Lose Your Life (Luke 9:21-36)

Lose your life

Luke 9:21-36

Key verse 9:22-23

Jesus had shown his disciples the power of the kingdom of God by driving out demons and healing many. When they did the same things with Jesus’ power and authority, they were convinced about Jesus. In the last passage, Peter finally confessed that Jesus was God’s Messiah, who came to save his people. From this time on, Jesus teaches them how he will save people as the Messiah in a way they had never imagined. What is the way Jesus will take to save people? What does this mean to his followers? Why do we suffer in following Jesus? Is there any way to live without suffering? I myself had the same questions. Let’s see what Jesus says through this passage. I pray that you and I may learn and accept the way of life Jesus walked.

I. Lose your life for Jesus.

Jesus must have been so happy to hear Peter’s confession. However, he strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone because it was not the right time yet for others to know that. And now he revealed for the first time the most stunning and horrendous truth about what he should do as the Messiah.

²² 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.”

The Son of Man refers to the Messiah prophesized and prepared by God to save people. (Dan 7:13) Jesus favorably used this title in reference to himself. He said that the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the Jewish leaders, be killed, and then must be raised on the third day. In other words, he would be the Messiah of suffering! This was unthinkable and abhorrent to reason. That is why Isaiah 53:1-3 say, “Who has believed our message… He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.”

However, this did not mean that that was his fate. Rather, it was necessary for him to do so because he should take the sin of the world upon himself and pay for all our sins by his death. But, he would not end with death. He would be raised to life. Suffering and death and then glory - this was the way of the Messiah Jesus should walk. Jesus continued to teach this truth throughout the rest of this book. Now Jesus taught his disciples how to follow him then.

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 

If anyone desires to come after Jesus, they must deny themselves and take up their cross. To deny oneself means to deny his human desire. To take one’s cross daily means to take the suffering, pain, shame, and death of the cross all his life as Jesus would do. In verses 24-26, Jesus explained what this really meant and why they should do that.

²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 

According to verse 24, denying themselves and taking up their cross daily have to do with saving their life for themselves or losing it for Jesus. In other words, denying themselves means denying their desire to save their life and taking their cross means taking pain and suffering that follow when losing their life for Jesus.

Saving oneself has become human’s nature and the way of life since humankind sinned and was cursed to die. Why do people seek security? Why do they work hard to make money? Why do people compete with one another and step on others? Why are Americans so upset about the mishandling of Ebola patients in Dallas hospital? Why are we concerned about our environment and food? To save our life, isn’t it? All our activities are basically for saving our life. Why do we do so? It is because we are afraid of losing our life. We are afraid of death because death takes everything away from us and even ourselves. But we try to prolong our life and keep what we have a little longer but in vain. That is the way of life in the cursed world. Even Jesus’ disciples tried to save their life to satisfy their human desires while following Jesus. Jesus said that they would lose their life for sure.

How can we save our life then? Here Jesus was telling his disciples a very paradoxical truth about how to save one’s life. Let’s read verse 24 again. Jesus was saying to his disciples, “If you lose your life for me, you will save it. You must lay down what you have, what you depend on, and what you desire to have for yourself. If you do that on account of me and for my sake, you will save your life.” Losing life sure entails pain, suffering, and fears. It is painful. People would say to them, “Why do you lose your life? Are you out of mind?” They would feel like they became nobody and a laughingstock in the world. But that was exactly what Jesus wanted his disciples to do. Why? When they lose their life for Jesus and so they have nothing but Jesus, Jesus could give them his own life, which he would gain through his suffering and death.

²⁶ 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.

In this verse, Jesus mentioned for the first time that he would come again in glory. He would be killed but he would be raised to life and then come again with the glory of the kingdom of God. This means that Jesus was not speaking to his disciples about a good life in this world, but the life in the kingdom of God. He was speaking about eternal life, not about the life in this temporary and cursed world. In other words, Jesus taught his disciples the way of eternal life and the way to the kingdom of God. And this was the way Jesus himself was walking. He wanted his disciples to see the kingdom of God and join his glory.

Those who deny themselves and lose their life for Jesus will join his life and his glory. But those who want to save their life will not receive this life and so lose their own self. What else can be more important than life? What is good for you if you gain the whole world but lose yourself? Even if you have reputation, wealth, power, and security here on earth, what will they be to you when you stand before Jesus? How terrible it would be if Jesus were ashamed of you when he comes in his glory? “I am sorry, I don’t know you.” This is the end of those who do not deny themselves but want to save their life.

One day, a rich man came and asked Jesus “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? I have kept all the commandments since my boyhood.” Jesus said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Jesus asked him to follow him, denying his desire for the world and losing his life for Jesus. But the man became very sad and left Jesus without eternal life. He wanted to have eternal life but did not deny himself. You cannot have both eternal life and the glory of the world at the same time.

Therefore, we Jesus’ disciples must deny ourselves and take up our cross every day. In fact, Jesus himself did the same thing. The day before he was crucified, Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives, “ “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (22:42) He denied himself and refused desire to save his life, He surrendered his life to the Father and then lost his life on the cross. This way he has become the Lord of life. He gives his life to those who deny themselves and lose their life for him. Following in Jesus’ footstep is the way to life and the glory of the kingdom of God. Those who want to save their life will lose it but those who lose their life for Jesus will save it.

Let’s verses 23 and 24 again.

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” 

How might the disciples have responded to Jesus’s word? His word came as a great shock because it was totally opposite to what they expected. They expected and believed that the Messiah would rule the world and be glorious. They dreamed of the kingdom of God on earth. (Isa 9:6-7) And they also hoped that they would be glorious in his kingdom. (9:46) But now Jesus was saying about suffering and death. They were greatly puzzled and depressed. Even their faith in Jesus was shaken. “Is he truly the Messiah? Did we choose a wrong person?” What did Jesus say to them?

²⁷ “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus felt that they needed to taste the glory of the kingdom of God so that they could be convinced about Jesus and his word. So, he showed the glimpse of his glory in the kingdom of God in the following event.

II. Listen to him

About eight days passed since then. Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him to a mountain and prayed there. Then, an amazing thing took place in front of the disciples.

²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 

All of sudden, the appearance of Jesus’ face was altered and his clothes became dazzling white. His changed appearance was actually his original appearance and his glory as the Son of God. His appearance was so glorious that it was even hard to see it with bare eyes.

But that was not all. Two other men appeared in glory and were talking with Jesus. They were Moses and Elijah, the most famous figures representing the Scriptures. This meant that Jesus is sure the Messiah the Scriptures prophesized. Imagine Jesus who was standing in glory along with Moses and Elijah who were also in glory. How glorious and amazing it was! What did they talk about then?

³¹ They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

Interestingly, they talked about Jesus’ departure in Jerusalem. His departure referred to his death and also his ascension. (22) His death would not come as an accident but would take place as prophesized in the Scripture; that is, Jesus would save the world through his death and then be glorified.  

By showing theses, Jesus taught and convinced his disciples that his death was inevitable and would bring glory to him. As Moses and Elijah suffered a lot but now they were in glory, Jesus would also suffer and then be glorified. This is the biblical truth about Jesus the Messiah. Though he is the Son of God, he lost his life and then received his glory from God. The same would be true with his disciples. The disciples should accept this truth and follow Jesus’ way. What was the response of the tree disciples then?

³² Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He did not know what he was saying.

Interestingly, Jesus’ disciples would be in the sleep mode when Jesus prayed. (22:45) At this time, the three were sleepy too. When they became awake, they could not believe what they were seeing. It was amazing, spectacular to see Jesus, Moses, and Elijah in glory together. It was so good that Peter abruptly suggested Jesus to build three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah each. Actually, he did not know what he was talking about.

But this betrayed what was inside him – his desire to stay in glory without suffering and pain. He did not want to go down the mountain again – to people who were always demanding and people who were opposing Jesus. He did not want to suffer and lose his life. He saw only the glory of Jesus but did not hear about Jesus’ death. He was so adamant about his desire and wish. What happened the next then?

³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 

The cloud represented God’s presence. As the cloud enveloped them, the disciples were overwhelmed with fear. Then, they heard God’s voice, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

God first affirmed that Jesus was his son and the chosen one so that their faith in Jesus might not be shaken. And then he commanded them to listen to Jesus. When God said, “Listen to him,” that was God’s ultimatum for them. There was no other option. They must obey Jesus. They should walk the way Jesus would do by denying their desire to save their life.

I often wonder why I have so much stuff to worry about. I worry about our ministry, my job security, my children, my family, and my health. While meditating on this passage, I have learned why I have so much worries and suffering. It is because of my desire to save my life. What worries me is mostly due to my stuff and myself. I see I am trying not to lose what I have now, what I know, what I want to do. I feel that if I loose my grip on those things I would die.

Though I know the way of life, I am so adamant about my own way, which does not save me after all.

Jesus is telling me, “Listen to me, David, Put down your stuff and your desire. Do not try to save your life by yourself. You can’t. Instead, lose your life for me. I am the life and the way.” God has encouraged me to listen to Jesus. God is also telling you, “Listen to him. You should loose your grip on your children, your human desire, your attachment, your self-esteem, and your ministry and let them go.” And he is asking, “Can you lose all these for me?”

This is a true story of a small village in India. In the village there was a family who came to believe in Jesus. This agitated the village and everybody was so upset that they shoved the family into the public square. The village chief said to the father of the family, “If you do not recant your faith, all of you will surely die today.” The man did not know what to say and what to do. And he remembered the song he sang when he decided to commit himself to the Lord. “I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back.” (Hymn: I have decided to follow Jesus.) Then, his children were killed horribly in front of him. The man was given another opportunity. Now his wife was on the line. And he continued to sing. “Though none go with me, still I will follow; Though none go with me, still I will follow; Though none go with me, still I will follow; No turning back, no turning back.” Then his wife was killed. Now the last final opportunity was given for him to save his life. But he continued to sing, “The world behind me, the cross before me; The world behind me, the cross before me; The world behind me, the cross before me; No turning back, no turning back.” That day he and his wife and his children were all killed. They chose to lose their lives for Jesus.

Then, later a remarkable thing happened. Seeing all this, the village chief was deeply moved and came to believe in Jesus. At the same square where he killed the family, he announced that his religion was Jesus Christ Lord. Then, the whole village people accepted Jesus as their savior and the gospel spread out across the whole region. When the family denied desire to live and decided to lose their lives for Jesus, they suffered and died. But they received the eternal life and led his enemies to Jesus Christ.

Jesus walked the same way. He gave up his life for us and then was raised to life and glory. Jesus wants you to lose your life for him. That is the way of life and the way of his disciples. When we deny our desire to save our life and lose our life for Jesus, we will save our life and see the glory of the kingdom of God.

³⁶ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen

What they saw and heard was so overwhelming and shocking that the disciples could not tell it to others at that time. They had never experienced and imagined the glory of the kingdom of God like that. Though it took them long to understand all this, this incident greatly impacted them so that they came to know the way of the Messiah and the way of his disciple.

Denying ourselves and taking our cross daily for Jesus is the way of life and the glory of the kingdom of God. And the glory of the kingdom of God is so great that it is beyond our imagination and our present suffering. So In Rom 8:17-18, Paul said that we share in Jesus’ sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory and that our present sufferings are not worthy comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Jesus wants to give his life to us. But he can’t if we do not deny ourselves but want to save our life. Most people who drown die easily because they struggle too hard to save their life. The way to survive in the water is to relax and entrust yourself to the water. Likewise, we should not struggle to save our life, but lose it and entrust it to Jesus. Then we will see your worries and anxiety disappear. Jesus is telling us, “Lose your life and I will save your life. Why are you still holding to this world and yourself so hard? They will be gone. Trust me, lose your life for me.”

by David Yun