Matthew 16:13-20
Isaiah 51:1-6
This is going to start off sounding
like a bad joke, but I assure you it’s the truth. An Episcopal
priest, a Lutheran pastor, and a Jewish cantor sat down for breakfast
one morning. For those of you who don’t know, a Jewish cantor would
be similar to a director of youth & family ministry. So a priest, a
pastor, and a cantor sat down to breakfast and we got to talking about
faith, the Bible, and God’s love. It was a fascinating conversation
because all three of us came from somewhat similar faiths, in the
sense that all three faiths pride themselves on demonstrating God’s
grace. The Jewish lady was a Reformed Jew, which means she comes from
the side of Judaism that is probably most similar to Episcopal & ELCA
Lutheran practice in terms of inclusivity and inviting women to be an
active part in leadership and the ministry. All three of our faiths
try to welcome the outsider and tear down dividing walls between
people and God. We were having a great conversation about this, when
the priest made an interesting comment. He said, “Wouldn’t it be nice
if we (meaning Christians) could all just get past the ‘who’ of
Jesus. Than all of the religions would get along just fine.” If we
could just get past the “who” of Jesus, than all of the religions
would get along just fine. I looked at him, a little puzzled and
shocked that he would say such a thing, and I said, “I totally
disagree with you. If we, as Christians, got past the who of Jesus,
than we would have nothing left.” And even the Jewish lady agreed
with me. She even recognized that if you take the “who of Jesus” away
from the Christian faith, what’s the point? To this day, I’m still
not sure what point that priest was trying to make, but I guess he was
trying to say that if we just overlook the fact that Christians
believe Jesus was God and that he died on the cross and rose again,
and rather just looked at his words and his teachings, than we could
all just worship God together. The problem with that line of thinking
however, is that we can’t separate who Jesus is and what he did from
what he said. The who of Jesus is the critical question. Jesus is so
important precisely because of who he is. And this is the question
that our gospel lesson is so clear on today.
Jesus asks the disciples two
important questions. He begins with, “Who do they say that I am?”
And he follows that up with, “Who do you say that I am?” Now, the
funny thing about when Jesus asks a question is that when Jesus asks a
question, he usually doesn’t need to know the answer. The question is
never for his benefit. He’s not lost, looking for the nearest gas
station. He’s not trying to figure out answer to his math homework.
He not wondering what the weather is going to be like today. When
Jesus asks a question, its never for his own benefit. It is always
for the benefit of those he is talking to and consequently, his
questions are always for us as well.
So our first question is simple, “Who
do they say Jesus is?” What does the world say about Jesus? All
kinds of things. Dan Brown, the author of the Da Vinci Code, says
that Jesus was the husband of Mary Magdalene. The Muslims say that
Jesus was one of the greatest prophets. Hindus say that Jesus is one
of the 12 incarnations of Brahman in living form. Some say that Jesus
was a great teacher and philosopher. Some say that Jesus was simply a
Jewish peasant whose body was stolen to fuel a revolution. CS Lewis
said that Jesus was either who he said he was or he was the greatest
liar the world has ever seen. The disciples answer this question
with, “Some say John the Baptist, but other Elijah, and still others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Jesus says, “Okay,” and then he gets
personal. “But who do YOU say that I am?” And that is the million
dollar question. That is the question that makes us squirm. Its easy
to say what others believe, but its incredibly hard to say what you
believe. At my pastors’ Bible study this week, all of us around the
table are pastors mind you, someone asked the question, “So, who is
Jesus to you?” And we all kind of looked at each other for a moment.
We preach every Sunday, but there is hesitation when we are asked what
it means to us personally. Yet, that is the question Jesus gives us
today. Who do you say that I am? Who is Jesus to you and why does he
matter in your life?
I’m going to do something bold in a
few moments and I don’t know what kind of response I’ll get, but I’m
going to try it anyway. I’m going to let anyone who feels comfortable
answer this question aloud and share with the rest of us what Jesus
means to them. I have a microphone, and if you’d like to share with
everyone else who Jesus is to you, I invite you to share that. But I
can’t expect anyone else to do that without me first sharing a little
bit about who Jesus is to me, who I say that Jesus is.
For me, Jesus is my purpose in life.
Jesus gives me meaning. When I get up in the morning, I know that my
life has meaning everyday because everyday I can serve Jesus. My life
will never be pointless or unimportant. Jesus is who makes me
somebody. I know that he always loves me and will forgive me, so I
feel free to make mistakes in life. Sometimes people ask me how I do
what I do because I have been in hospital rooms as people have died,
I’ve had to tell mothers that their child was in a car accident and
won’t likely won’t survive. I’ve cried with people as they’ve learned
of a terminal diagnosis. People say to me, How can you walk into that
room? And my only answer is, “Because I don’t go in there alone.”
Jesus is always with me and will always help me get through those
difficult times, not just in pastoral situations, but in my personal
life situations as well. Knowing Jesus gives me hope that I am not
alone and that things will always turn out okay, even if that happens
only in heaven. This is who Jesus is to me.
Would anyone else like to share a
little bit about who Jesus is to them? It doesn’t have to be anything
elaborate or complex. Does anyone want to share how Jesus has made a
difference in their life?
Thank-you so much for sharing. Like I said, its
that personal question that is so hard to answer. For those of you
who didn’t share publicly, I invite to at least think about it and
think about what difference Jesus has made in your life.
So Peter got that question and he
answered it very simply. Jesus, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.” Truer words have never been spoken and this is what
makes all the difference. This is the confession that we, as
Christians, can never let go of. This is the foundation and the rock
upon which all else rests. Jesus is God! He lived and he died and he
rose again – all for us. This is the who of Jesus. He is the
Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Messiah means Savior – he came to
save you from whatever it is that is that you need saving from. Maybe
its cancer, maybe its financial problems, maybe it is a bad
relationship, maybe it is a job situation. Maybe you need saving from
your own addictive behavior. And I know that we all need saving from
our sin and our own self-interests. And because Jesus is not just
Savior, but also God, don’t you think its within his power to save us
from this nasty stuff?
As Messiah, Jesus is
also a comforter and a bringer of hope. Maybe you need comfort in
your grief, maybe you need hope because life is really hard right now,
maybe you’re struggling because your child is going off to college.
Maybe you feel hopeless and don’t know where else to turn. Whatever
it is that you need comfort in, Jesus, our Messiah, can offer you that
hope and that peace that you need in your life.
And because Jesus is God
and God is good, Jesus rejoices with us when things are going well and
life is good. Jesus helps us give thanks to God and shows us how to
live in such a way as to give thanks to God. Sometimes our Messiah
even saves us from our own self-centered thinking that we created our
own joy. We didn’t. God did.
Jesus, this Messiah, this Son of the Living God, has come
to us. As Isaiah says, he has brought us salvation so that we can all
experience eternal life. Only the Son of the Living God could do all
of this and he does. This is the who of Jesus and it makes all the
difference in the world, at least to me. He came to seek and save the
lost. He came to serve and to love. He came to die and he came to be
raised again. He desperately wants to be the Lord of your life. And
so he asks you the question, “Who do you say that I am?”
