Luke 9:18-21 AMP Now it occurred that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, Who do men say that I am? 19 And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life. 20 And He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am? And Peter replied, The Christ of God! 21 But He strictly charged and sharply commanded them [under penalty] to tell this to no one [no one, whoever he might be],
Why did Jesus command His disciples not to tell anyone that HE is the Christ of God? In the other versions, it states that Jesus had warned or strictly commanded them not to tell anyone. In the Amplified, HE strictly charged and sharply commanded them under penalty. Under penalty! After all, the Messiah had come to deliver HIS people. HE was performing miracles, feeding thousands of people, and healing people. Why wouldn't HE want the other people to know His true identity?
If we continue reading the context of the chapter, we see that Jesus said the Son of Man "suffer many things and be deliberately disapproved and repudiated and rejected on the part of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be put to death and on the third day be raised again." Jesus is basically stating that in order to be known in the fullness as the "Christ of God" HE must first suffer many things, be rejected, persecuted, and be put to death. Yes, although HE is the "Christ of God," the journey was not finished. Is an olive tree defined by a seed? An olive tree bearing olives is an olive tree. It is a full mature tree. A young olive tree not mature enough to bear fruit is still defined as an olive tree but it has not come to its fullness as an olive tree.
The name "Christ of God" is defined from beginning to end. In order to possess this title and the fullness of it, Jesus had to finish the path and purpose of why HE had come. Yes, HE was performing miracles. HE was feeding thousands. He was healing people. But still there was unfinished business. Too heal and feed people is only temporary. HE had come to bring eternal life. But to conquer death, HE had to suffer greatly and obey even unto death so that many many would live.
Now, let us look it at from Peter's angle. It was Peter who had answered, "Your are the Christ of God!" Why wouldn't Jesus want Peter to tell others that HE was the "Christ of God." Peter was a follower of Jesus. Jesus did not want people to know Peter was following HIM because Jesus already knew Peter was a denier of HIM. Jesus knew HE would already deny HIM one day. Why would Jesus want Peter to boast who he is following but yet would deny HIM? Today is no different. Many Christians boast they are "Christians". They boast that they believe in Jesus but yet many deny HIM every day. Many cheat on HIM. Jesus does not want us to boast that we are followers of HIM when in fact many are but living lives as though their father is the devil.
Jesus said if you are going to follow ME, you will have to deny yourself. We must deny ourselves but so many deny HIM. HE said to take up our own crosses and follow HIM. Jesus was willing to take up HIS cross knowing HE would suffer much. Do you know you will suffer much if you take up your crosses daily? Are you ready to obey unto death as well? Then at least die to yourselves.
If Jesus lives in us now, then if we are to say we are "Christians" or that we believe in HIM and we follow HIM, then before we boast of ourselves as "Christians" in public to our friends and family, we must first suffer with HIM having gone through much persecution, rejection, suffering, and most of all, have died to ourselves. Yes, you are a Christian once you have repented and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior but are you sure you want to boast about it so soon to the world when many are so much in the flesh making Jesus look bad? Many are very bad ambassadors of heaven.
I hear many lukewarm Christians are turning to paganism. Why? They say in paganism, they are talking about loving, forgiving, helping others, and so forth. Today's Christianity has a lot of people bragging about being saved but such carnal Christians are stumbling one another and offending many others. Many people are getting hurt by Christians and thus they are rejecting God because such carnal Christians are stumbling weaker believers and the world. This is why Jesus had warned under PENALTY, do not go around misrepresenting Me when you are not like ME. Do not say you are following ME when you are denying ME!
Luke 17:1-3 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! 2 It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. 3 So watch yourselves!
A Christian can have the anointing to bring healing, feed people, and perform miracles. But have you died to yourself bearing HIS Fruit to say Christ is in you and you can really say you are a Christian in its fullness? Be careful how you represent and follow HIM. There will be consequences.
May you all come to the fullness of God.
Pastor Steve Yong Kim
Fire of God Church
August 14, 2014
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