A Prophet

The Question You Must Answer & God Did

8.23.26 [Matthew 16:13-21] River of Life (14th Sunday after Pentecost)

The format of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was simple, yet the drama was high. 15 questions, each with four choices, stood between the contestant and their dream of winning the top prize of a million dollars. But it was more than Trivial Pursuit with a big purse. Viewers at home got to watch ordinary folks, people just like them, work their way up the money ladder and work their way through the questions. 

When a contestant began to struggle, or just second-guess themselves, they could turn to their lifelines. They could remove two wrong answers. They could ask the audience or the host. They could even call up a friend. But ultimately, it was up to them. It didn’t matter how the audience voted, or what their friend on the phone suggested.  Then, the host would ask them the haunting, dramatic question that became a catchphrase. Is that your final answer?  

That show was high drama because the stakes were high. Getting the right answers meant a huge financial repercussions. But in our reading from Matthew 16, the stakes are even higher. The questions that Jesus asks here have eternal repercussions. 

We must remember that Jesus is an unsurpassed teacher. When he asks questions, it is not because he is searching for information, but rather because he is guiding his students to greater wisdom. So let’s look at the two questions that Jesus asks in our text and consider his assessment, so that we too may answer this high-stakes question with the utmost confidence. 

The first question is in our first verse. Mt. 16:13 Who do people say the Son of Man is? The disciples didn’t need to ask the audience or phone a friend. They’ve been listening to the crowds as they’ve been following Jesus. They’ve heard the accusations of blasphemy from the teachers of the law. But they’ve also heard the crowds clamor that Jesus is a kind of throwback. An old, prophetic soul. Somehow or another, the idea developed that he was a prophet brought back to life. Some say John the Baptist whom Herod had recently beheaded. Others say Elijah who was carried up to heaven by fiery chariots. A few suggested he was Jeremiah or another one of the Old Testament prophets.  

What do these answers have in common? The general consensus was that Jesus was someone who spoke and acted for God. He spoke with authority. He performed incredible miracles. 

Jn. 3:2 No one could do the things he did if God were not with him. Yet, the crowds did not conclude that Jesus was the Messiah, God’s Anointed One. Even though their answer was not wildly off base, it was still wrong because it underestimated Jesus. 

So why did Jesus ask this question? He wasn’t assessing his popularity. He wasn’t looking to shape or sharpen his public image. Jesus asked his disciples this question because he wanted them to be tapped into the world’s assessment of Jesus. Are you? 

What do the people around you say about Jesus? Don’t Google it. I’m not looking for survey results from Pew Research or the Barna Group. I don’t care what Time Magazine, or cable news, or a New York Times op-ed says. What do the people you work with think about Jesus? What does your golf buddy say about the Son of Mary? Or the friend you grab coffee with? What about your kids? And their kids? 

Asking those folks what they think about Jesus can be really uncomfortable for us. We’d rather just make assumptions based on things that are not really evidence. Your coworkers might be hard-working, humble, and polite. But that does not mean they are automatically believers. Your golf buddy might have more self-control, but that doesn’t mean that he knows Jesus as his Savior. You may have brought your kids up in the faith. You may have taught them all the BIble stories. You may have done everything you humanly could do. That doesn’t mean they share your faith now. Or that your grandkids do, for that matter. We are reluctant to even ask those we love.

Do you know why we are reluctant to ask this question? It’s not because it’s hard to ask or hard to answer. But because the answer draws hard lines. A nice-sounding answer gets you the same result as a wildly wrong one. If Jesus is anything less than our Lord and Savior, we are lost and condemned creatures on our way to hell.  

We don’t like to hear that. Or to even think that way. Because we like these people. We might even love them. But not more than Jesus. So Jesus will not let us think in faceless survey results or soulless broad swaths. He wants us to see people, everyone around us, as individual souls he lived and died for. These are the world God so loved. 

But that is not Jesus’ only question. Mt. 16:15 But what about you? Who do you say that I am? 

It is here that we have the right answer in our heads. We know that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, God’s Anointed One. He is the Son of the living God who is our Savior. But do we live that way?

Do we live confident that Jesus is the Christ? The Son of the Living God? Who Mt. 6:33 calls you to seek first his kingdom. Who tells you to Mt. 16:24 pick up your cross daily and follow him. Who Rom. 8:34 sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for us. Who Mt. 28:20 is always with us, even to the very end of the age. Who Mt. 18:20 is with us whenever two or three gather together in his name. Who Eph. 1:22 rules over all things for the good of his Church. Who 2 Tim. 4:1 will return to judge the living and the dead. 

Sometimes, we live like we can pick and choose what kind of Jesus we want. We act as if we can shape Jesus to be whatever we want him to be. We invite him in when we’re feeling guilty or scared or sad or anxious. We pray to Jesus to fix our country, our communities, and our family members, but we don’t really want him to conform us to his image. That might make us really unpopular at work or with our friends. 

We want Jesus to show up at church or answer our prayers, but we don’t want him to meddle in our work life or financial windfalls. We don’t want him to rebuke our pet sins or develop our patience, perseverance, or character through suffering and hard times. We don’t want to hear him say Col 3:13 as I have forgiven you, so you should forgive those who have sinned against you. We don’t want to hear him say, stop being so spiritually Rev. 3:16 lukewarm. Put your talents to use. Tell others about the hope you have in my name.  Rom. 12:6 Live according to the faith I have gifted you.  Rev. 2:10 Be faithful even to the point of death. 

These are all the things the Triune God, God the Father in heaven, God the living Son, and God the Holy Spirit, have told us in the Bible. These are all the things that God has done for you in the person and work of his Messiah. Jesus lived as a holy and righteous man, even though it made him immensely unpopular with his family and friends, his fellow Israelites and the Roman officials. 

Jesus rebuked the hidden sins of those who were self-righteous and those who were sick and suffering. He forgave those who made a great mess of their lives and even those who made him suffer and die. 

Jesus spoke about the hope that he came to bring to this world. He preached the Law and Gospel boldly and made the most of every moment. He lived his faith in ways that confused his enemies and frustrated his followers. He was faithful, even to death, for you and me. 

The stakes were high. If he failed, all mankind would stand condemned. 

But because he did not, because he was perfect in thought, word, and deed, because he was faithful even unto death on a cross, because he rose from the grave, we are made alive. We are saved. We are his beloved bride. His church. And the devil’s best efforts can do nothing to take us from his hand. We have God’s Word. We have God’s power on our side. We have the Son of the living God ruling over all things for our good. That is who Jesus is. Our living Lord and our sacrificial Savior. 

So live like that’s what you believe about Jesus. Don’t pick and choose when and where Jesus can intrude on your life. Jesus is your King. Recognize his reign. Jesus is the Lord of lords. Honor his authority. Jesus is your Savior. Glorify his name in all you think, say, and do. Jesus is your Redeemer. Praise him for your successes and lean on him in your weaknesses. Let your light shine among those who sell him short and forgive as freely as you have been forgiven. Offer your body as a living sacrifice and invest your talents in pursuits that advance his kingdom. Remain in him and he will remain in you and you will bear much fruit. Be devoted to daily reading his Word, even when it’s hard to find time or you’re tired. Be truthful, even when it’s unpopular. Be loving and patient and forgiving, even when you fear you’ll be taken advantage of. Be faithful, even when it’s frustrating and you feel like it doesn’t make any difference. Be like Jesus, because that’s who he’s made you to be. 

And finally, be bold enough to ask the people you know and love what they think about Jesus. Ask them the hard question. Listen well to what they have to say and do so with patience and compassion. Be quick to listen. Slow to speak out of anger. And abounding in faithfulness and love for them. Because that’s what the Son of the living God did for you and them, too. 

So be confident and compassionate enough to ask the big, hard question. Who do you say Jesus is? And after you ask that question, here’s what might happen. Because the question is so important, they might look for a lifeline. They might want your help in eliminating answers. They might seek God’s counsel in figuring things out. And you are prepared to do just that. Not because you figured it out on your own, but because God revealed it to you, too. Amen.