4/23/23 Matthew 16:13-20 “Who Do You Say I Am?”

4/23/23 Matthew 16:13-20 “Who Do You Say I Am?”

4/23/23    Matthew 16:13-20        “Who Do You Say I Am?”

Before I could create this sermon, I had to have quite a debate with myself.  Have you ever done this?  I love to debate with myself because I always win, no matter what I decide.  Anyway, I didn’t know which Scripture I should use for this week as I had good ideas for two of them.  This is the season of confirmation and graduation.  Both of the Scriptures could fall into these parameters.  Anyway, last week I had to have some back surgery.  This is the first time that I have stood this long since and I think it will be ok.  I also think that this Scripture has something to say about my health or our health.  One of the amazing aspects of Scripture is how it applies to many different situations.  So, with all this in mind, I think that we all need to hear this and apply it to our particular situation.  I have said this many times, in many ways.  We all need Jesus and the Scriptures whether we acknowledge it or not.    No matter where you are in life, you need, need to go forth from here with Jesus Christ.  We are all in different places in this journey but the destination is the same.  Today, we are going to be reminded of why we should be following the one and only true God of the world, Jesus Christ.

Ronald Reagan gets credit for this story but it may have been around a little longer than that but who am I to say.  Sometimes we have the question, “Who was Jesus?”  Let’s see if we can put it in modern terms.  Suppose a young man grows up and his father taught him to be a carpenter so he works in his father’s shop.  One day this young man puts down his tools and walks out of his father’s shop.  He starts preaching on street corners and any place in the nearby countryside.  He walks from place to place preaching all the time and he isn’t even ordained.  Can you imagine that, God working through someone who isn’t ordained?  Anyway, he does this for 3 years and then he is arrested, tried and convicted.  There is no justice and no appeals court so he is executed at age 33 with couple of drug addicted thieves.  His executioners play dice, probably 6-5-4, to see who gets his clothing—the only possessions he has.  His family is so poor that they cannot afford a burial spot so he is put in a borrowed tomb.  Is this the end of the story?  Of course not!  This uneducated man of no property left no written word and for the last 2000 years has had a greater effect on the world than all the rulers, kings, emperors and presidents combined.  He has changed the world more than all the conquerors, generals and admirals combined.  He has given us more than all the scholars, scientists and philosophers who have ever lived.  All of this cannot be explained unless Jesus really is who He says he is.  Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and He is God.

Jesus begins today by asking the question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  The disciples replied, “Some say John the Baptist and others say Elijah; still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  I think this is a rather interesting and revealing dialogue here.  The disciples as a group do not say that Jesus is God.  Instead, they say what they were supposed to say.  I would almost think that one of these guys would have made a comment about Him being God.  I would have thought that they might have said these other names and then added ‘but’ you are the Son of God.

But that didn’t happen.  I think this shows that the disciples aren’t really sure even though they had been traveling with Him for some time.  I think they may be caught in one of those situations where they know who Jesus is but they are tentative to be the first one to say, ‘You are the Son of God!’  In other words, they seem to think they know but they just don’t want to say it.  I think this happens to us all the time.  It happens when I ask you for a God moment in your life.  So, I’m going to ask the same question of you, “Who do the people say Jesus is?”  I’m talking about people today.

This should be a pretty easy question for us today.  All we have to do is look around the world for the answer.  I will give most of the world religions the benefit of the doubt and say that most will think that Jesus was a great prophet.  Some might even say one of the greatest prophets.  If you notice, this is the same answer that we were given 2000 years ago.  We sure haven’t learned or changed much in 2000 years.

Let’s continue to look around the world for the answer.  What do people of the western world say?  First of all, I would like to say that God looked favorably on us when He built this country.  I think God was with us every step of the way and for the most part we had a country that believed in Jesus and God.  We were blessed.

Then things started to go wrong.  We started to become like the Jews of the Old Testament and we fell away from God.  I could point fingers at all sorts of things that may have led to our going away from God but these are just excuses.  The reason we continue to fall away from God is that we don’t believe Jesus is who He said He is.  It is that simple.  For the most part, we don’t believe that Jesus is God.

We are the richest nation in the world.  People can say what they want but we live in the best place there could be on this earth.  For years we have had plenty of this and lots of that and way too much of the good things of life.  One would think that all these good things and blessings would translate into a people who knew they owed everything to God.  One would think that we would be a faithful and thankful nation.  But that isn’t what happened.

Somewhere along the line here, we started to think that it is us who have made this country as great as it is.  We started to think that it was our inventions of cars, computers and so forth that have made us great.  We think that we really don’t need anyone like Jesus anymore because He is really someone who was only in history.  As a matter of fact, there are many people who say that Jesus never existed and that this is all made up stuff.  There are times when I get totally frustrated and discouraged when I read the newspaper and watch the news on TV.  Atheists have gained power and they will say anything to further their agenda.

All these things are what we have to guard ourselves against.  We have to guard ourselves against the things of this world.  We do this guarding by keep coming to church where we can see the blessings we have from God.  We come here and we are thankful that Jesus loves us so much.  You will also have your guard up if you are reading your Bible every day and also praying at least once a day.  By doing these simple things, you will get through anything.  If you do these things, I guarantee that you will have a better life.  Will you have problems?  Of course, but in the long run you will be much better than anyone who doesn’t follow Jesus.  People who don’t follow Jesus, don’t have the faintest idea what they are missing.

The important part of this passage is not what everyone else thinks.  The important part here is who do you say that Jesus is.  If you answer that Jesus is God, the Son of the living God, then you are right and you are off and running.  If you are hesitant or if you answer in one of the ways of the world, then you have a little work to do.  The whole Bible points to Jesus as God.  There is just no way around it.  You need to have the faith and courage to believe everything that God tells us in the Bible.

The reason that we need to be accepting of this comes next when Jesus is talking to Peter.  Peter answers for the whole group of disciples when he says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  This is a heartfelt confession by Peter that he knows exactly who Jesus is, even if he doesn’t understand all the implications yet.  He knows.  And the reason he knows is that God has revealed this to him.

Have you ever been nudged by God?  Has He ever given you the answer to something?  I think that when this happens to me, I get a great sense of peace, contentment and satisfaction.  Many times, people have asked me how I know when God gives me the answer or tells me something.  All I can tell you is that I know it is God.  Whatever he tells us will be exactly in line with what the Bible says.  That is why we need to keep reading it every day so that we know when God talks to us.

I’m going to take a little different approach to the rest of this passage.  Jesus tells Peter that on this rock, Jesus will build his church and the powers of hell will not overcome it.  There are several interpretations of this statement but most people feel that Jesus is telling Peter that Peter will build the church.  I’m ok with this interpretation but I also think that this means something to each one of us.

I want us to remember that when we are reading the Bible, especially passages like the one today, we are reading something that may have several layers or meanings.  I think that another meaning here is that Jesus is talking to each one of us personally.  I also think that everyone needs to see and hear this, especially you young people because you have your whole life in front of you.

Jesus is telling you that if you believe in Him, if you swear your allegiance to Him, then Jesus will build his church on you.  This message isn’t just for Peter; it is for all of us.  You see, all you have to do is trust and believe in Jesus for everything you do.  You have to acknowledge that He is God and Savior of all.  If you are able to put your whole life in His hands, then He will build His modern church in you.  Stay with me here because I don’t want you to get bogged down by Jesus building His church on you.

He is not saying He wants you to be a pastor or a missionary.  He is not saying He wants you to be the cement foundation or the bricks or the windows.  No.  He wants you to be just like Him.  He wants you to go out and help people every day.  He wants you to talk about Him in whatever you are doing.  He wants you to be friends with everyone.  He wants you to pray with people.  He doesn’t want you to ever stop doing the things that He did while He was here on this earth.  This isn’t hard stuff.  He wants you to be the nicest person you can be in His name.  It is easy to be nice.  Most people really have to think about it to be bad.  But being nice is as easy as, well, as easy as following Jesus.

And if you do this and Jesus builds part of His church on you, then the powers of hell will not overcome you.  In other words, you will be guaranteed a place in heaven if you confess your sins to Him and ask Him to live in your heart.  Then the blessings will come and come and come.  If you young people do this today, then you will have a most exciting life ahead of you.  God will use you and bless you in ways that most would not think possible.

It was about 30 years ago that I came to Christ.  I gave Him all my sins and asked Him to live in my heart.  I have been richly blessed ever since then.  Oh, there have been troubles and some hardships.  That is because we have to live in a world controlled by Satan.  Every once in a while, he gets at or to us.  But for the most part I hardly even remember the bad times because the good times and blessings from God have been so great.  There is only one thing that I would have ever wanted to change in my life and that is this.  I wish I would have given my life to Jesus when I was 13 or 14 years old, instead of 40.  I can’t imagine all the blessings I would have if I had done this.

Therefore, I would like all you young people, and old people too if you want, to begin this journey now.  We have talked about this and now is the time to put it to action.  Remember Jesus in all you do.  Give thanks to Jesus for everything you do.  Talk about Him and honor Him.  Live your life like you are Jesus.  And never forget that Jesus loves you.  All that you see about you and all that you have is because Jesus loves you.  Tell all you meet about Jesus.  Let’s see if we can all be like Tim Tebow, the Christian football player, and praise Him for everything and in front of everybody.  Thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.   Let’s pray.

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