Luke 9 Jesus is the Christ Ultimate Questions and Ultimate Answers

Call to Worship  Psalm 119:105,106.

Law and Grace  Joshua 24:14-25

Bible reading Luke 9:18-36, 46-62.

Doxology: 2 Cor 13:14

Luke 9  Jesus is the Christ

Ultimate Questions. And their consequences.

Siri

Q: What does Siri mean?

A: It's a riddle wrapped in an enigma, tied with a pretty ribbon of obfuscation.

Q: Are you a robot?

A: I'm not sure what you've heard, but virtual assistants have feelings too.

Q: What are you scared of?

A: I'm afraid I can't answer that.

Q: What are you doing later?

A: I'm at work. My shift ends in 614,978 years.

Q: How many Apple Store geniuses does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: A thousand. One to screw it in; 999 to blog about it.

Q: Are you intelligent?

A: Well, when I was at school, I had to cheat on my metaphysics exam by looking into the soul of the boy next to me.

 

Hmmm that leads us to a very interesting question about the soul, and the most interesting question about the Lord Jesus.

 

This Ultimate Question: "Who do men say that I am?" He comes to each of us and puts the penetratingly personal question, "But who do you, for yourself, say that I am?"..Your response to this question reveals everything about you: it reveals the reality of your conversion to the King. It reveals the depth of your consecration to the cross of the Lord Jesus and your willingness to be committed to Him. It reveals your commitment to the Kingdom and your willingness to confess your Saviour Jesus Christ as Lord.

Robert Browning presses the point: "What think ye of Christ, friend, when all's done and said, Like you this Christianity or not?"

The biblical Jesus is not the Jesus we have created of our own making and faking-an easy-going, good natured Jesus who is on call when we want Him to help us deal with our own personal agendas. Having only this culturalized, benevolent, but somewhat weak "errand-boy" Jesus stunts our spiritual growth. "It's a sniveling modern invention," said George Bernard Shaw "for which there is no warrant in the Gospels."

And C.S. Lewis focused the issue sharply: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn't be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic-on the level of a man who says he is a poached egg-or else he'd 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. Christianity, if false is of no importance and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important."

The true biblical Jesus-the robust, challenging Jesus, is more than just a comforter. He also confronts us, and He will not accept second place in our lives. He calls us to the exhilarating adventure of dynamic discipleship. Though He meets us as we are with incredible grace, He loves us too much to leave us as we've been.

The authentic Jesus of the Bible tenderly cares for us when we hurt, but He tenaciously exposes anything that keeps us from being all He intends for us to be. His love and forgiveness are unqualified, but also His demands are unequivocal. He is the Master who holds before us the mandate of the Kingdom of God and is the Lord of all life who calls us to commit all we have and are to Him.

This true Jesus spoke this ultimate question perhaps is the hardest of all if we want to be absolutely honest in how we answer. "Who am I to you...really?" That cuts like a laser into the core of our being and forces us to evaluate whether our priorities, values and attitudes match a forthright declaration that for us Christ is indeed our Lord and Savior.

 

One Supreme Person

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" 19 And they answered, "John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen." 20 Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."

 

He is the Christ.  He is the One who goes to the cross! And the next section tells us even more!

 

27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah"— not knowing what he said. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!" 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

The Christ is not just a man among men. He is not a created being.  He is God the Son, the third person of the triune Godhead.

And you owe Him because of Who He is to listen to Him!  35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!"

God says HEAR HIM!  And the thing about the cross!  It is the meaning of Why He Came!! 

God is saying there ultimate questions have to do with your soul, who Jesus is and what He came to do. And these ultimate questions are much bigger for you than some of the questions that face us today!  We face the question of atomic warfare. Possible chinese invasion. Nuclear extinction? Well no because God has said He has determined how it all ends. I read the last age of the book.  It isn't nuclear extinction.  It is still all about Jesus!!

30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

His departure was the main deal!

See our LORD'S ANTICIPATION OF THE CROSS. The thing lies there before Him, a definite, fixed certainty; every detail known, the scene, the instruments, the non-participation of these in the final act of His death, His resurrection, and its date--all manifested and mapped out in His sight, and all absolutely certain.

See OUR LORD'S RECOGNITION OF THE NECESSITY OF HIS SUFFERING. He does not say "shall," but "must." His suffering was necessary: it must be because God so willed it. It must be so because the work of salvation demanded the Cross and could not be accomplished without it.

See OUR LORD'S WILLING ACCEPTANCE OF THE CROSS His whole nature responded willingly and which He accepted. No doubt there was a physical shrinking from death. No doubt the Cross was to be pain and suffering. He stood there chained to it by nothing but His own will and loving purpose to save the world. He must die, because "He loved me, and gave Himself for me."  He took the cross each day until He went to that cross. He deliberately set His face to go to the cross for you and me.

 

 

One Overriding Purpose 

The Lord Jesus had this One overriding purpose to go to the cross to save your soul!

Luke 9:43  But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 "Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men." 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

 

Many years ago the artist Stenburg stood in his Dusseldorf studio. He had just promised to provide a painting of the crucifixion for a church building. It was to be a masterpiece, and he would be paid a big price for his work. In the weeks that followed, Stenburg searched out all he could of the facts of the death of Jesus. He was talented; he was famous; he was becoming wealthier every year.  But Stenburg did not have peace.  The first brushful of color touched the canvas, then another, and another. One day the cross stood stark and upright on Calvary's hill. Day after day Stenburg's brush caressed the canvas. Then suddenly he was tired. "I'll forget this," he declared. "I'll walk out to the country and sketch."

It was spring and the woods were green. At the edge of the forest Stenburg stopped. There a gypsy girl plaited a straw basket. Blue-black hair reached her waist; her red dress was faded and torn. Her eyes were black, large and restless.

"What a painting!" thought Stenburg.

The girl stared up at the artist. She smiled, threw her straw down, sprang up and raised her hands high above her head, twirling and dancing gaily in front of him.

"Stand," cried Stenburg. The girl dropped her arms. "This week you must come to my studio; I'll paint you."

"But, Signor," the girl said shyly, "I'm only a poor gypsy girl."

"Come," he said. And she came, in her red dress, with her hair tucked back with a flower. Stenburg was ready. "Sit!" he commanded.

Pepita had never been in an artist's studio before. Her questions amused Stenburg. But suddenly her eyes stopped at the painting of the crucifixion. It was almost completed.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"The Christ," the artist said carelessly.

"But what are they doing to Him?"

"Crucifying Him," he answered.

"But who are those cruel people?"

Stenburg threw his brush down. "Now look here," he said. "You stand there... still... and do not move your lips to speak."

Pepita closed her lips. But her eyes never left the crucifixion.

Posing for the day was over. At the door, Pepita stopped. "Was He bad?" she asked.

"No, no; very good," Stenburg said. "Remember! Be here the day after tomorrow."

Each day that she came, she asked another question. "If He was good, why did they do it?"

Stenburg tipped his head to one side. "Listen! I will tell you once for all." Hurriedly, he repeated the facts of Christ's death, and as he talked he saw her black eyes fill with tears.

One day, both paintings were finished—the one of the crucifixion and the gypsy dancing girl. For the last time Pepita came to the studio. When she saw herself on the canvas, she clapped her hands with pleasure. Then she walked over to the other painting and stood silently. She turned to Stenburg. "You must love Him very much, Signor, when He has done all that for you; do you not?" Then she was gone.

Stenburg stood looking after her, but the street noises refused to drown out the sound of Pepita's voice: "Love Him very much when He has done so much for you."

All week he heard the question: "You must love Him very much, do you not?" His restlessness, his dissatisfaction grew. He could stand no more. He tried going to church, and the vicar gave him absolution. "All will be well," he said, but when Stenburg left his heart was still tormented.

He determined to present his masterpiece to the church at a fraction of its cost. He found the vicar and told him his decision. "For what you have done," said the vicar, "God be with you." But even such a wonderful gift as this brought him no peace. Stenburg knew God was not with him. All that was with him was the question: "You must love Him very much, do you not?"

He walked night and day up and down the streets of Dusseldorf, trying to shake off his sadness of spirit, but in vain. One night he idly watched a group of people hurrying through a low doorway. It was curious, he thought, that the people who entered looked so happy. One day Stenburg decided to go to the house. He entered and sat down with the happy people. He listened to the preacher, a man who seemed to have found what Stenburg was looking for.

That night Stenburg found the answer to the restlessness in his life. No church-going, no gift was enough! Jesus Christ had died on the cross for Stenburg; and at last the artist could say, "And how much I love Him!"

The next morning, he could not keep this joy to himself. "How can I tell others?" he asked himself. "I can paint," he said with decision.

And soon a great masterpiece was presented to the Dusseldorf gallery for every visitor to see, a sermon for all to hear.

One day he found in front of his picture a girl, weeping. She turned, and it was Pepita. "It is you, Signor," she cried out. "Oh, Signor, if He had but loved me so!"

They both sat in front of the painting and he told her the story of that wondrous death, and the glorious resurrection. "For all men, for gypsies, for everyone —Christ Jesus has suffered and bled on the cross. All this He did for thee, Pepita."

The gypsy girl was quiet. Then she looked up. "I believe it," she said simply.

Two years later Pepita died, trusting in Jesus. Her last words were, "All this I did for thee."

But the story does not end there.  For the artist ehn had painted some words below the picture.

"All this I did for Thee, what hast Thou done for me." Later  a young nobleman saw the picture, and those words. All this I did for Thee, what hast Thou done for me. Count Zinzendorf found the Lord Jesus as his Saviour too, and began the Moravian missionary movement.

All this I did for thee..  He did all this to save your soul!

 

23 And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever 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. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

 

To save your soul and not lose it.

Eternal part of you

Essential part of you

Expensive part of you

If you lose your soul:

it is an immeasurable loss

An irreplaceable loss

An irreversible lose

 

One Dominant Passion

23 And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Following Him is more important than

Your place: Greatness

46 An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side 48 and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great."

 

Your Privileges: Glory

49 John answered, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us." 50 But Jesus said to him, "Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you."

 

 

Your Pride:  Glory

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village.

 

KJV and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.

 

Racial issues or pride in religion and history.

Your Possessions

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

 

 

Your People:

59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Your Purpose: Going

61 Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

"I take God the Father to be my God; I take God the Son to be my Savior; I take God the Holy Ghost to be my Sanctifier; I take the Word of God to be my rule; I take the people of God to be my people; and I do hereby dedicate and yield my whole self to the Lord: and I do this deliberately, freely, and for ever. Amen." Philip Henry taught his sons and Matthew Henry to pray this prayer. Luke 9  Jesus is the Christ Means You Must Have

One Supreme Person  18-22, 27-36. Christ beloved Son, Hear Him!

One Overriding Purpose  23-27        To save your soul and not lose it.

Your soul is    The Eternal part of you

The Essential part of you

The Expensive part of you 

 If you lose your soul:  it is an immeasurable loss

An irreplaceable loss

An irreversible lose

One Dominant Passion           

Following Him is more important than

Your place       46 -48

Your Privileges     49 - 50

Your Pride    51 - 56    

Your possessions         57-58

Your People      59 - 60   No rivals

Your Purpose  61- 62   No regrets