Who Do You Say That He Is?

Who is Jesus? This is the most important question you or I will ever ask. Everything hinges upon the answer. Most of us, I’m sure, would answer this question the way we’ve been trained to answer it. We would say that Jesus is God’s son. Not only this, but He is God the Son—the second person of the Trinity, which is to say He is really God. That is the only Christian answer. But why is it so important that we believe this? Why does anyone care who a man who lived two thousand years ago really was? Julius Caesar was a Roman dictator. If you believe Julius Caesar was the emperor of China, I probably would not even bother to correct you. It doesn’t matter to me whether he was Roman or Chinese. It makes no difference. But Jesus what we think of Jesus makes all the difference in the world. It is the central point of the Gospel. I remember a conversation I had with a friend back in high school. He said dthat Jesus never claimed to be God. Over the years, I have heard other people make the same comment. Where in the Bible does Jesus claim to be God? He claimed that he had read the Gospels and that nowhere in it did Jesus Himself clam to be God. Think about how devastating it is to the Christian en if He did not! If Jesus Himself did not believe He was God, why should we? We are not he first to ask this question, of course. It was reason for the fourth Gospel. When we read the first three Gospels, there is no strong statement that Jesus is God. There are some good reasons for this. Jesus did not say it often. When He did, he couched it in terms that could be ambiguous. He would say “You have said it.” Or else He would talk abou Himself in the third person—“The Son of Man has some.” “Son of man,” “Christ,” Son of the living God” are all appellations that mean God, of course, but there is some room another interpretation, because of His enemies. The first three Gospels are very similar. Matthew and Luke borrowed a great deal from Mark, and they have much the same structure. But John was written later--at a time when those who had witnessed the ministry of Jesus had mostly died. Only John was left out of the original Twelve. He wrote to set the record straight. What was implicit in the other three becomes explicit in John. But even though the first three Gospels do not say it explicitly, we know that they believed it. It is critically important to Matthew, Mark, and Luke who Jesus was. Take Mark, for example. It was probably the first Gospel to be written. Peter’s confession of Christ is the hinge of the whole book. Until Mark 8, Jesus’ ministry is mainly to the crowds. After Mark 8, Jesus turns his attention to preparing the disciples. Peter understanding who He was changes the direction of His ministry. It happened like this. Jesus and His disciples had been hard at work. It was time for them to take a vacation. Like many of us, He headed for the mountains. The place they retreated to is called Mt Hermon. It towers over the landscape for miles around it. Mt. Hermon is very important, because it is the source of Israel’s drinking water. It is always covered with snow. As it melts in the summer, it runs off into the sea of Galilee, and from there to the Dead Sea. Around the base of the mountain is place of great beauty. Waterfalls and rapids run over ancient black rocks. Flowers and greenery grow almost all the time. It was there that Jesus’ disciples went to rest and pray. While they are there admiring the view, Jesus judged it would be a good time to ask them “the question.” “Who do you say that I am?” That’s all that Mark says about it. But Matthew and Luke add a bit more. First he asked “who do people say that I am?” In response, they came up with some ridiculous answers. Some thought He was Elijah, others Jeremiah, and some John the Baptist. The disciples are avoiding the most important question. So Jesus asked them “who do you say that I am.” Sometimes, a simple declaration can make all the difference in the world. “I love you.” “I am leaving.” “I quit.” All these can be said in the heat of passion, but they have repercussions for years to come. The disciples’ very lives will depend upon how they answer this question, and they knew it. What if thy said He was just a man? In time, they would have to leave the group. They could not stay if they did not believe in the one they followed. What if they said he was the Son of God?” Then for their entire lives, they would be hunted, hounded, and haunted by those who disagreed. There would be no place on earth they would be safe, except among those who were fellow believers. Wives would leave them. Parents would disown them. Children would forsake them, all for this one little word. They all hung back, afraid to say what was on their heart. Finally, Peter broke the silence.” You are the Christ.” Now, Peter said more than that. Some versions of the Gospel of Mark include him saying “you are the Christ, the son of the Living God.” Matthew and Luke said “you are the Christ of God.” Whatever his exact words, Peter became the first believer. It is curious that we do not have anything about how the other disciples responded. Some let Peter speak for them. Others were not sure who Jesus was even then. At least one disciple did not believe at all. Why didn’t the Gospel writers include the confessions, or lack of confessions? Because they did not matter. There are only two people whose confession really matters. The first person is Peter. At the moment Peter spoke, the church began. There was someone out there who believed his message. It was there that Jesus called Simon Peter for the first time. He said, “upon this Rock (Peter) I will build my church. So when Peter made the first profession of faith, he became the first official member of Jesus’ church. Because of Peter, there is a church on earth. Then there was another one whose confession mattered. Let’s talk about that confession later. Consider what Peter actually said. “You are the Christ of God.” Calvin points out that this statement was not unknown to the ancient world. “Christ simply means, “the anointed one,” which was a title for a king. The believed kings were made by the hand of God. The same might be said by other people of Herod or Caesar. Peter may have understood that He was addressing God, the Son, or he may not. He certainly thought he was addressing the Messiah of the Jews. The Messiah was the only hope of salvation that the Jewish community had. To him he was the messiah, and that was enough. Which would have been the better confession—to call him King, or to call him God? At first, it would seem that the latter would be the most important. But I am not convinced that this is the case when Peter spoke it. Many people today believe Jesus is God but do not take Him as king. It is possible to acknowledge Jesus as God without claiming Him as our King. The Devil does it all the time. He knows he is God--and trembles. What if we take Him as King and not as God? In that case, we may be assured that one day we will call him God. Jesus claimed to be God, as we will see in the following weeks. If we believe and follow Him we must eventually accept His divinity. But what if we accept Him as God, but not king? Many people do. Sure, He is king of Sunday. But is He of Monday? Sure He rules our religious life. But does He rule all life? Have we given Him our eyes, our hands, our feet, our mouths, our tongues, and our bellies? Or have we withheld from Him key portions of our lives in order to run them as we wish? Which brings us to the second person who’s confession matters. You. Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God? The eleven disciples looked on as Peter declared Jesus Christ. They may even have agreed with Peter. But it didn’t matter until they said it themselves. Knowing that He is God is not enough. We must take Him and our Lord and king. Suppose we go to a wedding. We hear the bride say “I do.” We hear it, and believer she is now a married woman. Nevertheless, this does not change our lives, unless we are the groom. It really doesn’t matter to the groom either, unless he confess his commitment o her. Suppose we have strong opinions about politics. We can fuss and fume all we want about it, but it won’t make any difference, unless we are willing to express ourselves in the ballot box. Suppose we witness a crime being committed. We can believe a criminal to be guilty, but our belief does not matter, unless we are willing to swear to it. Suppose we are patriotic, and believe men should muster with the army. Who cares what you believe, unless you are willing to defend it. We could go on and on. Belief without commitment is meaningless. Millions believe that Jesus is God. But where are they when it counts? When the call goes up, do they come down? We must join our voices to Peter’s voice. We must confess for ourselves that He is Christ, the son of the Living God. Not just God, but king as well. We must acknowledge Him to be our king. Jesus is calling us, as he called His disciples to commit themselves to learning, following, and serving. What do you say? Who is Christ to you? You must decide.