LUKE 9:18-36 IDENTITY To know the true identity of a person as God sees them, there are certain ways we can apply. The first is to find out what God has to say about those who know and love Him and those who do not. The second is to ask questions of that person directly and come to a conclusion as to how and what their answers are. Third, when there is a precise statement made that separates that person from all others, we know their uniqueness. Luke followed this pattern in the book of Luke as those who followed the Son of Man learned more about Him by taking His "yoke" upon them. When the Lord was praying alone, the disciples were nearby. Even though He did not pray with Him, they learned the value of prayer. His fellowship with the Father, His oneness with the Father prevented Him from participating in prayer with those who are able to come to God because of His mercy and compassion to those who are by nature sinful.
The Lord Jesus did not need a mediator because He is the one Mediator between God and men. He did not need the gracious pity of God. The Godhead is made up of equal Persons. The Lord Jesus' prayer life was a part of who He is. Even in His perfect manhood He valued the fellowship of His Father in everything. Luke mentions seven different times the Lord prayed: before His public ministry when He was baptized; when His name was growing well known; before His chose the twelve disciples; when they asked His disciples if they knew who He really was; when He was transfigured; before He taught His disciples to pray and in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The attitude and actions of prayer reveal through God's grace many of the things that we need to know about the Savior. That principle holds true also when we are concerned about the reality of a person, we do not know who comes among us. God looks on the heart of people. We can form opinions based on the outward view of a person and make a serious mistake as to one's intention and maybe even one's character. When we take a matter to God in prayer and when we make intercession on behalf of a person, we can trust God to reveal to us the intention of that person and what our attitude and approach to them should be.
When the Lord asked questions of the disciples at this time, in a way He was answering their questions about Him. After He had calmed the storm on the lake, they had asked themselves, "Who is this?" When the twelve had gone out preaching the kingdom of God to the nation of Israel, Herod asked, "Who then is this?" Now the Lord asked some questions of them to give them opportunity to rightly identify Him. "Whom do the people say that I am?" was a question that reveals the real object of His interest. He did not ask who the religious rulers, kings or authorities of government were saying. By asking the disciples what the people were saying He was teaching them who were the important people in the kingdom of God. The leaders have no purpose if the people do not accept their leadership. The value of a kingdom is in the value of the people in that kingdom. The disciples had to learn to look upon people as their Sovereign Lord saw them. Those who represent the kingdom of God must learn to keep connected with those around us and know what they are thinking and saying.
Even more important was the Lord's question, "But whom say ye that I am?" The answer Peter gave, "The Christ of God," revealed their hope for the nation of Israel lay in the Lord Jesus as the Messiah. The people thought another prophet had come to instruct the nation. These men were hoping this was the time "He would redeem Israel." They certainly knew who He really was. But there were things they yet had to learn about Him. He gave them strict instructions to not speak of His Messianic work as the Redeemer of Israel because the time was not yet come. They had to wait. They weren't ready because the Redeemer had the work of the cross ahead of Him to accomplish. They had to learn to know Him better. He told them specifically for the first time of the suffering of the cross that had to come before the glory of the kingdom.
The prayer opened the door to the identification of His Person. The questions clarified the supremacy of His Person. The revelation of redemption by the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord revealed the purpose of His Person. Then came the challenge to really identify those who would follow Him. Suffering comes before glory. Faithfulness comes before victory. The is a cost to being a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Lord Jesus Christ took three men a week later to that mountain where He prayed and they slept, He gave them an opportunity to see what glory that follows suffering is really like. The conversation between the Lord Jesus, Moses and Elijah was concerning the suffering and death that would happen to Him. But it also reveals some things of the state of those who have passed on before us. Their identity is known and they are truly living, thinking, communicating and aware of what is going on as well as what is ahead. They were not in fear of the Lord and could talk with Him even though He was in the brightest glory of His Person while He was here on earth. They could talk to each other and those who had never met before knew who they were by the names they had when they were on earth hundreds of years before.
Learning to know the Lord does take time. Our faith goes way beyond what others believe. We must have a personal faith in Christ and "know in whom we have believed." We do not know the calendar of events ahead of us, but we have learned to know who our Savior and Lord is. In faith we wait, and work - and maybe suffer a little before glory is revealed.
The One in whom we have believed is far beyond our ken And yet in His own personhood has revealed Himself to men.
Even though His attributes remain inexplicable to most The things we learn of Him each day open to our hearts a host Of truths about Him that affects all we say and do. His Word reveals that following Him means before this life is through We will have experiences that make us ready for what is yet ahead - And we can face the future with confidence instead of fearful dread.
What most people say is one thing, what we know is something else. They are limited by what they see, we learn what the Spirit tells In words written clear and plain in God's holy Word - Each page telling of some aspect true of our gracious Lord. So, by the words of truth we learn more of Him each day - And what we learn affects our walk and what we do and say. We are His representatives; our voices can speak truth for Him. To take His yoke and learn of Him, is where future life begins.
There are no easy ways to tell people who God is from only human perspective. Many only think of Him as a myth and use His name as an invective. But when we were chosen by Him to follow daily and bear a cross - Then our life and identity with Him, is again, not a wasted loss. The more we walk with Him, the more our likeness to Him is reflected - And without words we then can show evidence of the One they have neglected. Our experiences with Him on the mountain, may be a witness to those in the valley below. Spending time with the Christ we're identified with, has a certain grace that to others shows.
"Father, I thank Thee for answering my prayers yesterday and for giving opportunities to speak of meaningful things to those we were in contact with. I thank Thee for the refreshing results of some earnest labor and enjoyable fellowship with some of Thy people. May there have been in that day - and now in this one - ways that I might honor Thee. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."