Who Do You Say That I Am

Family of God

‌Palm Sundays video

‌Moment of silence

‌Worship service

Who do you say Jesus is?

‌“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.” Matthew 16:13–17

‌Every time I go to the local hardware store there’s a gentleman there who calls me Ronnie. “Hey Ronnie!” He’ll shout out to me every time that he sees me come through. Then we will usually stop and talk for a while about life and such as men often do. But the issue is my name isn’t Ronnie! Now I don’t mind what people call me usually, but Ronnie is not my identity. If you call me Colter then people who know me will know exactly who you’re talking about, but if you call me Ronnie then they won’t be able to follow what you are saying and trace it back to me. They will be confused

The same goes for Jesus. Now if you get my identity wrong, it’s no big deal. If you ge5 the identity of Jesus wrong it is a mater of your eternal destinaatij

‌He has been called many things throughout history

‌Jesus has left Galilee and He headed north into a region called Caesarea Philippi. A predominantly Gentile region. When Herod the Great died, his territory was split between his sons. Philip was given the land North of Galilee. Philip wanted to honor Caesar Augustus when he came to visit the region so Philip named the area Caesarea after the Caesar and Philippi after himself. This region was beautiful and lush. Mount Hermon is the main geographical point in the region, and at the base of the mountain there is a cave where a spring flows from its mouth. This spring is a main tributary of the Jordan river. Which is a major water source for Israel, and therefore very important to the Jews. The Greeks and Romans also believed that their god Pan was born in this cave, and they consecrate the cave for pagan purposes. A shrine was erected outside of the cave and while excavating the cave archeologists found profound notches etched into the side of a cliff facing where worshipers could place their idols. There we also a flattened court named “the dance of the sacred goat”, and about 2 miles down the road there was a temple to Caesar August that had been built in his honor for his worship.

‌Obviously the area is full of idols and various cultures who venerate this area. You have people who worship Caesar, you have people who worship God (or think they do anyways), you have people who worship Pan, and all kinds of other gods and goddesses liter the region…

‌So Jesus stops here to ask His disciples a simple question.

‌“Who am I to you people.”

‌Jesus says “What does the world call me”?

‌On Sunday, March 29, 2015, National Geographic Channel premiered its adaptation of Bill O’Reilly’s book Killing Jesus to 3.7 million viewers—the channel’s biggest audience in history. CNN’s Finding Jesus miniseries has also sustained impressive viewership. Google searches of Jesus Christ climbed by 53 percent in the week leading up to Easter—a likely result of both seasonal television programming and the approaching holiday.

But what do people really believe about Jesus?

‌Peter is often shown to be the speaker of the 12, so he speaks up and says “some say…”:

‌John the Baptist: Jesus did similar things to John in His ministry, only Jesus was far greater and people ought to have been saying John was like Jesus in ways rather than getting it backwards. But John came first, and John had been put to death previously so some people thought that Jesus was John coming back from the dead.

‌“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”” Matthew 14:1–2

‌Elijah: The OT eludes to Elijah coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. In fact, in modern Jewish Passover celebrations an empty chair is still reserved at the table for Elijah in hopes that one day he will still return to pronounce that the Messiah is coming. So some people thought “there he is. It’s Elijah, so the Messiah must be on His way.” (BTW that was John the Baptist who came back like Elijah, so that had some things out of place)

‌Jeremiah or another Prophet: Jeremiah was kind of a doom and gloom prophet, and when Jesus would speak to the religious leaders of the day He pronounced some pretty hefty judgments upon them so the people thought “well this must be Jeremiah because He is prophesying so negatively.” But they had high hopes for Jesus. When asked, they generally had good things to say about Jesus back in the day.

‌Lets look at what people are saying now.

Jesus has been many things throughout the years. He has been a Leader, a religious fanatic, guru, He has been called a prophet, few have even doubted that He was a good man, one of the best actually in many accounts.

‌Muslims: Believed that Jesus was a prophet of God, or Allah to them. They believe that He was a miracle worker and do not discredit His powers here on earth. They believe that He died and ascended into heaven but some disbelieve He was crucified and they do not believe that He was the perfect Messiah come to save mankind from their sins. But get this. The Quran reports Jesus will come again (as a Muslim, returning to revive Islam), and that He will sit beside Allah during the judgment. While Muslims acknowledge the ascension, they either deny that Jesus was crucified or that He died on the cross. Most simply believe Jesus’ death was an illusion (and some even believe that Judas Iscariot was mistaken for Jesus on the cross).

‌Even they have a lot of the pieces there, they just cannot see the picture.

‌Jews: Jesus was a miracle worker, He was the son of Marry, He was well respected by many up until around 1,000 AD, and they believe He was crucified on a cross. Yet when it comes to the resurrection they believe that a gardener came and stole His body.

‌There was no elaborate plan to steal Jesus’s body, and even if the Roman guards would have been tempted to take a bribe from the apostles, death would await them if they had been found out. They are not going to take the risk. Plus, the apostles would not have enough money to pay off the guards. They lived very modest lifestyles as they modeled themselves after Jesus’s walk.

‌Hindu: A Holy Man and wise teacher. Many are eager to claim Him as one of their god’s but not so quick to call Him the only way to eternal life. Instead, some understand Jesus as the perfect example of “self-realization” (the goal of Hindu “dharma”). Many Hindus see Jesus as a symbol of what humans can attain, rather than a true historical person.

‌Buddhist:

‌Most Buddhists acknowledge and respect the fact Jesus lived a self-sacrificial life and had compassion on those who were in spiritual need. This kind of compassion is seen by Buddhists to be the key to happiness and enlightenment.

‌Most Buddhists also respect the teaching of Jesus to a high degree, especially Jesus’ teaching related to loving one’s neighbor and the need to demonstrate kindness and forgiveness. Jesus is seen as someone who possessed the correct perspective on life and his teaching helped others to embrace the truth. While Jesus is seen as a wise teacher, He is not seen as divine.

‌Busy People:

‌““Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Luke 6:46

‌Who is your God? If money dictates the decisions that you make in life, then money is your god. If a relationship dictates what you do in your life, then the relationship is your god. If sports dictates your life, then sports is your god. Anything that trumps your decisions in life other than God becomes your god.

Now, there is a way that you can have relationships, make money, play and watch sports, you know live life, and still truthfully have God as #1 in your life. The question is do you? The answers, vary but I will let you make that decision in your own life.

‌I stuck with major religions here and strayed away from atheistic beliefs because they cannot hold onto anything so it was trivial to look into their ways of thinking.

‌Most religious minded people, though, would agree that Jesus was a good man. Many cultures even believes that He was a very great man, but you see it is not enough to believe He is a good or a great man. If He is not simply a man, He is God, He is the Messiah, the Christ, meaning He is our Savior and before you can be saved you must understand that.

‌Now Jesus asks the 12 personally,‌ Who do YOU say that I am

‌Who does Peter say that He is?

‌Jesus already knew what the world said about Him, and He knew what we say about Him today even when He was having this conversation 2,000 years ago. But look at what Peter says: Jesus asks, “who do YOU say that I am” and Peter replies, “You are the CHRIST, the Son of the Living God.”

‌As the 12, these men would have been close to Jesus. Not just close, but like brothers. They ate with Him, they traveled with Him, they slept where He slept, they moved where He moved, they experienced His miracles just about every single one of them, they were empowered by Him, most of them say for one truly molded their lives around Him. They were His disciples. They were intimately close to Him.

‌When others said that Jesus was a good man, no that was not it. That was not the right answer. Imagine Peter looking to Jesus and saying “You’re It, Jesus. You are the Messiah. You are the Promised One. You are our Redeemer. Salvation belongs to you.”

‌Talk about a light-bulb moment. Have you ever had that moment? The moment where you realized that Jesus is the Messiah?

Notice that Peter said Living God. Not dead, not mute, not inanimate. He is the God that you can have a relationship. One who cares for you. He is one who you can talk to Him, and He will talk back. Now were know that it is not like sitting down and talking one on one, back and forth like we do, but He can talk to us. He has given us His word, and everything that you are going to face He has written a response to you. Do not think that while He was inspiring this book that you were not in the plan as well. There is portions of this book that were written to specific people groups, we know this, but though God might have been sending His words to people in need thousands of years ago, He had your situations in mind as well. He thought “Linn is going to need this.” He thought “Brian will benefit from my guidance.” He had in His mind “they do not know it yet, but in their darkest moments…this will get them through.”

God is alive, and He loves His children. All of these other gods throughout history, they could not deliver their people (Because they do not exist, if a person got out it was on their own sheer will, and that will not go as far as you think)

Because He loves His children, He sent His Son to die for us. Here is where Peter’s response comes into light of salvation.

‌“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:9–10

IF YOU WANT TO BE SAVED, YOU CAN BE SAVED

‌Before Peter could understand that Jesus was more than a man, before he could understand that Jesus was more than a prophet, in order to grasp that Jesus was the promised Messiah He had to have his spiritual eyes opened.

“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.” Jesus said “Matthew 16:17

Jesus references Peter’s earthly father here because He wanted to point out that no father in the flesh on earth would be able to reveal this to their son, only the Father that is in heaven.

‌The bible is very explicit about this.

‌2 things must happen for the act of salvation to take place.

‌“The wages of sin is death…” The consequences for our sins is spiritual death

‌“but the free gift of God is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus came to live the life that we never could and pay for the consequences of our sins.

Jesus will not turn a single person away who truly comes to Him for salvation. In order to come to Jesus you must be lead by the Father

‌“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.” John 6:44‌

This is a sobering thought. You are not going to wake up one day and say “today is a good day to be saved. I think I‘ll give my life to Jesus now.” Salvation does not happen on your terms. Peter and the apostles spiritual eyes were opened, yours must be opened first as well before you can be saved.

If the Lord is opening your eyes, listen to Him. He is the only one who matters. ‌‌Jesus died for you, the Father calls you… Now who do you say Jesus is?

Now, who do you say Jesus is?

‌You can sit in a church pew. You can go to conferences, you can read books, you can watch every televangelist that has come on the tv in the last 75 years, and still not know who Jesus is, or rather He may not know who you are. I understand who Abraham Lincoln was. I understand who George Washington was. I understand what both of them did for the future of this nation and even for me personally… but I do not know them. There is no relationship between them and I. They are dead, and I alive.

‌We have a living, breathing, risen Savior with whom we can have a living and working relationship with.

‌Do you know Him? I’m not asking if you know about Him. Do you know Him personally? Is He the Lord of your life, or have you been getting by on Sunday school answers. Have you been able to satisfy the ears of man with your knowledge of scripture, but are walking completely empty of the spirit of Christ?

‌Jesus is a good man, yes, we know this. Jesus did many works, we have seen this, we have heard about His good deeds. Neither of those facts will get you into heaven.

‌You can change that today. You know the answers, and if you do not I and so many other would love to help you find them. Give your life to Him. He gave His so that you may live. Please do not miss out on His free gift.

I want to close with this scripture to you

‌“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live….” Ezekiel 33:11

Jesus the Lord of your life? He wants to be. When you pass from this life to the next, which side of heavens gates will you be on?

When we pass away, which not a single one of us knows when that will happen to us, we will all stand before God. He will respond in one of two ways:

‌“Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of YOUR Lord.”

‌OR

“I never knew you, depart from me, you worker of lawlessness, .”

‌You know the response the response that you will receive. If you are happy with it, good. Continue to grow in your faith and walk. ‌But if you are listening today, and you know the response that Jesus will have toward you, and you do not like it or you are unsure of your standing with the Lord, then I would encourage you to come and settle that here and now.