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?” Luke 9:18
In all his preaching and teaching about the kingdom (see the capsule sermon in 6:20-49), Jesus has left out one vital element: himself. His doctrine is radical—a fact that the miracle-working and storm-calming overshadows. Loving your enemies? Turning the other cheek? Going two miles instead of one? He means it, too: “Why do you call me Lord, and don’t do what I say (6:46). To date, no one seems to have wrestled with this teaching except the Pharisees–interestingly, they’re the only ones who seem to be really listening to what he says. For his fans, it’s enough to follow, to marvel, to be around when great things happen. We’d expect his inner circle to be more attentive, but maybe not.
But now, in the middle of a prayer it seems, he breaks off and asks his disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
Remember, he hasn’t really been mingling so much with “the crowds” lately, with the notable exception of that hillside picnic for 5000+. But they have. They’ve been on the road, preaching and healing, accepting hospitality and meals. Presumably there’s been some conversation around the tables, and it’s time to talk about that. So . . . What are they saying about me? What’s the word on the street?
They’ve heard an earful—even that he’s John the Baptist, returned from the dead! That rumor has apparently reached the court of Herod himself (9:7)–proving that far-fetched conspiracy theories are not new. Elijah is a popular guess, or failing that, one of the other prophets somehow risen from the dead, brushed up and recycled. Imagine the conversation: “Yes, I heard that one too—but you won’t believe what somebody else told me . . .” They may have had a good laugh about some of the crazy ideas circulating out there. Eventually the Master says, Okay, fine; but you know me. We’ve been together for a while now. What do you say?
Does it matter?
Infinitely.
Peter speaks up, with a classroom-perfect answer: “God’s Messiah!”
Matthew, who was there, makes a lot more of this answer, including Jesus’ response (“Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jonah . . .”) and his later rebuke (“Get behind me, Satan!”). Luke skips over that interesting exchange and gets right to the point of what Messiah means. You want to talk prophets? How about Isaiah? ‘Bruised for our transgressions, cursed for our iniquities . . the punishment that brought us peace was on him . . .’ Does that ring a bell with anyone?
The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and raised on the third day.
Whoa. Run that by again? They didn’t catch it. But Jesus continues with a personal application, something about dying to one’s self, picking up a cross (a cross?), following him (But aren’t we doing that already?), losing your life in order to save it— Not what anyone expected to hear. Not what anyone expects to hear. They like the part about the poor being exalted and the hungry being fed and the sorrowful rejoicing, but he seems to be leaving off the good parts this time. Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Which makes no sense. He’s gone off on a tangent, like he does sometimes. Peter corrects him (Matt. 16:22) and gets slapped down for it, but he only had the nerve to say what they all were thinking: “Far be it from you, Lord! This will never happen to you!” And by extension, it will never happen to us.
The moment passes, but it was very uncomfortable. And they won’t quite forget it, especially since the their understanding of the mission is about to be dazzled.
For the original post in this series, go here.
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