A sermon preached at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on May 4, 2025.
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?’ And they answered, ‘John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.’ Then he said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And Peter answered, ‘The Christ of God.’ And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’ (Luke 9:18–22).[1]
In Luke’s Gospel, at every paramount point of Jesus’ life prayer shows up. For example, there was prayer at Jesus’ baptism, prayer at his selection of the twelve apostles, prayer at his transfiguration, and of course he taught his disciples how to pray, and we find it here, among other places: “he was praying alone” (Luke 9:18). As Luke’s Gospel is written with the purpose of rendering a right representation of Jesus Christ and his Gospel, Luke is neither a haphazard nor superfluous writer; details matter. So, when Luke tells us Jesus was praying, the context infers the purpose in what follows: the revelation of the Christ of God to his disciples. Jesus prayed that they would know and believe, and so should we.
The Posture for Profession
Who’s on your prayer list? Does it consist of family, friends, or the neighbor you hardly know? Do you plead that the Lord save them, like Paul did for his countrymen, confessing, “my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1). Or have you become indifferent to their eternal destiny? Praying for others, especially for unbelievers, requires a Christlike empathy, loving our neighbor as ourselves, through prayer.
I find it fascinating that many of the Christians who are so concerned about our culture have so little concern for the salvation of the lost. Perhaps it is due to a greater concern for this earthly kingdom than the heavenly. But the kingdom of heaven advances in this earthly kingdom not by cultural change but by the gospel of Jesus Christ, and his kingdom is built one soul at a time, by God’s grace alone, through faith in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. And so, we pray that God will act, that faith will be given, that God will be glorified.
What are we praying for specifically? We are praying that the Lord will “open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in [Christ]” (Acts 26:18). These are the very words the Lord gave the apostle Paul, and they serve as a good pattern for our prayers too. For whom do we pray? We pray for our friends, our family, our coworkers, our neighbors near and far, everyone God providentially places in our lives. We are praying for them specifically, because “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13). But be prepared! It’s harder to consider someone an enemy, harder to shame their opinions, harder to be apathetic, when you’re praying for their soul.
On a personal note, let me encourage all of you who are parents and grandparents to pray for your children and grandchildren, and for all of us to pray for the children of this church. Parents, do not presume that just because your child has been baptized and raised in a godly home that he or she is saved. Such presumption can result in a child who has received the sign of the covenant but never believes in it, a moral child, certainly a biblically knowledgeable child but a child destined for hell. Let us remember when the apostle Paul wrote to the Jews, who thought their covenant relationship with God secured their salvation, he rebuked them, saying, “do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom. 2:4-5). Let us not be a presumptuous people, let us not be presumptuous parents, but let us pray for our children that one day they too may humbly cry out to God with us, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13).
The Question of Confession
After Jesus prayed alone, he turned to his disciples and asked, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (9:18). It’s a curious question, isn’t it? Why would it matter what they think? What people think and say about Jesus does not define who he is. Even if the entire world denied his true identity, he would still be who he truly is. No, he wasn’t curious about the crowds but was leading with the question to a greater purpose.
How did Jesus’ disciples respond? They answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen” (9:19). Each of these three options is of course wrong but all the more remarkable, when we consider that these were the best guesses of God’s covenant people who were anxiously awaiting the promised Messiah. They had literally seen him, heard his message audibly, and witnessed his miracles personally, and they did not recognize him, the living Christ of God.
So, why did the people believe that Jesus was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or another prophet? For one thing, many in Galilee had never met John the Baptist, so it was simply a case of mistaken identification. Both men had large followings and both preached sermons about the kingdom of God. So close was their similarity that some believed that Jesus was John raised from the dead,[2] or maybe even Elijah. Afterall, according to Malachi’s prophecy, it was promised that God would send “Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes” (Mal. 4:5). Of course, John seemed a lot like Elijah, but maybe when he was beheaded, Jesus became the default prophetic fulfillment in the public’s perception. And then there were the prophets of old, such as Jeremiah, Moses, and the others. Take your pick, but among these options, you’d be wrong!
I think there are several worthy warnings here that we must not miss. First, let us beware of the world’s perception of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Apart from the revelation of God, the world will not only miss him or misrepresent him but seek to sway you to their way. Second, who Jesus is is not according to polls or popular opinion but according to God’s special revelation, Scripture alone. Anything we hear about Jesus that contradicts Scripture’s revelation of him is undoubtedly and undeniably wrong. Third, truly knowing who Jesus is comes not by observation but regeneration, as Jesus said to Peter, “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 6:17). As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3), and if you cannot see the Kingdom, you will not see its King. To be born again, to be brought from spiritual death to life, is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, who enables and empowers us to see Christ for who he truly is and so believe on him for salvation.
When Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” he already knew. He wasn’t fact finding, he was leading to the question we all must answer: “But who do you say that I am?” (9:20), not the crowds, not your friends, not your family, but you. In the Greek, “you” is not singular but plural (insert y’all here). He wasn’t asking Peter individually but each and all of his disciples. Peter just couldn’t keep himself from serving as their spokesman, and so rightly confessed, “The Christ of God.”
The word “Christ” is the English translation of the word christos, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word translated “Messiah.” Peter and the disciples were confessing their belief that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, sent by God according to the Old Testament prophecies. The title “Messiah,” or “Christ,” literally means “the anointed one,” drawing from the Old Testament practice of anointing with oil a prophet, priest, or king to office.[3] But the Christ of God would come, fulfilling all three offices, as a prophet like Moses,[4] a priest like Melchizedek,[5] and a king like David,[6] anointed not with oil but the Holy Spirit. For Jesus’ disciples then to confess Jesus as the Christ of God was to believe that he had come from God to save his people as promised.
The Reality of Revelation
In working our way through the Gospel of Luke, we have seen Luke’s preparation up to this point. Let us not forget, for example, the angel’s proclamation at Jesus’ birth, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). So, we have been anticipating this moment. And when we hear Peter say, “The Christ of God,” we might expect a congratulations, or at least, “It’s about time!” We might expect further encouragement to share what they now know and believe. After all, isn’t this truth essential to the gospel we are commissioned to carry to the world?
But Jesus doesn’t pass out “atta boys” or rally his disciples for evangelistic outreach. Instead, “he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one” (9:21). The verb translated “strictly charged” is more than an admonition; it’s the same word translated “rebuked.”[7] They are to keep this truth only to themselves, but why?
The following verse gives us a clue: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (9:22). Referring to himself in third-person, using the Messianic title “Son of Man,” Jesus’ self-description of suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection is neither what the nation of Israel anticipated nor what his disciples expected. The Messiah the Jews expected was a conquering military man, who would overthrow Rome’s reign, reestablish David’s throne, and rule the world from Zion. To be fair, their expectations were not unfounded; it was just incomplete. They chose, for example, to ignore Isaiah’s suffering servant,[8] a Christ to come whom the Lord would “crush,” making his soul an “offering for guilt,” bearing the iniquities of many, and through whom “many to be accounted righteous” (Isa. 53:10-11). Jesus’ rebuke then was not contrary to their confession but a warning against any actions leading to a popular, political uprising that would result in contradicting the prophetic path of the Christ of God.
To be clear, the sovereign, conquering king the disciples expected would indeed be exalted and “the name that is above every name” bestowed upon him, that at his name “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). But first, he who “was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8). And then, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, [who was] . . . crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:23-24). As the prophesied conquering king, Jesus conquered death first, through his righteous life, atoning death, and victorious resurrection.
This is the already. What awaits us, and what the disciples anticipated, is the not yet. But because we know the already, as Jesus’ disciples would soon learn, we do not keep the truth to ourselves but tell the world. Because, what the disciples expected awaits, a day when he who resurrected and then ascended, he who is seated at the right hand of the Father in authority, will come again to judge the living and the dead, and to establish his heavenly kingdom-come-to-earth, forever. This is who Jesus is.
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
[2] Luke 9:7
[3] For example, see Ex. 29:7; Isa. 61:1; 1 Kings 1:39.
[4] Deut. 18:18
[5] Ps. 110:4
[6] Mic. 5:2
[7] Dale Ralph Davis, Luke: The Year of the Lord’s Favor (Fearn: Christian Focus Publications, 2021), 156.
[8] Isa. 53
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 