“Who Do You Think I am?”—Luke 9:18-27

Please read today’s passage here: Luke 9:18-27

Sometimes in reading a passage in the Bible it is a good idea not only to look at what immediately preceded it—to see where it is “coming from”—but also what immediately follows—to see where the argument is headed.

In the case of this passage it is particularly helpful to do so. In Luke 7:18-23 a somewhat discouraged and confused John the Baptizer sent disciples from his prison cell to Jesus to ask if he was indeed the Expected Savior from God, or not. Jesus’ answer was that John should compare reports of Jesus miracles with the predictions in the Scripture and draw the proper conclusion. And as Luke tells of the mission trip of the Twelve (Luke 9:1-9), he tells of Herod Antipas’ reaction to hearing about the ministry of Jesus in verses 7-9 and his reception by the people of Galilee. What he hears there are the same opinions that the Twelve will report to Jesus in answer to the first of his questions in this passage: “Who do people believe me to be?” This is the background for today's passage.

As for where this session of question and answers is headed, the next major event in Luke’s narrative will be the account of Jesus’ Transfiguration (vv. 28-36), where testimony as to his identity will be given by God himself in a voice from the sky (v. 35). God will tell us who Jesus is. So in this long section of his gospel Luke is building a case for the true identity of Jesus. He is also asking his readers to form their own belief based upon his narrative.

Luke does not provide a specific chronological setting for this episode. His use of “once when Jesus was praying in private, and his disciples were with him” (v. 18) shows that the setting that he considers important for his readers is the setting of privacy and prayer. Privacy, in that he was not surrounded by the usual crowds, or even by the broader circle of disciples. This session was intended only for the inner circle. Prayer, in that Jesus and possibly also his inner circle were engaged in communion with God.

Often the gospels refer to Jesus praying alone, as most of us do in our daily quiet times with God. But the very existence of what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”, which he taught to his disciples, shows that sometimes Jesus must have prayed privately with his own intimate circle. That is, they have a small prayer circle, at which times the disciples could learn even better from the very example of Jesus how to pray to God.

The question: “Who am I?” Can have several senses. If I were to ask you that question, you might say: “Of course, you’re Harry Hoffner!” And since that is my name, your answer would be correct. But if you thought: “Obviously, he knows his own name. He must mean what is his occupation: what he does for a living,” you could answer: “You are a (retired) college professor, a researcher and a writer.” That too would be correct. From reading this column you could also be even more perceptive and say: “You are a Christian, who wants to understand and obey God’s Word in the Bible.” Then you would be penetrating beyond surface perceptions and getting to my real core.

The Twelve had seen the same miracles that the crowds had whose opinions they now gave to Jesus. But they had also lived with him. Perhaps only his parents Mary and Joseph had a longer intimate association with him. Still, it is safe to conclude that his disciples knew more intimately than anyone else. Only God knew him better. Now he was asking them what they believed about him.

The crowds’ beliefs were of lesser importance to Jesus. Towards the end of this passage we'll see that he commanded his disciples not to tell anyone outside the circle of his immediate disciples what they knew about him! Apparently, Jesus knew it was God’s will that the crowds come to their own conclusion. Apparently, he also felt the popular conception of “Messiah” did not fit his true mission. Apparently, he knew that it was God’s will that the people as a whole and their leaders would not accept him as the Messiah, but put him to death (see verses 21-22; also Acts 2:22-24). No, the opinions of the crowds were elicited in his first question only in order to test whether his own inner circle saw more than the crowds did. Their conception of him was important to him.

The common denominator of the crowds’ opinions was that he was a prophet, for John the Baptizer, like Elijah (and Matthew’s addition Jeremiah), was a prophet, although as we read earlier a very special one. What was the conviction of the Twelve? All three synoptic gospel writers agree that the common opinion shared by the Twelve was expressed by Simon Peter. It was “You are the Messiah”. Matthew gives a fuller form that adds “the Son of the living God”. Since both the Hebrew word Messiah and its Greek translation Christos mean “anointed (one)”, Mark’s longer form “Christ of God” (literally, the One Anointed by God) adds nothing significant. It is likely that Matthew’s long form is his own elaboration. Not, I would assure you, to falsify or claim more that the shortest form. But merely to explain or “unpack” the word “Messiah” for his own audience.

This is not the place for a long detailed explanation of the meaning of the term Messiah in Jesus’ time. Suffice it to say that the concept of anointing by God places the origin of the concept in the days of the first Israelite kings (Saul, David, Solomon), whom—you recall—were anointed as kings. The anointing consecrated them—set them apart as men especially holy to God. Do you remember how David refused to lift a hand against King Saul, when the latter was seeking to kill him, and David had opportunity to strike him first? David said to him men, “Far be it from me to raise a hand to strike the Anointed of God” (see 1Sam 24:6, 10; 26:9, 11, 16, 23; 2Sam 1:14, 16; 19:21 [scroll down the resulting window to see all these verses]). And when after Saul’s death, an Amalekite sought to curry favor with David by claiming to have been the one who dealt Saul the death blow, David had him killed after asking him “Why were you not afraid to deal a death blow to the Anointed of God?” (2Sam 1:11-16).

In time, God revealed that he was going to send one like David—only even greater than he—to assume rule over his people at the end of history. Isaiah and other prophets added that this One sent would also be a Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53) who would suffer and die for the sins of Israel (and the world as well). This final Anointed king and servant came to be popularly known simply as the Anointed One (Hebrew Messiah; Greek Christos).

In Jesus’ day the Suffering Servant aspect of this Messiah was still known, but was either played down in favor of the aspect of the Messiah as the mighty King who would destroy God's enemies, or it was simply attributed to a different future figure. But Jesus united both Suffering Servant and King in his person. In a sense, he acted to destroy God's true enemies—not Roman soldiers, but demons who brought painful diseases— during his earthly life by expelling demons from suffering Israelites and by defeating Satan at the cross through his death for our sins and his rising to life again. Yet until he comes again at the end of history, when his kingship in its fullest form will be shown, Jesus' kingship is mainly shown inwardly through his rule over the lives of us who are believers.

Peter’s confession was met with Jesus' command that I mentioned earlier: the disciples were not to share this view with the world at large (v. 21). I do not believe that Jesus meant that the Twelve were not to share this view with other true disciples in the wider circle. He might have meant that, but I consider it unlikely. Rather, they were not to use this title of him in their public ministry, such as the mission trip that they had just finished. This was because of the false expectations abroad that the Messiah would drive out the Romans, an expectation that Jesus knew was not God's will for him.

What are we to make of this passage so far as what God wishes of us today? First, like the apostles, we too need to have a proper understanding of who Jesus was and is, in order to understand what we should expect (and not expect) from him. We need to know that as the Suffering Messiah, he suffered death not for any misdeed of his own, but for our misdeeds. Dying on that Roman cross, he bore God's punishment for the sins of every human being who ever lived or will live. Consequently, we may expect from him that he can wipe the slate clean of all our failures and misdeeds, when we trust him to do this. Secondly, as the Ruling Messiah, we need to want him to guide and rule our daily living. A king who doesn't rule is not a king. These things we can learn from who Jesus is.

From his command to the disciples not to tell this to the broader public we may learn other lessons. Obviously, after the crucifixion and resurrection Jesus no longer forbade his disciples to declare his true identity to the world at large. On the contrary, he commanded it. Today we joyfully share with the world the full truth of who Jesus was and is. Our message is much richer than simply “he is the Anointed One of God”. We proclaim him as the Son of God—the God-become-Man, who suffered death in his humanity and as a true man took upon himself on our behalf the sins of the world, and then rose again successful in this mission. Exalted to the throne of God, he now presides from Heaven over the Church he formed and will come again in glory to set up his eternal kingdom of righteousness and peace at the end of history.

Is there, then, no sense in which we should heed the command not to tell others that he is the Messiah? Perhaps only in the sense that there are times when we have to know when is the best time and circumstance to provide certain truths to those who are either opposed to the gospel or who are only beginning to grasp it. Not everyone understands what we mean when we say—as I did in the preceding paragraph— that he is the "God-become-Man", that he united in himself full deity and full humanity. Not everyone understands that God cannot simply forgive everyone, regardless of whether or not they believe in Jesus or wish him to help them change their lives for the better, bringing them into harmony with God's will. When we share God's truth with others, we have to ask ourselves where these friends are in terms of understanding the basic concepts of the Bible. And then we must shed the insider "lingo" we use with others who have a more thorough understanding, and put things in everyday terms. I once thought a good title for this Luke study would be “Luke in small bites: easy to digest”. Because overwhelming someone with too much information and in large doses only causes mental indigestion. It also causes the friend to lose interest very quickly.

In that sense, then, we might learn from Jesus’ words that there is a time and a place and a manner to give information about Jesus to people who are interested to know about him. Not everything can be explained immediately. Trying to do so may only confuse. So we go slowly and step-by-step. And we ask our friends to have patience if not everything is crystal-clear immediately. On the other hand, we do not try to make the gospel palatable by diluting or sugar-coating it. We do not present a false picture of Jesus, just to make him more likable or "exciting" to our friends. Giving others a false impression of Jesus will only lead to eventual disappointment, when they discover from reading the Bible on their own that he was really not like what they were told. Jesus is likable and exciting enough just as he really was.

So let's focus on "eating a healthy diet" ourselves from Scripture and on "chewing" it thoroughly, by asking ourselves lots of questions about how this passage relates to the way we think and live each day. Truth that you yourself have “chewed on” and digested will be much more likely to help you "feed" others.

1 Cor. 1:1-9 How Paul Begins

First Corinthians 1:1-9

If you don't have your Bible open as your read this, you may find today's text, 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, here.

The Address and Greeting (v. 1-3)

Paul dictated his letters to one of his traveling companions, who put them in writing. Like many educated and literate persons in the Greco-Roman world, Paul used amanuenses. Evidence of writing style suggests that he used different ones at different times in his travels and that toward the end of his life, when 2 Timothy was written, he used Luke. In some of his letters the name of this person is given at the end (see Romans 16:22, where the scribe Tertius greets his Christian brothers and sisters in Rome). In at least one, a note at the end says that Paul wrote the last section (Galatians 6:11-18) with his own hand. He speaks there of writing with large letters. Some think this was for emphasis in this particular letter, like our bold print. Others suppose it was to show that his physical infirmity (either eyesight or unsteady hand), for which he often asked his correspondence partners' prayers, was progressing.

Letters from Paul's day began with the sender's name, as they had done for thousands of years in the Middle East. This, of course, differs from modern practice in which we put our names at the end. Letters from kings and high officials followed the sender's name with his title(s). This was not always a matter of vanity. In some cases it was necessary for the sender, if previously unknown to his addressee, to show his credentials in order for the letter receiver to know the basis for believing him on matters of fact. It would be like my receiving an e-mail from a physician specializing in an ailment I was suffering, who had been directed by my primary care physician to contact me. He would undoubtedly not only give me his name, but his credentials and present position as well.

I like to think of Paul's "titles" with which he begins his various letters in a similar way. New members of the churches receiving these letters, people who had never met Paul, needed to know the extent of his knowledge, experience and authority, when his letters were read aloud in their worship services.

In the opening of First Corinthians the title he gives is "called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God". Now let's analyze this long title.

"Christ Jesus" is one of several ways that Paul refers to Jesus. Writing to Greek-speaking people, he uses the Greek adjective christos "anointed" for the Hebrew "Messiah" which also means "anointed". It is a linguistic equivalent, but in some ways not a cultural one. Greeks and Romans did not anoint kings, as the ancient Hebrews did. There were no royal overtones in the word, as there would be for a Greek-speaking Jew like Paul. So christos in the Pauline churches of Asia Minor and Greece very quickly became a kind of untranslatable part of Jesus' name, much as most modern people today see it. Ask someone on the street what the word "Christ" is, and they will probably say "That's just Jesus' last name"! Of course, such a view makes utterly meaningless the apostle John's statement in his gospel "These [episodes in the life of Jesus] are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing have life in his name" (John 20:31).

Paul calls himself "a called apostle" (Greek klētos apostolos) — that is an equally possible translation instead of "called to be an apostle". Notice, however, that I didn't say "called an apostle", as if this means that some people called him that and others not. "Called" here means that Paul was appointed an apostle. "By the will of God" stresses that his apostleship was not "by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead", as he so forcefully put it in Galatians 1:1. He was not one of Jesus' disciples while the Lord was alive on earth. In fact, he vigorously opposed the gospel and persecuted unto death numerous believers in Jesus in Palestine and Syria, including the famous Stephen, at whose execution—lynch style—by stoning Saul of Tarsus stood by and held the coats of those murdering him (see Acts 7:54-60; 8:1). He only became a believer, when Jesus personally appeared to him from heaven in a blinding vision, while he was on his way to the Syrian city of Damascus (Acts 9). Paul considered this not only his turning-point ("conversion" if you like), but even more his "calling" by Jesus to be an apostle-missionary to the Gentiles.

An apostle was, however, more than simply a missionary. There were many early Christians engaged in itinerant preaching and church planting. But virtually none of them were apostles. It is clear from Paul's use of the term that he considered himself—like the other members of the original Twelve—a repository of authoritative truth about Jesus. He didn't need to quote another as an authority. Like all the early Christians, he of course quoted the Scripture, which at the time of his missionary travels included only what we call the "Old Testament". Paul's letter to the Galatians may have been the very first part of our New Testament to be composed in writing. Shortly after his "conversion" Paul visited Jerusalem and consulted with members of Jesus' original Twelve and so learned "from the horse's mouth" much about the earthly Jesus. But he also says in his letters that he received special revelations—perhaps as visions—from the Lord Jesus which allowed him to expand the body of truth about Jesus and about the nature of the Church and individual believers' spiritual endowments: truth that went beyond what was shown by the words and deeds of Jesus recorded in the four gospels.

The letter is addressed "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours" (v. 2). This was not a street address. No postal service employee would use it to direct the letter to its recipient. The letter would be delivered in person by a messenger from Paul to whom directions to the home of the local leader had been given. No, this was almost like a greeting to those who sitting or standing among the worshipers would hear this letter read aloud.

How encouraging these words must have been to those who first heard them! They were "the church of God in Corinth"! There was only one God. They were not "the devotees of the god Dionysis in Corinth". They belonged to Him who had no name, but only titles.

In the Old Testament God's name was Yahweh. In our English translations this is given as "the LORD", with LORD in all caps. As time went on, Jews fearing a misuse of God's name, refused to use it, and substituted their word meaning "the lord" (Adonai). Modern Jews often substitute Ha-Shem, which means "the Name".

In Greece in Paul's day polytheism was the order of the day. It was Multi-Culturalism run wild. "My god is X. Who is your god? How can I add him to my list of divine protectors?" But Paul's friends, like Daniel of old, refused to bow to the cultural pressure and admit there was any god but God. And God, for Paul's friends, was comprised of three divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the Triune God—One in Three, and Three in One. They were under His protection and they worshiped and obeyed only Him.

Paul called the individual members "sanctified in Christ Jesus". When you think of that word, what comes to your mind? Someone "holier than thou"? A prude? A crank, critical of everyone? You might be surprised to learn that the Greek word hēgiasmenoi "sanctified" originally meant "set apart (or reserved)"! I like to think of a bird sanctuary, which is land set apart for the birds, and within which they can always be safe. The Corinthian "Multi-Culturalist" whom I quoted above would be surprised to find that his "one-god" Christian neighbor had the only true divine protector, the only Being capable to keeping his believers safe and secure—not just in the six-plus decades of human life on earth, but for eternity thereafter.

Paul next describes his hearers as "called holy ones". Again, this translation is more likely than "called to be saints". And the Greek word for "holy (ones)" (hagioi) is based on the same Greek word translated "sanctified" (hēgiasmenoi), which we saw means "set apart". As Paul was an apostle because Jesus gave him a calling, so also these people in Corinth were "set apart ones" or even "safe-and-secure ones" because Jesus had given them a calling. That calling came when Paul and his fellow-workers spread the good news about Jesus on his first visit to Corinth.

Finally, Paul ends his greeting with the words "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 3). "Peace" is a greeting used all over the world. Nowadays it often connotes a pacifist persuasion. In Paul's day it did not. The standard Jewish greeting, then and now, in Hebrew was shalom. This word can mean the absence of war. But its basic connotation is "well-being". It means "I wish you health and long life!" through the first of the Greek-speaking Jewish believers in Jesus, even the Greek word eirēnē—the word used here—which originally had no such meaning took on the nuances of shalom. for Paul it would also resonate with the fact that believers in Jesus enjoy "peace with God", as he put it in Romans 5:1—"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ".

"Grace" is almost a second name for Jesus in Paul's writings and speeches. It is the theme he seems to love most, perhaps because more than anything it was the "grace" of Jesus that kept Paul from continuing down the road to self-destruction as he vainly persecuted the earliest believers. "Grace" means returning kindness for hatred, healing for injury. It means confronting the man who murdered your only son and adopting him in his place. That is grace. The unexpected, undeserved, completely inconceivable love from one who owes you nothing but hatred and revenge. But for Paul "grace" encompasses more than god's initial gift of forgiveness and eternal life. It is also the whole package of spiritual resources included. Believers in Jesus receive the Holy Spirit to live within them, to teach, guide, encourage, alert them to their sins. Believers in Jesus have a special prayer line to god that unbelievers do not. Oh, god does hear all prayers. And he may occasionally do what an unbeliever asks. But believers, because their prayers are guided by the in-dwelling Spirit and are conditioned by what they know what Jesus would want, and are therefore made "in Jesus' name"—those prayers are assured to be answered. And I have barely scraped the barrel of the treasures that God gives beyond measure to those who come to him through his Son, Jesus.

You know? Paul's words might apply to you and me just as well as to those folks in Corinth so long ago. At least I hope that all of you have made your peace with God and found "justification" (forgiveness) through personally receiving Jesus into your life by an act of faith. If so, then you too can be greatly encouraged by these words from Paul.

Paul thanks God for them (v. 4-9)

Modern and sophisticated today are embarrassed and a little irritated if they hear you say "I pray for you". I always debate what to say when a good friend who is not a believer in Jesus tells me that he has suffered a great loss. For us as believers in a God who hears and answers prayer, in such situations it seems so empty to just express deep sympathy.

But Paul lived in a day when even pagans had gods and appreciated someone else praying or making offerings on their behalf. For disciples of Jesus and devout Jews who did not believe in Jesus, to pray for another person was not only the greatest gift you could give them, but it also endeared the intercessor himself to God. The Old Testament Book of Job records how Job faithfully prayed for his wayward sons, and made sacrifices to God for their sins (Job 1:1-5). This is told as a testimony to the righteousness of Job himself (v. 1).

All prayer does not consist of petition—of asking favors of God, for oneself or for others. Confession of personal sins also has its part, as does thanksgiving—once again, for God's gifts to the one praying, as well as for God's good work in the lives of others. In fact, the thanksgiving Paul describes here was both of the above types. For the others in whose lives God was doing such good things were Paul's "spiritual" children. They themselves were God's gifts to Paul, who himself had no physical children. He was their father in Christ, the one who had brought the gospel to them. And so, as you or I might thank god from the bottoms of our hearts for our children, Paul did so for the pople in his young churches. And what does he thank God for specifically? For the grace of God given to them, enabling them to come to faith (v. 4). For the wealth of spiritual gifts that he distributed among them at the time of their turning to faith in Jesus (v. 5-7). Paul (and we) will return to the matter of spiritual gifts in later chapters of this letter.

And finally, he prayed that Jesus would keep them strong in their faith until the day that he returns to Earth in glory (7-8). And he reassured them that God who had called them into fellowship with his Son Jesus would help them to finish life triumphantly, because He is faithful (v. 9).

My prayer for you all is the same! Have a great day as his disciples!


Have a great day, following Jesus!