The Question of Jesus' Identity

As Jesus was praying alone with his disciples, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They replied, “John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and others that one of the prophets of old had risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Luke 9:18-20

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

He strictly charged them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Luke 9:21-22

The Call to Follow Jesus

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:23-27

The Purpose of Luke's Gospel

As we've been going through the Gospel of Luke, we've been looking at it for the purpose of the entire book—the whole reason why the author Luke wrote it in the first place. He wrote this book to give a person named Theophilus—literally meaning “lover of God”—assurance of the things he had heard concerning Jesus Christ, or more specifically, the things he had been taught concerning Jesus.

This is why we are going through this book today: so that we can have assurance concerning the things of Jesus Christ, about things we have either heard or been taught about Jesus. Certainly, if you hear about Jesus, one of the most important things you want to know is whether it is true, whether it is real.

The author of this book, writing in the first century just a few decades after Jesus came on the scene, is a historian. He gathered together eyewitness accounts and resources to provide a real, legitimate account of what happened with Jesus Christ. He does so for the purpose of assuring people about Jesus.

Assurance in a World of Conflicting Views

This is a very important concept, especially in our day, because people have all sorts of definitions about Jesus. There are all sorts of beliefs about Jesus. One of the ways you can know if what you believe about Jesus is true or wrong is to look into the record of his life—and Luke wrote one of those.

Luke is trying to encourage us and help us have assurance of the things concerning Jesus Christ. Our context carries that same idea, though it branches into some different themes. It gives us assurance of who Jesus is. It provides the correct information of what to believe about Jesus Christ—especially because there were a lot of people who had different views.