Who Do You Say that I Am?
St. Matthew 16:13-20
27 August 2017 – Redeemer
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Peter and the Apostles said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” In many ways we have to commend the people of Jesus’ day. They were familiar with Scripture. They knew Elijah from God’s Word. They know who Jeremiah was. Do you? Could you tell me one event in the life of Elijah or something that Jeremiah did or said? The people of Jesus’ day were looking for God’s promised Savior. They were looking for these forerunners of God’s Messiah – the Christ. All of Jerusalem went out to the Jordan to see John the Baptist. The people were expectant for God’s saving work. Are you? Their answers were great – based on Scripture, based on what they seen in Jesus, based on what they hoped for, but they all fall short of the right answer.
Who do people say that the Son of Man is today? In Saint Cloud? In the year of our Lord 2017? At the national LWML convention I picked up an interesting book entitled Will the Real Jesus please stand up? The book details 12 different Jesuses that are worshipped in America. I’ve only read the first two – Jesus the Mascot, and Jesus –The Option among Many.
Who do people say the Son of Man is? People say that “Jesus is My Mascot.” He cheers me on in my pursuit of pleasure.. This Jesus will never judge you, never tell you you’re wrong, never tell you that you have disappointed God. This Jesus will never speak of sin, hell, or judgment, but He cheers you on as you pursue that which makes you feel good. Jesus stands on the sideline of your life, urging you to enjoy yourself. His cheer makes sense, “Pain is evil. Pleasure is good. So seek your pleasure because you know that if it feels good it is good.” Those who confess Jesus as their Mascot like to say, “Jesus never judged anyone.”
The other Jesus I read about is “Jesus – The Option among Many.” Who do people say the Son of Man is? Jesus is one option among many gods. We all worship the same god who has just revealed himself differently to different people – Allah, Jesus, Vishnu, Buddha, Confucius, Obi Wan Kenobi. The creeds of this religion are “Tolerance,” “God is Love,” and “Everyone goes to heaven.” Once again, as with Christ the Mascot, there is no sin. There is no hell. No one is excluded. All gods can coexist with one another and they will all lead to the same wonderful place. As long as you are faithful to whatever god has revealed, you will live forever with him, her, it. This is a great God for America – we’re consumers. We’re proud of our individualism. We’re pro-choice. You buy Ford. I buy Dodge. You listen to Country. I like Classic Rock. You worship Allah. I worship Jesus. He worships god in the woods or at the lake. And we all go to the same place.
The rest of the false Jesuses covered in the book are: Jesus the Good Teacher, The Therapist, The Giver of Bling, the National Patriot, the Social Justice Warrior, the Moral Example, the New Moses, the Mystical Friend, the Feminized, and the Teddy Bear. When I finish the book I’ll put it back in the resource center. So far it has been an engaging and educational read.
Where does every false Jesus start? He starts right here – with my desires, with my feelings, in my heart, mind, and stomach. I want a Jesus who approves of me, gives me permission to do what I want, gives me what I desire, and fix what I think is wrong. Like the people of Jesus day – we get some of our ideas from Scripture, pull out the verses we like, but then we flesh out our Savior in our image, what we desire.
The text continues with Jesus asking the all important question, “But who do you say that I am?” It doesn’t matter what most Americans believe. It doesn’t matter what any else confesses of Jesus. Who do you, you yourself say that Jesus is? Peter answers for the 12, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus delights in Peter’s true confession. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Peter is blessed not for what he dreamt up in his mind or felt in his heart, but for what was revealed to him by the Father. God the Father revealed to Peter that Jesus was the Christ. He revealed this in all those Old Testament prophecies which foretold that the Christ would bring good news to the poor, freedom for those who were captive, bind up the broken hearted, and free those bound in prison. Peter had seen Jesus do that. He had heard the good news preached to that poor Canaanite woman and her daughter released from demon possession. He had witnessed the miracles. Peter walked on water at the command of this man. He had helped pick up those twelve baskets of leftovers after the feeding of the 5000.
So Peter confessed of Jesus “You are the Christ.” The Christ. Not one among many, but the ONE whom God sent. Christ is the word from which we get “christening” – it means to anoint someone or something for a special purpose. In the Old Testament the Lord anointed Kings and Priests and Prophets.
Jesus is anointed King to spread the reign and rule of God. We have heard much of the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew – where God reigns over us with forgiveness for our sins, with life instead of death, where He plucks us from Satan’s grasp and delivers us into His Kingdom. Wherever Jesus went the reign and rule of life was present – lepers cleansed, blind people see, demons run, sinners forgiven, the dead raised.
Jesus is anointed the Priest. Priests are anointed to stand between God and man. So Jesus stands (or I might say “hangs”) between God and man. He is the Priest and the Sacrifice – offering Himself as the victim for our sins. Heaven and earth, God and sinners, sin and judgment meet at the cross – that’s where God takes care of all the pain and evil in the world, because that is where He takes care of your sin by putting it all on Jesus and then receiving His suffering and death as the payment and punishment for what you have done. After that sacrifice of God’s own Son your sin is finished, forgiven, taken away.
Finally, Christ is anointed Prophet – for by His Word He tells you the way into the Kingdom. He tells it to Peter, “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.” By His death for your sins Jesus has opened heaven for you. There is only one key to heaven – the forgiveness of your sins. That key was given to the Church and used this morning here at Redeemer. You were set free of your sins, because Christ died for them, and because He gave His Word to the Church and to her ministers, whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven. Heaven is open to you, because in Christ, and only in Christ, you are forgiven.
Jesus is the Christ. The Son of Man is the real deal. Now, should you run into a false Jesus you should ask him a few questions.
First, where is your cross? Jesus the Mascot needs no cross. He just cheers you on. If Jesus is one option among many – why is He the only God who dies for His people’s sins? If you run into a Jesus who doesn’t need a cross or never talks about His cross, you can be sure He isn’t the true Jesus. Because the cross is the center and climax of Jesus’ saving work. I believe this is why Jesus didn’t want His disciples to speak this great confession yet. Until He had died on the cross and risen again people would not know why the Christ had truly come. After the cross – the Apostles clearly and loudly confess Jesus is the Christ.
Second, ask any Jesus you run into, “Are you for all people?” A false Jesus is primarily for me. He’s my individual Jesus to give me what I want. He approves of my pleasure, gets me to the good life, gives me bling, says my country or political party is God’s country / party, etc. Jesus proclaims to Peter that his confession is not for Peter alone – but for the whole Church (that’s lots and lots of people). The Apostles are to set people free from their sins with the key of forgiveness. God did not send His Son so you can get what you desire, but rather to save you from your desires. Where the true Christ is believed and confessed you no longer live for yourself, but for Christ – you live in faith toward God and love toward all your neighbors. A false Jesus is all about you. The true Jesus is for you – born for you, died for you, risen for you, ascended for you, and not for you alone, but for the whole world of sinners. This is the whole Jesus, the true Jesus, the real Jesus, the One revealed by the Father in His Holy Word, so that you (all of you) might be blessed with forgiveness and salvation in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
26 August 2017 anno Domini