Luke 9:21-22 21And warning seriously his disciples, he commanded them to tell this to no one, 22saying, “It is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Jesus told the disciples to be quiet about their realization, not because they were wrong but because they were right in their understanding of his identity. Why would he want them to be silent about something so important to the salvation of the world? There are several possible reasons. One possibility is that Jesus wanted people to believe in him because of the salvation he would bring through his death. People were following him for the wrong reasons because of their desire for physical healing and what they could get out of Jesus and not for who he was as the Son of God. Another related reason may be what people believed the Messiah would be like. Many may have expected the Messiah to throw off the political and economic yoke of the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel like it was in the days of King David. Jesus did not come to bring a political kingdom but a spiritual one. Jesus rejected the temptation for power and position when the devil cornered him in the desert in 4:1-15.
A third possibility leads to Jesus’ response in verse 22. The disciples did not understand what it would take to bring salvation to the world. Curiously, Luke leaves out the interchange when Jesus rebukes Peter found in Mark 8:31-33. Jesus would have to suffer to bring salvation and fulfill God’s purposes for his kingdom. The disciples missed the important connection predicted in Isaiah 53 that God’s anointed Servant would suffer and be killed for the sins of the world. Jesus uses his favorite self-designation as Son of Man (see 5:24). Jesus the Son of God came as the Son of Man to identify with human suffering. His purpose in coming was to go to the cross (24:26, 46).
Jesus’ strong warning has four key points that are essential to the message of the gospel. First is the necessity of his suffering. Jesus’ death was not an accident. It was not the choice of the Jews or Romans but was part of God’s eternal plan for the salvation of the whole world. Jesus would suffer many things on his way to the cross, including several trials, mockery, and beating. Second, he would be rejected by the Jewish leaders. They were the ones who should have embraced Jesus and turned the Jews back to God. Instead, they hardened their hearts and looked for ways to get rid of Jesus and have him killed. Third, Jesus would be killed. This statement should have awakened the disciples, and it did elicit a response from Peter, according to Mark’s version of the story. The necessity of Jesus’ death is one of the cornerstone and foundation themes of the message of good news. Other passages of the New Testament explore the significance of Jesus’ atoning death for sin. Fourth, even more surprising is the expectation that Jesus would rise from the dead. The verb used here is a passive voice, implying that Jesus was truly dead and needed an outside force to raise him. He was not in a comma that he came out of and walked out of the tomb. He was dead and needed God his heavenly Father to raise him to life again. These are the key points the disciples would need to understand for their future ministry of going into the world with the hope of salvation.
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