Luke 9:51-56

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51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village. ~ Luke 9:51-56

Today's text opens with, "As the time approached..." Up to now everything in Luke's gospel accentuates the coming of the Lord Jesus. But here in Luke 9, a shift has taken place. Now, the focus is on His going. And now, the Lord Jesus resolutely sets His sights on Jerusalem. The whole direction of the gospel of Luke dramatically changes. Up to this point we've seen His power, as He has been revealing Himself as the Messiah. But now, He's headed to the cross. Jerusalem meant one thing for the Lord Jesus: certain death.

His Galilean ministry had ended, after more than a year of miracles and preaching the good news of forgiveness. In less than a year He will be the recipient of God's wrath as He takes the place of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Before His exaltation, there has to be His humiliation. 

According to v.51, "Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem." He had to do that because it wasn't easy to do. There had to be self-discipline, there had to be conviction. There had to be resolve to go to Jerusalem. Even in the garden of Gethsemane, He said, "If possible, let this cup pass from Me, nevertheless not My will but Yours be done." Those words spoken while in the Garden shows His resolve to go through the suffering, the rejection, the execution, and the wrath of God on Him in His death. His resolve was unwavering.

In v.52 we learn that He sent messengers on ahead of Him to Samaria. They were leaving Galilee for the Galilean ministry was over. They're now headed toward Jerusalem in a meandering fashion for months. The first place they go was a village of the Samaritans. 

Whereas Matthew focused his gospel on the Jews, Luke focuses on the world. Luke knocks down all the conventional walls that separate people from one another, walls of religious prejudice and racism. Luke reminds us extensively of how the Lord Jesus went to the tax collectors, the prostitutes and the criminals. He had a heart for those willing to admit their sinful condition. Of course this is the first step to becoming a follower of the Lord Jesus. Luke writes about lepers, the demonized, the diseased and the dead. The Lord Jesus had time for them all, including the women and thieves and those on the fringes of society. The Lord Jesus shattered all the stereotypes and Luke documents it. 

When a Jew traveled from Galilee down to Jerusalem, he wouldn't walk through Samaria, he'd go all the way around, cross the Jordan twice, just to avoid going through Samaria, the place of those who were defiled and unclean. The Samaritans were a mixed race, semi-pagan offspring of Israelites from the northern kingdom who were left behind when the northern kingdom was taken into Assyrian captivity. They intermarried with pagans who were loyal to the Assyrian king so they were half breeds.They had abandoned their Jewish roots and heritage. They had embraced paganism. 

According to v.53, "the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem." The Jews had so mistreated the Samaritans down through the years that the Samaritans had mounted a counter hatred toward their aggressors. They hated the fact that the Jews said that one could only worship at the temple in Jerusalem. They despised the Jews and the Jews treated them like dogs. The Samaritans temple had been destroyed in 128 BC, never being rebuilt again. So, they refused to allow the Lord Jesus' trip to Jerusalem to be easy. This wasn't theological, it was years of built up rejection and pain on both sides.

When they arrived in this town in Samaria, according to v.54, James and John said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" James and John were known as the sons of thunder, they were volatile guys, having  long been slaves to their anger. Some translations say, "Do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them as Elijah did?" Im sure they were thinking back to 2 Kings 1 where Elijah was in the same area. Some of the enemies of God got in a tiff with Elijah and he called down fire from heaven and burned them up. 

A mistaken view of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem can lead to a mistaken view of discipleship. If Jesus had come to execute judgment and take up an earthly rule, then it would make sense for the sons of thunder to begin this judgment on this final siege of the Holy City. But the Lord Jesus came not to judge but to save. The surprise about the Lord Jesus as the Messiah was that He came to give His life as a ransom. This journey of the Lord Jesus to Jerusalem had as its design the liberation of all who will ever believe, and the disciples were the first recipients of such grace. In time, they would become as gracious as He.

In v.55 we read, "But Jesus turned and rebuked them." In the New American Standard Bible, in v.56 He said, "For the Son of Man didn't come to destroy men's lives but to save them." He came to seek and to save the lost. The Son of Man didn't come to destroy our lives but to save them. Compassion always cures more sin than condemnation. Biblical conservatism without compassion is one of the ugliest things in the world, but the addition of compassion makes it the most beautiful thing in the world.

These Samaritans didn't reject the Lord Jesus because He claimed to be God, they didn't reject Him because He claimed to save by grace and they wanted law. They didn't reject Him because they didn't like the religious doctrines He taught, they rejected Him because He was Jewish and He was going to the temple. Yet, there's always mercy extended to those who are ignorant of the truth.

At the end of v.56 we read, "Then he and his disciples went to another village." But, a few years later, a man named Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ to these people. According to Acts 8:6-8, "The multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip." 

The God of the second chance showed up again. This just wasn't their time yet to hear and believe the gospel. Christ hadn't yet died and risen. How ironic that the people James and John wanted to incinerate were rescued. Such is the nature of the heart of the God we serve. It is this characteristic of grace and mercy that motivates His followers most. Years later, the Apostle would write, "In view of God's mercies, submit your bodies as a living sacrifice." This is our story and it is our calling, today!

Luke 9:46-50

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46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” 49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” 50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.” ~ Luke 9:46-50

Our text today stages the age old struggle between pride and humility. God resists the proud because the proud resist God. The heart of pride does not confess, does not repent, and does not ask for forgiveness. Pride is the hidden reef that shipwrecks the soul. God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble.

In v.46 an argument breaks out among the twelve disciples about which of them is the greatest. And, in v.49, John tries to hinder a person who is casting out demons in Jesus' name because he doesn't belong to their group. So, today's text is about individual and group pride.

Pride inaugurated sin and it is at the core of our corruption.  Self-worship is what real fallenness is all about. Every other sin rises out of the soil of pride. Every kind of rebellion and all sin is lawlessness. All sin is rebellion against God, all of it produced by pride. Pride seeks to dethrone God. Pride grips the sinner's heart, and that's why it's so hard to believe. This is why it is so hard to be saved, this is why it is so hard to repent from our way to God's way.

Even though we have entered into a personal relationship with God through Christ, this does not mean that pride is no longer an issue for us. In fact, the presence of God in our lives has heightened our awareness of the pride which is yet in us. Through the cross of the Lord Jesus pride has been severely wounded, it has been given a death blow but it's still kicking in the throes of death.

Now, the setting of today's text is Capernaum, a city in Galilee at the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee where the Lord Jesus had made His headquarters during His Galilean ministry. It was also the home of Peter. This happens in a house that may have been Peter's house. 

The disciples had just come off the road. They had been walking on the road where the Lord Jesus has been teaching and doing miracles. While they were on the road, they were arguing about which of them is going to be the greatest in the kingdom of the Lord. It was as if His statements about suffering and death had just gone right on by. He had taught them that if they were going to follow Him, they would have to deny self, take up their cross, and be willing to die to self. 

When they get into the house, the Lord Jesus asked them what they were discussing. According to Mark 9 they kept silent. They had made their commitment to Christ, but they still struggled with sin, particularly pride. 

In v.46 we read of these first generation believers who had been given the commission to preach and empowered to preach, they had been given the ability to do signs and wonders, to raise dead people and to give healing to sick people and to cast out demons. Yet, division festered among them.

 

Pride destroys relationships. Since relationships are built on sacrifice, service, and giving oneself away, proud people destroy relationships. Pride is indifferent to others, it is self-absorbed and it is ultimately judgmental and critical and divisive. Pride destroys because it makes us artificial. The answer is humility which makes us real and trustworthy.

In v.47 we read, "Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him." The Lord Jesus picked up a little child because a little child was the lowest ranking person in their society. He sets that little child before them and then He picks that little child up in His arms because that little child is going to become an illustration for His lesson on humility.

In v.48, the Lord Jesus graciously uses a child to teach the disciples about true greatness. According Matthew 18:1, the disciples had asked, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" After calling a child over to Him, according to Matthew 18:3 the Lord responds with, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted.” 

Unless we do a one eighty and go a different direction, and become like children, we are not even going to be in the kingdom. We have got to realize that we are nothing. We have no rank before God. We have no achievement that would rank us over anybody else. It is only the Lord Jesus who earns favor with God for us.

So, in Matthew 18:4 He then says, "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he's the greatest in the kingdom."  Greatness in the kingdom is not relative, it is absolute.  Everybody in the kingdom is the greatest. We are great because our greatness is seated in Christ's righteousness. When God sees us through the lens of His Son, the Lord Jesus, we are the righteousness of God in Him. 

In Luke 18:15, they were bringing even their babies to Him.  In v.14 the Lord Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, he who humbles himself shall be exalted." All who exalt themselves are going to end up being humbled. All who exalt self, He's talking about the religious leaders of Israel, the self-righteous, are going to be humbled by God in judgment.  But all of those who humble themselves are going to end up being exalted, co-heirs with Christ Himself.

Then, when the disciples saw the people were bringing their babies to the Lord Jesus, the disciples rebuked them. It was at this point that the Lord Jesus said, "Permit the children to come to Me.  Don't hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all." Humility is so difficult to lay hold of because we most often learn it through humiliating circumstances. It is only when we see ourselves as valueless, that we grow in humility and are favored by God.

Luke 9:44-45

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44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.” ~ Luke 9:44-45

Our text for today begins with, "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men." The Lord Jesus knew that listening is one of the easiest things we will ever do, and yet, one of the hardest. It seemed most hard for the disciples, so the Lord Jesus made it a point for them to listen.

In a sense, listening is easy or hearing is easy. It doesn’t demand the initiative and energy required in speaking. That’s why “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The point is that hearing is easy, and faith is not an expression of our activity, but our receiving the activity of another. It is “hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:2, 5) that accents the achievements of Christ and thus is the channel of His grace that starts and sustains the Christian life.

But despite this ease, or perhaps precisely because of it, we often fight against it. In our sin, we’d rather trust in ourselves than another, amass our own righteousness than receive another’s, speak our thoughts than listen to someone else. True, sustained, active listening is a great act of faith, and a great means of God's grace, both for ourselves and for those whom we influence.

After the transfiguration on the mountain, just when the disciples thought the Lord Jesus was about to set up His kingdom, He says, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men." 

 “Delivered” means handed over as a criminal to those who would punish Him. He was saying, I'm going to suffer and you too are going to have to deny yourself and take up a cross as well. There's going to be suffering for you. They didn't hear it.  It didn't register.  They didn't hear the part about the cross. They just looked at the crown.  They saw the glory and not the suffering. 

Even though the Lord Jesus had already told them back in the Luke 9:22, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be murdered, be raised up the third day," it still had not sunk in. It just didn't compute in the minds of the disciples.  And so, it was necessary for Him to say to them, "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you." In another translation of this verse reads, "Let these words sink into your ears."

In addition to what had happened on the mount of transfiguration, the disciples were excited by the rising popularity of the Lord Jesus. The Populace exacerbated their expectations that He would establish His kingdom then and there.

The theme of Luke's Gospel is: the Lord Jesus is "the Son of Man." Taken from Daniel 7, the designation is that of a very exalted figure. A study of the term "Son of Man" in the Gospels reveals the Lord Jesus referred to Himself most often as the "Son of Man." He said in Mark 10:45, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The Lord Jesus was subtle while enabling others to recognize His identity, but He didn't reveal Himself so blatantly that everybody would come to accept Him as the king. He made claims that were explicit in certain settings and implicit in others. And only when the time was right, when He was on trial for His life that He was asked, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the living God?" In response He said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man coming with great power and glory." So the Lord Jesus confessed His deity openly, right at the point when He knew He would be crucified for it.

The Lord Jesus is referred to as the “Son of Man” 88 times in the New Testament. The phrase “Son of Man” is a reference to the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14 which reads, “13 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” 

Daniel's description of the “Son of Man” is Messianic. The disciples, on the heels of His transfiguration, expected the Lord Jesus to set up His eternal kingdom on earth as the "Son of Man." This expectation was created by the fact that He used this phrase of Himself most often. 

God called the prophet Ezekiel “son of man” 93 times. God was simply calling Ezekiel a human being. A son of a man is a man. The Lord Jesus was fully God and He was also a fully human. 

But, according to Luke 9:45, the disciples "did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it." The disciples did not understand how this could take place in the context of God’s plan for the Messiah. If the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, how could He be delivered into the hands of men and be put to death?  The disciples did not understand because it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it. 

In Luke 8:10 we learn that the reason the disciples were able to know the secrets of the kingdom was because they were seeking. The crowd did not come to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to explain the parable of the soils, but the disciples did. Since they were asking and seeking, the Lord Jesus revealed to them the meaning of the parable. 

Luke 9:45 reads, “They were afraid to ask him about this saying.” The disciples stopped asking for explanations. Before, when the Lord Jesus said something they did not understand, they went to Him and asked Him. Now, the disciples stop asking. Since they stopped asking they could not understand what the Lord Jesus meant.

Luke 9:37-43

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37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” 41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. ~ Luke 9:37-43

After the Lord Jesus and His three guys came down from the mountain, there was a large gathering of people waiting for the Lord Jesus. A man in the crowd begged Him to look at his demon-possessed son for he had begged His disciples to drive it out, but they could not.

Most people would have us focus on the demon, but that would be to miss the point. The Lord Jesus says in v.41, "You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here." The focus should not be the demon, the focus should be on our faith in the God of the Bible. This sad story is about the importance of believing what God has said, and the power that flows from the promises that He has given.

This story takes place on the heels of the mountaintop transfiguration of the Lord Jesus. It provides a contrast between being defined by the light or by the darkness. It takes place in the contrast of their mountain top experience and this man's valley experience. 

On the mountain the Lord Jesus was front and center, whereas in the valley Satan is getting a lot of attention. Two sons, one is fulfilling a plan from God devised from before time began. The other is trapped in the wicked web of the one who is trying to thwart the purposes of God. One is controlled by a demon, the other controls the demon. The demon-possessed son is delivered and given back to his father. The Son of God is killed and raised from the dead and has ascended back to His Father.

This father of the demon-possessed boy believes the Lord Jesus has the power to deliver his son. He falls down in a reverent posture and humility before the only One who can do what needed to be done. It is, as if, he had gone up the mountain and had seen the transfiguration.

In v.38, the father begged the Lord Jesus "to look at my son."  He wanted Him to look at his boy with great and deep concern. This word for "look" is an intense word. Anytime we have a preposition in the front of a verb, it is intensified. And, he is saying, "Could You please, out of all of this crowd of needy people, pay special attention to my one and only son?"   

Now, here is a boy that is so dominated by a demon, he can't hear, can't speak, and the demon is doing everything he can to throw him into a fire. And the father has tried to protect his son over and over from this deadly power. 

In v.39, the father says, "A spirit seizes him." He knew it wasn't psychological or physiological. He knew it was demonic.  He knew he was possessed with a spirit that made him mute. 

And so, the father pleads for the intervention of God Himself.   

Previous to this story when the Lord Jesus sent the disciples out to do ministry, He gave them the ability to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. But, as indicated in v.40, the disciples could not free this boy from this demon.

According to Matthew 17:19-20, the disciples couldn't free the boy due to the smallness of their faith. There was no lack of available power. There was no lack of experience. There was no lack of knowing whatever a formula they might have known. There was no lack of commission. There was a lack of faith. And, so, in v.42, the Lord Jesus said, "You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 

They did not fail because they did not expect anything to happen, because they did. We almost always think of faith as some kind of expectation that something is going to happen. If we can just believe something is going to happen, it will happen. But these disciples did believe something was going to happen. They were surprised when it did not happen. They expected the boy to be delivered. They had seen people delivered before from demons when they said the word, and did so in Jesus' name. But this time it did not happen. So, faith is not merely a sense of expecting something to happen. The Lord Jesus said their problem was that they were faithless. Yet they did have a kind of faith, they expected that something would happen. 

They had faith, but it had changed from faith in God to faith in the process they were following. They thought that if you said the right words, and followed the right ritual, that the demon would have to leave. Without their even realizing it, they had transferred their faith from confidence in a God who can act, to a formula that can bring it about. 

In Mark's gospel we are told what the boy's father said. He said, "I do believe; help my unbelief!" Out of the honesty of his weakness, he cast himself on the Lord. That kind of faith is small, but it is like a grain of mustard seed, it is able to move mountains. The moment he said those words, the moment he cast himself in his weakness back on the Lord, that was all God wanted. Our Lord spoke the words, and his son was delivered. 

In v.42-43, we read, "42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God."

Peter, John, and James saw the greatness and power of God on the mountaintop. Now, the other nine, as well as the crowd, see His greatness and power down in the valley. In order for our faith in Him grows, we need the contrast. We like comfort, yet it is when we are most uncomfortable that we depend upon Him. 

We need constant reminders of His greatness, and power to keep our faith going. The reality is we live in the valley, and we will never see, for ourselves, His greatness and power until we are more and more dependent upon Him. Of course, this is the role of those unwanted trials that come into our lives. Thank Him for those trials, because it is through the trials that we are enabled to see Him more clearly and depend upon Him more deeply.

Luke 9:33-36

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33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen. ~ Luke 9:33-36

In John 1:14 John wrote, “And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” He saw the glory of the Lord Jesus on that mountain that day and it was the same glory that belongs to God. John, Peter and James did not see light shine on the Lord Jesus, they saw the glory of God shining out from the Lord Jesus.

In the valley before going up the Mount Hermon, the Father had revealed to Peter that the Lord Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God." In Peter's mind, down in the valley, He was something because he had come to the conclusion that the Lord Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the Living God." But, since having that experience on the mountain with John and James, Peter discovered he was wrong. On the mount of transfiguration God showed Peter, this message of the mountain was not for those in the valley, for the people in the valley were not quite ready for its message.

Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah, the greatest upholder of the law, conversed with the Lord Jesus for a time. And, the word used to describe their discussion with the Lord Jesus is the Greek word  “exodon.” The English translation is EXODUS.

Before coming to this scene, Moses and Elijah had been in the eternal kingdom, they had been in the presence of God. And, there they would have known the Son of God, they would have known Him well before He was ever born in Bethlehem. And they therefore would have known God's plan of redemption.

In v.33 Peter suggests, "Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." Peter's first comment does make sense. According to v.33 he said, "Master, it is good for us to be here." Peter thought, "This is what I've been waiting for. Yeah, it got a little bit confusing when we heard You were going to be rejected and killed and we were going to have to be taking up a cross, and all this sadness and all of this disappointment. But, now here we are and this is what we expected." 

Perhaps Peter remembered Zechariah 14 where we are taught that in the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, the Feast of Tabernacles will be held every year as a remembrance of the Exodus; and not just the exodus out of Egypt, but the exodus out of bondage to sin into the glorious life of God.

Peter didn't realize that this was not the beginning of the eternal kingdom. Sure, Elijah was to come at the time of the kingdom, he knew that. Sure, during the eternal kingdom there was going to be a Feast of Tabernacles. All of the elements of the kingdom that Peter had longed for were there. And, the glory of Christ was displayed. But he doesn't realize that there is more, that there must be the cross. Before there will ever be a crown for the Lord Jesus and His followers, there has to be a  cross for the Lord Jesus, alone.

According to v.34, "While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud."  Back in Exodus, when Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet with the Lord, "the cloud of the glory of God" came down and hovered over the cloud. And it was that cloud that led them through the wilderness. Moses was very familiar with this cloud. It was a cloud that represented the presence and glory of God. This cloud didn't frighten Moses.

But the disciples were afraid. And, according to v.35, '"A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."' Unbeknown to Peter, he was  placing Elijah and Moses on the same level as the Lord Jesus. When the Father spoke, there was no mention of Elijah and Moses. He spoke of and to the Lord Jesus only. 

This is why in v.36 we read, "When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen." 

Months after this, after the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead, this experience would certainly make more sense and become more believable. Peter, John and James were told not to say anything about this experience to the others because if they explained what they had seen, it would have caused problems. If they explained that they saw the eternal kingdom and that the Lord Jesus was transfigured and that He was the King, they would have then become a greater threat to the Jews and to the Romans. This could have precipitated an attack against them and a premature execution of the Lord Jesus and the apostles, and so the Lord Jesus doesn't want that to happen. 

The timing of God is perfect. Always! We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting because change is a process. Many people want change, but they don't want to go through the waiting process. But the truth is, waiting is a given.

The question is, are we going to wait the wrong or right way? If we wait the wrong way, we'll be miserable; but if we decide to wait God's way, we can become patient and even enjoy the wait. It takes practice, but as we let God help us in each situation, we develop patience, which is a fruit of the Spirit. It's developed only under trial, so we must not run from difficult situations. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that we may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing (James 1:4).

Our souls are made up of our minds, wills and emotions. When the Word, His definition of things, gets rooted in our souls and begins to change our minds, it begins to heal our emotions and turn our wills away from self-will and onto doing the will of God. Living out of one's own soul is equivalent to staying in the wilderness. When we say "no" to our flesh, and we get to doing the will of God, that's when we enter and experience His glory. 

Luke 9:28-32

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28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ~ Luke 9:28-32

The Lord Jesus took Peter, John, and James up the mountain in elevation of 9,000 feet to pray. The mountain presented practical lessons which are designed to yield sanctification in the life of the disciple. At the bottom of the mountain it was sunny and predictable. At the top of the mountain it was snowy and most unpredictable. And, the Lord Jesus took these three disciples up the mountain in order to pull the curtain back allowing them to see the really real. Such is the nature of our faith, and, these three saw the kingdom. This was a step involved in the process of becoming more dependent disciples.

Despite the fact that we live in a multi-dimensional world, we still live in a world of time and space. To some degree we will always be limited in our vision and understanding. The Lord Jesus escorts three of His disciples into a realm that is not bound by the elements of time and space. The transfiguration of the Lord Jesus was God’s seal of approval upon Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. For the three disciples, this was about the furtherance of their understanding of God and His kingdom.

This was one of three times the Father spoke audibly for the Son to hear Him. He spoke at His baptism (Luke 3:22) and would speak again during His final week of His earthly ministry (John 12:23–28). From the cloud God spoke about His Son. The goal of God's utterances is that we will see the Lord Jesus, only.

According to v.29 we read, "As he was praying." A closer look reveals the Lord Jesus was the only one praying. According to v.32 the disciples were sleeping. Prayer is far more important than we know. Continual communion with God is a must for the disciple to be defined by the God of the Bible. Like the disciples, we get nonchalant with God and withprayer.

While He was praying, His appearance "changed."  Matthew adds, "He was transfigured." Matthew used the Greek word "metamorphosis," changed in appearance. Matthew writes, "His face shone like the sun." All of a sudden His face was as blazing as a noonday sun. 

According to v.29, "his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." His clothing became dazzling and brilliant, like a flash of lightning. His appearance was not of this world, it was of the world to come, the world He was in before He came to this realm. What a scene!

This is like that which God described of Himself in the Old Testament. He manifested Himself in the Old Testament as light. Throughout the Scriptures, light is synonymous with eternal life. God manifested His Spirit life in light. 

The Lord Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," but His light had never been seen like this before. And, while on that mountain these three disciples were given an incredible glimpse of eternal life. This is what eternal life looks like when it is translated into light. And it permeated through His transfigured body so that literally He was ablaze like a flame with the sun at its peak.  

According to v.30-31, "30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem." Their conversation was about His fulfilling departure, it was about His cross. It is only through the cross of the Lord Jesus that we have a correct understanding of who we really are and why we are here and where we are going. In Him, we are more than conquerers. 

Moses represented the Law. Elijah represented the Prophets. These two show up to have a conversation with the Lord Jesus about His planned death. God had used Moses as His instrument to introduce the whole sacrificial system to Israel. And, Elijah delivered the message of the prophets that the Messiah would provide salvation through His death for sinners. The Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of both the law and the prophets.

Peter, John, and James, had accompanied the Lord Jesus when He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Luke 8:51), and they would accompany Him when He prayed in the garden (Matthew 26:36–46). But during His transfiguration, according to v.32, the three disciples were asleep and were unaware of all that was going on. When they awakened they began to lean into the purpose for which they came, the glorification of the Son of God and the development of the disciples faith. 

But, there are no Master's degrees in faith. His glory came to them in glimpses. He reveals His glory in glimpses and not in details. And, we think the best revelation comes on the top of the mountain. No! No! No! The best revelation comes when we are in the valley. The faith of the mountain begins with the faith acquired in the valley.

The disciples did not belong in this context. The only way they were there was due to their relationship with the Lord Jesus. This is where faith in the Lord Jesus takes us. Faith in the Lord Jesus takes us to levels that we otherwise would not and do not belong. 

Finally, as we learn to trust the Lord with our souls which are made of our minds, wills and emotions, He will transform us from within. His goal in changing us is to save us from being conformed to the patterns of this world. As we behold Him in His Word, we are transformed by His Spirit. The theological name for this experience is sanctification, the process by which our minds, wills, and emotions are defined more and more by Him. 

Luke 9:26-27

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26 "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." ~ Luke 9:26-27

This is the first mention of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus in the gospel of Luke. In His first coming, His goal was to be the sacrifice of God that would procure God's forgiveness on behalf of all who would believe. But in today's text, the Lord Jesus is describing His Second Coming when His glory will be on display, not His humility as in His first coming. His Second Coming is not to be confused with the rapture of the Church which could happen any moment.

Peter had spoken earlier on behalf of all of the disciples that the Lord Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And the Lord Jesus told the twelve, after Peter’s statement, not to tell people of their accurate assessment of Him because He did not fit in with the populaces' preconception of the Messiah. They did not understand that He must die first. After He died on the cross the disciples were devastated and disoriented. They, clearly, did not expect His necessary death.

With that understanding fairly firmly placed in the minds of the disciples, the Lord Jesus gives a challenging statement in v.26. "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."  

The context here describes when the Son of Man comes in His glory at His Second Coming. And, for those who have not received the free gift of forgiveness of sin, they will face the holy God with shame. To avoid their shame is to deal with the shame of their sin, now. Once we have owned our sinfulness, we have a choice to receive the free gift of forgiveness through the death of the Lord Jesus. And, those who are not ashamed of their sin, and have not received the forgiveness of God, the Lord Jesus will be ashamed of them at His coming.

There are people who refuse to be ashamed of their sinfulness, and so they are ashamed of the Lord Jesus and His message. They’re ashamed of the gospel. They are ashamed to be associated with the Lord Jesus. What offended these was that He called their religious activity hypocrisy. And He said, they were the poor, and the prisoners, and the blind, and the oppressed, that their true spiritual condition was one of absolute poverty, they were spiritually bankrupt. And, because they were blind to spiritual truth, they would not receive that message. 

This is why the apostle Paul said, “I will boast only in Christ Jesus, my Lord.” Christians are people who are not ashamed of Jesus Christ, but they are ashamed of themselves and they come to Him in shame to be forgiven. Should I be ashamed of the one who died on the cross to deliver me from sin? Should I be ashamed of the One who loved me with a perfect love from before the world began? 

The Lord Jesus was not to be their Messiah. They would not have this man to reign over them, they said. They were ashamed of Christ. Everything about the Lord Jesus was a stumbling block to them and an offense to them, not just the cross, everything else. They put Him on a cross because they were ashamed of the fact that He claimed to be their Messiah. It offended them that one so humble, one so meek would claim to be the Messiah.

In v.27 we read, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." The Lord Jesus is referring to the fact that Peter, James and John will see His transfiguration which is recorded in Luke 9:28-36. These three will shortly be given a preview of the coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom power and glory. The Lord Jesus had just said there's going to be a Second Coming and so, He gives a preview to Peter, James, and John.

They had seen His power, but they hadn't seen the kingdom, they only saw the signs. They were about to be taken behind the scenes, and see the eternal kingdom and glory and the power that the Lord Jesus will display at His Second Coming.

In Luke's Gospel, the Lord Jesus is referred to as the "Son of Man" twenty-five times. The designation, "Son of Man," implies the humanity and deity of the Lord Jesus. This description is taken from the books of Ezekiel and Daniel where we discover that there was a twofold description of Him as the One who would step into the exalted role of redeemer. He was both man and God, and, in order to redeem man, He had to become a man. But, He could not be anyone's savior without being God.

The Lord Jesus referred to Himself most often as Son of Man because He came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He was subtle. He made claims that were explicit in certain settings and implicit in others. And only when the time was right, when He was on trial for His life, and they said, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the living God?" did he say, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man coming with great power and glory." This will happen at His Second Coming, and we will be with Him forever.