Identifying with the Identified Christ

Luke 9:18-36 

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

19 So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."

20 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

21 And He strictly warned 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 be raised the third day."

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him

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. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 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. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

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. 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"—not knowing what he said.

34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

Peter identified the identity of Jesus as the Christ of God, that is, the long awaited Messiah of the called and chosen people of the LORD Yahweh.  He would later identify with his Lord as a Christian when called that in Acts 11:26 at Antioch after the Lord’s atoning death and promised eternal life through His resurrection.  Jesus asked the disciples who followed Him who the crowds of people who came to hear Him identified Him as, then asked them who they thought He was.  The people echoed the response Jerod heard (Luke 9:7-8) as a risen John the Baptist who died or Elijah who never died or some other prophet.  Peter was moved by God’s Spirit in him with the true answer as the Messiah sent by God Himself and no mere man!  Jesus knew it was not the time to be revealed until after His resurrection of proof so strongly warned the disciples not to repeat this truth until after He fulfilled His work through suffering for our sin, being rejected by His own people as it was written, killed, and then rose from death in the grave to life in the body again to match His eternal nature as a promise for His called to join Him with a certain hope of eternal life.  He went on to admonish all who heard to count the cost (Luke 14:27-28, 33)  of following Him, which meant dying to themselves and living for God alone.  This is bearing one’s cross, counting self to be crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20) and suffering with Him for the sake of the truth of God’s word which is the gospel.  We hear and read these words now with the same message to give up living for our desires (1 John 2:15-17) in order to follow Jesus Christ as our Lord who has saved us from eternal suffering by enduring momentary suffering in this life (Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18) until we rise with Him in the next.  What possible gain can we find in pursuing transitory things over the eternal of the kingdom of God in Christ?  If we lose our soul by rejecting Him, how can that benefit us in any way?  And if we deny Him and what we have been taught in this word of truth we will face shame on His return.   May we boldly speak the words of this life (Acts 5:20) and identify with our Lord whose identity is clear to us as the divine God who walked among us (Immanuel) to deliver us from a certain just due of eternal punishment as consequence for sin and obtain a certain hope of eternal life in His presence (Revelation 22:4) forever and ever, amen.  Jesus then gave Peter, John, and James a glimpse into His divine identity on the mountain where He was transfigured before their eyes and spoke with the dead Moses and Elijah (Matthew 22:31-32, Luke 20:37-38) as a prelude to seeing Him in glory face to face.  This is the identity of the divine Christ and Messiah with whom His elect now identify with.  We identify with the identified Christ of God like Peter when asked who we believe and know Him to be.  We do not cover up our awe by building tabernacles of immense and ornate cathedrals but listen to God’s beloved Son and hear His words of the gospel to live by instead.  The three disciples held their peace and did not tell a soul until after His resurrection; we cannot help but tell others because the resurrection is past for Him and in the future for we who repent and believe to follow Him into eternity in the kingdom of heaven come to earth (Luke 11:2, Revelation 12:10, 21:2).  We will see Him in all His glory forever and not just in a fleeting moment as these three had witnessed.  That is our hope of glory because Jesus is in us as the hope (Colossians 1:27).  We hear Him who calls us to join with those who have gone before in Identifying with the Identified Christ.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad in this calling (Ephesians 1:18) as we identify with the identified Christ!