No Casual Statement

Luke 9:20, 23-24 - Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” …If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself 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.”

It is so easy to say, “Jesus Christ.” In America, claiming to be a Christian still does not cost too much, though that is starting to change in many places. It can seem easy to take Jesus for granted and give half-hearted assent to him and who he is. Yet, Jesus warns us that there is a cost to identifying with him.

The two passages above are well known but not always connected. The first is Peter’s famous declaration: “You are the Christ…” This is the first time any of his disciples declare Jesus to be the Christ. Jesus was his given name, but Christ (“Anointed One” in Greek – translated Meshiach – or Messiah – from Hebrew) was the title reserved for one prophesied hundreds of years before. After time with Jesus, they knew he was THE ONE, and Peter was willing to speak it out loud.

However, in the very next verse, Jesus predicts his gruesome crucifixion for the very first time. Immediately after that, he says the words of verse 23 above. In other words, “I am the Christ, but I will die a horrible death on the cross. If you follow me and declare me as the Christ, you need to be willing to suffer the same fate.” 

Notice that this is not a one time declaration. With some gumption, each of us can make a stand for a while. NFL teams do not play Red Zone defense for all 60 minutes. The same for basketball teams and the full court press. Many people in the spur of the moment can make a bold declaration. (Ask me about time share salesmen on my honeymoon sometime.) However, Jesus adds the words kath hemera – daily. Taking up the instrument of our own torture shows a selfless willingness to give everything up for the one who gave everything up for us. It is a great price to pay, but, as Jesus himself ask, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”  (Lk 9:25) Declaring Jesus as your Lord is very costly but worth it all.