Wednesday
Evening Bible Study
January 24, 2001
Introduction
People had been talking, asking the question of who Jesus was …
(Luke 9:7-8 KJV) Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was
done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John
was risen from the dead; {8} And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of
others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.
:18 And it came to pass, as he was
alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say
the people that I am?
praying – proseuchomai –
to offer prayers, to pray
alone – katamonas (“according
to” + “alone”) – apart, alone
were with – suneimi – to
be with
he asked – eperotao – to
accost one with an enquiry, put a question to, enquiry of, ask, interrogate; to
address one with a request or demand; to ask of or demand of one
the people – ochlos – a
crowd; a multitude; the common people, as opposed to the rulers and leading men
:19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others
say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.
This is exactly what Herod had heard people saying (Luke 9:7-8)
Some thought that Jesus was really John the Baptist come back from the
dead.
Others thought that Jesus was Elijah, who was prophesied to come back
before the coming of the Lord:
(Mal 4:5 KJV) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Others thought Jesus might be one of the “old prophets”, meaning older than
Elijah. This was a term that was used
by the Jews to refer to prophets like Samuel or David.
:20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The
Christ of God.
ye – plural; Jesus is speaking to the group of disciples.
The Christ – Christos –
“anointed”; the Messiah, the Son of God.
This is the Greek form of the Hebrew word:
Messiah – mashiyach –
anointed, anointed one
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Hebrew
word “mashiah” is translated every time as “Christos”. It means “anointed”.
It is used of priests Ex 28:41 40:15 Nu 3:3 prophets 1Ki 19:16 and kings 1Sa
9:16 16:3 2Sa 12:7. All were
anointed with oil, and so consecrated
to their respective offices.
The great Messiah is anointed "above his fellows" Ps 45:7 i.e.,
he embraces in himself all the three offices.
Matthew records this incident and tells us a little more information:
(Mat 16:13-17 KJV) When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man
am? {14} And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias;
and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. {15} He saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? {16} And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. {17} And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven.
What Peter was saying was something that God had told him. He wasn’t saying what the “crowd” was
saying. He was telling Jesus what the
Father had told him (Peter).
Lesson
Peer Pressure: Going along with the crowd?
Peer pressure can be a very strong, influential factor in our lives.
Illustration
Dr. Dobson tells of a study done at a University where a teacher supposedly
was testing a group of students on their perception. A group of students was shown two drawings of lines. One line was definitely shorter than the
other. The group was asked to choose
which line they thought was shorter than the other. But in the study, everyone in the group was told ahead of time to
pick the wrong line, all but one student.
When the teacher pointed to the longer line and asked who thought the
line was shorter, everyone raised their hand except the one student who wasn’t
“in the know”. In almost every time
they ran the experiment, the “unclued” student eventually went along with the
rest of the crowd, even though they knew they were wrong.
Sometimes “peer pressure” can be good.
(John 4:1-42 KJV) When therefore the Lord knew how the
Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, {2}
(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) {3} He left Judaea, and
departed again into Galilee. {4} And he must needs go through Samaria. {5} Then
cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of
ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. {6} Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus
therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was
about the sixth hour. {7} There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus
saith unto her, Give me to drink. {8} (For his disciples were gone away unto
the city to buy meat.) {9} Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it
that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for
the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. {10} Jesus answered and said
unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give
me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee
living water. {11} The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw
with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? {12}
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank
thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? {13} Jesus answered and said
unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: {14} But
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but
the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up
into everlasting life. {15} The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water,
that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. {16} Jesus saith unto her, Go,
call thy husband, and come hither. {17} The woman answered and said, I have no
husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: {18} For
thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in
that saidst thou truly. {19} The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that
thou art a prophet. {20} Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say,
that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. {21} Jesus saith
unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this
mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. {22} Ye worship ye know not
what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
The Samaritans were a race of “half-breeds”. They were not pure bred Jews. And they had a twisted, perverted form of
worship that was almost Jewish. They
changed the names and places of events to make it all more convenient for
Samaritans. Almost like Mormonism is to
Christianity.
{23} But the hour cometh,
and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in
truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. {24} God is a Spirit: and
they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. {25} The woman
saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is
come, he will tell us all things.
I think the woman is saying this because she is beginning
to get a clue that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. But since Jesus is speaking with such authority, and since Jesus
has been telling her such wonderful things, she isn’t just coming out with it,
but hinting at it.
{26} Jesus saith unto her, I
that speak unto thee am he.
Jesus outright claims to be the Christ to this woman.
I’m not positive, but I believe it’s very possible that
this occurs chronologically before our chapter in Luke. This Samaritan woman “got it” before
possibly the disciples did. Hmmm.
{27} And upon this came his
disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What
seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? {28} The woman then left her
waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, {29} Come, see
a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
She is excited to share her discovery of the Messiah.
{30} Then they went out of
the city, and came unto him. {31} In the mean while his disciples prayed him,
saying, Master, eat. {32} But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye
know not of. {33} Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought
him ought to eat? {34} Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him
that sent me, and to finish his work. {35} Say not ye, There are yet four
months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and
look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. {36} And he that
reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he
that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. {37} And herein is that
saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. {38} I sent you to reap that
whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into
their labours. {39} And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for
the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. {40}
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would
tarry with them: and he abode there two days. {41} And many more believed
because of his own word; {42} And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not
because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is
indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
In this instance, the Samaritans heard about Jesus being
the Messiah from the well-woman. But
because they came to Jesus, they found out for themselves that Jesus was indeed
the Christ.
Sometimes peer pressure can be bad.
We often think of peer pressure in terms of teenagers and the pressure to
do drugs, have sex, smoke, whatever.
But we don’t often think of how peer pressure still affects us even when
we’re old.
We’re always conducting “polls” to find out what everyone
thinks on certain matters.
We may say we’re against the majority, but we still like
to be included in a group that thinks a certain way.
Sometimes we have to be willing to step away from what the “others” are
saying and find out what God is saying.
What is God telling you about your life?
Are you going along with the crowd?
Are you paying more attention to what others say, or are you paying
attention to what God is saying?
What if God tells you something different than what the crowd is telling
you?
:21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that
thing;
straitly charged – epitimao –
to show honour to, to honour; to tax with fault, rate, chide, rebuke, reprove,
censure severely; to admonish or charge sharply
commanded – paraggello –
to transmit a message along from one to another, to declare, announce; to
command, order, charge
Why didn’t Jesus want the disciples to tell people that Jesus was the
Messiah, even when He was?
Perhaps He didn’t want the scribes and Pharisees to be too provoked too
quickly.
Perhaps He didn’t want the Romans to be stirred up against what they might
perceive as a “threat”.
Surely Jesus didn’t want the people to fall into the trap of thinking that
He was to be their earthly king. He had
other plans in mind. Like dying on a
cross.
Jesus did things at times that purposely kept His popularity lower than it
could be (like when He went north after hearing that people were thinking that
Jesus was more popular than John the Baptist – John 4:1).
:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third
day.
must – dei – it is
necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper
suffer – pascho – to be
affected or have been affected, to feel, have a sensible experience, to
undergo; in a bad sense, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight
be rejected – apodokimazo (“away
from” + “test or prove”) – to disapprove, reject, repudiate; from the word dokimazo – to test, examine, prove,
scrutinise (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), as metals; to recognise
as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy
The leaders of Israel would put Jesus to the test and reject Him.
elders – probably the Sanhedrin
chief priests – the leaders of the Judaism as a religion
scribes – those who are experts in the Scriptures
be slain – apokteino – to
kill in any way whatever
be raised – egeiro – to
arouse, cause to rise; to arouse from the sleep of death, to recall the dead to
life
Jesus is going to tell His disciples several times about His death and
resurrection before it happens.
Don’t get the idea that the disciples even had a clue what He was talking
about. Later on, in this same chapter,
Jesus will repeat Himself on this subject, and notice how the disciples respond
then:
(Luke 9:44-45 KJV) Let these sayings sink down into your ears:
for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. {45} But they understood
not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they
feared to ask him of that saying.
Take heart if you feel like you’re a little “clueless” sometimes when it
comes to the plans of God. You’re not
alone. Even the disciples were often
“clueless”.
:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
will – thelo – to will,
have in mind, intend; to be resolved or determined, to purpose; to desire, to
wish; to love; to like to do a thing, be fond of doing; to take delight in,
have pleasure
This is for those who have a desire, have a heart, who want to follow
Jesus.
If you want to follow Jesus, you’re going to find Him leading you
deny himself – aparneomai (“away
from” + “deny”) – to deny; to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection
with someone; to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own
interests
take up – airo – to raise
up, elevate, lift up; to take upon one’s self and carry what has been raised
up, to bear
cross – stauros – a cross;
a well known instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment, borrowed by
the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians; to it were affixed among the
Romans, down to the time of Constantine the Great, the guiltiest criminals,
particularly the basest slaves, robbers, the authors and abetters of
insurrections, and occasionally in the provinces, at the arbitrary pleasure of
the governors, upright and peaceable men also, and even Roman citizens themselves
We don’t usually think of the cross in the proper way. We think of it as some kind of symbol,
something that people wear as jewelry around their neck.
Illustration
When Jesus said, “if you are going to follow me, you have to take up a
cross,” it was the same as saying, “Come and bring your electric chair with
you. Take up the gas chamber and follow
me.” He did not have a beautiful gold
cross in mind—the cross on a church steeple or on the front of your Bible. Jesus had in mind a place of execution.
-- Billy Graham in "The Offense of the Cross" (from Great
Sermons on Christ, Wilbur M. Smith, ed.).
Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 12.
daily – “according to the day”.
Illustration
--
Stuart Briscoe, Ordinary Folks Make Great Disciples," Preaching Today,
Tape No. 47.
I was in Edinburgh about a year ago
speaking at Charlotte Chapel, and a delightful young lady gave her testimony.
She had come back from Kabul, Afghanistan, where she was a missionary nurse.
She said how she was really enjoying the work she was doing there, and then
she'd met a young man and fallen in love. He'd asked her to marry him, but she
had said, "I made a commitment to my church back home to serve on the
mission field. If I were to marry you, that might change everything. So before
I can give you an answer, I need to talk with the leaders of the church."
And so that was why she was home. She'd flown home all the way from Afghanistan
to talk to the leaders of the church.
As I was looking at the congregation, I
noticed a fellow sitting in the front row who had the weirdest look on his
face. So when she was through and sat down next to me, I said, "Who is
that fellow? Do you know him?" She said, "That's the young man."
I said, "I thought he was in Kabul." She said, "He was. He heard
I was flying back to Scotland to talk to the leaders of the church, so he said
he wanted to talk to them as well. So he jumped on the next plane."
You can always tell lovers: they don't give
up. They "come after," as a lover comes after the beloved. And that's
the picture that Jesus gives: "If you're going to come after me, it's
because you love me because I first loved you, and there's something about me
that draws you irresistibly to me." Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Lesson
Following
Jesus.
If you are going to follow Jesus, then you
are going to find Him leading you in certain kinds of places.
He will lead you in places that will
require you to deny your wishes and desires.
He will lead you in places that will require you to be “crucified”.
Illustration
I had walked life's way with an easy tread,
I had traveled where pleasures and comfort lead
Until one day in a quiet place,
I met the Master face to face.
With station and rank and wealth for my goal,
Much thought for my body but none for my soul,
I'd entered to win this life's mad race,
When I met the Master face to face.
I built my towers and reared them high,
'Til they had pierced the blue of the sky.
I'd sworn to rule with an iron mace,
When I met my Master face to face.
I met Him and knew Him and blushed to see,
That His eyes, full of sorrow, were fixed upon me.
I faltered and fell at his feet that day, While my
castles melted and vanished away.
Melted and vanished and in their place,
Nothing else could I see but the Master's face.
My thoughts are now for the souls of men,
I had lost my life to find it again.
Since that day in a quite place,
When I met the Master face to face.
-- Insight for Living 7/30/90
Illustration
Bishop Walpole, the father of Hugh Walpole, the novelist, once said to a
friend who was weighing a [life] call:
"If you are uncertain of which of the two paths to take, choose the
one on which the shadow of the cross falls."
-- Rupert Hart-Davis in Hugh Walpole, A Biography.
Christianity Today, Vol. 31, no. 18.