Luke 9:23-27 - Come and Die

Revelation 4:11 says that God is worthy to receive “glory and honor and power.” In Luke 9:22 Jesus says to his disciples, “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.” That statement is immediately followed by three short passages. In verses 23-27 Jesus challenges his disciples to deeper commitment. They are to honor him by denying themselves, taking up their cross daily and following him. Verses 28-36 reveal his glory in the transfiguration. Verses 37-43 demonstrate his power in healing a boy with an unclean spirit. He is worthy “to receive glory and honor and power.” This is not because he demands it, or because he is power hungry, or because he is egotistical. He is worthy “to receive glory and honor and power” because he created all things.

All things exist and were created by his will. They are his, not by reason of possession or brute force, but by reason of creation. He brought all things into existence by his word. God said,

“Let there be…” and there was. Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). “By him all things were created, … and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). All things exist, were created, and hold together “by the word of his power.” That is why He is worthy “to receive glory and honor and power.” It is that glory and honor and power that Luke 9:23-43 demonstrates. He is worthy!

The fact that he is worthy leads us to consider his kingdom. The Lord’s prayer includes the phrase, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” What does that mean? In 1906 Pastor John Widmeyer was preparing a sermon on John 21:12, where Jesus, after the resurrection, invites the disciples who have been fishing to come and have breakfast with him on the beach. Widmeyer wrote a hymn to go along with his sermon that day. The chorus of his hymn goes like this:

"Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”; 

You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;

He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,

To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.” 

But in Luke 9 the invitation is not to come and dine, but to come and die. So I wrote a different chorus:

“Come and die”, the Master calleth, “Come and die”; 

If you save your life, you’ll lose it every time; 

You can gain the whole wide world, lose your soul at the same time; 

Be ashamed of him and lose, “Come and die.” 

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done will one day look like “Come and dine,” but right now it looks a lot more like “Come and die.”