Grace and Space

Lk 9:18-22

In solitude: Jesus is praying in solitude. For Luke, any major revelation of the identity of Jesus is made only after a period of prayer. Before his baptism (3:21), before the choice of the Twelve (6:12), before Peter’s confession (9:18), before the transfiguration (9:28), before teaching the Our Father (11:1), before the Last Supper (22:32), before his betrayal and arrest (22:41), and before his death on the cross (23:46) Jesus in Luke’s Gospel is always found in prayer.
The disclosure of Jesus’ identity is the point of chapter nine and particularly this section. The opening question, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (v 18) echoes Herod’s question a few verses earlier: “Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” (9:9). Peter’s response, “The Messiah of God” (v 20), is equivalent to saying, “The Anointed One of God.” For Luke, the Anointed One of God is the bringer of salvation to all God’s people now. Since the angels delivered this information to the shepherds (2:11), Luke has been revealing the identity of Jesus to the reader.
However, while in prayer, Jesus also reveals that being the Messiah, the Son of Man, involves suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. As portrayed by Luke, the statement concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus comes as a direct response to Peter’s declaration.
For Luke, the implications of professing faith in Jesus as the Messiah involve suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. An authentic follower of Jesus will possess the same commitment to his or her mission as Jesus did to his. Knowing Jesus’ identity means following him to death.