The Scripture reading for today is found in Luke 9:23–27. You can read this account also in Matthew
16:24–28 and Mark 8:34–38.
In Luke
9:20 we read the statement by Peter, 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. After that statement, Jesus predicts His rejection by the Jewish
religious leaders, His death, and resurrection (Luke
9:22). In between Luke 9:22
and Luke 9:23, Matthew records for us “Then
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You,
Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are
not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”” (Matthew
16:22–23) Harsh words from our LORD and Saviour to the chief of the apostles,
Peter! Peter goes from making a profound statement, τὸν Χριστὸν του̂ θεου̂, “the Christ of
God” in Luke 9:20 to
having foot-in-mouth disease! Peter saw Jesus as a conquering Messiah who would
overthrow the Gentile Roman occupiers. The reason that Peter tried to rebuke
Jesus was because Peter could not, along with the rest of the apostles and Jews
of that day, understand that the Messiah “must
suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Luke 9:22) So when Peter went to rebuke Jesus (Matthew
16:22–23), Jesus rebuked him and said, “Get
behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the
things of God, but the things of men.” because Peter was trying to
keep Jesus from dying, which was the reason why Jesus came, and Peter was
unknowingly doing the work of Satan in trying to keep Jesus from the cross. The
last time we saw Jesus rebuke Satan, Jesus also said, “Get behind Me, Satan!” (Luke 4:8) and that was when Satan tempted Jesus in
the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13).
What we will study in If Anyone Desires…01. The Daily Cross (Luke 9:23);
02. The Juxtaposition (Luke 9:24-25);
and 03. Not Ashamed (Luke 9:26-27).
In 1 Chronicles 29:1-9,
David encouraged the leaders to follow his example of giving offerings unto
YHWH for the building of the Temple when David asked, “Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to YHWH?”
(1 Chronicles 29:5). This is a
question that can be applied to our text that we are studying now.
01. The Daily
Cross (Luke 9:23)
Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all” Ἔλεγεν δὲ πρὸς
πάντας means that Jesus was not just addressing His apostles but to the crowd
of people that were there. Mark alone records for us that there was a crowd in
the presence of Jesus when He was speaking here. Mark expounds on this by
writing that “When He had called the people to
Himself, with His disciples also” (Mark
8:34). Of all the people there listening to Jesus, we know for sure
that the apostles were the ones that experienced the effects of following
Jesus. According to church tradition, John is the only Apostle that we know for
sure that was not martyred, excluding Judas Iscariot.
Jesus now makes three separate statements here:
01. Luke 9:23 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself”
To rightly follow Jesus means to completely deny yourself. The Greek word that
is used here for “deny” (G533
ἀπαρνησάσθω) is written in Aorist tense, which means to act in a wholly selfless manner, deny oneself,[1] to say no to. Denying self also involves
denying the things that we are attached to. By denying ourselves, this means
that we are to have the same attitude towards death and life that Jesus had. We
are not to think of what would please us the most, but what would glorify Him. This
is the same Greek word that is used for when Peter denied Jesus (Matthew 26:34-35; Matthew 26:75; Mark 14:30-31; Mark 14:72; Luke 22:34; Luke 22:61; John 13:38).
One commentator wrote: This
means that they put their desires and wants aside in place of their obedience
to Christ as they take up their own crosses and follow Him. This is true
discipleship. Those who are His true disciples are required to completely
abandon the natural desire to seek comfort, fame, or power. Instead, they are
called to obey the Lord in all things. My brethren, I promise you this; if you
are living this way then it will cost you friendships. It will cause splits in
relationships, even in families. It is costly. The majority may look upon you with
disdain and write you off as a divisive person not worth knowing, however,
didn’t our Lord suffer persecution and even death at the hands of those who
hated the truth? Why would we think we who are His disciples would somehow not
partake in His sufferings? Who is Lord? Are you calling the shots in your walk
and service or is Christ? What do you do when the Father prunes you? If you are
a true disciple then you remain in the True Vine who is Christ. It is this
pruning that makes us fruitful in the eyes of God. The world may look at it and
not be so impressed. That is okay, for all that really matters is what God
knows about us not what the world thinks.
Moses was faced with the same dilemma of deny self and
denying the things that he was attached to (Hebrews
11:24). That word “refused” in
Hebrews 11:24 is the root word (G720
ἠρνήσατο) for “deny”
in Luke 9:23.
Moses made a life-changing decision, and the writer of Hebrews continues on
regarding Moses’ denial of a life of luxury in Hebrews
11:25–27.
This self-denial is antithetical to what is being promoted
today in the world, let alone many churches (2
Timothy 3:1–5)! Of course, the greatest example of self-denial is
Jesus, when we read that He said in John 8:50,
“And I do not seek My own glory.” (cf. John 5:30; John 8:28; Philippians 2:1–8)
02. Luke 9:23 “take up his cross daily” ἀρατω τον σταυρον αὐτου is written
in the Aorist tense which simply means to
pick up at once![2] Only
Dr. Luke adds the word “daily”. This is
the first reference to the cross (G4716
σταυρόν) or crucifixion (G4717
σταυρόω) in general by Dr.
Luke. Taking
up his cross daily means that we acknowledge that when Jesus carried His cross
He was right, even to the point of death.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary describes the carrying of the
cross:
When the Roman Empire
crucified a criminal or captive, the victim was often forced to carry his cross
part of the way to the crucifixion site. Carrying his cross through the heart
of the city was supposed to be a tacit admission that the Roman Empire was
correct in the sentence of death imposed on him, an admission that Rome was
right and he was wrong. So when Jesus enjoined His followers to carry their
crosses and follow Him, He was referring to a public display before others that
Jesus was right and that the disciples were following Him even to their deaths.
This is exactly what the religious leaders refused to do.[3]
This illustration was not lost on the crowd and the apostles,
for they all would be familiar with the cross-bearing criminals. Bearing your
cross meant that you were already sentenced, found guilty and condemned to
death. It means that we are identifying ourselves with Jesus when He went to
the cross, “bearing His reproach. 14
For here we have no continuing city, but we
seek the one to come.” (Hebrews
13:13–14)
Reformed pastor and theologian S. Lewis Johnson stated
that To
take up his cross does not mean to take up our cross, that is, the experiences
of our life. Our cross is not our bad temper, for example. It is not our
mother-in-law who causes us such great difficulties. Our cross is the
relationship to him. All these other things that we like to say are “my cross,”
are really crimes, not crosses.[4]
Bearing the cross of Jesus ultimately means that we are willing
to experience the suffering that is associated with following the One who bore
our reproaches for our sake, being despised by this world.
03. Luke 9:23 “and follow Me” in the Greek is (G190)
ἀκαλουθειτω and
it is written in the Present tense, meaning keep
on following.[5] Notice
that Jesus says, “follow Me” and not
“follow your pastor”. He says, “follow Me”,
not what the church teaches or believes. He says, “follow
Me”, and not tradition. In these three statements, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself”
which is in the Aorist tense and means to make a decisive action. He then says,
“take up his cross daily” which is also
in the Aorist tense and means to make a decisive action. After that, He says, “follow Me”, using the Present tense which means to keep on following me!
Paul describes this perfectly in 1 Corinthians 4:9-13. Paul describe the difficult
life of an apostle taking up the cross of Jesus: being condemned to death, made a spectacle by the world, thought of as
foolish, weak, dishonored, going hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, beaten,
homeless. Being reviled, persecuted, defamed, made as the filth of this world
and rejected by society. The world describes us as foolish
because we have taken up the cross of our Saviour and LORD. The word for “fools” in 1
Corinthians 4:10 is the Greek word (G3474)
μωρός,
which is where we derive our English word “moron” from. To follow Jesus demands a
continual self-denial, being hated by the world and regarded as a moron.
This crude drawing with inscription, found in the palace of
Septimius Severus (ruled a.d. 193–211), apparently was by a pagan youth who
sought to ridicule a fellow student named Alexamenos who was a Christian. The
crucifix with a donkey’s head on the figure of Christ reveals the scandal of
the cross and the ancient world’s utter contempt for the crucified Christ. The
Greek inscription reads “Alexamenos worships [his] God,” attesting to the
Christian belief in the divinity of Christ.[6]
When He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), Jesus had an opportunity
to “gain the world” without going to the cross, but in doing so would have
messed up our eternity and the will of God!
Paul writes that Jesus “being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the
point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly
exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and
of those under the earth,” (Philippians
2:8–10).
Dave Hunt wrote “Christ has promised believers something far
better - an eternal and heavenly kingdom procured through His defeat of Satan
at the cross. As a result of that victory, “the kingdoms of this world
[will] become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15).
Worldly kingdoms will soon pass away,
and in their place the kingdom of God will come to earth. Then Christ, together
with those who have shared in His rejection and suffering (Acts 14:22; Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12), will reign in glory and ultimate joy
forever. It would be a denial of their Lord for Christians to bask in the
popularity and honors which this present world may bestow upon them. That is
not to say that a Christian should never be successful in business, science,
the academic world, sports, etc. Indeed, Christians should be the very best
they can possibly be at whatever they do. But their skill, talent and diligent
efforts are expended for God’s glory, not for their own. This world has no
attraction for believers; they neither love it nor its plaudits. They are not
swayed from the course they must run (1
Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:7-8)
either by the world’s criticism or its
compliments. They know that ultimately nothing matters except God’s opinion of
them.”[7]
02. The
Juxtaposition (Luke 9:24-25)
This is the juxtaposition that comes from taking the cross
of Jesus and following after Him, for we have the juxtaposing of “save/lose” and
“loses/save”.
The Greek word for the first “save”
is (G4982)
σώζω
sōzō, and it means to save one’s own life,[8] or physical protection in this world.
Notice that it means to save one’s own
life, meaning you save yourself.
The second “save” is
also (G4982)
σώζω
sōzō, but in context it means
be restored to health, get well,[9] or eternal salvation. This is salvation
from God!
The Greek word for the first “lose”
is (G622)
ἀπόλλυμι apŏllumi and it
means to lose one’s life[10]in
eternity.
The second “lose” is
also (G622)
ἀπόλλυμι apŏllumi, but it
refers to daily denial of oneself as
regards the life of this world.[11]
Paul was an excellent example of this, for we read that life
itself was not as important as proclaiming the Gospel for him in Acts 20:17–24. Paul sums this up well in Galatians 2:20 and Galatians
6:14, for Paul was willing to be crucified to the world with Christ
so that he could live for Christ in this life.
Luke 9:25 Here again Jesus shows us the juxtaposition
between temporal gain with eternal loss. The
follower of Jesus must choose between riches here on earth, or the richness of
eternal life in Heaven. Remember, all
that Jesus is saying here is in light of the apostles being sent out by Jesus “He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal
the sick.” (Luke 9:2) More than likely many people ridiculed the
apostles, thinking that they were wasting their time by not staying in their
careers to follow a man from Nazareth who claimed to be the long-awaited
Messiah, the One foretold by the prophets. So
Jesus is reassuring His apostles that they were doing the right thing, they had
chosen to lose their lives now so that they might receive eternal life (Luke 9:24), not trying to gain the world (Luke 9:25).
03. Not Ashamed
(Luke 9:26-27)
Jesus endured the shame of the cross so that we can have
eternal life (Hebrews
12:2). Jesus is not ashamed to call us His brethren (Hebrews 2:11–13). Jesus states that if anyone
is ashamed of Him, meaning that they will not identify Him as their LORD and
Saviour and His Words, He will be ashamed of them in the future. That judgment
will occur when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the
holy angels (2 Thessalonians 1:7–10),[12]
which is the Second Coming of Jesus (cf. Revelation 19:11-21).
What Jesus, and Paul are saying is that if you attempt to
save your life you will lose it eternally (Luke 9:24) because you will be ashamed of the Son
of Man (Luke
9:26). But if you are willing to lose your life now will save it
eternally (Luke
9:24) for the Son of Man will not be ashamed of you when He comes in
His glory (Luke
9:26).
Luke 9:27 Jesus was more than likely here speaking of the
three apostles who would go with Him up on the mountain for His
transfiguration. The transfiguration was a preview of the glory of the kingdom.
[1] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 97). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[2] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 16:24). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[3] 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. 243). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[5] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 16:24). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[6] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 397). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
[7] Dave Hunt ("Choosing God's Will", TBC
newsletter, 5/91)
[8] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 982). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[9] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 982). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[10] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 116). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[11] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 397). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
[12] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 229–230). Wheaton,
IL: Victor Books.
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