“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks his disciples, and he asks us the same thing. God gives us the faith to answer and confess Jesus as Lord. For Sunday, August 23, we’re focusing on Matthew 16:13-20.
Helpful this week were Luther Seminary’s GodPause devotional emails for August 20 & 21 by Denise Fossen as well as David Lose’s reflection here.
The sermon podcast audio and video recording are embedded below.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” By that phrase “Son of Man” Jesus means himself, so what he’s asking is “What are people saying about me?” It’s a fascinating question, because people are still saying all sorts of things about Jesus today.
Depending who you ask, you could get a whole variety of answers, everything from “A mythical figure for children’s stories” or a “Jewish faith healer” up to “a great human moral teacher” or “a Palestinian revolutionary leader.”
Some people might even say a “con artist!” Our world seems to know Jesus was and is important, but there’s a lot of debate as to what to do with him.
In his own time, as the disciples say, people are identifying Jesus as a radical preacher like John the Baptist, a great historical figure like Elijah, and a prophet like Jeremiah.
Somehow I doubt Jesus was surprised by any of those answers, but mainly, it looks like that question was just a warm-up for his real question, the most important question for all of us. “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?”
Who do you say I am? That’s the question, isn’t it?
Who is Jesus to you? Jesus isn’t looking for an academic thesis statement (“Oh Jesus, you are the incarnate image and eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being”); he’s asking what’s in your heart.
Do you see Jesus as some kind of moral fable, or as a buddy to take along in the passenger seat with you?
Do you treat Jesus like Santa Claus, someone who shows up every year or so to give you gifts if you’ve been good?
Or do you treat Jesus as Lord and Savior, as a leader worth following and worshiping? Who is Jesus to you?
He’s not asking about how you were raised, or how your parents saw Jesus, or if you live in a Christian country or grew up going to Sunday School or whatever; he’s asking about you. As someone once said, being born into a Christian nation doesn’t make you a Christian any more than being born in a McDonald’s would make you a hamburger!
Like Paul says, there’s a transformation involved in following Jesus, a renewing of your mind. It’s a relationship Jesus wants to have with you.
“Who do you say I am?” I even think there’s more there than just believing, certainly more than being able to recite the creed or knowing a set of historical facts about Jesus.
Notice Jesus doesn’t ask “Who do you believe I am?”, he asks “Who do you say that I am?” He’s asking both what you believe about him, and what you’re doing about it. There’s a proclamation there.
By the way, I’m not ignoring Jesus’ order to the disciples not to tell anyone about him. That’s a temporary command to the disciples, because they can’t truly answer the question of who he is until after the cross and the resurrection. We see Jesus through the lens of the cross, and we proclaim him as our living savior.
Your words and your actions reflect who you believe or don’t believe Jesus is, so what does your job say about Jesus? What does your bank statement say about what you believe? What about the shows you watch, or the way you vote, or what you eat, or the way you spend your time? If you were there with Jesus, how would you answer?
As I’ve said before, I was in a colleague group for three years where every month, our facilitator asked each of us, “How are you and God doing?”
It’s a personal question. How are you and God doing? Who do you say Jesus is? And does what you’re saying about Jesus match what you believe? It’d be a lot easier, I think, if Jesus had stopped with the first question, about who others say he is. But he goes and makes it personal.
And if I’m honest, my answer isn’t always what I’d like it to be. Maybe that’s true for you too.
I can’t tell from Matthew’s story how quickly Simon Peter answered.
Somehow I always picture this story taking place at night after dinner with Jesus and his disciples sitting around a campfire. It’s a tough, personal question, so I can imagine this awkward moment of silence stretching out as they wonder who’s going to step up and answer.
Or, maybe it wasn’t like that at all, and Simon Peter jumped in right away before anyone else could speak because he knew the answer and wanted to get it out there. Patience and restraint don’t seem to be his strongest qualities.
Either way, Simon Peter’s answer is exactly right. He says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” He gets it! Jesus praised him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! You get an A!” It’s a great testimony of faith. But—and here’s the encouraging part for those of us who so often can’t answer Jesus’ question the way we want to—Jesus continues, “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”
Peter’s confession of faith doesn’t come just from him. And although I suspect this might be a turning point for Peter, getting it right this one time doesn’t mean his faith is anywhere near perfect.
This Peter, “the Rock” as Jesus calls him, the one on whom the church is built, will later run away and deny he’s ever met Jesus. And yet God doesn’t give up on him. God has a calling and a purpose for him. Peter is an example for us not just of faith, but of God’s persistence, of God’s refusal to give up or abandon God’s people, of Jesus’ refusal to abandon you and me.
On Peter’s declaration of faith revealed to him by God, Jesus will build his church. And of course, the Church won’t always get it right either.
The Church is made up of sinful people like us, so there are plenty of times when the Church forgets its identity as the Body of Christ.
But God keeps working on us, keeps revealing to us who Jesus is and who we are as his body in the world. Our foundation is God, not any insights we might have.
It’s God who makes Peter into the Rock. It’s God who gives us all the gifts of faith that Paul lists, everything necessary for the mission God calls us to. God’s got your back even in the times when you wander away, even when your answer to who Jesus is isn’t what you want it to be.
Beloved of God, as you ponder your answer to Jesus’ question, as you explore who Jesus is for you, remember also who you are to God.
Remember the promise that God has claimed you, equipped you, and gathered you into the one body of Christ, the church.
And may the peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen