Now when Jesus came into the
district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say
that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist,
others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to
them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no
one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20)
In
this account, we have come to a pivotal point in Jesus’ earthly ministry. This
is a point of decision for the disciples, as he asks them point blank, “But who
do you say that I am?” This is the question that each and every one of us must
answer if in our own minds before we can be counted as “Christ’s own”. Who do
we believe Jesus to be?
The
first question posed is, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Who do
people today say that Jesus is? If you ask non-Christians who Jesus is, or was,
you can get many answers in today’s world. Many, even devout Muslims and Jews,
are more than willing to accept that he was a great moral teacher, even a
prophet, but not the Son of God, not the Messiah. They are happy to accept that
Jesus made his world a better place to live, and, if we live our lives
according to his example, he can make our world a better place as well.
This
is true to a certain degree. If we were to dedicate our lives to going about
helping others, the world would be a better place to live. People would be less
selfish, kinder, more understanding and more compassionate. This would make our
world a better place to live. And, this is some of what Jesus did. But, to make
Jesus life about these parts of his earthly ministry is to cut out most of what
his incarnation was about, largely because we want to make Jesus a person only,
and not the Word of God made flesh. It is to deny what Jesus meant when he
referred to himself as the “Son of Man”.
This
is the importance of Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I
am?” This is the reason that Jesus asked the first question at all. Jesus wanted
the disciples to recognize the mistruths that the world is willing to accept
about him, before seeking the only true answer, which Peter gives, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter speaks the truth of our salvation in
those 10 words, which Jesus acknowledges:
“Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who
is in heaven. 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…”
The
fact is that, in light of his own actions recorded in the Gospels, Jesus cannot
be anything other than the Son of God.
† He claims to be God: Jesus said
to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." (John
8:58)
† He claims God to be his father: For whoever does the will of my Father
in heaven is my
brother and sister and mother." (Mat 12:50)
† He claims to be the image of the Father: Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and you
still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can
you say, 'Show us the Father'? (John 14:9)
† And, He claims to be the only way to the Father: Jesus said to him,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me. (John 14:6)
Any
one of these statements alone, were it not true, would be enough to brand Jesus
a heretic, deserving to be discredited and death. No one can make these claims,
and be a good teacher, or a moral man.
As C.S. Lewis concluded, anyone making these statements about himself
must be a lunatic, liar, or Lord.
If
we are to believe that Jesus was neither a lunatic with a messiah complex, or a
liar with some ulterior motive, than we are only left with accepting him as
Lord – the Son of the living God. Peter makes this confession, which is the
“rock” upon which the church has stood and been built for nearly 2000 years.
We,
today, are faced with the same decision that the disciples were faced on that
day. We are being asked to decide who we believe Jesus to be. The easy answer,
culturally, is to pass him off as a prophet, or some other sort of historical
figure whose life we are to revere and immolate. These were the safe answers
offered by the society in which he lived. They are the safe answers today, as
well, because they do not offend anyone.
We,
as Christians, are, however expected to make the difficult choice, which in the
end is the only logical choice. We must join with our brothers and sisters back
through nearly two millennia who have stood with Peter in saying that he “is
the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” By doing this, we not only accept the
only truth that will bring us into eternal life, but we spread the truth upon
which the Kingdom of God is built here on earth.
