdom of god.

Often these verses are accumulated into you. Okay?

Section 18 through 22.

So the question, who do you said? I

am the cry. You got it right. Don't

tell anyone. Period, like, a month later maybe

he preach the other part. They think. The

the 23 through 27. As if they're a

different theme and they're not, they go together,

I'm going to die. That's who I am.

Following me means something for you and death

is included as well. This message can't be

taken apart.

Luke shows us the disciples know Jesus is

the messiah.

And immediately, he hooks the reality of the

messiah,

with the reality of death of laying down

his life of not self protecting.

With that foundation, we hear Jesus say, if

anyone would come after me, if anyone would

follow me. If anyone would know me. If

anyone would

would identify by with me as their savior.

If you have any lot with me?

Because we're moving past, who do you say

that I am in words, to a heart

that knows who he is and actually follows

him. If anyone would have any

identification with me that's real, let him deny

himself and take up at his cross

and follow me.

That is if you think he is the

messiah.

If you think Jesus is your personal savior

then

You can't just believe things about him. You

have to follow him.

If we think okay. What does that mean?

Am I supposed to die on cross, nobody

he explains it.

If we live trying to save ourselves,

If we live trying to keep our own

life trying to protect ourselves trying to get

everything that we want,

live for only what feels good and what's

easy and the path of least resistance then

we'll actually lose our life.

This is what is called the paradox of

the kingdom of God, the of the upside

down nature of the kingdom of God. When

a person fights to protect and indulge and

get... Though they think that's the key to

where life comes from. It actually empty their

life of all meaning and joy.

And it leads not only to spiritual death,

but eternal consequences as well.

That's why Jesus says just 1 of the

most simple but profound versus what good is

it?

What good

he he's he's giving you a picture, say

you get it all,

all of it. Everything that you've ever wanted,

like, you day dream what what I could

have if I want the lunch... Say you

get everything.

Good is it if you lose your soul

to get it.

That's a terrible trade.

He's showing us what is so hard in

cultural christianity.

Belief in Jesus in a biblical form leads

to following him.

Not to the cross physically, but it leads

to following him in the way of the

cross.

And there are times when that's gonna hurt.

It'll feel like death, but it's not. It's

the way of the savior.

It's the way that actually leads to life,

true life and salvation.

Here's the message to know Jesus rightly means

we follow him wholeheartedly.

How do we do that? We follow him

by living in light of his gospel.

Not in the ways of the world.

We follow his words and his commands and

his directive because he actually gave a lot

of really clear ones. We dedicate our lives

to him

And even when it leads us into suffering

or mock

or

ridicule or being left out.

We follow anyway. This is what it looks

like to live una ashamed of Jesus.

To follow him with our lives, even in

a public way.

This is what it looks like to live

una ashamed. Follow me

in that way and I'll stand una ashamed

of you before God.

1 of the interesting things I saw so

many things online

about the opening ceremony of the Olympics. And

you do you see the interesting thing that

happened there.

There was AAA

drag show recreation of the last supper

and I saw so many people, so mad.

Ind nation. And and there's a there's a

level that I think that can be appropriate

to this. But but I had a couple

conversations over the weekend, and

I said, why are you so surprised?

Jesus told us that we'd be laughed at?

Ridiculed mocked.

It's a part of it. And and there's

a part of people when they're like,

so offended how dare you? Is like, they

they just don't believe this was true.

What they're saying with their lives is that

I don't really wanna pick up my cross.

I want this to be easy. I wanna

get what I want. I want a genie

in a bottle to fix everything I want.

And any anytime it's not like that. I'm

out. I'm leaving.

Jesus told us at times we are gonna

be looked at this way.

There's an in escape reality that Jesus is

showing us and Luke highlighting.

Who you think Jesus is will affect your

life in the way you live.

You cannot believe that he's savior and reject

him.

You cannot receive his blessings

and reject his ways.

He's inviting those are his out of a

life of self protection.

Out of a life of selfish ness, or,

out of a life of self gratification that

just leaves you more empty than before, and

into the deep waters of fulfillment in him.

Began back to the miracle of the 5000,

and they were satisfied.

My heart just kept thinking in light of

the parable, the seed in the sore those

who whoever years let them here.

That belief lead to a life that's satisfied

in King Jesus fully satisfied.

Because he's the bread of life, the water

that won't run dry, the savior your kingdom

messiah. Will there be some unpleasant things? Sometimes

yeah, But the the weird paradoxes, you'll still

be fine satisfaction.

In him.

The question was presented to the disciples and

is now laid before us, who do you

think Jesus is, who is to you?

And then Jesus just pressed it further, and

what does that mean to your life?

Are you ashamed of me? Do you follow

me?

You walk after me?

The invitation is is really simple, come find

redemption and freedom in king Jesus.

Hedge no bets, burn your boats,

follow him with everything

and see that he's better, worthy full of

grace and mercy

following him won't always be easy. It's not

always gonna be terrible either there.

But you'll never look back and be, like,

I was not worth it I wasted my

life.

Why? Because he's sufficient,

and he is what satisfied over and over

and over think of Jesus words, I'm the

bread. On the water, on the well, on

the way. On the light he's showing you

over and over and over all the things

that your heart seek, I've got it. Come,

come find it.

Today, we'll

take comm like we normally do.

Ben you guys can come back up first

1 Corinthians 11:23–26

corinthians 11:23

through 26 says for I received from the

Lord.

What I also delivered to you, the Lord

Jesus from the night when he's betrayed took

bread.

And we had given things he broke. And

he said this is my body, which is

for you.

Do this as remembrance of me in the

same way also, he took the cup after

supper saying this cup is the new covenant

in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink and

remembrance it's of me for often as you

eat this bread and drink the cup, you

claim the Lord's death until he comes.

Once again, just like every week we We

come and we hear the lord. We hear

the word,

then we get to come to the table

again and remember that is him and him

alone that give us all that we have.

Yes, we can be fully satisfied in him,

but only because of what he's done.

So, yeah, it can be hard understanding that

the way of the cross sometimes walks you

into difficulty.

But you didn't have to earn it. You

didn't have to do the the dying on

the cross. You do the believing, and we

come to the table again and again to

remember it is him. And his kindness in

his beauty. I pray as you come to

the table that you would be satisfied.

I I pray if you've answered the question

of who is Jesus in a in a

metaphor

or knowledge based or he.

Your heart would begin to understand it.

That you would come to to him even

simple prayers today.

But I don't know if I feel satisfied,

Can you help me.

And see if he will meet you in

the place that you are, thank him for

the goodness that he is given you. That's

the hope for today.

Would you stand and pray with me?