Luke 9 … Consider Him Who Demands a Divide

Originally posted: 09/18/2019

There is much interest in this Man, Jesus. Herod wants to see Him and the crowds clamor to follow Him.

Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him, (9:9).

…He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing, (9:10-11).

Following the crowd in curiosity or even experiencing a physical healing from Jesus is not an expression of salvation or discipleship. Jesus welcomed the masses; but to truly know Him, to follow Him as His disciple, He Demands a Divide.

Jesus challenged the idea of salvation by association; rather He mandated the necessity for each individual to separate and Divide oneself from the throng.

Consider Him Who Demands of Divide

• He Demands a Divide in our profession of faith
  • 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?” ¹⁹ They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (9:18-20).

• He Demands a Divide in our pursuit of fulfillment
  • And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. ²⁵ For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels,” (9:23-26).

How do we respond to Him Who Demands a Divide?

Becoming a disciple of Jesus necessitates a pulling away, a decisive Dividing oneself from the popular or pleasurable, even if it means standing alone.

• He Demands a Divide in our profession of faith
  • The world argues there are many ways to God, but the Word of God Demands a Divide regarding salvation. There is only One way; His Name is Jesus.
    • Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,“ (John 14:6).
    • that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation, (Romans 10:9-10).

• • It matters not what others say or do; “But who do you say that I am?” (9:20). Jesus Demands a Divide in our profession of faith, to be bold in our confession of Him as our Lord and Savior.
    • “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 10:32-33).

• He Demands a Divide in our pursuit of fulfillment
  • It matters not what the masses say or do; He Demands a Divide in the way we live and the passions we pursue.
    • “You shall not follow the masses in doing evil,” (Exodus 23:2).

• • As we seek Him daily, He is faithful to do the dividing work in our hearts and to grow an unquenchable hunger and desire for His beauty and presence.
    • One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
      That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
      To behold the beauty of the Lord
      And to meditate in His temple, (Psalm 27:4).

As the Lord increases our desire for Him, we must cooperate with His work of grace. Let us intentionally choose to clearly Divide what is valuable in our lives and what is not, what is worth our time, money, and devotion and what is not.

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, (Philippians 3:7-8).

Nothing can compare with knowing Jesus. Oh, may our pursuits move us ever closer to Him, that we would be passionate, like Paul, and let go of the past as we press on toward Him Who Demands a Divide. May each day of our lives be spent reaching toward the goal for the prize of His upward call in Christ.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. ¹³ Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 3:12-14).

Let’s Grow Together!