Luke 9:31″who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”

   At the time of this wonderful event surely the disciples still understood the plan very little. They likely did not process much of what these men discussed with Jesus. Besides this, the Holy Spirit did not bring back to their memory the specifics of what was said on this occasion by Moses and Elijah. In any case, just to have this report is unique.

   Very likely these two men spoke in praise of the glory of the plan and were just as honored to be a part of this revelation of the glory of Christ as were the disciples. This is not to say that they had not already seen the glory of Christ, for we would assume they had. But in every new experience of the glory of the Lord we find a greater experience for ourselves. We see more and more of Him with Whom we have to do.

Heavenly Father, all glory and praise and honor be to Your Christ! You have made Him all in all. I will praise You high forever and extol Your glorious Name! You alone have made the perfect plan and carried it out with exact precision. You have made the most unexpected things come true! Only You could construct and orchestrate such a wonderful thing. I put my hand on my mouth in awe! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:30 “And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,”

Luke 9:29 “As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.”

 Luke 9:28 “Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.”

   Why did Jesus have this inner circle? What did He intend to accomplish by limiting access to witnessing some of His greatest miracles? We tend to think things are strange until we do them ourselves. But, humanity does indeed practice the same thing. We don’t give top secret clearance to just anybody. There are a select few that get to see certain things, and do certain things. Access is limited. There may be a nuclear plant, or a valuable storage container, or the like and there will be three or four people who alone have legitimate access to it.

   Jesus had selected these three, and it seems to me likely that they were chosen for the strength of their faith. That is not to say that their faith was very strong, but it may have been stronger than some of the others among the disciples. And, God rewards faith. Those who believe and trust will also be trusted.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your goodness to us! You alone can care for us. We cannot trust anyone else. You alone may deliver us for eternity. We will praise You for Your wisdom and might. You are gracious and loving to us and we love You so much! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:27 “But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

   I have always been of the persuasion that this statement from Jesus was in reference to the mount of transfiguration experience in the next verses. Jesus is the kingdom of God, because He is the King. But, also, the disciples (with the exception of Judas) would also see the beginning of the church.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus! All that You have revealed to us is so wonderful. May we praise You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.”

   Possible meanings of the word ‘ashamed’ here are very revealing. Normally we think of ashamed from the standpoint of being shamed by guilt of having done something wrong. Or we think of being shamed by another person’s actions, and thus having our pride wounded. But, this word can also mean to be afraid of embarrassment due to your hopes being ultimately proven false.

   So, what Jesus is saying is that if a person is hesitant to make their belief in Him, and their acceptance of His message, known, He also will be hesitant to recognize that person in eternity. Thus, such an action is quite dangerous. Many people however, are guilty of this. Many see Jesus as a good man, or a prophet, or some exalted human, but fail to believe in Him as the Son of God. They give Him lip service, but they do not take Him seriously for fear of reprisal, and disappointment. Or, even claiming to believe all of His divinity and accepting His message, some live in such a way as to make it seem that this belief is to be kept a secret. In either case, the result is disastrous.

   Jesus knows who are His. He is aware of our sentiments. He cannot be fooled. We can fool those around us possibly, but He knows the score. God is not mocked. He seeks the genuine.

Heavenly Father, thank You for not accepting fakes. As much as we are weak and error so badly, You have made it possible for us to be genuine. Thank You for that. You are so wise! May we never forget all that You do for us each and every day. You are so gracious and merciful, and Your power is beyond all we comprehend. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:25 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?”

   The world is not enough! All the the old devil may offer is this old world. That was his offer to Jesus in the temptation. But, the world cannot compare to eternal life. One single eternal life, free with God and in His care, is worth a million million of this old world of ours. As Paul says it, the great and eternal weight of glory is so much more to be grasped. We are pursuing something of absolutely infinite worth.

   This is one of the most foundational virtues of Christianity. The value of a single human life is extremely great. This is absolutely vital to a good understanding of the teaching of Christ. His is a doctrine of life. As He tells us, He came to give us life, and to give it to us more abundantly.

Heavenly Father, may life be ever before me! Make me a great lover of the life that You give. Not this earthly temporary part of it only, but also the eternal part that is so much greater. Thank You for life in Christ! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:24 ” “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

 Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

   Jesus here gives them three things to do if they desire to come after Him. What does He mean by this, to come after Him? Well, there are many who have come after in the sense that they have come along later in time. However, Jesus here is using the word ‘after’ more in the sense that others were to pursue Him and His mission. Thus if we seek to be a part of His work, in His kingdom, we must do these three things. And what are these?

   First, we must deny ourselves. This means a couple of things. For one, it means that we cannot please our flesh and follow after Christ. We must turn aside from the pleasures of this life so far as they are intended to gratify the base nature of sin in us. Also, we must not seek our own. This means that we are to not make our own fame, fortune, pride, and sense of power and place in this world our aim. We must give all of these things over in order to pursue Him.

   Second, we are asked to take up our cross daily. The cross was known to the disciples as the chosen method of Roman execution. For Jesus to mention the cross in this way was the same as when we say, ‘take your life in your hands’ or do something ‘at your own risk’. It means that we are liable to die while we are at this. No price is considered too high for the privilege to pursue after Christ. For, indeed, the highest price may be exacted at any moment.

   This second item means a couple of things as well. Firstly, it means that one may not pursue the mission of Christ and serve in His kingdom with any reservations. Nothing may be held back as precious. All must be held with an open hand. And, secondly, danger is not to be a consideration. Risk to life and limb are to be considered a reasonable sacrifice. The prize of obedience is to be the ultimate treasure.

   Then we find the third thing Jesus says. He asks those who would pursue His mission, following after Him, to do just that, to follow Him. This seems simple at first. But, we must detail what He has in mind here. Firstly He means to say that we are to follow His example. As the Almighty Son of God, He took on flesh and lived lowly among us. He was obedient to the Father and died alone for us in the most shameful way. This is the pattern to emulate, and it is the most humiliating and degrading in the world’s eyes. We are not called to a glamourous fate.

   Secondly, to follow Him means to take heed to Him. Every command, every idea, every particular of His way and work are to be our pleasure and banner. We are to be completely submitted to His will and work. His word is to be our battle cry. Loyalty to this cause must be absolute and a sheer delight to His devoted followers.

   Lastly, to follow Christ means to be on His timetable. This means to have always a sense of what time it is in relation to the message of the gospel and the truth as we see it revealed in the Bible. His followers are to live with the reality of His return ever before our face. The fact of His death and resurrection are to always energize us. The times and workings of this worldly life are then not meant to galvanize us. Instead, it is to be where we find ourselves in relation to His eternal plan that really gets us going. It is His timetable that determines our next steps.

Heavenly Father, You are truly worthy or our best life! Not only is it altogether worth it to die for the cause of Christ, but it is also worth it to live for Him! Indeed, it would matter little if it was ‘worth it’ or not since You deserve our best, and may reasonably expect it of us. But, the added bonus is that it is indeed more than worth it. To be counted heirs of Your dear Son is beyond our wildest hopes. We can never deserve it, but will say as all of Your servants, what have we done? Nothing, it is all of You. You have made us the most happy of people. You are so gracious and good. I will serve You forever! Your will and way are my delight. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:22 “saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

   Notice how Jesus words His prophecy concerning what would take place over the next several days. He specifically mentions the Jewish leadership, and that they would ‘reject’ Him. This is significant. This rejection was mentioned, and the role of the Gentile Romans was not. Why?

   The Roman involvement was surely a bad thing, and a condemnation of the Gentile world. But, the rejection by the Jewish leaders is pointed out here because these people were the ones that should have recognized Christ. For a Roman politician to not understand Who Jesus was is indeed bad. But for the people of God and their most biblically literate contingent to not understand and see the Lord Jesus for what He is, was unconscionable. How blind they were!

Heavenly Father, oh give us eyes that we may see! Today we think that we know everything. We think we would surely recognize Your working in every case. But do we? Oh Father, give us the eyes of faith, and open our hearts to Your Word. We assume that if we read and study Your Word, we surely see and know Your way. But we would fall into the same trap as the Jewish leaders in the first century. Keep us humble Lord! We will search and know, we will ask and receive, please illumine our heart and mind by Your Spirit as we look into Your Word! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.