In Luke 8, Christ Himself preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom. In ch. 9 He sends forth His twelve disciples with the same testimony, and in ch. 10, having been rejected as “the Christ,” and on the ground of this rejection, and after the declaration of His coming glory as “Son of Man” (seen in the Transfiguration), He sends the Seventy on a wider mission, which the judgment-day would vindicate if refused.
Now I find in ch. 9 a remarkable break. The testimony of the —Twelve, and Christ’s own testimony, had reached far and wide even to king’s courts; but what was the result of it? The power of healing the sick and casting out devils, which the Lord gave to His disciples, were samples of the powers of the world to come—the millennial kingdom—but it was all of no avail. In verse 18, the Lord asks His disciples what it had all come to? “Whom say the people that I am” they answering said, John the Baptist, but some said Elias; and others that one of the old prophets is risen again.” You see it had all come to nothing. “But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, the Christ of God. And He straitly Charged them, and commanded them that they should tell no man that thing.” Why? Because it was of no use. “The Messiah” had been rejected; and now He speaks of Himself, not as the Christ, or Messiah, but as the “Son of Man,” and this wider title characterizes the remaining chapters of this Gospel.
You will see a similar transition between the second Psalm and the eighth: In the second Psalm the Lord is spoken of as the Christ, or “Anointed”—in the eighth Psalm as the “Son of Man.” All things were once put in subjection to Adam and his wife but they lost this headship through sin. And now the Lord Jesus—the Son of Man—will not take the inheritance of all things simply as Heir, but as Redeemer Heir. He has a personal right to it, it is true, but could He take it, polluted with sin as it is, apart from redemption as well?
He never speaks of His sufferings as Son of Man, without speaking of His rising again. It is as the risen Son of Man that He takes the headship of creation and all things, as we see in Heb. 2.
In this passage in Luke 9, the Lord speaks of His sufferings as a martyr under man’s hand, not as a victim under the hand of God for sin. You know His death had this double aspect. He suffered as a victim and as a martyr. As a martyr we can have “the fellowship of His sufferings.” He tells His disciples then of the path of those who would follow Him in His rejection; but He doesn’t speak of the path without showing what the end of it will be.
Would you mind a rough thorny path, if you knew surely what the end Would be? Here is the journey, and the end of it. Paul’s desire was that he “might apprehend that fur which he was apprehended of Christ Jesus.” In the Transfiguration which follows we get the end of the pathway, in a figure of the coming kingdom and glory of the Son of Man, in which those who are His have a share. We see in Moses and Elias the type of the saints raised and changed. How is this? Moses died and was buried. Elias was taken up to heaven ‘without passing through’ death. These are the heavenly saints. Paul tells us that the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain when lie comes shall be changed, and all caught up to meet the Lord in the air: (1 Cor. 15:5151Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (1 Corinthians 15:51); 1 Thess. 4:13-1813But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13‑18).).
Peter, James, and John, who were looking on, are typical of the earthly saints in the kingdom who are looking upon the heavenly saints, raised and changed, in the same glory with Christ Himself. There is one glory of the celestial, and another glory of the terrestrial.
“But Peter and they that were with Him were heavy with sleep.” Typical of the spirit of slumber which rests upon the Jewish remnant in the latter day; and who, “when they were awake” saw His glory.
We have, too, what flesh is. It is ever the same—nothing can mend it. The disciples were asleep here in the presence of the glory, as we afterward find they were asleep in the presence of the Agony in Gethsemane.
After Peter had made his mistake, “There came cloud and overshadowed them, and (as it might be more clearly translated) they feared as those entered into the cloud.” What did the cloud signify? It was the symbol of Jehovah’s presence. Why did the earthly ones fear then? Because nobody had ever “entered into” it before! It had led the Israelites out of Egypt, and through the Red Sea. It became cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, and light to Israel. It spoke to Moses face to face. Rebuked them, and led them, and fought for them. But no one had over entered into that which was the unveiled presence of God. Yet Moses and Elias were perfectly at ease there. The earthly ones could not understand this new thing of entering into the cloud. Here we get the end of the journey—the Father’s house—(John 14:17,1-3:24), for the voice that came out of the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son: hear Him.” Who could say this but the Father?
Is, it so much matter that the pathway is thorny, when we know it leads there?
Now, the Lord has shown them the journey and the end of it; but He does not have us to tread that way alone. He leaves the glory on the mount, and goes along the path with us, giving us His company to comfort us by the way.
In verse 40, we see their unbelief while He was yet with them, at their very side. “How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?”
They have His company by the way, but His perfect devotedness exposes their selfishness. In verse 51, we find His intense devotedness, “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem”— the place where He was to suffer. His was the entire surrender of self—the giving up of self altogether. The Law only told me to love my neighbor as myself,—the Gospel goes immeasurably beyond. It teaches us to do what Christ did—to give up self altogether for His enemies. We find self-exposed in the various traits of selfishness which actuate us, in this portion of the chapter (verses 46-56), and the perfect devotedness—of Christ makes this all the more apparent.
The forty-sixth verse shows us personal selfishness: “There arose a reasoning among them which of them should be greatest;” and Jesus rebukes them. Perceiving the thought of their heart, he took a child and set him by Him. “He that is least among you all the same shall be great.” The true greatness, because most like His own.
Here we have another sort of selfishness in the next verse. The selfishness of a clique. They saw one laboring for the Lord, but as he did not go with them in everything, they forbade him.
Then in verse 54 we see selfishness under the cloak of apparent zeal for the Lord’s honor: they wanted to call down fire from heaven to consume those who would not receive him.
How His presence exposes us!
I find a perfect contrast to all this in that beautiful chapter, the 2nd of Philippians. Everyone gives up self in that chapter. First we see the Lord Himself emptying Himself of His glory. “He made himself of no reputation.” “Humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.” Then self was nothing to Paul what he cared for was the state of the Philippians. “Yea, and if I be offered, (poured forth) upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.” Timotheus was like-minded, and would care for their state. Epaphroditus instead of being troubled by his sickness, the only thing that troubled him was that the Philippians had heard of his sickness, and would be anxious about him, he counted on their love.
What we want is occupation of heart with Christ. If you have a bad temper, and go on praying about it, and mourning over it, you’ll never get a bit better, or overcome it; but if you are occupied with Him, do you think your temper will rise while He is before you? It is the only way, to get the victory.
We get an exposure of nature in the 57th verse. One whom the Lord had not called offers to follow Him. “It is an easy thing to follow Jesus—anyone can do it,” he thinks. But the Lord tells him that he had not counted the cost. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests: but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.”
Next we find one whom the Lord had called finding a difficulty in following, and making excuses for delay. It was the effectual call of grace here. But he was not up to the mark, and, as we often do, he found difficulties and hindrances in the way when the call had come. “Let the dead (to God) bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God,” is the Lord’s reply.
There is I think a reference to Elisha in the next passage. You remember that one day when he was plowing, Elijah cast his mantle over him, and he said, “Let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow thee.” The real call had come, but he wasn’t up to the height of the call just then; but Elijah answered, “What have I done unto thee?” And Elisha returned, and after slaying the yoke of oxen, he arose and went after Elijah.
We get a great deal in this chapter: rejection of Jesus as the Christ, or Messiah; and then the thorough change in everything which characterizes the remaining part of this gospel. Then we have a beautiful, line of truth—the Lord—shows the path of those who would follow Him—a thorny way—a daily taking up of the cross, losing of life here; and He shows the end of it—the glory of the kingdom— and the Father’s house. Then leaving the glory, He gives his company to cheer and rebuke and comfort His people as needed by them, and He himself being God’s standard for us to aim at and follow, exposes us to ourselves.