Luke 9:18-22
"...he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say I am?' They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.' 'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Peter answered, 'The Christ of God.' Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.'"
When Jesus was with the disciples, He asked them: "Who do the crowds say I am?" Disciples scrambled to come up with all kinds of answers: "prophet," "John the Baptist" and "Elijah." They couldn't conceal their pride when they talked about these characters, because they were highly revered by the people at that time. Then Jesus asked, "who do you say I am?" Peter, among the twelve disciples, immediately answered "the Christ of God." Christ is Messiah, and He is the Savior of mankind that was promised in the Old Testament. Peter basically said with confidence and assurance that "you are the Savior whom we've been expecting, your Kingdom will last forever and your authority will filled the universe."
When Peter spoke those words, he might have been filled with exciting expectation; if the Lord's earthly Kingdom really comes, he will surely have a decent post in it. Peter and other disciples might have seen the glory that may come upon them, but they did not see God's way, salvation and glory. Therefore, Jesus told them: "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." The "way to glory" describe by Jesus is far from what people thought it would be, for it is a way to glory through much suffering.
Not only was Jesus the Lord filled with glory, but also the Lord who suffered. This wasn't easy to understand in the Jewish society back in those days, and even today we don't quite understand the will of God. The Lord's way to glory must go through the cross, and the Lord said wherever I go, those who follow me need to come along as well. Have you ever thought about the Lord on the cross? The Lord died for us on the cross, and He called us to carry our cross to follow Him. We are eager to follow Jesus and receive help and blessings from Him, but we need to understand that the way to blessings is also the way through the cross. The Lord wants to teach us to sacrifice ourselves, carry our cross and follow Him daily.
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