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Hope Lutheran Church
Manhattan, Kansas August 27, 2023 Matthew 16:13–19 Right in the middle of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples a super important question. Jesus had been doing ministry in Israel for a while. For about two years, Jesus had been traveling around with his disciples. He was preaching and teaching and doing miracles. Because of all these things Jesus was doing, people were starting to get excited about Jesus. They were starting to see that Jesus was more than just a normal teacher or preacher. And so Jesus asked his disciples a question. Referring to himself, he asked, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” And then, after hearing what the people were saying, Jesus asked the question again. But this time to his disciples themselves. “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” And now today, 2000 years later, Jesus turns to us and asks that same question: “Who do you say I am?” Because despite what the world around us might think and what we might be tempted to think, it’s not a question we can answer partially right. There’s only one right answer to that question. As we think about our own answer to that question Jesus asked his disciples, we’re going to see… 1) Misconceptions about Jesus 2) Confessing Who Jesus Really Is 3) Conquering The Gates Of Hell 1) Misconceptions about Jesus When Jesus asked what the people were saying about him, the disciples told him. “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Now for someone living in Israel back then, this would have been a bit an all-star list of people to be compared to. John the Baptizer had boldly preached to the people in Israel. Elijah and Jeremiah were two of the most famous prophets to ever serve in the history of Israel. People clearly had a positive impression of Jesus. They were speaking favorably of him. Maybe they even valued him. The problem is that when it came to Jesus, those answers fell short. It’s not so different today. There are still a lot of people who have a positive impression when it comes to Jesus and what he did. Even if they don’t agree about everything else that comes with Jesus, they might admit that he was a great teacher or philosopher. They might say he was an agent of change for good in the world. People today might have a positive impression of Jesus. They might even speak favorably about him and value Jesus. But they still come up short when it comes to who Jesus really is. And I think it’s important for us to know what the world thinks of Jesus. If we’re going to correct the misconceptions people have about Jesus, I think first we need to know what those misconceptions are. So we can cut through all the wrong ideas and show them who Jesus really is. It’s a bit like what I had to do from time to time the last couple years when I was serving as a dorm supervisor. There were lots of different rules that the students were expected to follow. But the students would sometimes get all sorts of ideas in their heads about how things should be done on campus. They had their own ideas about the way things should go and what we should be doing as a school. Even if their ideas were well-intentioned, they were still missing the mark or the complete picture. As a dorm supervisor, it was important for me to know what the students were thinking so that I could better explain to them why things had to be the way they were. I had to know their perspective so that I could show them the truth and the reason behind that truth. There are lots of ideas out there about Jesus, even some that are pretty favorable. But we need to know where they go off the rails if we’re going to share the truth with them about Jesus and who he is. The only way we can ever do that, however, is if we ourselves are grounded and rooted in knowing who Jesus really is and confessing who he really is. Because our personal confession of Jesus focuses our witness to the world, and it also focuses our own personal faith. 2) Confessing Who Jesus Really Is Jesus had heard from his disciples what the rest of the people thought of him. But now he wanted to get to the most important thing. He wanted to see who they said he was. And so he asked them “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Simon couldn’t have given a better answer. But the thing is, lots of people in Israel didn’t see it that way. They had the wrong idea about what God’s Messiah would be like and what he would do. We’re actually going to see Peter get it wrong next week. Most of their ideas about the Messiah made him a political or military figure. They latched onto and picked details about the Messiah that they wanted instead of hearing what God said his Messiah would be. So often I find myself doing the same thing. I turn Jesus into the Messiah I want him to be. I think about him like so many people in the world think about him. I can start to think about Jesus less as my Savior from sin, and more like he’s a self-help guru who is going to help me get my life in order. I can start to pick and choose the things I like about Jesus and what he says and leave behind the things I don’t like so much. I can start to make Jesus an important part of my life, but not the most important person in my life. Simon was able to see through all that, at least for a moment he saw God’s Messiah – he saw Jesus – for who he actually is. Because what does it really mean that Jesus is the Messiah? It means that he is the Son of God and also the Son of Man. It means that Jesus is True God and True Man in one person. And why is that so important? Well, the Messiah needed to be true man so that he could be born under the law and held to the same standards the rest of us are held to and true God so that he could keep that law perfectly. He needed to be true man so that he could go to the cross and die and true God so that when he died on that cross his death would pay for the sins of all mankind. And what does that mean for you and me? It means that all those sins of the past that keep me up at night, all of the guilt and shame I carry because of the things I’ve done, God paid for it all in his Son. And that means it’s all forgiven, forgotten, forever. I can’t come to that conclusion on my own, though. On my own, I’ll only ever see Jesus the same way the world sees Jesus. Simon wasn’t any different. It’s not like Simon or you or I could sit down by ourselves and think about it hard enough to the point that suddenly we’re smart enough to recognize who Jesus really is. That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” It took God coming to us and working in our hearts through his Word and his Sacraments. And that’s what he’s done. He had to reveal that to us. He had to give that to us. God’s come to each of us and given us faith in him and his Son so that we can confess, along with Simon, “You, Jesus, are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” That’s how God created faith in Simon’s heart. That’s how God created faith in our hearts. And that’s also how Jesus says God creates faith for everyone else too. Jesus said, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” 3) Conquering The Gates Of Hell Do you see what Jesus is saying there? He’s saying that he is going to build his church. And that he is going to build that church around a group of people who know who Jesus is and what he has done for them. But the way Jesus says he’s going to do it, is through people carrying that message that will call people to faith. Jesus says that he is going to build his church with the message of the gospel, but the crazy unexpected part is that he says he wants to use us to do it. There is a world full of people who don’t know the true answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” They have all their wrong ideas and misconceptions about him. But God wants them to know the truth. And the way he says they’ll know is through you and me. He’s going to send you and me who have this confession of Jesus in our hearts out to those who don’t yet know. He’s sending out on his behalf to conquer the gates of hell so that many more may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Yes, there will be dark hours. There will be dark hours when it seems like the spread of the gospel is being opposed at every corner. There will be dark hours when we run into sadness and hurt. There will be dark hours when it feels like the culture and world around us wants nothing to do with us or the message God has given us to share with them. Maybe you think about that, and it’s a bit intimidating. Maybe you wonder if you really have what it takes to bring that confession you have out into the world around you. So what does Jesus do? He points us back to the promise he made. He points us back to that confession that’s founded in him and who he is. He says that’s the rock on which the church will be built and that church will stand forever. He reminds us of the undeniable fact that he marched into hell itself and it did not overcome him. That he came out the other side alive. And because he’s done that, he says you and I can take on the gates of hell too. Are you ready to answer the question Jesus asks you today – “Who do you say I am?” By faith that God has given you, you and I can answer as Peter did. With confidence, we can say, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” And we can take that confession with us into the world, knowing Jesus’ promise that the gates of hell will never overcome Christ and his church. God grant it. Amen. Comments are closed.
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