Luke 9:28-36 – The transfiguration of Christ

Luke 9:27, Christ told the disciples that some of them would have a foretaste of the glory of the Kingdom of God before they die. By the Kingdom of God Christ was referring to His upcoming Transfiguration. So in verses 28-36, we are told that eight days later, He took Peter, John and James up with Him to the mountain to pray, and there He was transfigured before them. On that mountain that day, four things took place. Firstly, we are told that as Christ was praying, His physical being was being transformed. His face literally shone brilliantly and His garment turned white and gleaming.  Christ was being transported into His pre-existence form, totally enveloped by the glory of God.

 

Secondly, Moses and Elijah appeared and were talking to Him. In verse 31, Luke reveals that they were discussing His impending departure. They were discussing about the event that would soon take place in Jerusalem. One subject must have come up: Christ's impending Calvary experience. Why Moses and Elijah and not the other prophets? It could well be that Moses represents the Law and Elijah, the Prophets. Perhaps there is a hint here of the different modes of departure that believers would experience. One can either depart through death like Moses or through the rupture like Elijah. 

 

Thirdly, Peter and the other two disciples were overcame with sleep. When they were fully awake they witnessed the glorified Christ and the two heavenly visitors with Him. When Moses and Elijah were taking their leave, Peter quickly, and as usual thoughtlessly, offered to build three booths: one for the Lord, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Luke was quick to say that Peter said that ignorantly. Why did Luke say that? It's because Peter had just placed Christ in the same class as Moses and Elijah. But they were certainly not in the same league as Christ. For both Moses and Elijah were only God's servants, whereas Christ is God's own Son.

 

At this point, the fourth event took place. The Shekinah, the glory cloud came and covered the place. Here, God the Father spoke out from the glory cloud, revealing the status of Christ. He explicitly said, "This is My Son, My chosen One, listen to Him." It was probably to signal to Peter in particular that Christ is not just a servant, He is His Son. And all of a sudden, the heavenly visitors were gone and Christ was found alone. Luke tells us that they did not tell anyone about what transpired on the mountain.     

 

What are the takeaways? The three disciples of Christ only saw all that transpired at the mountain, "...when they were fully awake..." (verse 32). Like them if we are to be able to see God's glorious plan realized, we need to be fully awake, both spiritually and physically. No wonder Paul in Ephesians 5:14 said: “Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Secondly, the Heavenly Father's call to obey His Son must not be ignored. It's imperative. If we are to please Him, we cannot do it without obedience to Christ our Lord. Thirdly and finally, do bear in mind that the first reason Christ and the three disciples went up to the mountain was to pray. Like Him, we also need to know that the presence of the living God is within us. And our dependence on Him can only be maintained by a life of communion with Him. And through prayers we create the way for His presence and Kingdom to come into the midst of our daily affairs. So let us pray! 

Luke 9:23-27 – Living for Christ

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” What a paradoxical statement! How can one gain life by losing it? In today’s Christian culture, this statement just doesn’t resonate. Our generation is one that’s extremely fascinated with the self. The common mentality is this: if one feels good doing something, it must be right. Everyone interprets and acts as he deems fit. Our time is dominated by a self-focus mindset. For many, Christianity exists to enhance lives, marriages, bank accounts, prestige. To bear a cross and pay a price for standing for Christ is furthest away from one’s mind. Yet for a Christian, life's most worthy pursuit is a cross-bearing, Christ-centred living.

What is a cross-bearing, Christ-centred living? Luke 9:23 tells us it's a life where self is denied, one's personal cross is carried daily, and Christ is pursued actively. We must not mistake a self-denying, cross-bearing life to mean putting up with a demanding boss, a difficult colleague, a hostile and offensive mother-in-law, or a personal struggle or a sickness. To live a cross-bearing, Christ-honouring life is to voluntarily abdicate the throne of one's life. It's a life that radically renounces self-centeredness. We adopt such a life because we know that our crucified Saviour can only be well served when we are not self-pleasing, or self-indulging.

So here in Luke 9:23-27, we see a presentation of two attitudes in living life. Firstly, adopt a "What's in it for me?" mentality. This is a "Go for it, cling to it, grasp at it, and hoard it" mentality. Or secondly, adopt a "How to please God in this?" attitude. That is to live a life of dependence on God. Christ shows us that it is sheer foolishness to own everything materially in life, only to find that we have no life to enjoy it. For something got to give - the goods or your life.

Everyone who is ashamed to be known as His, He will also be ashamed of him or her when He comes in His father’s glory with the holy angels. This is a promise to us that if we unashamedly acknowledge Him, He will also acknowledge us before the Father at His return in glory. Verse 27 poses a little difficulty. All who walked with Him while He was alive on earth had died. None of them exists physically right now. How then can Christ say that there would be those that would not taste death till they see the Kingdom of God? In talking about the coming of the Kingdom of God, Christ was very likely referring to His own transfiguration, which we will see in the next passage. 

Having said all, we can choose to stand with Jesus now and be rewarded ultimately. Or we can run with the crowd now and face the shame eventually. What is our aim in life? What do we really want of our life? These are the questions Jesus would ask us. Being a Christian may be difficult. It is radical. But it is the only way to life everlasting. 

Luke 9:18-22 – Christ’s crucial question - who do you say that I am?

In Luke 9:18, we see that the Lord Jesus was praying alone to the Father. Luke makes it clear that His disciples were there with Him. And though they were with Him, Jesus did not allow their presence to prevent Him from engaging the Father. In the light of what happened in the next few verses, it wouldn't be difficult to guess why. To Him nothing could be more important than prayer. It not only connects Him with the Father but it’s also where He gets empowered for the mission. As the Messiah, Jesus had enjoyed a great measure of success in the work of the Kingdom. The sick were being healed, those demon possessed were delivered, the Kingdom proclaimed and miracles abound. It’s time to assess if His disciples had any idea concerning Him. Jesus wanted them to be clear that He was not a political Messiah as the common notion in His day was. So He began by asking a question to assess their perception of the current situation. Hence, His first question was "Who do the people say that I am?" They answered Him from what they knew from their current scene. There were people who thought that He was John the Baptist. Some concluded that He was Elijah. And still some said that He was one of the prophets who had risen.

 

What was important to the Lord was whether His disciples could see that He was their Messiah. He then asked them the second question, "But who do you say that I am?" Their answers would affirm whether they understood that He was the long anticipated Messiah. Of course He was not disappointed when Peter exclaimed that He is the Christ of God, meaning He is the Messiah. The rest could have nodded in agreement.

What's puzzling hereafter was the warning and instruction He gave to them in verse 21. They were told not to speak about His Messiahship. Why? He did not want the people to get the wrong end of the stick, and thought He was a political messiah and came to spark off a rebellion. So He seized the moment and began to talk about His impending role as the Suffering Messiah. He told them He would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders of the day, better known as the Sanhedrin. Here He also foretold His death and resurrection. What Jesus said to them must have sounded foreign to their ears. It didn't make sense to their mind. How could the Messiah die? Hence, when all these took place, they were disillusioned and devastated. They only understood after His resurrection and ascension.

 

Though the Twelve could tell that He was the coming Messiah, they have not understood that confessing Christ always requires embracing Him as a suffering Savior as well. Today we have the advantage of history, hence it is easier for us to accept the necessity of His suffering and dying for us. If not for His atoning death, we would be totally lost in our sins. Therefore we must cling to the old rugged cross.

 

What are some struggles we face today? What about the enticing, luring temptations we encounter in life? Embracing Jesus as our Lord and Messiah, and to experience the triumph He promised, requires that we also embrace His cross and suffering. Christ could wear the crown because He first bore the cross. And like Him, we can't wear the crown if we won't bear the cross. The only Christ honoring life is a cross bearing, Christ-centered life. So let us take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow after Him.

Luke 9:10-17 - Christ’s supply always equal or exceed demands

In Luke 9:9, Herod’s question precipitated Jesus’ move to take His disciples to Bethsaida. Remember, He had sent the Twelve out to preach and minister. Their ministries had made great impact and many sick folks were healed. It was true that while healing took place through the disciples’ hands, the source to the healing came from the Lord. So Herod thought that John the Baptist had returned from the dead. He reasoned to himself saying, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things.” Immediately following that musing, Luke recorded the account of the feeding of the 5,000.

This supernatural provision of bread for the people is also found in the other three Gospels. Here in Luke, as in all the Gospels, this account marks a major turning point in Jesus’ life and ministry. It brought His Galilean ministry to a conclusion. From here, He would move to the coastal cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Caesarea Philippi, and then to the Transjordan area, before going down to Judea and Jerusalem. This great miracle is primarily a revelation of the person of Christ. Through it, He’s being portrayed as the all sufficient Lord, who would provide for all our needs. In fact in John’s Gospel on this account, He proclaimed, “I am the bread of life” after the 5,000 were fed.

According to verse 12, Bethsaida was a desolate place. From where they were, it would take approximately about four miles to travel to by boat or about eight miles by walking. When the people saw that Jesus and His disciples set sail toward Bethsaida, they started up north along the edge of the lake. Finally thousands congregated on the retreat site where Jesus and His disciples were. We were not told how the disciples felt, but there are hints that they were annoyed and even resentful for being deprived of their much needed rest and retreat. But it was not so with Jesus. In verse 11, Luke tells us that He “…welcoming them …began speaking to them about the Kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.” Basically Jesus was calling them into Kingdom ethics and living, and to a life of humility and repentance.

Jesus had ministered for hours. Then the disciples came telling Him, ‘Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.” They were not suggesting. They were instructing the Lord what to do. They were being disrespectful. Could the success they had experienced in the ministry earlier had gotten into their heads?  This tells us how far short they were in their understanding of Christ, despite being with Him and watching Him meeting every need without turning anyone away. Although they were absolutely right that the people needed food and rest, they were in fact thinking about themselves.  

Verse 14 tells us that there were about five thousand men. The disciples couldn’t imagine where to find food for so many people. But verse 13 tells us that they knew exactly the amount of food they had with them. They had no more than five loaves and two fish. It was certainty grossly inadequate to feed such a huge multitude. The logical thing to do is to send the people away to get their own food and lodging. Their suggestion, though a pragmatic one, was picked up by the Lord as a good teaching moment. Having had the crowd organized into groups of about 50, the Lord took the loaves and fish, raised them to heaven towards God and blessed them. He then broke it and gave it to the Twelve to be distributed to the people. What's amazing is this: every time they had distributed what's in their hand, more would appear. So at that very evening, everyone had their fill, and yet there were 12 baskets full of broken pieces of leftovers.

This account points to Christ as the source of all our needs and longings in life. He is generous! Regardless of what need we have, be it a spiritual, mental, emotional or physical, His supply always exceed, if not equal to, all the demands of our needs! There is no problem too big that Christ cannot solve; no resource too little that He cannot multiply. What is needful is our willing surrender. When we are willing to surrender our loaves and fish, no matter how little, He multiplies to meet needs! 

Luke 9:7-10 – Impact made by Jesus’ disciples

The dynamism of the Christ-empowered ministry was making great impact. Luke's phrase "...all that was happening...," in verse 7 speaks volume. It implied that the work of Christ was felt virtually everywhere. As surely as He had commissioned the work, the sick were being healed and the demonized, delivered. The Kingdom of Christ was truly exerting her influence and the kingdom of darkness was receding. The impact of the Kingdom was certainly the talk of the town.

Luke narrates the impact cleverly through the eyes of Herod: “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.” Herod the tetrarch, was amazed at what was happening. There were many postulations floating around. Many guesses were forwarded as to who was really behind the series of wonders that were happening. Some said that John the Baptist had arisen. Others thought it could be the prophet Elijah who was supposed to come and usher in the Kingdom. Then there were those who said, "One of the prophets of old had come back to life."

Here, the death of John at the hand of Herod was mentioned in passing. Luke probably did not want to disrupt his trend of thought, and deviate attention from the impact of the Lord's work. We can tell that Herod's conscience was greatly troubled. He was the one who ordered John to be beheaded in prison. So now his unjust killing of John the Baptist came back to haunt him. Naturally he was curious and wandered if John the Baptist, whom he had murdered, had truly come back to life. Thus, he was on a look out for him. But verse 10 implied that Jesus was the engineer behind all the mighty wonders.

People tend to look at the impact of a ministry and concentrate on the personalities as if they are the people who have brought about the miracles. Yet without a doubt, behind the success of any Christ-centred life and ministry, is the Lord's unseen hand working actively. As followers and workers of Christ, we need to learn to perceive the main thing and make it the main thing. All successes in life and ministry should point us and our hearers back to Him. Our message must always be Christ-centered, not man-centered. In fact we must be radically Christ-centric! The message of the Kingdom does impact, improve and affect life concerning relationship, marriage, parenting, finances, careers, and etc. Yet ultimately the message is centrally about the crucial question of who Christ really is. We would have fallen far short of God’s intention if we fail to make Christ known; if we fail to help others see that He is the Savior, King and soon coming Judge.

When the twelve returned to Jesus and reported to Him, it indicates to us that behind all the magnificent happenings, is the power of the Kingdom at work. Luke tells us that Jesus took them with Him as He retreated to Bethsaida. The retreat to Bethsaida was a call for a time of reflection. It tells us that after every successful experience in life and ministry, it's necessary for workers to take the time to reflect and know that the glory is truly His alone.

All of our life and ministry is about King Jesus. It will always be Him and forever be Him. When Christ is preached earnestly, and things happen, in one sense, what Jesus said, in John 14:12 is being fulfilled. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” It’s certainly incredible to experience all the miracles with Christ physically around. But now to experience the miraculous transformation of life when He is not physically present is quite another. It’s incredible that our message of the Kingdom still brings great impact to a world fraught with frailty. What a privilege Christ has given us! What marvelous grace that attends our work! Truly, He alone deserves the glory and the praise! Amen! 

Luke 9:1-6 – Being Christ’s emissaries

In the church world today, it's not unusual for pastors to claim apostolic succession. More pertinent, however, is the question of impact a ministry is making, and not the personnel in the ministry. In Luke 9:1-6, we find the Apostolic Commission that Christ gave to the 12 disciples. This commission shows us some elements to a Christ empowered ministry.

First, concerning authority and power. Jesus was not referring to the basic right and ability to do the mundane things of life. He was referring to the divine authority and power to be executed on His behalf, in meeting the needs of humanity. So He gives to those He draws to Himself, even us, the ability and the right to do what could never be done, humanly speaking. When we are clearly connected to Him, we can realize the right we have over the negative forces of evil and the ability to pray for the sick and expect relief to come upon them.

Second, there is a message. The message is about the Kingdom of God. It's more about King Jesus. The message is not merely about domain or territory, it's about Christ Jesus reigning as King in the lives of His followers. And whenever His reign is realized and applied, the needs would be meet.

Third, it is about faith living. It's about relying and trusting God Who reigns in the affairs of men. His messengers must trust and lean on Him for provisions for their own physical needs. If not, how then can they effectively share about the God whom eyes cannot see, and His supernatural ability to provide for every need we have.

Fourth, there must be readiness to accept both positive and negative responses from people we try to reach. The ministry of Christ is not always welcomed by everyone. So one should not be unduly disturbed by those who won't accept it. Learn to concentrate and give time and effort to those who are receptive to the Truth. Don't be derailed by those who don't.

So the Twelve, who were commissioned, eager and obedient went everywhere to proclaim the message of the Kingdom. And as they went, people were also experiencing healing through their ministry. As we read these verses, we may think that this commission is only for the twelve. But let’s pause and take a look at Mark 16:17-18. They read, “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” From these two verses, we surmise that what Christ gave to the Twelve, is our commission too. He has empowered us to serve. Like them we must go forth eagerly with His message, but be sure to live a life of dependence on Him. And be ready to deal with the responses of the people we will minister to. Finally, expect to see miracles of needs being met!

Luke 8:40-56 – Timely Divine Interventions

When Jesus left Capernaum, He did so to get away from the crowds. From thence till His return, He had calmed two tempests. One was the tempest at the Sea of Galilee that threatened to take Him, His disciples and the boat down. The other tempest He calmed was one that was raging in the life of a man in the grip of a legion of demons. And when He returned, a vast crowd again gathered at the shore to greet Him, expecting to see Him perform more miracles. The crowd was probably jostling and inching to get near to Him. Then the noise gave way to a moment of silence as we read of Jairus, prostrating himself before Jesus. Here was the leader of the synagogue, pleading with Jesus to go with him to heal his dying daughter of 12 years. Jesus agreed and as they were on their way, Luke paused to describe another healing of a women plagued by a hemorrhaging condition for 12 years.

There's nothing magical about the number 12. But it appears that the common denominator of two key persons whom Jesus healed in the account in Luke 8:40-59 is the number 12. Here we see Jairus' young daughter sick and about to die. And we also see an older woman suffering from virginal haemorrhaging that her physicians could not cure. One was 12 years old, the other suffered for 12 long years. For both, their divine interventions came when pride was laid aside and faith in Christ was put in place.

For the young 12 years old girl, it was Jairus, her father's pride that was set aside. Being an official of the synagogue, we could surmise that he would have had some brushes with the Lord at some point. But now with the daughter's impending death, he knew that he must swallow his pride and approach his daughter's only hope for a cure. So he didn't let his status or pride come in the way. Setting them aside, he just v-lined for Jesus, fell down at his feet and by faith beseeched the Lord to heal his daughter.

It was at this point that the issue of the older woman was introduced. Her account interrupted the journey of Jesus and Jairus, on the way to heal the latter's daughter. For this older woman, her personal pride would have been the obstacle to her healing. We must know that with her condition it was impossible for her to have a social life. Her continuous bleeding made her ceremonially unclean and no one would want to risk being made unclean by being near her. Furthermore, she was impoverished by the cost of seeking her physicians. Her poverty, shame, loneliness, and isolation were more than she could bear. When she heard about Jesus, she believed that He was her only hope for a cure. Setting aside her personal pride, she refused to let the crowd hinder her. So she doggedly pushed through the crowd and gingerly touched the hem of the Lord's garment. Her act of faith caused a release of power from the Lord to her. In an instant, her 12 long years of bleeding stopped. Jesus the Lord knew that she had touched Him, but He wanted her to identify herself. She let go of her personal pride here and owned up. The Lord then rewarded and commended her for her faith.

Right at this juncture, news came to Jairus that his daughter was dead already and he was not to trouble Jesus anymore. But death couldn't prevent the Lord of life from doing what He came to give, abundant life. Encouraging Jairus to hold on to his faith, they proceeded home. And despite the unbelief and ridicule of the people, Jesus took only Peter, James and John and Jairus and his wife, into the dead girl's room. And here the Lord raised her from death and brought her back to life. What happened amazed both Jairus and his wife. Who would not?

So what do we take away from here? For sure we know from these miraculous accounts of healing that Jesus is the Lord of life. And here, we are challenged to look beyond the physical visible world to the unseen eternal realities of God: a life that is full and rich and within the reach of our faith. We should not allow pride to hijack it. We must pursue the full dimension of this life in Christ. He is rich in grace and power, and He is at work in each of us. He wants to enrich our life with a depth of richness that we cannot possibly measure. Are we ready to apprehend it by faith?