Luke 9,18-27

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”
20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus Foretells His Death
21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,
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 on the third day be raised.”
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Hello everyone, I am kiki. Chinese name of our second phase of the program is „读经大讲堂“. The English name is „Bible study“.
We will adopt a relaxed also enjoyable learning mode to take you into a new learning world. Each time I will make a personal summary and analysis from the perspective of a learner, and then Sister Ingrid will help me conduct in-depth learning and problem discussions with everybody.
I hope that such an interesting and interactive process can bring new knowledge experience to you all. The following is my interview with sister on related issues. Today is the 24th lecture on the Gospel of Luke.
Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion!

2.My summary of Luke 24th-time study:

Well, everybody! Firstly, is still my today’s personal study summary.
One day, while Jesus was praying, He asked His disciples what people thought about Him. Some said He was John the Baptist, others thought He was Elijah or another prophet from the past.
But when Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered boldly, “You are the Christ of God.”
Then Jesus warned them not to tell anyone yet. He explained that He would suffer, be rejected by the religious leaders, be killed, and then rise again on the third day.
After that, Jesus told everyone that following Him means more than just saying words. A person must be willing to give up selfish desires, carry their own cross daily, and truly follow Him.
He explained that trying to save your life only makes you lose it, but giving up your life for His sake means you actually save it.
Jesus also asked, “What’s the point of gaining the whole world if you lose yourself in the process?”
He warned that if people are ashamed of Him, He will also be ashamed of them when He comes back in glory. Finally, He said that some standing there would see the kingdom of God before they die.
Now let Ingrid sister make a go further summary.

3. Sister’s comment on my study summary
   Hello everybody,
   this text is difficult to understand, so I used the comments of the King James Bible to answer your questions.

The text begins with Jesus praying. He had just served a large crowd of people, so He needed rest with His Father in heaven.

Only the disciples were with Him, but that was enough. Jesus directed the topic of their conversation to the crowd that they had just fed, and He asked the disciples what the people thought of Him.

The disciples gave different answers. Then Jesus asked them directly: “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered honestly: “You are Jesus, the Anointed One.”
d me today: Who do we believe Jesus is? Is He only a miracle worker who helps us when we are in trouble, or is He truly our all in all—someone for whom we are willing to give up everything and follow Him?

The next topic Jesus mentioned was His coming crucifixion by the religious leaders in Jerusalem. This was a shocking message for the disciples. Most of them did not understand what He was talking about. Peter, as we read in another Gospel, even told the Lord that this should not happen to Him. But Jesus rebuked him strongly for saying this.
With this background, we can understand the rest of the passage. Of course, Jesus does not call us to be crucified, but He does call us to face the challenges of our everyday lives, to let go of our selfish desires, and to put our lives completely in God’s hands.

It may happen that others laugh at us, but that does not matter. Jesus does not ask us to be heroes. Walking with Him day by day is enough.

To deny ourselves means not to seek the pleasures of this world, but instead to receive the love, joy, and peace that Jesus offers. It is logical that there is no benefit in becoming great in this world but losing eternal life.

Nobody leaves this earth alive, so we must carefully consider where we want to spend eternity.

Jesus closes the conversation by saying that there are some who will not taste death before seeing the kingdom of God. Jesus has overcome death; therefore, when we are reborn in Him, we will only sleep but will not see death in all its cruelty.

4. Q list part: base on Luke 24th items:

Okay. Base on above bible study content, now let me ask sister some related questions.
We hope the following questions can be helpful to our brothers and sisters who have just become Christians.

1.Why did people think Jesus was John the Baptist or Elijah?

Because of their unbelieve. They knew that he was a great person, but the necked, that he was the Messiah, because that would mean, that they had to hear and obey him with all consequences.

Today, there are still people and religions who see Jesus as a wise man or a prophet, because they don t want to come to the light, because their works are evil.

2.Why do you think Peter was brave enough to say Jesus is the Christ?

Jesus said in another Gospel, that the Holy Spirit taught Peter whom he was.

3.Why did Jesus tell His disciples not to tell anyone about Him being the Christ?

There were two kinds of people: Some were jealous about the influence of Jesus among the people; the other ones would like to make him to an earthly king who kicks out the Romans from Israel.

Both groups would harm Jesus and Gods plan for salvation, therefore Jesus wanted to hold himself in secret until he arose from the death.

4.How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus said He would suffer and die?

Some of them were shocked, others did not understand.

5.What do you think Jesus meant by “take up your cross daily”?

Living a normal daily life without seeking for to be a hero.

6.Why is it important to deny ourselves if we want to follow Jesus?

Because pride is the origin of all sin. If we are proud about ourselves, we cannot be disciples of Jesus Christ.

7.What does it mean to “gain the whole world but lose yourself”?

There are many ways to gain the world by being famous for example and to search pleasures without ethical boundaries.

Here we see our selfishness, too. When we want to gain the world, we are selfish. But Jesus commandment was, that we shall love one another and if somebody does not love and stays in his selfishness, he has lost himself.

8.How do you think people today can be ashamed of Jesus?

When they know that he exists and have a certain belief, but if someone asks them, they say no.

9.Why do you think Jesus talked about glory when He returns?

Jesus will return in glory as judge and king and judge all people on earth.

10.What do you think it meant that some people there would see the kingdom of God before they died?

Jesus has overcome the death and so his disciples will only sleep and not feel the cruelty of death.