How to save a life

Luke 9:18-27

Who do you think Jesus is or was?

In Luke's gospel, we're introduced to a whole host of people who met Jesus, saw what he did, heard what he said. And what they saw was a demonstration of power & authority never seen before or since:

They saw Jesus healing the sick and driving our demons with just a word or a touch.

They saw Jesus raising the dead and feeding 5000 hungry men plus women & children.

Some of them even saw Jesus calming a violent storm with just a word of command.

And when they saw these things, they began to ask each other, 'Who is this?

• In ch 4, Jesus' neighbours asked, 'Isn't this Joseph's son?'
• It's the religious leaders in ch 7 who ask, 'Who is this who even forgives sins?'
• Then in ch 8, the disciples ask, 'Who is this – even the winds & waves obey him?'
• And finally, last week, we heard Herod asking, 'Who is this I hear such things about?'

And if I asked you this morning, 'Who is Jesus?', you would each have some opinion about him. The question is, who's right?

Of course, some people try to claim that any opinion is acceptable. But that's just not true. You want people to know the real you. You don't want people to think you're someone you're not:

• if, like me, you support Spurs, you don't want people to think you support Arsenal (especially after yesterday's 3-2 win!)
• I'm married to Sarah – I don't want you to think I'm married to anyone else.
• I am me. I am not anyone you want me to be.

How much more is this true of Jesus! You cannot make him into the person you want him to be. He is who he is.

And as people are clamouring for answers about Jesus, he takes his disciples to one side and asks them, 'Who do people say I am?'

And everyone, does indeed have an opinion, v19, 'Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.'

To liken Jesus to J t B, Elijah or one of the prophets was a real compliment – these were great people. The people think Jesus is someone great – they're just not sure exactly who.

Imagine you bumped into Ian Botham down at the Nevill Cricket ground one summer. 'Hey, you're Ian Botham, you were a pretty good footballer or rugby player or something, weren't you?'

Or you saw Tony Blair coming out of Hoopers, 'Hey, look, wasn't he the leader of Kent Council a while back?'

Most people's ideas about Jesus – then and now – have an element of truth in them, but they just don't get close to his true greatness.

And so, having asked about the people's opinions, Jesus turns to the disciples. He looks them in the eye, and says, 'What about you? Who do you say I am?'

And Peter answers, 'The Christ of God.'

Having seen Jesus exercise such unparalleled power & authority, Peter has realised that Jesus is none other than God's anointed ruler – that's what Christ means. For years, God's people, Israel, had been waiting for the great and glorious king God had promised them.

And perhaps in a flash of inspiration, perhaps after careful though, Peter declares the truth about who Jesus is, 'The Christ of God' – God's appointed, anointed ruler of his people and of his kingdom. And so we expect Jesus to pump his fist and shout, 'Yes! Now get out there again, and this time tell people who I am!' But he doesn't. In v21, Jesus warns them strictly not to tell this to anyone.

You see Jesus isn't going to be the sort of king they expect. He's not come to call for some kind of Jihad against the Roman infidels. He's not going to be their military or political hero.

And Jesus explains what must happen to him, and what must happen to anyone who wants to be his follower. 

First, Jesus must go to the cross, die and rise again.

And second, anyone who wants to follow him must take up his cross and lose his life to save his life.

First, Jesus must go to the cross, die and rise again.

In v22 Jesus says, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. This is what must happen. Why? Because Jesus has not come to overthrow human kingdoms or nations. He's come to defeat the power of evil.

And that's precisely what we've seen him doing in the last few chapters – dealing with all the disgusting manifestations of evil in this world – illness, disease, demon-possession, violent storms, sin and even death.

And Jesus says here that to complete his mission, he must suffer, die and rise again. Exactly how this will work, Jesus doesn't say here. But what is clear is that victory over death can only be won by through his death & resurrection.

Jesus must go to the cross, die and rise again.

And second, anyone who wants to follow him must a take up his cross and lose his life to save his life.

In v23, Jesus offers the most incredible invitation that's ever been given: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Jesus doesn't force people to follow him, he says, 'if anyone would come after me...'. There's no imposition of the Kingdom of God with Jesus – he doesn't come with an AK47 and impose himself on us. The choice is yours. But the invitation comes at a cost. If you decide to follow Jesus – if you want to be a Xn – it will cost you everything.

Peter has just said that he believes Jesus is the Christ of God. Does this make Peter a Xn? No. Not according to Jesus. If he wants to be a Xn, he has to deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Christianity is not just believing the right things about Jesus. If we want life, we must deny self. We must take up our cross daily; Jesus is absolutely clear about this – there's no small print – he comes right out with it – if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Do you see what Jesus is saying here? Each and every Christian is a cross-carrying Christian. There's no other sort. And this doesn't mean wearing a nice little gold cross on a chain.It does mean going without the things the world chases after. It means not having the things I want – that's denying self. Being a Xn means laying down our lives for Jesus – it means genuine, tangible self-sacrifice each and every day.

• It means speaking out when everyone else is silent.
• Befriending the unlovely.
• It means rearranging our diaries for the sake of Christ's church and the gospel.
• It means not having & not buying so that the proclamation of the gospel is not hindered by lack of funds.

It means that every day, every choice we make, we make in favour of Christ, his people and his gospel – whatever the cost.

The disciples had just experienced something of what this means – last week we saw how Jesus sent them out on a mission. And they went with nothing for the journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no spare clothes. And now Jesus is saying, 'Look, that's the pattern of the Xn life: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

You could spend this life doing exactly what you want to do: Buy whatever you want to buy. Go wherever you want to go. Be your own boss. Build your own empire. And at your funeral, the vicar will lead your coffin down the aisle saying, We brought nothing into the world and we take nothing out of it. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Mel Blanc became world-famous as the voice of Disney cartoons. But his headstone reads, 'That's all Folks!' What a tragedy if that could truthfully be written on your headstone.

But if you follow Jesus to the cross, he will lead you through death to eternal life.

You see that's the pattern that Christ offers to humanity – denial, suffering and the cross now, and then eternal life. That's the path he trod, and following him means walking in his suffering, cross-carrying footsteps.

Of course that sounds like a crazy invitation – deny yourself. Carry your cross every day. Live as though each day was your last and live for Christ. And it is crazy unless... unless Jesus is the Christ of God. It is crazy unless... unless Jesus is the king of God's kingdom It is crazy unless... unless Jesus does indeed lead the way through death to life.

And if Jesus is the Christ of God, then you'd be mad to gain the whole world now and lose or forfeit your very self.

“Who do you say I am?” Jesus asks. And you must answer this question for yourself. In your heart of hearts, who do you think Jesus is? If you think he is the Christ of God. That's good. But Jesus invites you to come after him – to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him. He invites you to follow him to the cross and then to life.

Perhaps you've never made that step – you believe that Jesus is more than a good teacher, more than a prophet – he is the Christ of God. And yet... you've never had the courage to give you life to him.

Perhaps you did give your life to Christ some time ago, and for a while you served him faithfully. But things have slipped – to an extent that's probably true for all of us.

And so we need to respond to his invitation:

Jesus, I believe that you are the Christ of God, and I thank you that you suffered and died for me. Thank you that you rose again so that I too might live a new life – now and into eternity.

I'm sorry that I've been living for myself. Now I want to accept your invitation to follow you. I will deny myself, take up my cross and follow you. Please help me as I take this step of faith, and teach me how to live for you. Amen.

The Methodist Covenant Service Prayer seems very appropriate, and we ended the service with this:

'I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,

rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.'