Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Messiah of God.” 21 He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. 22 He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. 23 Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus frequently withdrew to pray alone, especially before an important event. When Jesus rose from prayer, he asked the disciples who were with him, what the crowd thought about him. The disciples told him that he was compared to John the Baptist, Elijah, and other prophets. It should be noted that the crowds did not compare Jesus to the Messiah because Jesus did not fit their various expectation of what the Messiah would be like. Based on the various prophecies in the Old Testament, they expected the Messiah to be a figure of great importance and power who would deliver them from oppression and establish a kingdom of peace and prosperity. Jesus asked his disciples their opinion as to who he was. Peter, who was the spokesperson for the disciples, confessed that was the Messiah, the anointed one of God. Peter’s answer was based on the signs and wonders he had seen Jesus perform, and the power and authority he gave his disciples to cure diseases in his name and to exorcize demons (Lk. 9:1-6). He instructed the disciples not to reveal his identity as the Messiah to others at that time.
Jesus told the disciples about his passion, death, and resurrection and invited all to follow him, to be committed to participate in God’s kingdom (Lk. 10:9) in the same way that he is committed. They must be willing to suffer humiliation and even death when they commit daily to living as he lives to further the kingdom of God. They will be challenging the Jewish leadership by teaching the true meaning of the Law and the prophets. Those who are self-centered and preoccupied with self-interests, and do not follow Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom, put their souls in peril and will suffer the consequences when he comes in his glory. They must surrender their lives for Christ’s sake and in so doing they will find true life and salvation. They should not deny Christ or his teachings or they will be denied by him when he returns in glory with the Father and the holy angels. Jesus addressed his disciples specifically when he said that some of them would not die until they saw the manifestation of the kingdom of God. This has been interpreted by some of the Early Church Fathers as a reference to the Transfiguration (Lk. 9:28-36).
Almighty God, may we boldly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah and embrace the path of discipleship, by denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily, and following him faithfully. Grant us the courage to suffer as Christ did, even if we lose our worldly lives, trusting in his promise of true life and salvation in the word to come. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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