Who Is Jesus

Good Morning!

Luke 9:18-27 (New International Version, ©2011)
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Jesus Predicts His Death
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”


Sometimes the answers seem to be so simple … and still we don’t get it. Earlier in this Chapter, Luke tells us that Jesus had given His disciples power and authority to heal diseases and drive out demons. They had experienced His authority … and at least Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah … but -

We understand that Jesus is God made flesh. But do we really believe in His power and authority? Do we really believe Him when He tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us? Can we really count on Him to be with us always … even to the end of time? The answer is a resounding “yes” … but –

Believers have a choice. We can either live a victorious life filled with hope … or we can live a questioning life that knows that Jesus is the Christ but –

Christ tells us outright that following Him is not going to be necessarily an easy road. No … there will be many times where we endure persecution. There will be those who hate us just because we name the Name of Jesus Christ. There will be hardships. There will be discouragement. But there will always be Christ right with us each step of the way.

Jesus asks us “who do you say I am?”

Agape’


Mr. Jim