But who do you say Jesus is?

1. What is a Christian?

When we come to identify ourselves as Christians – it is actually the person of Jesus we are identifying ourselves with. Not so much with a tradition, not so much with a denomination, not so much with a congregation, but with a person – the person of Jesus > both the historical revelation of the physical Jesus (that we read about in the New Testament), and the eternal redeeming member of the Divine Trinity (that we experience through the Holy Spirit).

When we align ourselves with a particular congregation – a worshipping community such as this one [Point Cook Community Baptist Church], it is really the mission of Jesus we are aligning with. Not so much with the organization, not so much with the fellowship, not so much with the activities as such, but we are aligning ourselves
with the mission of Jesus for the world (as it will be expressed first locally and
then beyond).

So, if we are actually identifying ourselves with Jesus, and aligning ourselves with Jesus’ mission in the world, we need to be able to answer the question:
But who do you say that I am?

2. Who do you believe Jesus to be?

Now you might reel off certain words and statements … try it

… but do you really believe them?

Do you live as is you believe them?

It was time for Jesus to see where his disciples were at! They’d been following him for a while – experiencing his wise teaching and observing his remarkable acts.
They had seen the way he was able to connect with people’s needs.

Jesus warmed them up with a question about how other people identified Jesus. The responses of course were very inadequate! Maybe this was John the Baptist raised from the dead; maybe the prophet Elijah who it was thought would return to introduce the Messiah; maybe a revered prophet like Jeremiah had returned! Now there would be excuses for these sorts of responses, they’d only seen bits and pieces of Jesus’ ministry – they could easily get it wrong.

We could excuse many people of our day, who have had hardly any opportunity of getting to know Jesus – to get the answer to this sort of question wrong. How can
they be expected to get it right! Who do the people say Jesus is? “Some bloke in the Bible”; “a religious teacher”; “not sure but you hear his name as a sort of swear word” – confusion reigns!

We on the other hand, generally speaking, have had some teaching, access to the Bible, an experience of Christian community, the example of others, love and support, the presence of the Holy Spirit – we should get somewhere close to being able to identify Jesus.

3. Correct Understanding

The question was addressed to all the disciples. Whether some of them were spending a little more time considering their answer, or whether Peter was just the most ready to answer, or whether Peter spoke as a representative here of all of them – it is Peter who said these mighty words:
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God".

Peter was indeed developing a real understanding of the personhood of Jesus and ‘Who’ he represented (even if he didn’t know where this was going to lead). However, Peter was not able to able to come up with this out of thin air. It was a growing experience and appreciation of Jesus that brought him to this place. It was Peter’s commitment to the journey of discovery that brought him to embrace this truth.

We can know this truth also by taking this same journey of exploration – being open and responsive as God communicates and reveals. We seek to walk with Jesus every day, and through this come to know him, and be able to embrace all of who he is – and therefore we also are blessed as Peter was (v.17)!

Our life is fulfilled as we are truly able to introduce others to Jesus – those others who have previously had no opportunity to discover the heights and depths of Jesus. How will they know him unless we tell them – how will they know him unless they see him in me!

4. Authentic Witness

But we can present such imperfect images! True! But that shouldn’t stop us trying – because look at Peter! If you continue to follow the text in both Matthew and Mark, Peter straight away tries to subvert Jesus mission and is strongly remonstrated with for his earthly thinking. But he doesn’t lose his job! Later Peter denied even knowing Jesus on more than one occasion and runs away in fear – but he still didn’t lose his job! Having been prepared to face up to his insecurities, Peter receives forgiveness, is there on the day of Pentecost to receive the promised Holy Spirit, and preaches a sermon that sees three thousand people come into the Kingdom and be baptized.

If only I could stuff up that badly, so that I could experience such a turn around!
Then again, maybe I have stuffed up even worse than Peter did, and I’m still
getting to know Jesus well enough to experience such results!!

Where did Jesus ask his disciples this question: "But who do you say that I am?"

Verse 13 – Caesarea Philippi – significance?

Jesus didn’t ask them this question in a very comfortable accepting place (well within their comfort zone). Jesus waited until he was in a place where a ‘great temple’ had been built in honour of the Roman emperor – where there was the common practice of worshipping the emperor as “Master”. Also, a greek ‘god’ called “Pan” was worshipped there.

The point being > that we are required to be able to answer this question, not just when its easy to, but also in the toughest of circumstances (when perhaps it counts
the most).

What are the common practices of our society that we might bear allegiance to …
to the detriment of our identification with Jesus?? It is in the midst of this, that
Jesus asks us the question … "But who do you say that I am?"

Peter said the "Messiah" – ie. the One anointed (selected & empowered) by God to enter the world of human activity and seek to lead people back to God {and thus change the world forever}. It could only be the actual Son of the Living God who could perform this role. There was some confusion still for Peter, considering the sort of political upheaval that he thought would accompany the coming of the Messiah, and he couldn’t quite accept the concept of Jesus dying in the not too distant future.

[Of course, with the hindsight of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon him, Peter was able to fully live out the ongoing mission of Jesus in the world.]

We might say that Jesus is our “Saviour” or “Redeemer” – meaning that Jesus has saved us from our sins. And if we have received Jesus in this way, that is true, but to fully and properly answer the question: But who do you say that Jesus is – our lives would have to mirror the truth of our words, ie. do we live we the sort of freedom from sin that would identify Jesus as “Saviour” in us … to a watching world?

We might say that Jesus is our “Lord” or “Master” – meaning that Jesus is in charge
of our lives. But does our decision-making on a daily basis bear this out?

5. On what rock is the church built (v.18-19)?

Jesus knew that, despite their failings, Peter and the other disciples (with the exception of Judas – and he was replaceable) would be able to establish the identity
of Jesus, not only in words, but also in their actions. And on this, on the rock of Peter’s confession of faith – his testimony of the true identify of Jesus, the Church could be built. The church would not be built simply on the human Peter himself, but rather on Peter’s willingness to apply the truth revealed to him [by the Holy Spirit] as a vehicle of blessing for others. God’s church needs true believers in Jesus prepared to live out their faith in meaningful ways in their neighbourhoods.

There has been much debate as to whether this rock that the church is being built on is actually Peter, or, the knowledge that Peter has expressed. The best answer is not to be found with either separately, but in both together! Just as a human is limited without knowledge and understanding, the truth that has become clear needs a physical body for it to be adequately put into action!! All those who share Peter’s living proclamation of Jesus … become rocks through which the church is built.

The church built on the true identity of Jesus can never be foiled or undone. As the church will share in the resurrection of Jesus, the power of death cannot undermine it. The building of the church starts with God as architect – then is raised on the foundation of people’s faith in Jesus.

Ephesians 2:21-2 reads: "In [Jesus] the whole structure [of the household of God] is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God."

The members of this church will so closely identify with the will of God that their actions will be seen as God’s actions, and God’s attitudes will be correctly interpreted through their attitudes. We express forgiveness as God is expressing forgiveness; as God seeks to condemn certain activity, we are already prophetically active in calling certain people to account.

We have been given the keys to God’s kingdom, ie. the wherewithal to throw open the gates and usher {welcome} people in. We lack nothing in being able to get the job done – the Spirit of God is moving; the only thing that could get in the way is … … ourselves.

God is relying on us to introduce people to Jesus; their earthly hope and eternal destiny seems to depend upon our response to holding these keys of entry. Our ability to properly exercise the keys of the kingdom, of connecting with people in a helpful and redemptive way, and therefore to loose and to bind as representatives of God, is dependent upon the integrity of our identification with Jesus. This ‘binding’ and ‘loosing’ (v.19b), pictures the Church’s intended cooperative working relationship with God, in facilitating people making a decision for (or against) God.

6. To speak or not to speak (v.20)!

The disciples could not afford to identify Jesus as “Messiah” only by word – because this word was so loaded with political overtones for the people of the time, that they would have missed the spiritual implications altogether in their pursuit of rebellion from Roman domination. Jesus was not so much about the political overthrow that the Jewish people so much wanted, but more so about people having their hearts changed toward the priorities of heaven > "[May] Your kingdom come. [May] Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

This misunderstanding of the word “Messiah” is not our problem now, however, in a world confused by various religions and other secular thought, and confused by all sorts of contradiction and hypocrisy, we cannot afford to do anything other than live out our faith in Jesus with integrity and wholeheartedness > if we don’t – we may be part of the problem, rather than part of God’s solution.