Scripture Reflections

Chapter 9 is the hinge at the center of Luke. Till now, Jesus has been ministering in Galilee, but a new movement—the movement toward the cross—begins in Luke 9:51. Luke 9 records the climatic moments that cluster around this shift towards Jerusalem and the cross, the final scenes of the Galilean ministry. Jesus sends out the twelve disciples to preach, feeds the 5000, predicts his own death, calls the disciples to follow him to the cross, is transfigured in glory, casts out a demon, predicts his death again, and calls his disciples to follow again! If Luke were a modern movie, Chapter 9 would be the “revelation and crisis scene” in the middle of the film that changes the course of the story.

Throughout this pivotal chapter, a question keeps arising: Who is this Jesus? Herod, the crowds, the disciples—everyone is curious, and there are lots of potential answers. If Luke 9 is the hinge at the center of the Gospel and if this is the question that keeps recurring, we should take notice! Who is this Jesus?

Of course, we know the answer: He is the Christ, the Messiah, God’s Anointed One. But our long familiarity with this answer can blind us to its significance. If Jesus is the Anointed One of God, do we treat him as such? Face-to-face with the Anointed One, we cannot be ambivalent! He is the one—there is only one—whom the Father appointed to be the head of all things; he is the one before whom everyone will one day bow in subjection.

It is easy to forget that the details of our lives are among the “all things” that are being made subject to the Messiah. Read I Cor. 15:20-28, Psalm 2, Phil. 2:5-11, or Psalm 110—all things are being made subject to God’s Anointed. Everything good is tribute for him and destined to serve him; everything evil will be destroyed by him. The moments of our lives are no different; they are meant to be an offering to the Anointed One of God.

Steven+