Second Sunday After Pentecost
Second Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt June 22nd, 2025
Luke 9:18–24
Teresa has a tee shirt that reads, “Built in the Fifties Original And Unrestored, Some Parts Still In Working Order.”
Most people smile when they read the shirt and many shake their heads because that resonates with them. Some are even older models and it’s clear that some parts are worn out.
The thing is it’s not really a mystery because it’s all a part of living in a fallen world where everyone eventually at some point begins wearing out. For those who are in Christ this is good news in the sense that we look forward to the day when we will be made new. Paul reminded his readers in Romans 8:29 that Jesus was the “first born” among many brethren through His resurrection from the dead, implying the same resurrection power was to follow for those who are in Christ. Listen to Paul’s encouragement in Philippians 3:21,
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
But there’s another way that this works for those who are in Christ. When we are new believers we bring with us all the baggage and characteristics of our old self, but Jesus doesn’t leave us there. Many years ago I was the director of a 58-bed homeless shelter for men in Roanoke.
One of our first goals was to provide a safe place for those who had hit rock bottom or who were very close. We sought to help them begin again. We helped them find good jobs and provided a place to live while they started over. We taught them about the love of Jesus Christ as the very beginning, the perfect foundation to build their lives upon.
Our church bought two 1994 Cadillac stretch limos and every Sunday morning they showed up in front of the shelter. Everyone thought that was one of the most ironic things they had ever seen. However, our people had to get used to these men who weren’t experienced church goers. The refining process had not really started yet.
We had two services every Sunday and those men wanted to stay for both because their options were to return to the shelter or walk around downtown all day. It was good because everyone got to know them. This relationship went so well that we ended up buying an old 15-passenger school bus too and starting picking people from the Rescue mission.
Usually there were 30 or more men who came every week, and some ended up giving their lives to Christ. However, even though through Jesus Christ they were changing, as a rule it happened slowly, real change often does. It required everyone at our church to be patient and learn how to love like Jesus. Jesus, through the power and refining work of the Holy Spirit, was moving within these men but it often took awhile for there to be much outward change.
The thing is that eventually these fellows began to reflect the image of Christ outwardly. The beauty of it is that the members of our church began to get involved in the lives of these men and that changed them too.
When Jesus Christ is our Lord, and we are therefore indwelled by the Holy Spirit this will begin to reflect the metamorphosis from those who were once spiritually dead to those who are spiritually alive in Christ. It’s not something that can be hidden because once the Holy Spirit takes up residence there will be change.
Today we will briefly consider our gospel passage from Luke 9:18–24 but first I want us to see a great example of God’s love and compassion and how it brought change to those who initially rejected Jesus as Messiah. We see this clearly in our Old Testament reading from Zechariah 12:8–10 and 13:1.
The phrase “On that day” is used 16 times in Zachariah chapters 12–14. It’s a reference to the “the day of the Lord” - a phrase used by the prophets to describe times when God would intervene to defeat His enemies and bless His people. Here the prophet had in mind the great battle between the restored community of Israel and Judah and all the nations of the world. Ezekiel predicted that the restored community would so threaten the nations that they would form alliances with other nations and attack (read a detailed account of this in Ezekiel 38–39).
The part that I want to point to is Zechariah’s description of the restored community. Listen to Zechariah 12:10 again,
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”
This is a powerful account of the Holy Spirit being graciously given and it produces humility in God’s people. The Old Testament prophets revealed that God’s renewal of the covenant after the exile (Jeremiah 31: 31–33) would bring about a great change in the hearts even of those who pierced the Messiah and then came to the point that they mourned for Him, “as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps for a firstborn.”
We see the mercy of God who brings repentance and change even to those who approved of the crucifixion of Jesus and even rejoiced. When their eyes are opened and their hearts are broken God responds in an amazing way. Listen to Zechariah 13:1,“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”
Zechariah 12 ended with Israel’s return to the LORD through the once rejected but now embraced Messiah. Flowing from their embrace of the Messiah, they would then enjoy a fountain of cleansing for sin and impurity. The cleansing comes after their mourning for the One whom they have pierced.
The metaphor of a fountain indicates an abundance of the forgiveness. In Jeremiah 2:13 God calls himself “the spring of living water” This reminds us of John 7:37–39,
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed
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in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus was teaching his disciples that if they were to follow him there would be no turning back, and we will see that this still applies to all those who see Him for who He is and follow him. If they were to follow him faithfully they would need to change by necessity.
Our primary passage will be Luke 9:23–24 but let’s begin with the question that Jesus asked His disciples in Luke 9:18–20.
The disciples come upon Jesus while he is praying because they are probably nearby. Jesus knows that his time to fulfill the reason for his coming was right around the corner. Luke doesn’t say anything about what Jesus was praying but I think we can assume that he was intentionally seeking to be with the Father for strength and courage but also considering the question he asked them, was likely interceding for his disciples. He knew that they were following him because of who they thought he was, which was in part true, yet incomplete.
The truth was that Jesus was far more wonderful than they could conceive of. The creator of all things was with them, but they weren’t ready for a full disclosure, not yet. Their minds and hearts would be changed over the coming weeks as they were left behind to continue what Jesus had begun, but it would not be easy, and he knew that.
When the disciples walk up to him Jesus asks them who the crowds believe him to be. I think he probably knew the answer, but I suspect he wanted the disciples to reflect on the answer to the question. Jesus definitely knew that everything was about to drastically change and there would soon be the time where it would appear that everything was lost, and their hopes would be temporarily crushed. They would need to hold on to what they believed about Jesus in order to make it through the coming weeks and throughout the rest of their lives.
This is a good time for us to stop and consider that even though Jesus was about to go through an awful and terrifying event in his life, it would seem that his focus was on this rag-tag band of men whom he had chosen as his disciples and not just them but also the faithful women who often traveled with them. Jesus’ love for his Father and for those who are his own is so much deeper than we can understand.
The disciples aren’t yet aware of all that is coming but they answered the question that Jesus asked concerning the crowd understanding of his identity, “John the Baptist. But, others say Elijah, and others who say that one of the prophets of old has risen.”
It’s then that Jesus asks the disciples one of the most important questions ever asked, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” In other words, you’re the long-awaited Messiah.
Many people today have a high view of Jesus as an historical figure who was likely a prophet and a great teacher who certainly was in touch with God’s will but not the unique Son of God. It’s helpful to remember that down through the centuries there have been many prophets but only one is called “the Christ,” God’s anointed.
Peter’s answer was a recognition that Jesus was the anointed one from God and therefore unique in his role as the Messiah that Israel had been looking and praying for. At this point in the story Luke is conveying that the disciples knew that Jesus was a unique prophet from God and even the Son of God, but they had yet to understood that Jesus was the Messiah who was fully God and fully man. At this point they weren’t picking on the prophecies of Zechariah, Ezekiel, Isaiah and other prophets to a lesser extent.
Peter’s testimony is a confession that Jesus is not only a prophetic revealer of God’s way, but he is also the one who will bring them into the life that is lived in God’s way. The disciples still have a limited understanding of the uniqueness of Jesus in that they don’t understand that Jesus is not merely the messenger, but he is the message. In Matthew’s account of the same story of Peter’s confession adds in Matthew 16:17,
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
So Peter is on track with his answer, but the implications are still not understood and won’t be apart from the teaching of the Holy Spirit. The very fountain being poured out that would cleanse them from sin and uncleanness foretold in Zechariah 13:1.
This question concerning who Jesus is should always be in the minds of all who hear the good news of the gospel message. Luke is letting us know that the identity of Jesus Christ is clearly seen through his word, and the Holy Spirit, so it’s not Jesus who is judged by our answer, we are.
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Who Jesus is and who we believe him to be affects the way we live and who we are living for. Jesus was the Messiah from the heart of God, not from the desire of man.
I have found that my sin didn’t seem that bad until I saw it in the light of my Savior and understood something of the holiness and purity of God.
Peter’s answer reflects a deeper understanding of Jesus’ identity than that held by most within the crowds who followed them to see what Jesus would do and say next.
In the next section verses 21–22 Jesus gives them a warning about telling others about his identity. “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.’”
There is disagreement among biblical scholars about why Jesus wouldn’t want the disciples to unveil his real identity, but I think it’s because their understanding, although much greater than the crowds was still immature. In trying to tell the crowds who Jesus really was, they would likely be misunderstood. Remember the disciples think that Jesus is going to Jerusalem to take his rightful place as the king of Israel in the line of David. People would probably think that Jesus was their political deliverer. Instead Jesus explains that his role as the Christ, the Messiah required suffering, rejection, and death.
In Luke this is the first of three times that Jesus will tell the disciples what would happen to him in Jerusalem. It’s interesting that even after the crucifixion and resurrection the disciples still are not getting the true picture of the plan of God. Even as far as Acts 1:6–11 they are still thinking in terms of Jesus immediately taking his rightful place on the throne of David.
Right before Jesus ascends into heaven he tells the disciples to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the power from on high to fall upon them. What is the response? Acts 1:6, “So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus’ response was patient but very matter of fact as he replied, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”
So back to Luke 9: 23–24,
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself
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and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
Much is said about the disciples misunderstanding of why Jesus was going to Jerusalem, but unlike the hundreds of others who had been following Jesus but turned and went back home, they were still with him. But now Jesus was talking about being arrested and killed, and what about this business of the cross?
In the Roman world everyone knew about the cross. Perhaps Jesus was using this as a metaphor for something because the cross was so very final. When the Romans crucified a criminal they didn’t merely hang them on a cross, they first made him carry that cross or at least the cross beam. Carrying the cross always meant death and it meant torture, humiliation, then death. No one returned from being hung on a cross. The way of the cross was a one-way journey so how could they take up their crosses daily? In the Roman world no one voluntarily took up their cross, but it was forced upon them.
Notice that Jesus equates denying one’s self with taking up their cross. The cross would never be about promoting your own interest or self-affirmation. The person carrying the cross knew that they could not save themselves, and they were going to die. The fact that Jesus speaks of daily taking up their crosses shows that he is talking about spiritual things that can lead to physical consequences.
Darrel Bock in his IVP Commentary on The Gospel of Luke points out, “But Jesus’ path also meant that these disciples lived in tension. They had access to many blessings through Jesus, but Jesus’ departure meant that other blessings the Messiah would bring were yet to come. In addition, the world’s harsh reaction to Jesus and those identified with him would continue until he returned.
So Jesus says that to follow him means walking in the path of the cross. Disciples are like their teacher. Whether that path involves “taking up the cross,” “losing one’s life” or “not being ashamed of the Son of Man,” disciples need to understand that life in the world will not involve an easy, stressless trip into glory. The apostle Peter would write later that this road of trial to glory mirrors what Christ himself was predicted to experience—suffering and then glory (1 Pet 1:3–12).
Jesus was inviting the disciples and all who would come after them to follow the path that he walked. The path that he was preparing to walk would lead to the cross initially but eventually it led Jesus back to the Father as the victorious,
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faithful Son, and Savior of all those who in humility would pursue him by faith.
It’s often difficult to pursue something that is promised to bring suffering, and it would take time for the disciples to understand that Jesus, God’s promised deliverer would indeed experience suffering and then death. It was so hard to comprehend that it took the actual events themselves before they were to realize from the scriptures that the Messiah would suffer and die.
At the day of Pentecost Peter, who acknowledged the identity of Jesus in our passage from Luke 9:20, and had witnessed the resurrected Christ and saw him ascend back to the Father, but now full of the Holy Spirit testifies in Acts 2:22–24,
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”
What was different about the Apostle Peter and indeed all the disciples there with Jesus both before and after his death and resurrection, and before and after the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit?
They saw what Jesus had been telling them all along. If they were to follow him they would need to walk as he walked in humility that was expressed in self denial. Taking up the cross daily and following Jesus means living their lives loving the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength plus loving their neighbors as themselves. The Savior experienced rejection, betrayal, and death for others and the disciples should expect to follow in the same footsteps.
Jesus explains that to seek to preserve and protect one’s life will result in its loss; while giving up our lives will lead to salvation. This was a very powerful statement and it’s important that we first see it through the lens of the original context.
As we saw in Zechariah 12:8–10, 13:1, Jesus’ sacrifice even applied to those who had pierced Him, then realized who he was and what they had done. Then they mourned for Him in repentance and the Father would send Living Water to cleanse them from their sins and welcome them into the restored community.
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Who do you say Jesus was and is? If you believe that He is the promised Messiah have you been changed by that?
How far are you willing to go in order to bring Him the glory that is his due? Let’s pray.
©2025 The Rev. Michael J. Moffitt.
