Jesus is the Life-Changing Decision
Luke 9: 18-27
Introduction
Do you remember a life-changing decision? Looking back,
small decisions ended up being big ones. I was mid-way through my junior year
in college and leading the very small singles group at our church. One night
one gal told us that she had decided not to apply as a short-term missionary to
Japan. And Debby Huey turned and said, “Tim, maybe you should I apply.” I
shrugged my shoulders and said, “OK, I’ll give it a try.” That shrug of my
shoulders started me down a life-changing path that led me, not to Japan, but
to the Philippines, to my first time living away from home at 19, to ministry
and to my wife, Helen and to, well, today.
There was a period where I could have changed my mind. I
really didn’t have any idea what I was getting into. I barely knew where the
Philippines was, or what life was like there (“Do they have electricity?” I
asked one guy), or have any idea what missionaries do. I was leaving college
right in the middle of college, after my junior year. I could have gone back. For
a while, it was just excitement and paperwork and interviews, but no real
commitment. But then I bought my ticket. And I sold my car. I was all in.
There were times when I was really homesick. I wondered if
I’d done the right thing. One of my supporters, Jan Cox, asked me what I missed
from home and I reported a deep longing for Oreo cookies. It cost so much to
ship Oreos to Tuguegarao in northern Philippines, which she had to ship it by
slow mail. 30 days later I received her package of Oreo crumbs. So delicious.
Is This The Right One?
There is a point when a decision crystallizes into something
real. It is your name signed on the mortgage document. It is your “I do” at the
marriage altar. It is your credit card on the big ticket purchase. They even
have a term for that, right? Buyer’s remorse: the terrible feeling in the pit
of your stomach as the full emotional weight of your commitment comes home.
There is doubt. There is uncertainty.
And for good reason. First, because you might fail.
Sometimes it is easy to promise big but deliver small. Ningas kugon. Flash in the pan. There can be a tremendous amount of
energy required to maintain our commitments. We grow tired. We get distracted.
And the person or thing to which we have committed might
fail us. The house value declines. The spouse forsakes. The washing machine
breaks down right after the warranty expires. We fail. They fail.
There is no place where this is truer than in spiritual
things. Oh, we pretend that it is not serious, that we’re just checking it
out--sort of like spiritual dating. But we never get serious. And I understand
that: it is an important decision. Making the wrong choice, or making no
choice, can have serious repercussions. Aim wrong here and you could be aiming
wrong forever.
So how do you know if Jesus or someone else is the right
one? What’s the catch? Is being a Christian going to make me all weird, or
stuck up, or Republican?
God Says:
Those are reasonable questions; questions that Jesus gave
straight answers to. Let’s take a look. We’ve been working our way, bit by bit
through the 3rd of the 4 biographies of Jesus found in the Bible—the one
written by Luke, a doctor and early church historian. By chapter 9, Luke
records a period when Jesus has been traveling around northern Israel preaching
the ‘good news’ and doing some pretty incredible miracles. About half way
through the chapter, in verse 18, here’s what it says:
18
Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he
asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”19 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.” <page down> 20 “But what
about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of
God.” 21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
Most of you probably grew up thinking Christ was Jesus’ last
name or else the second part of a swear word. But Christ is a title; a
translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. Peter is saying that Jesus is the
“anointed one” or “chosen one” of God.
It seems strange that Jesus would “strictly warn” them not
to tell anyone? He doesn’t disagree with Peter. He just silences them. Why
would he do that?
First, the title “Christ” was a politically charged term. In
the minds of many people, it was synonymous the word for “king”. But there was
already a king in Israel: Herod. Herod reported to the emperor of Rome: Caesar.
So taking the title of “Christ” could be perceived as an open act of rebellion.
And the people in Jesus’ audience were ready to rebel. Why? Remember the census
that forced Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem? Well, that census was tied
to higher Roman taxes. It was so controversial in this part of Israel that a
man named Judas raised a rebel army and was crushed (Acts 5:37). Pontius
Pilate, the one who later presides at Jesus’ trial? He killed people from this
part of Israel and mixed their blood with their sacrifices on the altar in the
template (Luke 13:1). One of the other biographies of Jesus, written by his
follower, John, records that after the feeding miracle that they called him ‘the
Prophet’ and wanted to make Jesus king by force (John 6:15) . So, Jesus did not
reject the title ‘Christ’; but he wanted to define his role on his terms, not
the crowd’s terms.
Even now, there are a lot of people who want to define
Jesus. They want to place Jesus into this category or that category. Some want
cast Jesus as the insightful, moral teacher. Or a revolutionary. Or a prophet.
Or a huge fake. Or a lunatic. We create categories because we want to define
Jesus; we want to control his extent and influence; and ultimately we want to be
able to dismiss him.
But Jesus insists on defining his own category. Look at the
next part of the 9th chapter:
22
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.”
23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after
me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole
world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
If you had asked anyone that day the definition of ‘Christ’
or ‘chosen one’ they might have answered: ‘king’ or ‘miracle worker’ or ‘great
teacher’ or ‘military leader’. But no one except Jesus used the definition of
‘rejected’ or ‘dead’ or ‘suffering’. Then Jesus goes further: “Guess what, you
can grow up and be just like me! Dead.”
Jesus doesn’t pull any punches here. Full disclosure. If I
am the “chosen one”, like you claim, I am not just a mobile medical clinic. I
am not just a cafeteria. I am not just self-help group therapy. If I am the
Messiah, it has consequences for Me and for you.
He asks them: are you all in? Because I am. Now that’s a big
ask.
Jesus first met his disciples back in the 4th
chapter. Even back then, they knew there was something different about Jesus.
Somehow he, a carpenter/teacher was better at fishing than they were. So they
followed him to get a better look. Now, for 1 ½ or 2 years, they have been with
him nearly every day listening to him, watching him to see what he is. Is he a
good Bible teacher? Sure. A good man? Seems like it? A miracle worker?
Amazingly, yes. But is he the Christ?
How they answer that question takes first priority. How we
answer that question takes first priority. If Jesus is the chosen one of God,
then following him is worth any risk—any effort—any cost. If Jesus is not the
chosen one of God, then he is mildly interesting in a Jeopardy sort of way, but
ultimately forgettable.
Jesus didn’t ask them to make the commitment blind.
Likewise, for you and me, he doesn’t ask us to make a commitment blind. For
those who are serious, he invites to tag along to get a closer look; learn
more; discover if he is real or a fraud. But he will one day ask the question
of all of us: “Who do you say I am?”
26
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him
when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy
angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not
taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
God’s success isn’t defined by our devotion. But our
decision will tell whether we will join him in that success…or not. And our success isn’t defined by our failure.
Strangely enough, Luke actually records later (chapter 22)
the name of one man who was embarrassed to know Jesus. Know who it was? That’s
right. Peter. The first one to call Jesus, “Christ” pretended he didn’t know
Jesus, three times. So, did Jesus write him off? No, he gave Peter another
chance, appearing to him first (Luke 24:34).
Our success is defined by our trust in the success of God’s
chosen one. That success didn’t come cheap. There was the pain of the cross,
the shame of the cross, the death of God’s chosen one, But there was the
success of his resurrection from the dead, the success of his return to heaven.
Will You Be Happy With Anyone Else?
Where are you in your spiritual journey?
Maybe you are wondering if Jesus is someone you can
trust. I can’t answer that. But I can say that it is the most important
decision you will make. You need to take it seriously. You need to investigate.
So I invite you to tag along with Jesus, read his words, try asking his help,
look for clues to what type of God he is. You can start today with a prayer,
“Jesus, I know little about you. But I agree my spiritual decisions are
important. Can I learn more about you? If you are out there, will you show me?
Amen.”
Maybe you have been around Jesus for a while. You’ve seen
some things, learned some things. Maybe now is the day Jesus is asking you:
“Who do you say I am?” Are you ready to say, “The chosen one of God.” That same
Jesus, who gave it all for you and me, asks for it all from you and me. Name on
the dotted line, ring-on-the-finger, jump-into-the-river time. You can take
that step today. “Jesus, I know you are the one God sent. You gave your life
for me. As best as I know how, I want to give my life to you. I am keeping
nothing for myself. Amen.”
Maybe you already made the commitment. But there are
distractions. Maybe they are the same type of distractions that kept you away
from God in the first place. Maybe they are new ones. Do you want to succeed or
follow Jesus? Do you want to feel good or follow Jesus? Do you want to be liked
by people or follow Jesus? If we are honest, we probably answered “both” to one
or more of those questions. We will have a choice this week: to fail (in some
way, small or big) with Jesus or succeed without him. We will have a choice: to
do something uncomfortable with Jesus or play it safe without him. We will have
a choice: to maybe say a hard truth to someone with Jesus or a convenient lie
without Jesus. Pray with me, in advance of the choice: “Jesus, I choose you
again, this week. Even if uncomfortable. Even if unsuccessful. Even if unliked.
You are still worth my entire life and this week’s choices. Amen.”
Conclusion
[Story of our courtship when, while apart, Helen used "if we get married" instead of "when we get married" The point at which it became real to her was when the money arrived for her to buy her wedding dress]When will you move from "if" to "when" with God? What will it take? God knew what it would take. Jesus came, removed the barrier between us and God, so that we could make a life-changing decision. And now, Jesus is asking: Who do you say I am?
