Senior Class Notes – March 17, 2024 – Toonigh Baptist Church

Spring 2024 Unit 1 Session 3 – The Identity of Jesus; Luke 9:18-26; PSG 38-47 CSB.

March 17, 2024

The Point: Jesus invites us to identify with Him.

Inspirational verse: “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4).

Luke 9:18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

Verse 18 states Jesus was alone praying but His disciples were with him. As stated in 22:41, “he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.” So it was very likely that in this case he had withdrawn from the disciples far enough for private prayer but close enough he could go to them and ask His questions.¹² Jesus’ example – The disciples were with him on this occasion, but He had removed himself temporarily. They were asleep in Gethsemane, yet knew of His private prayer.³ Jesus modeled for humanity the importance of praying continually, seeking to know God’s will and ways.³² These verses (18-20) are another example of Luke’s emphasis on prayer.¹⁶ Jesus at prayer:¹⁴ See 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28-29; 22:41.

(Luke 3:21) “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened.”
(Luke 5:16) “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” There is doubtless a link between the fame Jesus was gaining (v.15) and His need to maintain close secret communion with the father. Matthew tells us that Jesus instructed his disciples “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
(Luke 6:12) “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” This prayer was in preparation for choosing 12 of his disciples “whom also he named apostles.”
(Luke 9:28-29) “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, (verses 22-27) he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.” This was in preparation for his Transfiguration. “And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.”
(Luke 22:41) “And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.” This was just before Jesus’ betrayal by Judas.

Luke 9:19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

Asking the disciples for the opinions of the crowds served merely as an introduction to the critical question: Who did they believe Jesus to be?³² The answers the disciples gave to Jesus’ question about His identity prove that Herod Antipas was not the only person who was perplexed on this point “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him (Jesus): and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.” (Luke 9:7-9).¹⁶

Luke 9:20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

When Jesus asked the disciples their personal opinion, Peter answered as spokesman for the group. His answer, that Jesus is The Christ of God, is the conclusion to which everything in Luke’s Gospel points.¹⁶ Other translations call The Christ of God as “God’s Messiah.”⁹ The emphasis here is on the messianic role of Jesus. He is the Promised One who was ushering in a new era. However, Jesus would soon reveal to the disciples that His messiahship would have elements of suffering that the disciples did not expect (vv. 22-23).¹⁸ Despite Peter’s confession, the apostles are far from a complete understanding of their Master.¹⁷ Ultimately, this is the question – Who do you say I am? – we must all answer and the foundation of our confession of faith (Romans 10:9-10). To say that Jesus is the Christ means we believe that He is God incarnate, born of a virgin, crucified unto death, buried, resurrected on the third day and fully capable of forgiving our sins and reconciling us to Himself. We trust that all He taught is true, we have eternal life because of Him, and all he has promised and has been prophesied about Him will be fulfilled. Is this what you believe? Do you have faith that Jesus is the Savior? Who do you say he is?² Peter’s great confession, at Caesarea Philippi near Mount Hermon, occurred approximately six months prior to the crucifixion. It marks the beginning of any mention by Christ that He is going to be killed (v. 22).¹³ “And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.” (Mark 8:29). Christ means here the “Messiah,” the Anointed One of God, the Redeemer prophesied in the Old Testament. Luke stresses that Peter made the confession. Jesus had already been identified as the Messiah, God’s anointed, by angels “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11), Simeon “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:26), and demons “And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.” (Luke 4:41).¹⁴

Luke 9:21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing.

Jesus was not ready to present Himself openly as the Messiah. In popular Jewish views of that time, the Messiah was expected to overthrow Roman rule and, in a wave of popularity, take over as king of Israel.¹⁶ This is what Herod the king thought when he asked the wise men to report Jesus’s whereabouts, once they found Him. (Matthew 2:8)¹² Jesus instructs them – His disciples – not to breath a word to anyone.¹⁷ The people had false notions about the Messiah and needed to be taught further before Jesus identified himself explicitly to the public. He had a crucial schedule to keep and could not be interrupted by premature reactions.³⁵

Luke 9:22 Saying, The son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and then be slain, and be raised the third day.

Contrary to the popular Jewish views, Jesus’ mission was to suffer and be rejected by the Jewish leadership before being slain and then raised from the dead. This was the first of several predictions by Jesus of His death and/or resurrection (v. 9:44; 12:50; 13:31-33; 17:25; 18:31-33).¹⁶ The disciples struggled to understand what Jesus was saying (9:45; 18:34). They could not comprehend how Jesus’ predictions fit into God’s plan.¹⁸ Jesus wants to provide his disciples with a fuller understanding of the Messiah’s role: He is to be a suffering servant (see Isaiah 53) rather than a military victor or political figure.¹⁷ Only after Jesus’ resurrection and His explanation of the Scriptures to them did they begin to understand (24:25-27, 44-49).¹⁸

Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

To be a true disciple of Jesus requires self-denial. The cross was the most painful and humiliating form of execution of the Roman era. Thus to take up one’s cross daily is to expect painful situations every day because of allegiance to Christ.¹⁶ Although Jesus offered salvation as a free gift (John 1:12; 3:16-18), He also warned that following Him would entail suffering and hardship (Matthew 5:10-12; Romans 8:17; 2 Thess. 1:5).¹⁷ Jesus’ challenge to His disciples was faithfulness, denial of self, and daily sacrifice. Its results are stated in paradoxical terms. If one lives merely for this life, the following life will be lost. But if one cares not about this life in order to serve Christ, only then will he secure life eternal.¹³

Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

That one must lose one’s life to save it as opposed to living only for this world is Jesus’ most common refrain in the Gospels:¹⁶

Matthew 10:38-39 “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
Mark 8:34-35 “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”
Luke 14:26-27 “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 17:33 “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”

To follow Him, we must lay down our devotion to this world and live for Christ and His mission.¹⁶

Luke 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

No matter how wealthy a person is in this life, he will be bankrupt eternally if he dies without Christ.¹⁶ For what is a man advantaged? This is still true. No amount of earthly gain can ever make up for the unutterable loss of one’s soul.¹³ What part of your wealth can you take with you when you die?¹² It makes no sense to attempt to save our lives on earth only to lose everything when our lives quickly and inevitably pass away. The wise course is to invest our earthly resources – our time, talents, and wealth – in what is eternal.¹⁸ Jesus spoke a parable on covetousness (Luke 12:16-21) whose key verse stressed the truth of the matter of amassing wealth, “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20).¹²

Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s and of the holy angels.

To be ashamed of Christ and His words indicates unbelief, which will bring eternal judgment (12:9; 2 Tim. 2:12) at His second coming. It is also possible for believers to temporarily cower in fear around unbelieving peers and act “ashamed” of Jesus, as Peter did in his denials of Christ. In such cases a believer may suffer loss of heavenly reward (1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:10), but not suffer eternal punishment.¹⁶ Son of man: Is a title Jesus used for himself. No one else in the gospels used it to speak of Him. In Matthew 8:20 the title refers to Jesus’s identification with the poor of humanity, an amazing identification for one expected to come on the clouds of heaven to exercise authority. The Son of Man was predicted by Daniel (7:13-14) as coming at the end of time to establish an everlasting kingdom. Jesus pointed beyond his appearance on earth in the first century to the second coming when eternal rewards will be given.³

References: Spring 2024, March 3, 2024 – May 19, 2024

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(CWB#2) – Commentary practical and explanatory on the Whole Bible by Rev. Robert Jamieson, Rev. A.R. Fausset, Rev. David Brown by Zondervan Publishing House – Grand Rapids, Michigan. 49506
(ESVSB) – The English Standard Version Study Bible, Personal size. Copyright © 2008 by Crossway. Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway.
(ETB) – Explore The Book by J Sidlow Baxter. Copyright © 1960 by J. Sidlow Baxter. Published 1960 by Zondervan Publishing House – Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(HISB) – The Holman Illustrated Study Bible – The Holman Illustrated Study Bible Copyright © 2006 by Holman Bible Publishers. The Holman Christian Standard Bible Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers.
(HRTB) He Reads Truth Bible Copyright © 2019 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Based on the Christian Standard Bible Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
(IMO) – On occasion, with the prayerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, I will make comments of my own, based on my understanding of the events. I will indicate such times with – In My O
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(NIVBTSB) – The New International Version Biblical Theology Study Bible Copyright © 2018 by The Zondervan Corporation. Text from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. previously published as The New International Version Zondervan Study Bible.
(NIVCBSB) – The New International Version Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Copyright © 2016 by The Zondervan Corporation text from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. published by the Zondervan Corporation.
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(NIVZSB) – The New International Version Zondervan Study Bible Copyright © 2015 by the Zondervan Corporation. Text from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
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