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NASB | Luke 9:18 ¶ And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people say that I am?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 9:18 ¶ Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" [Matt 16:13-16; Mark 8:27-29] |
Bible Question:
Luke 9_18 to 27 What is the setting for Jesus call to discipleship What are the conditions and benefits of being one of His followers |
Bible Answer: Greetings Disciple Dave! Some of the best sections of Scripture to examine when studying 'discipleship' are: Matthew 10:32-39, Luke 14:27-35 and John 21:15-17. I believe that these sections of Scripture will help us to better define the conditions and rewards of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Matthew 10:32-39 caps off with verse 39, which reads like this, "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." The condition here is that we must be willing to give up our comforts, our treasures, our relationships and even our very lives for the sake and purpose of Jesus Christ. The 'reward' in this verse is that we will be rewarded with life after being willing to part with our lives for Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:35-40). Luke 14:27-35 is another very excellent piece of Scripture to study regarding discipleship. "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." The condition is that we must ready, willing and able to follow Him, placing anything that hinders aside to accomplish that single goal. We must not look back (like Lot's wife [Luke 9:62]) or have "conditions" set, such as: I will go and follow Him if I can bury my father first (Luke 9:59), or expect to have a "rosy" journey with Christ (Luke 9:58). We must be willing to part with any and all of our possessions on earth, even that which we hold most dear! (Luke 18:18-30) Also, will we finish what we have begun, once we have begun our journey with Christ? Will our journey find completeness in His heavenly kingdom? These are some of the conditions from the passage in Luke that help to explain the seriousness of the calling of discipleship. And the reward that Luke presents is that we will be with Jesus as one of His disciples, joyfully listening on every word that He says, learning at His feet. John 21:15-17 is a challenge to us: that we must put our hand to the plow and do the work that He has set for us to do. If we really love Jesus (Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him), then we will willingly and lovingly tend to our appointed tasks as Christians, and "feed His sheep", winning more and more brothers and sisters, and sharing our gifts with our Christian brothers and sisters. The condition is to take "ownership" of the work that is set before us, and to set out to do that work based on our love for Him and our willingness to see it done, since we are emissaries of the Kingdom itself. The reward in this verse is implied, since by sharing God's love with others, we are becoming "richer" towards God, rather than storing up riches for ourselves (Luke 12:21). This is the beginning of some of the thoughts that I have on discipleship. Blessings to you, Makarios |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Luke 9:18 | Author | ||
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disciple dave | ||
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Makarios |