Luke 9:18-36 (The Message)

Don‘t Run from Suffering

 18One time when Jesus was off praying by himself, his disciples nearby, he asked them, "What are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?"

 19They said, "John the Baptizer. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back."

 20-21He then asked, "And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?"

   Peter answered, "The Messiah of God." Jesus then warned them to keep it quiet. They were to tell no one what Peter had said.

 22He went on, "It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the religious leaders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and on the third day be raised up alive."

 23-27Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You‘re not in the driver‘s seat—I am. Don‘t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I‘ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I‘m leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn‘t, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God."

Jesus in His Glory

 28-31About eight days after saying this, he climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over his exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem.

 32-33Meanwhile, Peter and those with him were slumped over in sleep. When they came to, rubbing their eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing with him. When Moses and Elijah had left, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, this is a great moment! Let‘s build three memorials: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He blurted this out without thinking.

 34-35While he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. Then there was a voice out of the cloud: "This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to him."

 36When the sound of the voice died away, they saw Jesus there alone. They were speechless. And they continued speechless, said not one thing to anyone during those days of what they had seen.

Devotion:  I was always confused as to why Jesus would tell people to keep it quiet that we wasthe Savior of the world.  Its such big news, why would Jesus want people to keep it quiet?  What I‘ve come to understand, is that at that time, the Jews were under Roman rule.  They had another government telling them what to do.  For us, it would be like the French government coming to the US and telling us we now live by their laws.  As you can imagine, the Jews didn‘t like the Roman rule; they wanted to get out from under it.  Jews would form secret groups to try to overthrow the government, so revolts and failures were frequent.  Jews were eager to follow anyone with a plan.

So if Jesus went around telling everyone that He was the Savior, Jews would quickly follow Him for the wrong reasons.  They would expect political change from Him.  But we can see the kind of change Jesus is talking about, and it sounds pretty tough.

He talks about letting Him be in the driver‘s seat, embrace suffering, self-sacrifice, and embarrassment.  That‘s no easy thing to do!  But He‘s trying to show His disciples and the Jewish people that God‘s way is different from the world‘s way.  Following Jesus isn‘t easy, but it changes everything and its worth it!

Prayer:  Jesus, help me to put you in the driver‘s seat, to let you be in control and help me when I‘m suffering.  Help me see that your way is the only way.  Thank you for being patient with me.  Amen.