¹⁸ 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 Christ 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.”  (Luke 9:18-24)

The entire section of Luke’s gospel (9:18-27) consists of a conversation in three parts. The first two parts (vv. 18-20) contain questions about Jesus’ identity:  who do the crowds say that I am and then who do you disciples say that I am.  The final part of the conversation (vv.23-27) concerns Jesus’ teaching on the meaning of discipleship.  All of this has followed Luke’s indirect revelation about Jesus as the one who fulfills the prophetic tradition of Isaiah, Elijah, Elisha, and Moses in the exodus. Continue reading →