15th Sunday after Pentecost 08/24/08 Text: Matthew 16:13-20 Title: Who Do You Say I Am?
15th Sunday after Pentecost
08/24/08
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Title: Who Do You Say I Am?
Just before our Gospel reading for this morning Jesus has fed 4000 people after which there were 7 baskets of food left over. As if that and the feeding of 5000 people was not evidence enough the Pharisees and the Sadducees have joined together so that they could test Jesus to see if he was truly from God. Jesus rakes them over the coals telling them that they should know just by the signs of the times.
He leaves them and heads back across the lake with his disciples. When they are there the disciples realize that they had no bread with them. Jesus starts talking to them about avoiding the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. In typical male fashion they think he is talking as if they had brought bread with them that was made by the Pharisees and Sadducees. They hadn’t and it really confused them.
Jesus fusses at them for their lack of faith. “Don’t you get it?” he says. “I am not talking of actual bread. I am talking about the false teachings of the church leaders.” I can just picture the disciples going, “Okay, we get it.”
That moves us into our Gospel reading for today where Jesus asks them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples answer, “Some say, John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” All of those are logical answers, for the rumor among the people was that Jesus was a reincarnated John the Baptist. It was the common belief that Elijah was going to be reincarnated so that he could prepare the way for the Messiah. So they thought, until he was murdered that John the Baptist was Elijah. With John dead the popular opinion shifted that maybe it was Jesus that must be Elijah. Jesus then must be preparing the way for the Messiah. Others thought that Jesus was a reincarnated Jeremiah because tradition held that Jeremiah had hidden the Ark of the Covenant on Mt. Nebo and that since Jesus was doing all those miracles and talking of the kingdom he must then be Jeremiah who was going to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. This then would signify the start of the new age, which would restore Israel to all its glory. Others thought he was another prophet as it was foretold in Deuteronomy 18 that another prophet like Moses would appear to usher in the new age of glory.
Jesus says, “Okay, but now who do you say I am?” Of course Peter jumps right in and says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” We read that Jesus compliments him. “You got it right Peter. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! (Bar-Jonah means son of John) For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
Peter has come to a point of no return. It is easy to say what others believe about Jesus, but to make your own confession of who Jesus is, now that is another matter. Peter had it right. Jesus is the promised Messiah and he is the Son of the Living God. His understanding was not perfect, and Jesus complimented him on his understanding.
When Jesus raised that question to Peter, he raised the question that all people must ultimately answer in their life. “Who do you say that I am?” In the end it does not matter what public opinion is or what family and friends think. Martin Luther once said, “Every person must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.” That question of Jesus marks a point of no return. We don’t know what the other disciples were thinking that day when Jesus asked the question. But we do know that Peter standing smack dab in the middle of earthly power and pagan religion declaring that Jesus is, “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
I don’t think those words strike us with much impact anymore. They are sort of ho hum. Peter’s statement was a direct challenge to all other earthly rulers, powers, and religions. He said that Jesus was the son of the Living God as compared to all the other gods who were dead. He said in that confession that Jesus is much more than a prophet, priest, king, healer, or miracle worker. Peter said in that statement of faith that Jesus is the agent through whom God’s kingdom will come.
Peter’s confession was the point of no return. He was forever changed. He still had his moments, as we will see in next Sunday’s reading when he tries to interfere with Jesus’ plan of salvation. He is still at times weak in his faith, but he is changed, for he has gone beyond the point of no return. He is committed to be a follower of Christ.
It is on Peter’s faith that Jesus builds his church, not on Peter, but on this faith, for without faith, there is no salvation, for faith has to be built on the rock of Jesus, who is both the cornerstone and capstone of the church. All of those who believe on Jesus as their Savior are part of that church. And because they are part of that church they are the human agency that represents Jesus and his mission to the world. As Jesus’ agents we are to show God’s love and blessings throughout the world by embodying the life of Jesus.
Jesus asks each one of us the same question that he asked Peter that day. “Who do you say I am?” And we, like Peter, have to answer it correctly, for our eternal lives depend on it. It is not enough to just confess “Jesus is the Son of the Living God.” We must know what that statement means. We must have a correct understanding of Jesus and his saving work.
You say, “Everyone should know who Jesus is.” Well even in Christianity there are various opinions of who Jesus is. Here are just a few.
Jesus is the son of Mary and Joseph. He is not divine.
Jesus was a unique man who was divinely energized by the Holy Spirit at his baptism and called to be the spiritual Son of God. When he died the Holy Spirit left him.
Jesus is not co-eternal with the Father. He was an intermediary between the Father and his creation.
Jesus is a divine being, but he derived his existence from a higher divine being.
Jesus is split into two distinct persons: one human and one divine. Mary was not a god bearer and the divine was not involved in human suffering and change.
Jesus is only one person, one substance, and one nature. His manhood is not important for he is God.
Jesus is only one mode of God. The Father is one mode. The Holy Spirit is one mode. They are not three in one.
Jesus was not real flesh and blood. He just seemed human. He was a god appearing in human form.
Jesus according to one Christian pastor that I know preaches Jesus’ death and resurrection as the only way a person can be saved, but personally does not believe that Jesus’ death on the cross has anything to do with our salvation has his own idea of who Jesus is.
The problem is that all of those false understandings that I just told you about is that they destroy the doctrine of salvation, for all of them have a false understanding of Jesus. It is essential to one’s salvation that you have a proper understanding of Jesus and his saving work.
You see, Jesus has to be eternal and yet be born. He has to be true God and true man. He has to have lived a perfect life and then die and be resurrected. He has to do all those things and more otherwise our faith is worthless, and as Paul wrote, “We are the worst of fools.”
So what does Peter’s confession have to do with us? Let’s see. It shows us that the very act of confession one’s belief in Jesus as Christ the Son of the Living God can only come from God. It shows us that confessing Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God means that our God is alive, for Jesus is one with the Father. He is not a dead God. The third thing that we can learn from Peter’s confession is that in the very act of saying that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God we are saying no to other gods, powers, and the devil himself, for our God conquered all those things.
Last, but not least we can learn that our confession joins us with all other people in God’s church, for in that expression of faith by Peter and by all of God’s people his church is built, as he says in verse 18, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” There is some confusion over this statement, for it sounds like God is going to build his church on Peter’s faith.
But a closer study of the Greek shows us that the word Peter which means rock in Greek is a small rock, while the “on this rock,” is a large rock like you would find in a quarry. This is important for Jesus is portrayed not only as the foundation of our faith, of his church, but as the cornerstone and capstone. It appears then that, as Jesus teaches elsewhere, that it is the faith that God gives and Jesus himself that is the rock of the church.
And it is to this church, God’s church, that the keys of heaven are given. That is why Jesus tells his disciples that they will be given this power to loose and bind, for if they tell the Good News of Jesus resurrection to the lost they have loosened/opened the gates of the kingdom of heaven and if they do not they have bound/locked the gates of heaven.
That is an awesome power that God has given his church and one that we, as members of a kingdom congregation need to take seriously, for the very lives of those who do not know of Jesus’ salvation will be bound in their sin, if we do not tell them the Good News of Jesus’ saving act.
08/24/08
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Title: Who Do You Say I Am?
Just before our Gospel reading for this morning Jesus has fed 4000 people after which there were 7 baskets of food left over. As if that and the feeding of 5000 people was not evidence enough the Pharisees and the Sadducees have joined together so that they could test Jesus to see if he was truly from God. Jesus rakes them over the coals telling them that they should know just by the signs of the times.
He leaves them and heads back across the lake with his disciples. When they are there the disciples realize that they had no bread with them. Jesus starts talking to them about avoiding the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. In typical male fashion they think he is talking as if they had brought bread with them that was made by the Pharisees and Sadducees. They hadn’t and it really confused them.
Jesus fusses at them for their lack of faith. “Don’t you get it?” he says. “I am not talking of actual bread. I am talking about the false teachings of the church leaders.” I can just picture the disciples going, “Okay, we get it.”
That moves us into our Gospel reading for today where Jesus asks them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples answer, “Some say, John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” All of those are logical answers, for the rumor among the people was that Jesus was a reincarnated John the Baptist. It was the common belief that Elijah was going to be reincarnated so that he could prepare the way for the Messiah. So they thought, until he was murdered that John the Baptist was Elijah. With John dead the popular opinion shifted that maybe it was Jesus that must be Elijah. Jesus then must be preparing the way for the Messiah. Others thought that Jesus was a reincarnated Jeremiah because tradition held that Jeremiah had hidden the Ark of the Covenant on Mt. Nebo and that since Jesus was doing all those miracles and talking of the kingdom he must then be Jeremiah who was going to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. This then would signify the start of the new age, which would restore Israel to all its glory. Others thought he was another prophet as it was foretold in Deuteronomy 18 that another prophet like Moses would appear to usher in the new age of glory.
Jesus says, “Okay, but now who do you say I am?” Of course Peter jumps right in and says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” We read that Jesus compliments him. “You got it right Peter. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! (Bar-Jonah means son of John) For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
Peter has come to a point of no return. It is easy to say what others believe about Jesus, but to make your own confession of who Jesus is, now that is another matter. Peter had it right. Jesus is the promised Messiah and he is the Son of the Living God. His understanding was not perfect, and Jesus complimented him on his understanding.
When Jesus raised that question to Peter, he raised the question that all people must ultimately answer in their life. “Who do you say that I am?” In the end it does not matter what public opinion is or what family and friends think. Martin Luther once said, “Every person must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.” That question of Jesus marks a point of no return. We don’t know what the other disciples were thinking that day when Jesus asked the question. But we do know that Peter standing smack dab in the middle of earthly power and pagan religion declaring that Jesus is, “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
I don’t think those words strike us with much impact anymore. They are sort of ho hum. Peter’s statement was a direct challenge to all other earthly rulers, powers, and religions. He said that Jesus was the son of the Living God as compared to all the other gods who were dead. He said in that confession that Jesus is much more than a prophet, priest, king, healer, or miracle worker. Peter said in that statement of faith that Jesus is the agent through whom God’s kingdom will come.
Peter’s confession was the point of no return. He was forever changed. He still had his moments, as we will see in next Sunday’s reading when he tries to interfere with Jesus’ plan of salvation. He is still at times weak in his faith, but he is changed, for he has gone beyond the point of no return. He is committed to be a follower of Christ.
It is on Peter’s faith that Jesus builds his church, not on Peter, but on this faith, for without faith, there is no salvation, for faith has to be built on the rock of Jesus, who is both the cornerstone and capstone of the church. All of those who believe on Jesus as their Savior are part of that church. And because they are part of that church they are the human agency that represents Jesus and his mission to the world. As Jesus’ agents we are to show God’s love and blessings throughout the world by embodying the life of Jesus.
Jesus asks each one of us the same question that he asked Peter that day. “Who do you say I am?” And we, like Peter, have to answer it correctly, for our eternal lives depend on it. It is not enough to just confess “Jesus is the Son of the Living God.” We must know what that statement means. We must have a correct understanding of Jesus and his saving work.
You say, “Everyone should know who Jesus is.” Well even in Christianity there are various opinions of who Jesus is. Here are just a few.
Jesus is the son of Mary and Joseph. He is not divine.
Jesus was a unique man who was divinely energized by the Holy Spirit at his baptism and called to be the spiritual Son of God. When he died the Holy Spirit left him.
Jesus is not co-eternal with the Father. He was an intermediary between the Father and his creation.
Jesus is a divine being, but he derived his existence from a higher divine being.
Jesus is split into two distinct persons: one human and one divine. Mary was not a god bearer and the divine was not involved in human suffering and change.
Jesus is only one person, one substance, and one nature. His manhood is not important for he is God.
Jesus is only one mode of God. The Father is one mode. The Holy Spirit is one mode. They are not three in one.
Jesus was not real flesh and blood. He just seemed human. He was a god appearing in human form.
Jesus according to one Christian pastor that I know preaches Jesus’ death and resurrection as the only way a person can be saved, but personally does not believe that Jesus’ death on the cross has anything to do with our salvation has his own idea of who Jesus is.
The problem is that all of those false understandings that I just told you about is that they destroy the doctrine of salvation, for all of them have a false understanding of Jesus. It is essential to one’s salvation that you have a proper understanding of Jesus and his saving work.
You see, Jesus has to be eternal and yet be born. He has to be true God and true man. He has to have lived a perfect life and then die and be resurrected. He has to do all those things and more otherwise our faith is worthless, and as Paul wrote, “We are the worst of fools.”
So what does Peter’s confession have to do with us? Let’s see. It shows us that the very act of confession one’s belief in Jesus as Christ the Son of the Living God can only come from God. It shows us that confessing Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God means that our God is alive, for Jesus is one with the Father. He is not a dead God. The third thing that we can learn from Peter’s confession is that in the very act of saying that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God we are saying no to other gods, powers, and the devil himself, for our God conquered all those things.
Last, but not least we can learn that our confession joins us with all other people in God’s church, for in that expression of faith by Peter and by all of God’s people his church is built, as he says in verse 18, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” There is some confusion over this statement, for it sounds like God is going to build his church on Peter’s faith.
But a closer study of the Greek shows us that the word Peter which means rock in Greek is a small rock, while the “on this rock,” is a large rock like you would find in a quarry. This is important for Jesus is portrayed not only as the foundation of our faith, of his church, but as the cornerstone and capstone. It appears then that, as Jesus teaches elsewhere, that it is the faith that God gives and Jesus himself that is the rock of the church.
And it is to this church, God’s church, that the keys of heaven are given. That is why Jesus tells his disciples that they will be given this power to loose and bind, for if they tell the Good News of Jesus resurrection to the lost they have loosened/opened the gates of the kingdom of heaven and if they do not they have bound/locked the gates of heaven.
That is an awesome power that God has given his church and one that we, as members of a kingdom congregation need to take seriously, for the very lives of those who do not know of Jesus’ salvation will be bound in their sin, if we do not tell them the Good News of Jesus’ saving act.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 3:14 PM
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