Day 23 - Luke 9-10

This is the third time that we've read the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Each time (Matt. 17; Mark 9) the account is preceded by the statement of Jesus that "there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God." What else can this mean other than the fact that the Transfiguration was to be somewhat of a manifestation of the Kingdom of God. With that in mind, what was it about this event that is typical of the Kingdom of God? Here is what I believe: the Kingdom of God is manifested wherever Jesus is exalted. The whole idea of the Kingdom of God can be a bit confusing because some aspects of it are understood to be future, whereas there are other aspects that are present right now! This has been described by some as the "already but not yet" understanding of the Kingdom. The "already" part is put on display in our lives when we exalt Jesus Christ by our words and by our actions. May His Kingdom come in my life and yours!

One thing that jumped out at me in these two chapters was cost of discipleship. Right off the bat, Jesus tells His disciples that He is commissioning for service to "pack lightly." This implies that the disciple of Jesus is not one who holds onto the things of this world. He lives a "trimmed-down" type of lifestyle without all of the comforts of this world. In 9:23-25, Jesus describes the life of discipleship as one that is characterized by cross-bearing and life-losing. In 9:48, Jesus tells His disciples not to aspire to "greatness" but rather to "leastness"! Jesus Himself faced the rejection of the Samaritans in 9:51-56. Then, in the closing verses of chapter 9, Jesus tells three would-be followers to count the cost and come and follow Him with singleness of heart. Even chapter 10 points to the high cost of discipleship. Jesus warns His sent ones in vs3 that they are going out as sheep in the midst of wolves. In other words, it's dangerous to follow Jesus. And in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus describes the one who would be neighbor to those around him as one who gives sacrificially to meet the needs of others (10:34-35). But, in the midst of all the talk of how much it costs to follow Jesus, reward is mentioned time and again. 9:1-2 - supernatural power was given to do the work. 9:24 - the one who loses his life for Jesus' sake, saves it! 9:48 - the least is great! 9:62 - when you follow Jesus with singleness of heart you demonstrate that you are fit for the Kingdom! 10:17-20 - there was success in the ministry of the 72 sent ones. In addition to that, their names were written in heaven! With all of these benefits and rewards, is the cost of discipleship really that high? This is why someone like Hudson Taylor could say after a lifetime of self-denying service for Christ, "I never made a sacrifice."