In today’s Gospel, Jesus is praying in a certain place and uses the opportunity for reflection to inform the disciples about his identity and theirs. Jesus clarifies what it means to be God’s messiah (Christ). It means to “suffer greatly,” to endure rejection, then to be killed. The disciples must be willing to take up a cross if they wish to follow Jesus.
The position of these events is instructive. Right before them we read that Jesus had sent the disciples out on a mission during which they had preached and healed (Luke 9:1–6). Upon their return, they witnessed Jesus’ multiplication of the five loaves and two fishes so that five thousand were fed. Moreover, Jesus had told them that they were to do the same: “Give them some food yourselves” (9:13). Thus, the disciples are filled with examples of the power of the ministry that they are to undertake. Lest they think that ministry is a move from power to power, Jesus takes the opportunity to tell them that the way of ministry is the path that he will take from suffering to glory.
The section that follows today’s Gospel reading is about the transfiguration of Jesus, and it is also helpful for determining the significance of today’s readings. Only in Luke’s account of the Transfiguration do we hear that Moses and Elijah were speaking with Jesus about “his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem” (9:31). These words of theirs pick up Jesus’ exhortation to the disciples that they must come after him by denying themselves and following him (9:23).
Luke would have the disciples realize that they are to exercise a powerful ministry for others while participating in their own exodus by following Jesus. The images of the Exodus and of taking up the cross to follow Jesus imply the rigors of a difficult time filled with suffering. They also imply, however, that the end of the journey is the Promised Land and resurrection.