Luke 9:18–22 What we will study today in The Christ of God…01. Who
do the crowds say that I am? (Luke 9:18-19); 02. But who do you say that I
am? (Luke
9:20-21); and 03. The Son of Man must suffer (Luke 9:22).
What we saw last time was that Jesus is the Prophet that Moses foretold, the Prophet greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15–22), who fed His people in the wilderness (Luke 9:12) with meat and manna (Exodus 16:1-36). The feeding of the five thousand was the culminating miraculous sign that demonstrated Jesus’ prophetic Messiahship. Luke has connected the feeding of the five thousand, the confession of Peter, and the first passion prediction in one integrated narrative.[1]
This account is only found in the Synoptic Gospels: Matthew
16:13–21; Mark 8:27–31. The key issue to
remember as we go though and study this passage is not how great Peter was to
make the confession or declaration that Jesus is God, but what is the identity
of Jesus.
The synoptic gospels do not
record the reaction of the crowds found in John 6:14–15 after the feeding of the five
thousand men.
01. Who do the crowds say that I am?
(Luke 9:18-19)
Luke 9:18 Only Luke records that Jesus “was alone praying” and “that His disciples joined Him”. Jesus and His
disciples withdrew from the Galilee region and went about 30 miles north to
Caesarea Philippi, in the Golan Heights, and this specific account is the only
one we find in the Gospels (cf. Matthew 16:13–21; Mark
8:27–31) of Jesus and His disciples coming to this area.
Caesarea Philippi is located east of the Jordan River, on
the southwestern slopes of Mt. Hermon, with lush vegetation that surrounds a
giant rock formation, upon which the city was built on and against.
This region throughout the Old Testament was known as Bashan
and was the area where the tribes of Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh
conquered and settled, and became the tribal inheritance of the half-tribe of
Manasseh (Numbers 32:33; Deuteronomy
3:1-22; Joshua 12:1-6; Joshua 13:29-31).
These two-and-a-half tribes were all settled on the east
side of the Jordan, while all the nine-and-a-half tribes, including the other
half of Manasseh settled on the west side of the Jordan River. Interesting to
note about this, the two-and-a-half tribes who settled east of the Jordan were
the first tribes taken captive by Assyria (1
Chronicles 5:26).
Before the area of Bashan was conquered by Israel, this was
an Amorite stronghold ruled by two kings, King Sihon and King Og, who were
descendants of giants known as the Rephaim or Emim and the Anakim (cf. Genesis 15:20;
Deuteronomy
2:10-11; Deuteronomy 3:1-22). The name of King Og’s
capital city was Ashtaroth (cf. Deuteronomy 1:4; Joshua 9:10; Joshua 12:4;
Joshua 13:12;
Joshua 13:31).
The name Ashtaroth is the plural form of “Ashtoreth”, the Canaanite goddess who
was more commonly known as Astarte, who was also known as Semiramis. Later on
the Israelites would find themselves worshiping Baal (aka Tammuz) and the
Ashtoreths (aka Semiramis), which were sexual fertility cults (cf. Judges 2:13). The area of Bashan was always
regarded as a place of false worship, and became associated by the Gentile
nations as the gateway to the Underworld, the dwelling place of the dead. After
the death of King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel split (1 Kings 12:1-19), and Jeroboam
the King of Israel (the Northern tribes) set up a cult center for worship in
Dan, which was very close to the foot of Mt. Hermon (1 Kings 12:20-33). After the
Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel (1
Chronicles 5:26) in 734 bc, they brought in new inhabitants who
reestablished a new city and cult center a few miles to the east of Dan.[2]
This area, which was once known as Baal-Gad or Baal-Hermon
was renamed as Paneas, or Banias. This area was dedicated to the worship of
Pan, the half-man, half-goat god of the wild who lends his name to the word
“panic” since he was said to be the source of
mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds,
or in people in lonely spots.[3]
In about 20 bc,
Augustus Caesar gave Paneas to Herod the Great and was renamed in 3 bc by Herod’s
son, Philipp II in honor of Caesar. It was given the name Caesarea Philippi to
distinguish it from another Caesarea, which was also known as Caesarea Maritima
because it was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Josephus writes that “when Caesar had further bestowed
upon him (Herod) another additional
country, he built there also a temple of white marble, hard by the fountains of
Jordan: the place is called Panium (Panias,
Caesarea Philippi), where is a top of a mountain that is raised to an
immense height, and at its side, beneath, or at its bottom,
a dark cave opens itself; within which there is a horrible precipice, that
decends abruptly to a vast depth: it contains a mighty quantity of water, which
is immovable; and when anybody lets down anything to measure the depth of the
earth beneath the water, no length of cord is sufficient to reach it.[4]
Herod adorned this place, which was already a very remarkable one, still
further by the erection of this temple, which he dedicated to Caesar.[5]
It was also here in Caesarea Philippi that after Titus destroyed Jerusalem in
70ad,
Agrippa held
a 20-day feast, and in the temple dedicated to Augustus Caesar that Titus
returned his thanks to Caesar for the great success he just encountered in the
destruction of Jerusalem.
The large rock wall at Caesarea Philippi was known as the
“Rock of the Gods” because of all the niches filled with idols that were
worshipped there. This area was the location of a cave that was filled with
water where the worshippers of Pan would make sacrifices to him. Pan was
regarded as one of the few gods who could go between Hades and earth, and
because of that, this site was widely recognized as the “Gates of Hades”. Next
to the mouth of the cave, there was a large niche in which stood a large statue
of Pan, who was worshipped also for his fertility properties, and it was not
uncommon for people to reenact what their god symbolized, for people become
like what they worship. As part of their worship, the worshippers of Pan would
also cast their animal sacrifice into the waters in the cave, if the carcass
disappeared and blood appeared downstream; they knew that Pan received their
sacrifice. By the first century, most orthodox rabbis reviled Caesarea Philippi,
and they taught that no good Jew would go and visit Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus is praying, His disciples come join Him and they pray
together in Caesarea Philippi. The first question that Jesus asked His
disciples, is “Who do the crowds say that I am?”.
Luke 9:19 The crowds regarded Jesus as one of the many
prophets that preceded Him, and not as the Son of God, the Christ, and the
promised Messiah who has come to “save His
people from their sins.” (Matthew
1:21) The identity of Jesus is the issue here, and He is forcing the
disciples to sort out what others say about Him. Jewish tradition wrongly
taught, with no Biblical basis, that a series of prophets would reappear,
concluding with the coming of the Messiah. This belief led to confusion and doubt about
Jesus, which we see here in our text when the disciples answered Him by saying,
“John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others
say that one of the old prophets has risen again.” (Luke 9:19)
People believed tradition which led to confusion, for was Jesus truly the
Messiah, or was He just one of the prophets who was resurrected. When John the
Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are
You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Luke 7:19) reflects that many viewed this
traditional misconception to be true. So John’s question, whether for him or
for his disciples, makes sense, because they were wondering if Jesus was indeed
the Messiah, or if He was one of the resurrected prophets. This serves as a
good reminder that we are not to base doctrine off of tradition.
02. But who do you say that
I am? (Luke 9:20-21)
Luke
9:20 At the beginning of the
sentence in the Greek it is an emphatic (ὑμει̂ς δέ) “But you!”, emphasizing on the perspective of the
disciples regarding Jesus. The pronoun Luke 9:20 “you”
in the Greek (G5210) Ὑμεῖς is the personal, second person, nominative, plural
form of G4771 σύ su.
Peter, answering makes the statement, τὸν Χριστὸν του̂ θεου̂, “the Christ of
God”, which is the first statement of the proper identification of
who Jesus is by a human in the Gospel. Not one person is recorded as
acknowledging that Jesus is the Christ. Luke records for us that the angels were
the first to confess that He is the Christ (Luke 2:11), and that the demons
acknowledge Him (Luke 4:41; Luke 8:28). But no human acknowledged Jesus as the Christ
until Peter here. This is because Jesus brings division, “Do you suppose
that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather
division. For from now on five in
one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son
against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law.”” (Luke 12:51–53).
Simeon prophesied: “Behold, this Child is
destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will
be spoken against 35 (yes, a
sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts
may be revealed.”” (Luke 2:34–35). Jesus was a controversial
person, for wherever He went there was usually a mixed response. His teachings
and miracles did not always bring out confessions of faith like we would
expect. For example, His friends and family in His hometown of Nazareth tried
to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:29)
Matthew records that Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
(Matthew 16:16) He is the anointed One,
the Messiah, the Christ, and not only is He a man, but He is God as well (Isaiah 9:6;
Jeremiah
23:5–6; Micah 5:2). John tells us that God became man
when He wrote that “the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John
1:14) Paul wrote that Jesus is “is
the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
and “For it is the God who commanded light to
shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6) The writer of Hebrews
writes that Jesus is “the express image
(or exact representation in the
Greek) of His person, and upholding all things
by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at
the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews
1:3)
Matthew goes into greater detail
of what Jesus said to Peter here (Matthew 16:18).
Simon was Peter’s given name, and when Jesus first met Simon, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas”
(which is translated, A Stone).”
(John 1:42)
Eight other times in the New Testament Simon Peter is
referred to as Cephas, which is the Aramaic equivalent of Peter (1 Corinthians
1:12; 1 Corinthians 3:22; 1 Corinthians 9:5; 1 Corinthians 15:5; Galatians 1:18; Galatians 2:9; Galatians 2:11; Galatians 2:14). The name Peter is taken from the Greek word (G4074) Πέτρος Petros and in
English today it would be “Rocky”.
In Matthew 16:18, when Jesus uses the noun for “Peter” (G4074 Πέτρος Pĕtrŏs), it is written in the masculine while the noun for “rock” (G4073 πέτρα pĕtra) is written in the
feminine, thus showing that the church is built on the confession of Peter and
not on Peter himself as the Roman Catholic Church teaches, and continues to use
to establish and justify the papacy. Peter, unlike what the Roman Catholics teach
and believe is not the rock that the church is built on, for Christ is the rock
or sure foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20; Revelation
21:14). Jesus is who the church is built upon, not man. For if it
was built on man, then Jesus could not have accurately said about the church, “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it.” (Matthew 16:18)
So when Jesus tells Peter that “on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew
16:18), He and His disciples are more than likely literally standing
on the rocky place that was known as the “Gates of Hades” What Jesus is saying
is that all of Satan’s fury and forces associated with the Underworld cannot
prevail against His Church. In the inspired words of Paul, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a
public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15) and “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And
gave gifts to men.” (Ephesians 4:8)
In Ephesians 4:8,
Paul is quoting from Psalm 68:18, which carries more weight in
light of our text because the mountain that the Psalmist was saying that YHWH would
ascend is Mount Bashan![6]
Jesus asks two questions about his identity: one about the
crowd’s opinion and the other about the disciples’ opinion. Both questions end
with the verb “to be” (G1511 εἰ̂ναι):
Jesus wants a response about his identity. Both responses place Jesus in a
prophetic category (John the Baptist/Elijah/OT prophet/messianic prophet).
After receiving the correct response from Peter, Jesus connects his person—the
Christ of God—with his work—his upcoming passion, death, and resurrection:[7]
Luke
9:21 Jesus, tells His disciples
the same thing that He told others when He healed them to tell no one (the
leprous man in Luke 5:12-14, and the
girl restored to life in Luke 8:40-56).
Jesus did not want others to know that He was the Messiah because it was not
the right time for Him to be proclaimed publicly. That time will be when He
enters Jerusalem on the back of a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44;
John
12:12-19).
03. The Son of Man must
suffer (Luke 9:22)
The declaration of Peter (Luke 9:20 τὸν Χριστὸν του̂ θεου̂,
“the Christ of
God”) then paved the way for the Messiah to declare why He had come.
The verbs “must suffer” here are important,
for they highlight the fact that the Messiah has to suffer. All the other verbs
that are used here in this verse, “be rejected”
(G593 ἀποδοκιμασθη̂ναι), “be killed” (G615 ἀποκτανθη̂ναι), “be raised” (G1453
ἐγερθη̂ναι) are in the passive
and they highlight the passive obedience of Jesus when He is on trial,
crucified and resurrected (Isaiah 53:7;
Matthew 26:63; Matthew 27:12-14; Mark
14:61; Mark 15:5; Luke 23:9; John
19:9; 1 Peter 2:23).
He pointed out that the Jewish leaders would
play a prominent part in His death (Luke 9:22).[8]
[1] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (pp. 392–394). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
[2] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D.,
& Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife
Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[4] Josephus, The Works of
Flavius Josephus translated by William Whiston, Wars of the Jews, 1.21.3
[5] Josephus, The Works of
Flavius Josephus translated by William Whiston, Antiquities of the Jews, 15.10.3
[6] Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D.,
& Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife
Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[7] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 391). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
[8] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 229). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
