Luke 9:18-20 Sermon for October 11, 2026
“While he was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They answered, ‘John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.’ ‘But you,’ he asked them, ‘who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘God’s Messiah!’”- Luke 9:18-20 CSB
We live in a world obsessed with public opinion. We have algorithms designed specifically to measure what people think about everything—from the best place to get a cup of coffee to who should lead the free world. If you want to know what the public thinks about any given topic, you don’t need to look very far. Just pull out your phone, scroll for thirty seconds, and you will be inundated with an endless stream of hot takes, reviews, and commentary.
It is easy to get caught up in the noise of what "they" say. But every now and then, life cuts through the static and forces us to face a question that cannot be answered by a crowd.
Imagine walking into a doctor’s office. You’ve been feeling unwell, and the doctor looks at your test results, looks up at you, and says, "There are a lot of theories floating around online about these symptoms. Some people say it’s stress. Some say it’s diet. But let me ask you: what do you think is happening in your body?" Suddenly, what the internet thinks doesn't matter. What the crowd says is irrelevant. You are forced to deal with reality as it pertains to you.
In Luke chapter 9, Jesus brings His disciples to a moment just like that. Up to this point in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus has been performing miracles, casting out demons, healing the sick, and teaching with authority. The crowds are swelling. The buzz is building. Everyone has an opinion about Him. Sort of like today.
And so Jesus turns to His disciples in a quiet moment and asks a two-part question. The first part is easy: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” The second part is life-altering: “But you… who do you say that I am?”
Every single person in this room—and every person who has ever lived—must answer that second question. You cannot hide behind your parents' faith. You cannot hide behind your spouse’s faith. You cannot hide behind the general culture or the consensus of the evangelical crowd. Jesus looks directly at you today and asks: “Who do you say that I am?”
Look at how Luke opens this scene in verse 18: “While he was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them…”
Notice the setting. Jesus is not in the middle of a noisy marketplace. He is not surrounded by thousands of people clamoring for bread or healing. He has withdrawn to a place of solitude. Luke makes a point throughout his Gospel to highlight the prayer life of Jesus. Before every major shift in His ministry, before calling the twelve, before the Transfiguration, and here before eliciting this pivotal confession, Jesus PRAYS.
Here is a wonderful truth for us to contemplate: Jesus, the eternal Son of God made man, lived a life of unbroken communion with His Father. In His true and sinless humanity, He depended entirely on the Father through prayer.
John Calvin once wrote:
"Christ prayed not for his own sake, but to train us by his example to seek strength from God."
Jesus was preparing His disciples for a massive shift. Up to Luke 9, the focus has been on Galilee—His popularity, His miracles, His preaching. But right after this passage, Jesus will set His face toward Jerusalem, toward the cross, toward suffering and death. Before He reveals the mystery of His coming death, He brings His disciples into the quiet atmosphere of His prayer life.
There is a lesson here for us before we even get to the core question. Notice that true spiritual clarity rarely happens in the middle of noise and chaos. Jesus brings them into a private setting. If you want to hear from God, if you want to examine your own heart regarding who Jesus is, you must learn to step away from the relentless noise of the culture.
We live in a culture that fears silence. If there is five seconds of quiet in our car, we turn on the radio. If we are standing in line at the grocery store, we pull out our phones. We are constantly feeding our minds with the chatter of the world. But deep, soul-shaping truth demands stillness. It requires coming into the presence of God and asking, "Lord, remove the distractions of the world so I can see who You truly are."
In this quiet setting, Jesus asks His first question: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (v. 18b).
Now, Jesus didn't ask this because He was suffering from a mid-life crisis or because He was insecure about His public relations strategy. He wasn't sitting around with the disciples saying, "Hey guys, check the analytics. Are my subscriber numbers up or down this week?"
Jesus knew exactly what the crowds were saying. He asked the question to set up a contrast. He wanted the disciples to articulate the cultural consensus so that they could see how far off it was.
Look at the disciples’ answer in verse 19: “They answered, ‘John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.’”
Every single one of these opinions treated Jesus with respect! None of them called Him an impostor or a fraud. They put Him in the highest tier of Jewish reverence. They called Him a prophet, a holy man, a bold preacher, a miracle worker.
If Jesus were to take a modern poll in our culture today, the answers wouldn't look much different:
The secular historian says, "Jesus was a great moral teacher, a compassionate philosopher."
The Muslim says, "Jesus was Isa, a noble prophet of Allah, born of a virgin, but not the Son of God."
The progressive thinker says, "Jesus was a social reformer who stood up against religious bigotry."
The nominal churchgoer says, "Jesus is a helper who makes my life better when I’m having a rough week."
Do you see the pattern? The world has always been willing to compliment Jesus. The world will gladly grant Him a spot in the Hall of Fame of moral teachers. The world has no problem placing a statue of Jesus alongside Buddha, Socrates, and Gandhi. Yet, Jesus will not allow that answer.
To compliment Jesus while denying His true identity is still to reject Him.
George Whitefield once said:
"It is not enough to have a general knowledge of Christ... Many call Him Lord, who yet in works deny Him."
You see, if Jesus is merely a moral teacher, then His teachings are optional advice. If He is just a prophet, He is one of many voices. If He is merely a good man, He cannot save your soul from the wrath of God. A dead prophet cannot pardon your sins. A moral teacher cannot conquer the grave. A social reformer cannot reconcile an unholy sinner to a holy God.
The crowd’s views were high, but they were fatally insufficient. They stopped short of the truth. And stopping short of who Jesus really is leaves you stranded in your sin, therefore, destined to eternal separation from God.
This brings us to the climax of the text. Jesus turns His gaze away from the crowd and directly onto the Twelve.
Verse 20: “‘But you,’ he asked them, ‘who do you say that I am?’”
In the original Greek, the emphasis is sharp and emphatic. It reads literally: "But you—who do you say me to be?"
The pronoun "you" is plural and placed right at the beginning for emphasis. Jesus is saying, "The crowds have their opinions. They have their theories and their theological chatter. But I’m not asking the crowds right now. I’m asking you. You who have walked with Me. You who have seen Me heal the lepers and calm the storm. You who have heard Me speak words of eternal life. Who do you say that I am?"
And Simon Peter, acting as the spokesman for the apostles, steps forward.
Peter answers: “God’s Messiah!” (or as Matthew records it: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God").
In two simple words in the Greek text—Ton Christon tou Theou—Peter blows past all the polite human compliments and lands on the divine truth. "You are not just another prophet. You are not merely a reincarnated holy man. You are the Anointed One of God! You are the long-awaited King, the Savior of Israel, the eternal Son sent from Heaven!"
What did it mean for Peter to confess Jesus as "God's Messiah" (or Christ)?
"Messiah" (Hebrew) and "Christ" (Greek) both mean "the Anointed One." In the Old Testament, three offices required anointing with oil: Prophet, Priest, and King.
Prophet: To speak God’s word to the people.
Priest: To offer sacrifices and mediate between God and the people.
King: To rule over God's people and execute judgment against their enemies.
When Peter confesses Jesus as God's Messiah, he is acknowledging that Jesus is the fulfillment of all three offices! He is the ultimate Prophet who reveals the Father, the ultimate High Priest who offers Himself as the final sacrifice for sin, and the ultimate King whose reign will never end.
Here, we treasure the rich heritage of biblical truth summarized in our confession—the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. Chapter 8 of our confession is titled "Of Christ the Mediator."
Paragraph 1 of Chapter 8 puts Peter's confession into majestic theological language:
"It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both, to be the Mediator between God and man; the Prophet, Priest, and King; the Head and Savior of His church, the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world..."
Do you see how rich Peter’s statement is? When Peter calls Him "God's Messiah," he is confessing Jesus as the Mediator of the New Covenant!
Furthermore, Paragraph 2 of that same chapter declares:
"The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, of one substance and equal with Him... did, when the fullness of time was come, take upon Him man's nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin..."
Jesus is not a created light; He is God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, who took on human flesh to fulfill the work of the Messiah.
Where did Peter get this conviction? Did he just figure it out because he was smarter than the rest of the crowd? Was Peter a brilliant theologian who did a deep-dive comparative analysis and deduced the correct answer?
Not at all. In Matthew’s account of this same event, Jesus immediately responds to Peter by saying: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt 16:17).
Peter didn't come to this conclusion through human flesh and blood. God the Father pulled back the veil of spiritual blindness and gave Peter eyes to see!
This is what Reformed theologians call effectual calling or regenerating grace. By nature, every single one of us is born spiritually blind, dead in transgressions and sins (Eph 2:1). Left to ourselves, we would all remain in the crowd, calling Jesus a "good teacher" or a "prophet," or ignoring Him altogether. We cannot see the beauty and glory of Christ as Mediator until the Holy Spirit opens our blind eyes and imparts spiritual life to our dead hearts.
John Bunyan, the glorious Baptist preacher who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, described his own realization of Christ's identity in his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. Bunyan wrote about how he struggled for years trying to make himself acceptable to God through his own righteousness, until the Lord graciously revealed Christ to him:
"One day as I was passing into the field... this sentence fell upon my soul: 'Thy righteousness is in heaven.”
That is what happened to Peter! God revealed Christ to him. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shone into Peter’s heart.
Now, we must bring this text home to our own hearts.
Notice the movement of this passage:
It begins with public opinion: "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
It narrows down to personal conviction: "But you, who do you say that I am?"
You cannot hide in the crowd forever. You can attend a faithful, gospel-preaching church every Sunday. You can sit in a pew next to godly parents, a godly spouse, or godly friends. You can memorize the 1689 Confession, agree with historic Reformed orthodoxy, and read all the Puritans you can get your hands on.
But if Jesus were to stand before you today and look you in the eye, He would not ask you what your pastor believes. He would not ask you what your parents believe. He would ask you: "Who do YOU say that I am?"
Some people answer this question with a shrug. "Jesus? Sure, He was a historical figure. I don't really think about Him much. I'm busy with my career, my family, my hobbies, my retirement plan."
If that is you today, listen carefully: Indifference toward Jesus is not neutral. To treat the Creator of the universe, the Sovereign Lord who gives you every breath you take, with casual indifference is a declaration of treason. To ignore the Messiah whom God sent to die for sinners is to insult the infinite grace of God. You cannot remain neutral about Jesus.
There are others who can give the correct theological answer, but it has never transformed their hearts. They can recite the Baptist Catechism. They can define the hypostatic union. They know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But their knowledge is purely intellectual.
The 1689 London Baptist Confession makes a vital distinction in Chapter 14 ("Of Saving Faith"), Paragraph 2:
"By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word... but the principal acts of saving faith have immediate relation to Christ, accepting, receiving, and resting upon Him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life..."
Did you catch that phrase? "Accepting, receiving, and resting upon Him alone."
Saving faith is not merely intellectual assent to facts about Jesus. Even the demons believe that Jesus is the Messiah—and they tremble! (James 2:19). Saving faith is looking at Jesus as He is offered in the Gospel and throwing the full weight of your soul upon Him. It is saying, "He is not just the Messiah; He is my Messiah! He is my Prophet to teach me, my High Priest who paid for my sins on the cross, my King to rule over my life!"
When God opens a person's heart, their response to Jesus changes completely. They no longer see Him as a distant historical figure or a moral icon. They see Him as the supreme pearl of great price.
When you confess Jesus as "God's Messiah" with saving faith:
You yield to Him as Prophet: You sit at His feet and let His Word govern your life, your marriage, your finances, your morality, and your worldview. You don't pick and choose which teachings of Jesus you like; you submit to all of them.
You rest in Him as High Priest: You stop trying to earn your way to heaven through your own good works or religious performance. You look to His shed blood on Calvary as the complete, all-sufficient payment for your guilt. You rest entirely in His righteousness imputed to you.
You obey Him as King: You lay down the arms of your rebellion. You surrender your self-sovereignty and say, "Lord Jesus, You rule my life. What You command, I will follow. Where You lead, I will go."
This is the Christ presented to you today in the Gospel.
If you are here today and you have never truly surrendered your life to Christ—if you have been living on the opinions of the crowd, or resting on a nominal, superficial religion—I plead with you today: Look to Jesus.
Do not leave this room content with what the world says about Him. Look at the Savior who died for sinners and rose again. Turn from your sin in repentance and cast yourself upon Him in faith. Confess Him not just as a Savior, but as your Savior and Lord.
And for those of us who have by God's grace confessed Him as God's Messiah: let us live in the light of who He is. Let us not be ashamed of His Gospel in a culture that rejects Him. When the world mocks our faith or pushes back against God's truth, let us remember that the opinion of the crowd will fade away, but the reign of God's Messiah will endure forever.
Let us stand firm, resting on Christ our Prophet, Priest, and King, and let us boldly confess with Peter every day of our lives:
"You are God’s Messiah!"
