The Chosen One of God

Jesus provides his disciples power and purpose.

Here’s another passage where Jesus appears as a greater prophet than Moses. Each time someone says Jesus might be Moses, we get a scene where Jesus seems to be contrasted with Moses. God repeatedly proves his Son is greater than Moses.

Jesus and the disciples go to Bethsaida (v. 10), a wilderness place. Crowds come out to Jesus where he welcomes them, heals them, and teaches them about the kingdom (v. 11). Apparently they stay out there all day, and now it’s growing late and the people haven’t had dinner (v. 12).

All of this reminds us of Moses wandering with Israel in the wilderness for forty years. Do you remember what God did for Israel’s hunger in the wilderness? He showered them with manna and quail. God supplied their needs, but Israel grumbled; they were not satisfied.

Jesus teaches his disciples a valuable lesson: Unlike Moses, Jesus will supply and satisfy their needs. I don’t know how this miracle worked. Did fish and loaves keep miraculously filling their baskets? Did the fish and loaves all appear at once? Did they fall from the sky? I really don’t know. And how did these fishermen react to all of this? Did they wonder, “How in the world did we get fresh fish in a desert wilderness?” I don’t even know how a person would process an event like this.

But I do know this: Jesus had a point to make. It’s a point that everyone who follows him needs to hear. When the Twelve fed five thousand men in one hundred groups of fifty, over and over again they could see Jesus meeting their physical needs. When each of the disciples walked away with a basket of leftovers, it was a clear way of saying, “I supply for you. Trust me.” That’s the message every disciple needs to hold on to.

Jesus supplies. And he also satisfies. “Everyone ate and was filled” (v. 17). They were satisfied. I believe they enjoyed the taste. I believe the fish was delicious. Jesus wouldn’t perform a miraculous fish fry and burn the fish. This fish was cooked in heaven. It was delicious, just like the water turned to wine at the wedding in Cana was the most delicious wine the people had ever tasted.

Jesus supplies and satisfies. His promise to supply and satisfy our needs runs throughout the Bible.

“Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost! Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.” (Isa 55:1-2)

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. (Matt 6:33)

The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. (Ps 23:1)

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. (2 Cor 9:8)

Do you believe Jesus will supply and satisfy? Are you listening to Jesus? Then expect the Lord to supply and satisfy as he meets your needs.

Jesus provides purpose and power, supplies that satisfy, and third, a cross followed by a crown. When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus explains what that means in terms of his betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. Then Jesus teaches the disciples that following him as their Christ has a requirement, a reason, and a reward.

Discipleship requires a cross. Don’t let Twitter and Facebook define “following” Jesus for you. If following Jesus only meant clicking a button, then everybody would do it. “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” (v. 23). Jesus goes to a cross, so we who follow him must go to a cross too. He dies for us, and we die with him. The cross of suffering and death comes first in the Christian life. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer once put it, “When Christ bids a man to follow him, he bids that man to come and die” (Cost, 89). That’s the requirement.

This cross is necessary. As the hymnwriter puts it, “There is no other way than to trust and obey.” We can’t follow a crucified Savior without a cross of our own. Some people say, “Yes, Christ is up front carrying the cross and we are to follow.” But they think Christ is up front carrying his cross while we are in a parade behind him, riding floats and waving at the crowds like the queen. We are in a parade, but it’s a long parade of men and women, boys and girls, walking—not floating—each hunched over carrying the tool of their own death. This cross-carrying is necessary.

This cross-carrying is humbling, too. “Let him deny himself.” We can’t follow Jesus and at the same time come first. We have to deny ourselves: say no to our desires so we can say yes to Jesus. He is King; we are servants—slaves of Christ.

This cross-carrying is daily. “Let him . . . take up his cross daily.” No vacation. No holidays. No sick days. No summer breaks. Every morning we wake, we must say, “Good morning, my cross.” (Now don’t say that while you’re facing your spouse! Even if your spouse is part of your cross.) Every morning we wake to die to self and the world so we can follow Jesus.

What does this look like, this carrying our cross daily?

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal 5:24)

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14)

What’s the reason we carry our cross? We are required to carry our cross because life lies on the other side of it (v. 24). The death in discipleship is the door to eternal life. Broad is the way that leads to destruction; narrow is the way that leads to life. Nothing in the world—not even the entire world itself—is worth our souls (v. 25). The world is a soulless and soul-destroying system, so we are required to abandon the world to save our souls.

What then is the reward for accepting the cross? In the Christian life, first comes the cross, then comes the crown. The reward is a crown, a kingdom. This kingdom is a share in God’s glory (v. 26). The kingdom of God is a kingdom of glory. Our blessed hope is the glorious appearing of our Savior from heaven. When that happens we will see his glory and be transformed into his glory (see 2 Cor 3:18). For all the self-denial and suffering of the cross in this life, those who follow Jesus will receive unending glory and joy in the life to come. Don’t be ashamed; look to his glorious coming. This is what makes it wise to die daily in order to live forever. This is why it makes sense to forsake the world in order to gain glory.

For our encouragement and hope, Jesus allowed some to see that glory even before he or they died. That’s why in verse 28 Luke flashes forward eight days. He joins the transfiguration to the promise of verse 27 because the transfiguration is a foretaste of the glory that is to come. This glory, this kingdom, this crown is what Jesus provides for all those who take up their cross.

He provides purpose and power, supply and satisfaction, a cross then a crown, and finally . . .

There are things we cannot do in the Christian life. There are things beyond our ability. The disciples in verses 37-40 could not cast the demon out of this man’s son. They tried and failed—even though they had been given authority to do so.

The problem apparently was their unbelief. They doubted. That’s why Jesus says what he says (v. 41). Some things only come out by prayer and fasting—which are disciplines for the believing. Some things we cannot do in our own strength, and nothing is safe to do in our own strength.

Here’s the lesson to learn: Our triumph over evil is won by Jesus (v. 42). He defeats all our enemies. Our task is to stand by faith in the victory he has already won. That’s what we read in Ephesians 6:10-13:

Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

That’s how we triumph—by taking our stand by faith with Christ. That’s how we escape being a part of an “unbelieving and perverse generation” (v. 41).

If we triumph with Christ, then Christ will give us his truth. Notice the difference between the disciples and the crowds in verses 43-45. “And they [the crowd] were all astonished at the greatness of God.” Now watch this: “While everyone was amazed at all the things he was doing, he told his disciples, ‘Let these words sink in: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.’”

The priceless thing in the text is not the casting out of the demon. The greatest thing about Jesus isn’t his miracle-working power. The greatest thing about Jesus is his cross and resurrection. That’s the main thing. The crowd missed it because they were dazzled by the exorcism. The crowd is amazed, but belief is more than astonishment. Belief requires revelation from God. True belief requires truth to believe (v. 45). That’s what Jesus gives the disciples in verse 44. If we have ears to hear, then we marvel at the truth that Christ died for us.

But the disciples still don’t get it (v. 45). They’ve heard it at least three times in the last couple of weeks—at a prayer meeting with Jesus (v. 18), on the mount of transfiguration (v. 31), and here after a miraculous healing. But they don’t yet get it. And, tragically, they’re too afraid to ask.

My Christian friend, when we walk with Christ we will see triumph, but the greater thing will be the truths we gather from him. We all need to grow in our knowledge of Jesus. No one’s knowledge of the Lord is complete. We’re like these disciples, and that’s not a wicked thing. We just need to apply ourselves to learning Christ. Sometimes we get to playing church and we get afraid to say we don’t understand or know something. That’s the mistake these disciples make. We should learn from their mistake. We should not be afraid of the one who died to save us. We should ask that we may know him better.

My non-Christian friend, you’ve heard this message about Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection to save sinners several times now. Is it still hidden from you? If it is, it’s because God has hidden it from you or Satan has snatched away the seed of God’s word from your heart. Are you afraid to ask God to protect you from Satan and show you the truth? Don’t be afraid. He delights to do it.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways. (Jas 1:5-8)

Just as in verse 11 with the crowd, Jesus will welcome you and teach you about his kingdom if you ask. Don’t be like Herod. Don’t be like the disciples who were afraid. Do two things. (1) Ask the Father to show you Jesus so you will know him as Savior and Lord. (2) Ask your Christian friend to explain more about what it means to be a Christian. Don’t stop until you have done what is necessary to settle the question, “Who is Jesus?” When you’ve settled the question, don’t stop following him but trust him to provide for you in every way.

The only way to get our deepest needs met in this world is to follow Jesus into the next.