Who Do you Say I Am? The Most important question ever asked

Introduction

Text

Mark 8:27–30 ESV

27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Big Idea : Who do you Say I am?

Options the Disciples say

John the Baptist (v28)

This was the position of Herod Mark 6:16

Mark 6:16 ESV

16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

Now as we talked about in August the rumor that Jesus was the resurrected John was spreading. Herod and his people thought this the case. This was most likely exciting to some as it was thought that when the Resurrection of the dead was to begin the end times were a foot and God was going to liberate all of Judea from Roman occupation and set up his kingdom. Rightly many knew that then the enemies of God would be judged, and justice would be served.

The people who thought this expected a kingdom like Rome, one that spreads at the end of a sword, but the kingdom of God is not like that.

John 18:35–36 ESV

35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Jesus’s kingdom is different, it is won by changing the hearts of men. We know from the Scripture that this kingdom is and will win.

Application from this text:

Everyone is trying to guess the hour of the Lord’s return, but your time is better spent being busy building his kingdom.

This text brings me to a point that I believe is relevant today. No signs are needed for Christ to come back everything needed has been fulfilled. That said, don’t read the recent news events into the timeline of scripture.

the Bible records this:

Mark 13:32–37 ESV

32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

So Our Lord’s command if you’re a Christian is to be watchful, and on guard. A Servant is one who works for the master the word used in this text could be translated slave or Bond slave, a person who entire life and purpose is determined by their master. Jesus is that for us and so we’re commanded to while we wait to be about our master’s business while he is out!

The two commands here are WATCH and WORK

WATCH that you’re after your fathers means and look like him.

WORK

That work includes: evangelizing and sharing the gospel

Striving for our sanctification, growing in Christ-likeness - this is true for us all.

For those with children and grand children, nieces and nephews, - instructing them in the ways of the Lord

For those who are married - Men, Being like Christ for the one God has given you, sacrificing,. This is your chief mission husbands leading and dying for your bride

For you wives, this is submitting to your husband, striving to be as the scripture calls you to be the glory of your husband.

For those who are single, I believe yours is the portion of putting your energies into the things of God, serving him in any means put before you!

Just some more doctrine of the end times.

This is not a time of fear, but a time of rejoicing! So don’t fear that time, know your God is coming! Be excited!

Also When it says no one knows the hour, the best way to understand that this event may happen unexpected, so we are to keep busy

Elijah and the Prophets (v28)

This point really brings us to the problem of then and today. Everyone thinks they know who Jesus is, but often it’s A jesus of their own design, a God of their own comfort and not the God of scripture.

The Options of then were some political leader who was coming to destroy Rome and set up a new order. Or this was the first in a long time of one of the prophets they read about.

Today JEsus is a God on the shelf with a myriad of others, just one thing among other false gods or spiritual notions.

“With Christ and a little luck” as if luck is a thing that is real. Or they do anything to avoid him altogether. I’ve seen the first Christmas commercials that are for the “holidays” To which I always ask which holiday? The Christmas season is very different from the Holiday season. I’m not being obtuse or purposely difficult here, those that deny Christ are. This is the intentional obscuring of the calendar which is built around our faith. They are in the name of being inclusive are excluding the God who made them. Which is the point.

Jesus must be a Prophet, really even that isn’t enough he is more then a Prophet he is God in the flesh.

So Let’s examine the options we have today

Options the World Can Give

These are derived from Lewis and his reading of the NT

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. (Mere Christianity, 55-56)

Legend

This position must be thrown out immediately. Lewis himself doesn’t entertain this idea because he was a master of Mythology. So to cut the Long story short the Bible doesn’t read like any other myth, from creation were compared to other creation stories for example one God had to kill something to make the world, or something had to be stolen, or only men but not women are mentioned. Or when one flood was righteous man resisting an evil God, when the scripture is flipped.

Jesus is not like any other myth, he dies, he thirsts, he is beaten, he put’s others before himself!

A legend or myth has no proof of existing. Even the most ardent Atheists today will admit a Jesus lived in the 1st century. Not only do we have all the authors of the NT saying so, we have Christians and non-Christians in the first, second centuries saying it as well.

So with so much testimony we have to say that this man is not a legend.

The Biblical documents are not written hundreds of years after the fact but, instead written within the lifetimes of the apostles! Even the Iliad and odyssey have several hundred years before they’re written down. The NT has decades. The Bible is the most recovered book from that time period, we have so much of it we from fragments to full letters and books that we have to say it’s true and further that the writers of those letters believed in him!

Liar

This one is also dismiss able. The followers of Jesus were willing to be killed for him! They heard him, lived with him. After sometime anyone is able to sniff out a liar, but the message of Christ doesn't shift it remains the same throughout!

If this man was a liar then you’d have to ask the question why would his disciples be willing to die for him? Does his message change? The answer, even secularists say is that he wasn’t a liar.

Lunatic

I have meet those that are not themselves, I have seen sadly those whose minds are lost to madness. I have never seen anyone of them gather a following of thousands to be feed and taken in by one man’s madness. When a man’s mind is broken it is truly a sad and devastating affair. You can rest a

The True option

LORD- Christ the Messiah (v29)

How the Lord Reacts to Peter saying this In the book of Matthew 16:17-20

Matthew 16:17–20 ESV

17 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. 18 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. 19 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.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Can you hear the Lord celebrating in this text? I can imagine it’s like when you hear about or through your sharing a friend comes to faith. I know my wife’s story when she went to a Bible camp and then came home and told her parents she was now a Christians her mother wept tears of gladness.

You can see our Jesus cheering! My father opened your eyes! We know from scripture that

Luke 15:10 ESV

10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The angels cheer! I can imagine this is coming from observing our heavenly father! I’m speculating a bit.

When you announce that Jesus is Lord God the Father has revealed it to you!

The Confession

The next part of this passage has nothing to do with the Roman Catholic church, but is truly a universal thing that every Christian must believe, you must confess this Christian. “You are the Christ.”

In ancient times cities had walls, and opposing armies would have to bring machines to smash them and break the gates. Gates and walls are weapons! They keep out enemies! The confession is a battering ram it’s pounding the enemy stronghold to let in Christ.

This confession is like Joshua marching around Jericho blowing the horns and what happens the walls fall outwards.

This message the church is built on. That confession is the rock foundation of the church. It’s secure, it’s powerful, it is a message like a siege machine throwing rocks and ramming enemy gates. This confession is a conquering gospel.

In my mind I see Aargorn standing before the Black Gate, preparing to charge in with the forces of Good against Sauron and the forces of evil and at the right time, his gate collapses because the power of Sauron is defeated and he wins!

So what do we do with this confession? (v30)

Again looking at this confession we must take this text literally and it is a hopeful text a strengthening text.

This confession will not fail, the Mormons are wrong, the Muslims are wrong, the Atheists who say that this isn’t true are wrong. This confession is still destroying enemy strongholds, which are the hearts and minds of men and women. Jesus the strong man is saving men and women from the captivity of sin!

Hell, the devil are not winning. They lost when Jesus was crucified and rose on the 3rd day! Jesus only tells them not to tell as that future event that he predicts in verses 31-33

So Jesus was telling them not to share as that event, which they didn’t believe was going to happen had yet to occur. Well it has occured now and so we’re to obey the great confession!

What you need to know is that your sharing will be successful. Just like Joshua was to blow the Horn and the walls were going to fall. You and I are to in like manner share the gospel and the walls of sin will be felled by God and he will take the strongholds of unbelievers.

Firstly

You’re to share the faith, now you’re to go out and share. That is the great commission. Are you willing to take up the arms of sharing the Lord with those you love? Are you willing to be like Joshua's troops and march. Are you being obedient to the call of Christ and winning souls? The advantage of practicing the great commission is that you also are learning the ways of Christ to make disciples who make disciples you must first know your God. Are you learning him, do you understand your confession that you’re sharing, when you do you can’t help but share it!

Secondly

- You’re sharing will be effective and so you can have hope! Some of you maybe sharing your faith regularly and please do it, continue to obey your Lord! I want you to know that sometime sharing seems to be a process of a long time. Hearts seem hard, but God will be successful. This gospel will prevail. You’re faith even if you think it small and weak has already prevailed and will continue to prevail and will always win.

Take hope your faith cannot be overcome. Satan cannot win, people are worried that this is the end times, but a sign of the end is the gospel prevailing, which it is! Take Hope!

(offer hope to the one who needs the gospel)