14th Sunday after Pentecost 08/21/05 Text: Matthew 16:13-20 Title: The Pop Quiz
08/21/05
14th Sunday after Pentecost
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Title: The pop quiz.
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Eternal God, pour out your Spirit upon us that we might be aware of your presence in our midst, that we might be attentive to your Word, and that we might be faithful always to your way, through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
The hope of those in the Jewish community of Jesus time was their belief that the promised Messiah would on his arrival reestablish the supremacy of Israel among the great nations of the world. They assumed that this would be accomplished as the Messiah totally destroyed Israel’s enemies.
But before this could happen, it was also believed that the prophet Elijah would have to appear first. Because even the disciples of Jesus held on to some part of that belief, Jesus had to somehow communicate to them that he was offering something completely different from what they expected.
So one day, as they were walking along, Jesus gave his disciples a pop quiz. He first asked them, “Who do people say I am?” I am not sure if they responded right away, because they could answer him in one of two ways. They could tell him all the negative things people were saying about him, or all the positive things people were saying. It appears that they decided to concentrate on the positive as they replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
The disciples probably thought that that their answer was the end of the subject, but Jesus was not through. You see that question, was only the first of two questions that he wanted to ask his disciples that day. The second question, “Who do you say I am?” was addressed to his closest friends, those who knew him better, or I should say, should have known him better.
Matthew doesn’t record it, but I am sure that when Jesus asked that question the disciples probably exchanged nervous glances, looked down at their feet, or off into the distance, as they searched for the right answer.
You see, just like us today, they had no problem reporting what other people were saying about who Jesus was, but when it came to expressing their own beliefs about Jesus, the answer did not come as quickly. After what must have been a rather prolonged awkward silence, until good ol’ Peter came to the rescue, as he blurted out, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus told him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
When you think about it that was rather a remarkable statement for Jesus to make, for Jesus is praising the same Peter who just a few days, well actually a few nights ago, had wavered so much in his faith that he almost drowned. In fact, this is the same Peter who we will see next week Jesus calls Satan.
As I thought about Jesus’ question to his disciples that day, I got to wondering what would happen if Jesus came through the closed doors of our sanctuary right now, and asked each one of us, “Who do you say I am?” Who would be the first one to answer him? What kind of answers would he get?
How would you describe to Jesus who you think he is? Would you say that he is God, the Son of God, Savior, or any of those other stock theological descriptions of Jesus that we all learned in catechism? Or would you describe him as being a loving, gentle, compassionate, understanding, and forgiving God? Maybe some of you would say that he is a friend that will never desert you, or a guide that will never lead you astray?
The wonderful thing about our relationship with Jesus is that while he never changes, we, for the most part all experience him in different ways, just as people who are looking at the same thing, see it in different ways, depending on their own life experiences
Here is a little illustration to show you what I mean. There were once a minister, and geologist, and a cowboy, who were getting their first look at the Grand Canyon. As they stood there looking over the canyon, the minister fell to his knees and exclaimed, “This is no doubt one of the glories of God!” The geologist commented, “Look what water will do over long periods of time.” The cowboy spit his chew over the edge and said, “Can you imagine trying to find a lost steer in there?”
The Grand Canyon had not changed, but each man, depending on his life experiences, saw it a different way. Well, it doesn’t look like Jesus is going to come in today and ask us, “Who we think he is.” But we still need to be prepared to say who Jesus is, because we never know when he will come, or when we will be asked by a relative, friend, neighbor, co-worker, or even a stranger to tell them who Jesus is.
I remember reading an article not too long ago about a Christian woman who was going through a really rough time. Her name escapes me at the moment. It seems that in a period of just one month her husband left her, her best friend was killed in an automobile accident, her teenage daughter came home from a date drunk and half dressed, and then to top it all off she was told she had breast cancer. As you can imagine she was rather stressed out.
On her way home from the doctor’s office the day she was told she had breast cancer, she noticed on the back of a car a bumper sticker that read, “Jesus is the answer”. She couldn’t help thinking, “Jesus is the answer to what; my loneliness, my feelings of failure as a mother, my fear of cancer? Exactly what is Jesus the answer to? And if he is the answer, then why are all these bad things happening to me? Why, God?”
If that woman came up to you, now that you know her circumstances and asked you, “Who do you say Jesus is?” What would you do? Would you avoid her, or give her one of the stock descriptions of God that we talked about earlier?
If you responded to her question with a stock description of Jesus, you really have not answered her question, for you have not answered the question she really is asking, “What is it that Jesus can do for me, right now in my troubles.”
Don’t fret if you would have not answered her question properly, for we all have a tendency to answer those types of questions with some theological description of Jesus. We use those terms because we don’t want anyone to know that we aren’t always exactly sure who Jesus is and what he is doing in our life either.
It is unfortunate that we as a people of God feel like we have to hide our struggles of faith, when in reality each one of us would probably at some time or other have trouble answering the one question Jesus asks his disciples of every age, “Who do you say that I am?”
For you see, as Saint Paul tells us, “We now see, through a glass dimly.” But one day, when we are called to our true home, we will understand fully what it means to confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
Until that time each one of us must continue our daily journey of faith, a journey that will sometimes take us down into the deepest valley, at other times to the highest mountain top. There will times when you will have to make some tough decisions; maybe some end of life decisions. Decisions that you will not know for sure if it is a God pleasing decision or not.
Don’t be afraid when those times come, for you are forgiven, not because of anything you have done, or will do, but because the perfect Son of God willingly died on your behalf. I love what Martin Luther once said when giving advice to a fellow pastor faced with a difficult decision, “God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world.[1] Amen
[1]Luther, M. 1999, c1963. Vol. 48: Luther's works, vol. 48 : Letters I (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Fortress Press: Philadelphia
14th Sunday after Pentecost
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Title: The pop quiz.
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Eternal God, pour out your Spirit upon us that we might be aware of your presence in our midst, that we might be attentive to your Word, and that we might be faithful always to your way, through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
The hope of those in the Jewish community of Jesus time was their belief that the promised Messiah would on his arrival reestablish the supremacy of Israel among the great nations of the world. They assumed that this would be accomplished as the Messiah totally destroyed Israel’s enemies.
But before this could happen, it was also believed that the prophet Elijah would have to appear first. Because even the disciples of Jesus held on to some part of that belief, Jesus had to somehow communicate to them that he was offering something completely different from what they expected.
So one day, as they were walking along, Jesus gave his disciples a pop quiz. He first asked them, “Who do people say I am?” I am not sure if they responded right away, because they could answer him in one of two ways. They could tell him all the negative things people were saying about him, or all the positive things people were saying. It appears that they decided to concentrate on the positive as they replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
The disciples probably thought that that their answer was the end of the subject, but Jesus was not through. You see that question, was only the first of two questions that he wanted to ask his disciples that day. The second question, “Who do you say I am?” was addressed to his closest friends, those who knew him better, or I should say, should have known him better.
Matthew doesn’t record it, but I am sure that when Jesus asked that question the disciples probably exchanged nervous glances, looked down at their feet, or off into the distance, as they searched for the right answer.
You see, just like us today, they had no problem reporting what other people were saying about who Jesus was, but when it came to expressing their own beliefs about Jesus, the answer did not come as quickly. After what must have been a rather prolonged awkward silence, until good ol’ Peter came to the rescue, as he blurted out, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus told him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
When you think about it that was rather a remarkable statement for Jesus to make, for Jesus is praising the same Peter who just a few days, well actually a few nights ago, had wavered so much in his faith that he almost drowned. In fact, this is the same Peter who we will see next week Jesus calls Satan.
As I thought about Jesus’ question to his disciples that day, I got to wondering what would happen if Jesus came through the closed doors of our sanctuary right now, and asked each one of us, “Who do you say I am?” Who would be the first one to answer him? What kind of answers would he get?
How would you describe to Jesus who you think he is? Would you say that he is God, the Son of God, Savior, or any of those other stock theological descriptions of Jesus that we all learned in catechism? Or would you describe him as being a loving, gentle, compassionate, understanding, and forgiving God? Maybe some of you would say that he is a friend that will never desert you, or a guide that will never lead you astray?
The wonderful thing about our relationship with Jesus is that while he never changes, we, for the most part all experience him in different ways, just as people who are looking at the same thing, see it in different ways, depending on their own life experiences
Here is a little illustration to show you what I mean. There were once a minister, and geologist, and a cowboy, who were getting their first look at the Grand Canyon. As they stood there looking over the canyon, the minister fell to his knees and exclaimed, “This is no doubt one of the glories of God!” The geologist commented, “Look what water will do over long periods of time.” The cowboy spit his chew over the edge and said, “Can you imagine trying to find a lost steer in there?”
The Grand Canyon had not changed, but each man, depending on his life experiences, saw it a different way. Well, it doesn’t look like Jesus is going to come in today and ask us, “Who we think he is.” But we still need to be prepared to say who Jesus is, because we never know when he will come, or when we will be asked by a relative, friend, neighbor, co-worker, or even a stranger to tell them who Jesus is.
I remember reading an article not too long ago about a Christian woman who was going through a really rough time. Her name escapes me at the moment. It seems that in a period of just one month her husband left her, her best friend was killed in an automobile accident, her teenage daughter came home from a date drunk and half dressed, and then to top it all off she was told she had breast cancer. As you can imagine she was rather stressed out.
On her way home from the doctor’s office the day she was told she had breast cancer, she noticed on the back of a car a bumper sticker that read, “Jesus is the answer”. She couldn’t help thinking, “Jesus is the answer to what; my loneliness, my feelings of failure as a mother, my fear of cancer? Exactly what is Jesus the answer to? And if he is the answer, then why are all these bad things happening to me? Why, God?”
If that woman came up to you, now that you know her circumstances and asked you, “Who do you say Jesus is?” What would you do? Would you avoid her, or give her one of the stock descriptions of God that we talked about earlier?
If you responded to her question with a stock description of Jesus, you really have not answered her question, for you have not answered the question she really is asking, “What is it that Jesus can do for me, right now in my troubles.”
Don’t fret if you would have not answered her question properly, for we all have a tendency to answer those types of questions with some theological description of Jesus. We use those terms because we don’t want anyone to know that we aren’t always exactly sure who Jesus is and what he is doing in our life either.
It is unfortunate that we as a people of God feel like we have to hide our struggles of faith, when in reality each one of us would probably at some time or other have trouble answering the one question Jesus asks his disciples of every age, “Who do you say that I am?”
For you see, as Saint Paul tells us, “We now see, through a glass dimly.” But one day, when we are called to our true home, we will understand fully what it means to confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
Until that time each one of us must continue our daily journey of faith, a journey that will sometimes take us down into the deepest valley, at other times to the highest mountain top. There will times when you will have to make some tough decisions; maybe some end of life decisions. Decisions that you will not know for sure if it is a God pleasing decision or not.
Don’t be afraid when those times come, for you are forgiven, not because of anything you have done, or will do, but because the perfect Son of God willingly died on your behalf. I love what Martin Luther once said when giving advice to a fellow pastor faced with a difficult decision, “God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world.[1] Amen
[1]Luther, M. 1999, c1963. Vol. 48: Luther's works, vol. 48 : Letters I (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Fortress Press: Philadelphia
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