The Cost and Glory of Following Christ

Luke 9:18-27

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 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.”

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 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. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

INTRODUCTION

Most of us are pretty good at answering easy questions without really thinking.
“How are you?” — “Yeah, good, mate.”
“What do you believe?” — “I’m a Christian.”

Nice, clean, quick answers. No follow-ups required.

But every now and then, a question comes along that feels a bit… personal. Like when someone doesn’t just ask, instead, people ask not just, “How’s work?” but, “Are you actually happy doing what you do?” Or not just, “Do you go to church?” but, “Does your faith change anything in your life?”

Those are the questions where you can’t just smile and keep walking.

That’s where Luke 9 takes us.

Up to this point, Jesus has been doing some pretty incredible things—healing people, feeding thousands with basically a packed lunch, calming storms like it’s nothing. The disciples are right there, watching it all happen. It’s been full-on. A lot of people are following Jesus—not only the disciples.

Then suddenly, Jesus hits pause and asks something very direct:
“Who do you say that I am?”

Not what the crowd says.
Not what your friend says.

You.

Luke 9:18–27 is a turning point. It takes faith out of the category of a “nice idea” and puts it into real life—your decisions, your habits, your relationships… even your Monday mornings.

So the question in front of us today is simple—but definitely not easy:
If Jesus really is the Christ… what does that change about how we actually live?

The Question That Changes Everything (18–20)

Alright, let’s start here.

The Bible says:
18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” (Luke 9:18–19, ESV)

At first, this feels like a normal moment. Jesus asks,
“Hey, what are people saying about me?”

And the disciples reply,
“Well… there are a few ideas.”

Some people say John the Baptist.
Some say Elijah.
Some say one of the prophets.

In other words, people had opinions.

They called Him a prophet, Elijah, or John the Baptist. The crowd was close… but still wrong. They weren’t saying bad things.

And honestly, nothing has changed. People today still have opinions about Jesus. Some say He’s a good teacher. Some say He’s about love. Some say He inspires people.

Then Jesus makes it very personal:
“But who do you say that I am?”

This is no longer about the crowd, not about culture, not about trends, not even about what you grew up hearing. This is about you.

And Peter answers,
“You are the Christ of God.”

That means:
You are the King.
You are the promised one.
You are sent by God to save.

This is not just an opinion.
This is not a preference.
This is truth.

And this is where everything begins.

The crowd respected Jesus, but they didn’t recognise Him for who He really is. And now it becomes very real for us.

Listen to this: “Popular opinion is not always truth.” How many times are we easily dragged into popular opinion?

If a post gets thousands of likes, we automatically think, “This must be true” or “This must be good,” and we agree without really checking it. Just because everyone believes it doesn’t make it true.

“The crowd can be loud—but still wrong.”

And here’s the danger we face today—we live in an algorithm era, where everything you see, everything you scroll, and everything you hear is filtered to match what you already like and believe.

So it starts to feel like:
“Everyone agrees with me.”
“Everyone thinks this way.”
“This must be right.”

But that’s not reality.

We are easily influenced because the world offers quick happiness, and waiting for God—God’s way—feels harder. Comfort now feels more real. What we can see now feels stronger than God’s promises.

So when the world promises,
“Do this and you’ll matter,”
or
“Have this and you’ll be happy,”
our hearts listen.

So the heart runs toward what feels good now instead of trusting that God is better.

The danger now is that we live in a world that says,
“Believe whatever works for you”—you can decide your own “jesus,” freedom of speech.

But Jesus doesn’t leave that option open. He doesn’t say,
“Choose your own version of me.”

He asks,
“Who do you say that I am?”

Here’s how this looks today:

Someone might say,
“I believe in Jesus… but I follow my own way.”

Or,
“I follow Jesus… but when it comes to my career, my relationships, or my lifestyle—I decide what’s right for me.”

Imagine this.

Your boss calls you into the office.

Boss:
“Hey, I’ve got a great opportunity for you. Bigger role, more responsibility… and a really solid pay jump.”

You’re thinking, “That sounds amazing.”

But then he keeps going.

Boss:
“There’s just one thing… in this role, you might need to smooth a few things over. Adjust some numbers here and there. Nothing major. It’s just how the industry works.”

You pause a bit. You know it’s not quite right.

But then he adds:

Boss:
“Look, everyone does this. And honestly, this could really set you up. Career growth, financial stability… this is a big step forward for you.”

Now you respond.

“Yeah… I mean, I follow Jesus. I try to live right.”

Boss nods, slightly smiling.
“Of course, of course. I respect that.”

Then he says:
“But this isn’t about your faith. This is about your future.”

And now you’re at a crossroads.

In your mind, two questions are competing:
“What honours God?”
“What benefits me?”

And imagine you say this:

“Look… I hear you. I know it’s not ideal. But this is a great opportunity. I think I’ll take it.”

Pause there.

What just happened?

You didn’t reject Jesus out loud.
You didn’t say you don’t believe Jesus anymore.

You just chose what felt good in the moment… instead of choosing Him.
(Selah)

The real problem here is not just that people make wrong decisions in the moment. That’s the surface issue.

The deeper problem is this: they don’t really see who Jesus is.

You cannot separate who Jesus is from what it means to follow Him (it starts with how you see Jesus).

If you see Him as a good helper—you will use Him (only come to Him when you need Him).
If you see Him as a good teacher—you will pick and choose His teaching.
But if you see Him as Christ, King, Lord—you will follow Him.

Sometimes we don’t see Him as He should be. We don’t see Him as our Savior. We reduce Jesus to a problem-solver.

So when life is hard—we go to Him.
When life is fine—we move on.

That’s not discipleship. That’s convenient.

That happens when Jesus is useful to us, but not truly Lord.

So when Jesus asked this question,
“But who do you say that I am?”

He’s basically saying, “Forget what everyone else is saying… what about you?”

Because this isn’t a group project.

You can’t copy someone else’s answer.
Your parents can’t answer this for you.
Your church can’t answer this for you.
Your friends can’t answer this for you.

At some point, it becomes your answer.

God is not interested in what others say about Jesus—He wants to know what YOU believe.
(Selah)

Then Peter speaks up and says,
“You are the Christ of God.”

Which is actually a really good answer.

He’s basically saying, “You’re the chosen one… the King… the one God promised.”

That’s true.

But here’s the thing—Peter understands who Jesus is, but he doesn’t fully understand what that means yet.

He knows the title… but not the cost.

Because right after this, Jesus starts talking about suffering and dying… and that doesn’t fit Peter’s expectations at all.

In his mind, the Christ should:
Win
Take power
Defeat enemies

Not suffer. Not die.

But the real Jesus is shaped by the cross. He suffers. He sacrifices. He gives His life.

The Cost of Following Christ

Jesus Foretells His Death

21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,
22 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.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

Alright, check this out—verse 22. Jesus says, “I must suffer… I must be killed… and then rise again.”

That word “must” matters. He’s basically saying, “This isn’t random. This is the plan.”

But here’s the thing… this makes no sense from how we normally think.

Imagine your idea of a king or a hero: they win fights, they don’t let people push them around, and they don’t die. Right?

Think about a superhero movie. Imagine the hero refuses to fight, gets captured, and then dies… you’d be like, “That’s it? That’s the worst hero ever.”

But Jesus comes along and says:
I’m going to suffer.
I’m going to be rejected.
I’m going to die.

That sounds like losing.

Alright… this is where Jesus takes things to another level.

He says:
Luke 9:23 — “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Now just pause there, because this is not what most people expect Jesus to say.

He doesn’t say, “If you want to follow me—try a bit harder, be a better person, or just add me into your schedule somewhere.” He’s not saying, “Hey, I’ll fit nicely alongside everything else you’ve got going on.”

No.

He says, “Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow me.”

What does “deny yourself” even mean? Because that can sound confusing.

Jesus is not saying: “Hate yourself,” “Stop enjoying life,” or “Become miserable.” That’s not it.

What He is saying is this: it means stepping down from the center of your life.

That’s it.

You’re no longer the one in charge.

To deny yourself is to stop making yourself the final authority. It means you are no longer the boss of your life—Jesus is.

This is the deepest issue of following Jesus: who is in charge.

Is it easy to deny yourself? No. It’s hard.

Let’s slow down here for a moment, because this is where “deny yourself” gets really personal.

When Jesus says, “deny yourself,” He’s not just talking about behaviour—He’s going deeper than that. He’s talking about our idol.

Let’s be honest about the question most of us are actually asking in life. Not, “How can I follow Jesus better?” but, “How can I be comfortable?” Do you agree?

That’s the real question driving a lot of our decisions.

How can I be more comfortable at work?
How can I avoid stress?
How can I keep life predictable, safe, and easy?

And without realising it, comfort becomes what we live for, what we work for, what we sacrifice for. It becomes our idol.

For many of us, we’re not really following Jesus. We are not denying ourselves. We’re following comfort.

Comfort decides our schedule.
Comfort decides our priorities.
Comfort decides what we’re willing to obey—and what we’re not.

Think about it.

We’re happy to follow Jesus as long as:
it doesn’t cost too much,
it doesn’t make things awkward,
it doesn’t disrupt our lifestyle.

But the moment following Jesus feels uncomfortable, risky, or inconvenient, we start pulling back.

Here’s the problem: there is nothing comfortable about the call of Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Follow me and I’ll make your life easier.” He says, “Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow me.”

And here’s the truth: you can’t follow Jesus seriously and stay comfortable all the time.

Because comfort keeps you in control, and following Jesus means giving control to Him.

In other words, to deny yourself means this: you regularly say “no” to what you want, in order to say “yes” to what Jesus wants.

Not once. Listen to what Jesus says:
“Let him deny himself… and take up his cross daily.”

Not once—but daily.

It shows up in daily:
choices,
reactions,
attitudes.

The Reward

But the good news is this: Jesus does not stop there. He continues with the reward of following Him.

Let’s be honest… in everyday life, we are always doing calculations.

We don’t usually say it out loud, but we are constantly thinking, “Is this worth it?”

Think about it.

Before you buy something, you compare prices (I am grateful to have some friends who are really good at this). Before you take a job, you weigh salary, hours, and stress. Before you make a big decision, you think: “What do I gain?” “What could I lose?”

And not just money—we do the same with life decisions.

“Is this relationship worth it?”
“Is this move worth it?”
“Is this risk worth it?”

We calculate. We assess risk. We try to make sure the outcome benefits us.

So when it comes to following Christ, we do the same thing.

Before we say, “I want to follow Jesus,” deep down we’re asking: “Is it worth it?”

And Jesus doesn’t hide the answer. He tells us clearly—there is a cost.

When Jesus says, “Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me,” He is not calling us to an easy life. He is calling us to a costly life.

You lose control of your life. You don’t get the final say anymore. Your plans are no longer just about what you want.

It changes how you live and your priorities.

Your career is not just about success anymore—it’s about honouring God.
Your relationships are not guided by feelings—but by what is right.
Your money is no longer fully yours—it is something entrusted to you.

That already feels costly. Do you agree?

One of the hardest parts of following Jesus is letting go of quick, easy “wins.”

Sometimes the easier path looks very attractive—like getting extra money by being dishonest with your tax return, or getting a better mark by cheating on an exam, or moving up at work faster by doing something questionable for your boss.

In those moments, it feels like:
“This is easy.”
“This helps me get ahead.”
“No one will know.”

So the real question becomes: “Is it worth it?”

Now let’s be honest for a moment.

Whenever we hear about cost, we immediately think about reward, because that’s how we live our lives.

We always want to know, “Is this worth it?” and “What do I get in return?”

Think about it.

If we choose to be honest in our business—even when it reduces our profit—what do we usually expect?

We think:
“Okay, God, I did the right thing… so now bless it.”
“Multiply my sales… increase my profit.”

Or in something like exams, if we refuse to cheat—even when everyone else is doing it—we still expect something like,
“Surely I’ll still get the marks I need.”
“Surely things will work out the way I want.”

That’s the kind of reward we naturally look for: immediate reward, visible reward, something we can experience right now.

We want to see results quickly.

But here’s the question: is that the kind of reward Jesus is talking about?

Because if you look at what Jesus says next, He completely reshapes how we think about reward.

25 “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
26 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…
27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

When Jesus talks about reward, He shifts our focus from now to eternity.

Our natural mindset is focused on now: “What do I get today?” “Will this make my life easier immediately?”

But Jesus points to a future moment—a day when He will return in glory.

He is saying: right now, it might look like following Me costs you. Right now, it might look like obedience puts you behind. Right now, it might feel like you’re missing out.

But this is not the end of the story.

There is a future coming where everything will be made clear.

And in that moment, the value of Jesus—and the value of choosing Him—will be visible to everyone.

Jesus also says something very personal: those who stand with Him now will be acknowledged by Him then.

Think about that.

Right now, you may feel small for following Jesus. You might feel awkward at work, at school, or with friends. You might feel pressure to stay quiet, to blend in, to soften your faith.

But Jesus says: if you stand with Me now, I will stand with you then.

That’s the reward—not applause today, not instant success, but eternal honour and joy in the presence of God.

And this is really good news, because it means your faithfulness is never wasted.

Every time you choose honesty over shortcuts, every time you obey when it costs you, every time you put Jesus before approval—none of it is lost.

It is all pointing toward that future glory.

One reason it is so hard for us to live with an eternal perspective is because we often misunderstand what our biggest problem really is.

Many of us think our ultimate problem is money, so we believe the ultimate reward is financial security. Some think it is discomfort or stress, so we chase ease and comfort.

But those are not our deepest problems.

The Bible tells us our ultimate problem is sin, and the result is separation from God.

That’s why success and comfort can never truly solve it.

Jesus paid that cost at the cross, so eternal life becomes our greatest reward.

He says:
“Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

In other words, what looks like loss is actually gain.

So before we finish today, let’s pause.

Not to rush. Not to move on too quickly.

Because Jesus doesn’t just give us information—He asks for a response.

Following Jesus is not just something we say. It is something we choose again and again.

So ask yourself honestly:

Who am I really following right now—comfort, approval, success, or Jesus?

Is Jesus someone I admire from a distance, or the One I am choosing to follow—even when it costs me something?

Discussion questions:

What struck you the most from the sermon?
Why is it important for you to know Jesus rightly? What happens when you don't?
What does it look like in daily life for you to deny yourself and carry the cross?
How does the gospel compel you to follow Jesus?