“Who Do The Crowds Say I Am?”

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:18-27

Mother Theresa amazed the world with the humble services she provided to the world. If we search the world, for the type of person she was, it would be like winning the lottery. And once you had found it, you would hoard it and treasure it. Actually the more spent, the richer it becomes. So with Mother Theresa effacing herself, she becomes herself. Most people have never met anyone as memorable as Mother Theresa.

And so it was with our Savior Jesus. Many of us today are afraid to follow His words. What will happen to us? We are told we must lose ourselves in Christ, be born again, and live a new life.

We are called to lose our lives for Christ, and in so doing, discover the fullness of life in Him.

Our Daily Bread – October 23, 2013