Luke 9:18-20
"And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God," Luke 9:18-20. Today, there are countless views on who Jesus Christ is. You can find one that you like, or you can make up one as you go. Most people are glad to discuss Jesus Christ with you until you begin to be specific about Who He is. You will hear terms such as, my Jesus is love, etc.. If your Jesus is not the biblical Jesus, then He is not the Saviour. He is just someone that you have made up in your minds. There are religions who claim that they have the biblical Jesus, but they take Scripture out of context and mix in their opinions and traditions which changes the true Jesus into what they have invented.
Here are a few examples: the Mormons believe that Jesus is the literal first born son of God and a heavenly mother. This is not what the bible teaches (Luke 1:26-38). The Mormons believe in a Jesus made up by their founder Joseph Smith and his followers. They do not believe in the Jesus of the Scriptures, therefore they are not Christian. The Jehovah's witnesses believe Jesus is the first created being. They do not believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-17). "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death," Revelation 1:17-18. "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last," Revelation 22:13. In these Scriptures we find exclusive titles of Yahweh indicating eternal, supreme Godhood. There are other passages in Revelation where Jesus is being worshipped again He is who He said He is. In John 8:58 the Jews wanted to kill Jesus because He said, "Before Abraham was, I am." This is known as the Tetragrammaton, and Christ is proclaiming His eternal and uncreated existence (Exodus 3:14). There are so many different views on who Jesus Christ is that we do not have the time to even mention them. The muslims do not believe that He was divine; the jews do not believe He was the Messiah or divine; Hindu's believe He was just a great teacher; Buddhism views Jesus as an enlightened being. We can go further and boldly say that if you do not believe in the Trinity then you do not believe in the Jesus Christ of the bible. This would include a lot of religions who claim to be Christian. It is eternally important to get this right. Let us get into our text.
"And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?" Luke 9:18. Jesus continues to train His disciples. At some point after the feeding of the multitude, Jesus and His disciples were finally able to be alone, so they spent time in prayer. "Praying" in this verse means to pray to God. In Christ's humanity, He was dependent upon the Father. Jesus continues to teach His disciples to be dependent upon God. Our successes can cause us to trust ourselves and be dependent upon ourselves. The disciples have witnessed Christ do all sorts of miracles; calm the storm, raise the dead, create food to feed the multitudes, preach and teach to thousands of people, etc.; and again He is teaching them to be dependent upon their heavenly Father by getting alone and spending time in prayer. "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth," Psalm 121:1-2.
Once their time of prayer was done, Jesus would continue to teach His disciples. Part of His teaching would be to ask them questions, "Whom say the people that I am?" The disciples would have heard what the crowds were saying, especially during the feeding of the multitude. "They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again," Luke 9:19. Some people are easily influenced by what others say, especially if the majority of the people are saying something in particular. Have you ever heard someone say, "the bible says", but the bible doesn't say what they say it says? Here are some examples: "God helps those who help themselves"; "God won't give you more than you can bear"; "Don't judge"; "Cleanliness is next to godliness". These are popular sayings that are not in the bible; how many of you think these are actual biblical sayings? Now, how many of you believe what the majority of the world says about Jesus Christ? Multitudes believe Jesus said things like; "Love the sinner, hate the sin"; "Follow your heart"; "Believe in yourself"; etc… There is so much in the world that we have access to and we can be easily influenced by. Is what you believe about Jesus actually in the bible?
"He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God," Luke 9:20. Peter was often the spokesperson for the disciples, and he said the Christ of God. "Christ" in this verse is the Greek word "Christos", and means anointed, the Messiah. "God" in this verse is the Greek word "Theos", and means the supreme Divinity. Jesus Christ is the One the Old Testament prophets prophesied about. He is the One that the Levitical system was a type and a picture of. The Old Testament pointed to the coming Messiah. You may ask why it is so important to get this right? If you believe in the wrong Jesus you will spend eternity suffering the wrath of God.
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, had to become flesh so He could become the Atonement for all who have and will believe. To accomplish this He had to be sinless. To be sinless He could not come from the seed of Adam (Romans 5:12). "Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35b. Christ must live a sinless life. If He ever sinned even once, then He could not be our Substitute. At the end of this sinless life, at the time appointed and the way appointed, Christ must give Himself to be punished, scourged, crucified, and die on the cross for the sins of His people. He must physically die. On the third day He must rise again. Forty days later He must ascend back to the Father. At the appointed time He must come back for His church, and in the mean time He must ever live to intercede for all those whom He died for. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me," John 14:6. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved," Romans 10:13. Have you trusted the Jesus of the bible to save your soul? The Jesus Christ of the bible is distinct from all other Jesus'. Any deviation from the true Jesus always produces a works for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9).
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Soli Deo Gloria.
