“Who Do You Say I Am?”                                                                       Jan.25’ 2026

(Luke 9:18–27)                                                                                                Pastor. Song Soo Park

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."

In today’s passage, we see Jesus suddenly asking His disciples a question while He is praying. Let us look at Luke 9:18: “Once when Jesus was praying in private and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’”

Dear friends, who are “the crowds” here? Because the feeding of the five thousand appears just before this passage, one might think it refers to those who experienced that miracle. Strictly speaking, however, it does not. Notice the symbol that appears before verse 18—a small circle (○). In the Bible, this symbol indicates that a new section or story is beginning, not that it continues directly from the previous verse.

So then, who are the crowds Jesus is referring to in verse 18? Luke does not give us specific information about them. However, Matthew, who records the same background, helps us identify who they are. Let us look at Matthew 16:13:

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples,
‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’” The “crowds,” then, were the people living in the region of Caesarea Philippi.

Dear friends, Caesarea Philippi was land that Herod had essentially offered as a bribe to flatter the Roman emperor. As a result, many who lived there were people who collaborated with Rome and accumulated wealth and power. Caesarea Philippi was a place where self-exalted people lived. So how did the people living there view Jesus?

Luke 9:19 says: “They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.’”

From our perspective, John the Baptist, Elijah, and the prophets of the Old Testament were great and powerful figures of faith. But to the people of Caesarea Philippi—those who had seized wealth and power through collusion with Rome—John the Baptist was merely a political agitator who was beheaded by Herod. Elijah, though known for miracles, was a fugitive chased by King Ahab. The prophets of the Old Testament were seen simply as people who were imprisoned or killed for proclaiming God’s word to kings.

So in the eyes of the people of Caesarea Philippi, what kind of figure did Jesus appear to be? Someone who might briefly gain popular support and seem capable of changing the world—but who would eventually become a nuisance to rulers and authorities, accused of stirring up the people, and end up losing His life or fleeing as a fugitive.

That is why they say, “John the Baptist,” “Elijah,” or “one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” The Greek word translated as “has come back to life” is anistēmi (ἀνίστημι), which we commonly understand as “resurrection.” But this word also carries another meaning: “to repeat again and again.”

In other words, when the people of Caesarea Philippi said this, they were essentially mocking Him: “What’s the difference? Isn’t He just like Elijah or the prophets of old—someone who stirs up people with miracles and then disappears?”

Moreover, these people did not need a Messiah who would solve hunger or change the world. They were already living comfortably, and any change to the status quo would only inconvenience them. To them, the coming of the Messiah would be a nuisance.

That is why many of them belonged to the Sadducees—those who denied the resurrection and believed that once a person dies, everything ends. They valued only the visible world.

In Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, the atheistic second son, Ivan, introduces his spiritually pure younger brother Alyosha to a poem he wrote called The Grand Inquisitor. For reference, a grand inquisitor is an official who interrogates heretics during religious trials.

The story is set in 16th-century Spain, during the height of the Inquisition. One day, Jesus appears again, just as He did 2,000 years earlier in Galilee, wearing humble clothing. People begin to gather around Him, and before their eyes, He performs a miracle by raising a dead girl to life.

At that moment, the Grand Inquisitor, having witnessed the miracle, frowns and orders Jesus to be arrested and thrown into prison. The inquisitor knows full well that Jesus is the true Messiah—but He makes him deeply uncomfortable.

He bluntly says to Jesus, “Why have You come here to disturb everything?”
“Stop stirring up the people and interfering with our work. Just disappear quietly.”

Why? Because the Grand Inquisitor does not want the comfortable world he enjoys to change. He does not want the religious system he has built to be shaken. He wants to preserve the established religious order and system without disruption.

Dear friends, the people of Caesarea Philippi were originally Jews. They knew God, the Law, and the promise of the Messiah. But as they lived in the real world, it seemed to them that life did not operate according to Scripture, the Law, or prophecy. Those with power made things happen. Those with money controlled everything.

The righteous should prosper—but instead, the righteous suffered more. Living honestly and uprightly did not lead to comfort; rather, living ruthlessly and immorally seemed to guarantee an easy life.

As a result, their thinking changed. When their thinking changed, their convictions changed. When their convictions changed, their faith changed as well. The logic of the visible world became their truth and their faith. Under Roman rule, who then was the true “messiah”? The one with power. The one with money.

That is why people gathered in Caesarea Philippi. The Jews who gathered there gradually came to value the visible world more, stopped expecting the Messiah, denied the resurrection, and became Sadducees. They were once God’s people, but now they were striving to become citizens of the world—citizens of Pax Romana—seeking comfort and security.

A representative example is the Roman commander who imprisoned Paul in Acts 22.
Acts 22:28 says: “The commander said, ‘I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.’”

In that very place—Caesarea Philippi—where God’s people sought comfort by becoming people of the world, Jesus now asks His disciples another question. Let us look at Luke 9:20: “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Let us also read Matthew 16:16: “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Iēsous Christos, Theou Huios, Sōtēr (Ιησοῦς Χριστός Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ)

Taking the first letters, we get ICHTHYS (ΙΧΘΥΣ).

Dear friends, Peter’s confession contains three core beliefs about Jesus:

1. Jesus is the Christ.

2. Jesus is the Son of God.

3. Jesus is the Savior.

First, “Jesus is the Christ.” The word “Christ” means “the Anointed One.”

In Scripture, anointing was performed when appointing kings or prophets. The English word anointing is sometimes said to originate from the practice of applying oil to a sheep’s head after shearing to prevent insects.

But there is an even older tradition. In ancient Israel, shields used in battle were made of wood covered with leather. Leather would crack if it became too dry and mold if it became damp, so soldiers would apply oil to their shields before battle.

In the same way, anointing a king or prophet symbolized that they were to become a strong shield for the people, fulfilling God’s special mission.

Thus, confessing “Jesus is the Christ” means that He is my complete protector—my shield who fully protects me from every attack of Satan.

That is why, when we confess Jesus as the Christ, we have no reason to fear. Even in the middle of raging storms, those who hold the confession “Jesus is my Christ” in their hearts are not shaken.

This is why David, a man of faith, so often confessed: “God is my shield.”

• Psalm 3:3 — “But you, LORD, are a shield around me.”

• Psalm 28:7 — “The LORD is my strength and my shield.”

• Psalm 33:20 — “He is our help and our shield.”

• Psalm 84:9 — “Look on our shield, O God.”

• Psalm 115:9 — “He is their help and shield.”

• Psalm 119:114 — “You are my refuge and my shield.”

Who is Jesus to you? I believe He is our eternal shield, the Christ. When you are afraid and have nowhere to turn, cry out loud: “Jesus is my Christ.” I believe that even speaking it gives strength.

Second, “Jesus is the Son of God.” This means that He shares the same essence as God. Jesus came to this earth clothed in human flesh and possessed true humanity. He was morally and ethically perfect—far beyond us. But moral excellence alone cannot save us. To save us, He had to possess divine nature—the very nature of God.

If Christianity emphasizes only Jesus’ humanity, it becomes merely an ethical or moral religion. A representative figure who emphasized this was Immanuel Kant, who taught that salvation lies in imitating Jesus’ moral life guided by the voice of conscience.

But listen to your inner voice—what do you hear? Not only the voice of conscience, but the sinful desires of the flesh crying out: “Eat, drink, and be merry,” like the foolish rich man in Luke.

To solve the problem of sin, we had to die completely—but we could not. So the sinless God became human and came to this earth in our place. A spirit could not be a substitute sacrifice because a spirit cannot shed blood. That is why He came as a human being. Thus, the core of God’s divine nature is His power to deal with sin.

Let us read Hebrews 1:1–3, which clearly declares who Jesus is—especially to Jews who did not recognize Him as the Son of God: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.

Dear friends, do you know why it is so important that Jesus is the Son of God?

If Jesus, who came as a human being, were not the Son of God, we would have no way to resolve the problem of sin. But because Jesus came to this earth in human flesh while possessing God’s very nature—His divine nature—He was able to become the atoning sacrifice on the cross.

Therefore, finally, the third question is this: Who is Jesus to me? Jesus is my Savior.

That is, Jesus became the Christ and fully protects us in this sinful world. Though He came to this earth in a human body, as the Son of God He solved the problem of sin—and therefore He is our true Savior.

Dear friends, let us confess together: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Iēsous Christos, Theou Huios, Sōtēr.

When your faith is shaken, when you live in this world and become overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, cry out loud at that moment: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

I believe that all worry, anxiety, and fear within you will disappear, and that courage and faith will be firmly established in your hearts.

Now then, what does Jesus say to His disciples about this crucial confession? Let us read Luke 9:21 together: “Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.” There are many scholarly interpretations of this warning.

Some scholars say it was because it could be dangerous among Jews who held a distorted view of the Messiah. Others interpret it as meaning that a confession of faith is a personal matter and should not be taught to others. Opinions vary.

However, when we look at Jesus’ warning in the original Greek, the word used for “tell” or “say” is legō (λέγω). This word does not simply mean “do not speak.” According to Greek lexicons, it often carries a qualifying sense—“do not speak symbolically” or “do not speak indirectly.”

So if we translate it more literally from the original language, it would read: “Jesus warned them and commanded them not to speak of this to anyone in a symbolic or metaphorical way.”

In other words, Jesus is saying: Do not speak indirectly or evasively about the fact that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior. Even if mockery comes, even if circumstances arise where one may lose one’s life, this confession of faith must still be made.

That is why the Lord then speaks so strongly to His disciples. Let us read Luke 9:22–26:“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.” Then He said to them all: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it.

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 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.”

▶ Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, who is Jesus to you?
▶ What kind of person is Jesus in your life?

If Jesus is your Christ, the Son of God, and your Savior, may that confession and faith never be shaken. I believe that such an unchanging confession is the greatest expression of faith and loyalty that we can offer to our Lord.