“Soliciting Opinions” Luke 9:18-19

     In this incident, the Lord desired to hear an honest opinion of how His contemporary fellow Jews view Him as a person.

     As he was praying alone, the disciples were near him, and he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” They answered, “ ‘John the Baptizer,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others, that one of the old prophets has risen again” (Luke 9:18-19).

The Opinion Seeker: Jesus 

     1. The time He chose to ask

     As he was praying alone, the disciples were near him (18a).

     Here, the Lord showed an example as His Father's Servant that it may have to take a servant of God to stop and have a serious communion with God and emptying of himself to prepare himself to receive and evaluate information that may affect his manner of going abouts as a servant of God. Spiritual matters deserve spiritual backing. We cannot take the things of God lightly. How do the people of the world view a servant of God's going abouts? Can they see him bearing the fruit of the Spirit? Does it affect them for good?

     Moreover, the Lord here also wanted to just have a light-hearted conversation with His disciples about a serious topic in a prayerful atmosphere about an important subject so that the latter could articulate their thoughts freely and perhaps yield a most honest and accurate answer.

     2. His earnestness in asking

     And he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” (18b)

     We can hear a tone of earnestness in the Lord's voice as He said these words. He cares about His countrymen's opinion, and He was dying to hear about it. He hoped they'd already get to know who He really was and what He was about. So far, have they already? From His disciples' answer would He base His future course of action as He went about doing His Father's works to give His countrymen a chance to put their faith in Him and accept Him as their Messiah. Jesus said at another time that the reason He came down on earth was to first reach out to His countrymen.

     3. The faith He was seeking 

     And he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” (18b)

     The question posed was "Who?" The Lord was seeking from earthly minds a representation. Jesus knew exactly who He was; but He rather preferred to surround it in obscurity so that His countrymen, as people created in God's image, could exercise their free will and get to see Him for who He was based on whatever understanding of Torah they had. He wanted them to have faith on their own. He did not reveal Himself outright but presented Himself as an ordinary man instead of a glowing Messiah. To non-Jews like Samaritans, he never hesitated to reveal Himself as the Messiah; and they put their faith in Him.

     Fortunately, ordinary Jewish people saw Jesus as one of them: a simple man who happened to have some amazing abilities that ministered rightly to them. Their childlike faith saw God in His works despite His being poor and itenerant.

     On the other hand, others who thought they were smarter than the masses thought Jesus was not a proper Messiah but a dividing figure.

by: Marven T. Baldo