Messiah is Revealed
The Messiah is revealed to us by the revelation of God.
Matthew 16:13-21
Within the first three seconds of a new encounter, you are evaluated… even if it is just a glance. This first impression process occurs in every new situation. Within the first few seconds, people pass judgment on you–looking for common surface clues. Once the first impression is made, it is virtually irreversible. Overcoming that impression and building a relationship requires time and trust. The more we exchange our deepest feelings and secrets the closer the relationship becomes. Truly knowing another individual requires that we be authentic so they reach a level of trust with us that encourages them to be authentic in return. Finally, we reach a point where we really know who they are as a person. Coming to know who Jesus is more than getting to know a person it is a revelation, not just a human conclusion. Human judgments have only the power of our human opinions; revelation and confession have the power of eternal and transcendent truth. Our passage today is about that revelation and confession that gives us eternal and transcendent truth.
The Messiah is not evident to the Jews or the gentile world
The events in our gospel lesson today follow many months of Jesus traveling through the countryside, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, teaching in parables, and proclaiming the good news of the love of God for all God’s children. If opinion polls had been taken in those days, I’m sure Jesus would have had a very high acceptability rating at this point in his ministry. Large crowds were gathering to hear him preach. Still more folks were coming to him seeking healing, both of the physical and spiritual aspects of their being. But in spite of his apparent popularity, we get a sense that Jesus was troubled about something. Jesus knew that the Jews expected a different type of Messiah. The very people he had been sent to save totally misunderstood Jesus.
Our Scriptural text also follows a confrontation Jesus had with the Pharisees. The Jewish leadership wanted Him to give them signs from heaven to prove His claims. Jesus refused and admonished them for their short sightedness. Possibly to get away from the crowds that were forever following Jesus, He took the twelve about 120 miles north of Jerusalem to the Gentile region of Caesarea Philippi. The area was identified with many pagan temples and was considered to be the mythological birth place of the Greek god Pan. Here Jesus could teach the disciples without the constant pressure from the multitudes. His earthly ministry was near completion and Jesus asked the twelve who the people believed him to be. Herod and others believed that Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life. Some of the Jews thought that Jesus could be the forerunner of the Messiah and was Elijah coming to set things right. Still others thought that Jesus may be a returning prophet like Jeremiah coming to return the Ark of the Covenant and the incense altar back before the advent of the Messiah. Mostly, this teacher from Nazareth was a mystery to the multitudes and the orthodox religious leaders.
The time was swiftly approaching for Jesus to sacrifice himself for the salvation of believers. Did the twelve know him? After all, these twelve would be the messengers that would carry the good news throughout the world. So Jesus asked the most important question: “But who do you say I am?”
The Messiah is not evident in the culture we live in
In our culture today, Jesus is misunderstood. If asked who is Jesus? Many would respond in peculiar ways to those of us who are of the Christian community. Most opinions are like those of the Jewish people of that time. One response might be, “I know that there was a Jewish teacher called Jesus, but He is a kill joy. He has all these rules that you have to follow to take the fun out of life.” Another might be, “I know some people down the street who like to talk about Jesus. They go to church every Sunday, but they act like they can do what ever they want because Jesus is going to forgive them for all the bad they do.” “Jesus, I guess he was a good man but why do I need a savior. What is he going to save me from?” “I think Jesus was a prophet. He did teach about forgiveness and love but that was a long time ago. I don’t think it has any bearing on us today.”
Children have a wonderful ability for deeply religious concepts in simple language. Listen to some of their questions about God and Jesus and religion in general: “Will my dog go to heaven when she dies? If Jesus is up in heaven, how can he be here with us at the same time? My Grandpa never went to church with us before he died. Is he in heaven now? If heaven is up in the sky, how come the astronauts haven’t seen it?” How would you answer their questions?
But we grownups also have questions of faith. Many of us talk about the questions we want to ask God when we get to heaven. “If you really love the world, God, why is there so much hatred and suffering and pain? Why do some people starve to death while others have more food than they know what to do with? Why do people kill each other? Why are there earthquakes that kill thousands of people and injure thousands more?” I’m sure you could add to that list of questions.
As people of God, we feel that we need to know all the answers to questions of faith, when in reality we have trouble answering the one question that Jesus asks his disciples of every age, “Who do you say that I am?”
God reveals the Son to Peter
Peter’s reply to the question “But who do you say I am?” was Thou art the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of the living God. Jesus was quick to give the credit for that response as a revelation from God. Jesus told Peter that God had revealed the great spiritual truth to him. Often we wonder where certain people get their insight from Scripture and their discernment of spiritual matters. If we knew where such things come from then we can give that source credit. If it came from inside Peter, he would get the credit. But it came from God, so God gets the credit and it is He that is glorified.
Peter was not the first to admit that Jesus was the Messiah. So, why is this confession different from those that preceded it? First, this confession was not the result of an emotional response from a person who had just seen a miracle or a person who had just been healed by a miracle. Secondly, Jesus explicitly asked for this confession and the confession was the result of a calculated and sincere statement of a man who had been taught by God. Jesus also, accepted this confession and built on it to teach them new truth. It must have gladdened His heart to hear Peter’s words. The Lord knew that Peter could now be led into new steps of deeper truth and service. During our Lord’s ministry to His disciples, He had prepared the way for this experience. Jesus Christ is the foundation rock on which the church is built. This is the first use of ekklesia, Greek for church; this Greek word is where we get the word ecclesiastical. In the gospels, only Matthew uses the word church. He uses it here and later in chapter 18 when Jesus speaks of church discipline. It seems likely that Jesus had the whole church or universal church in mind in this instruction. He was not just building a local congregation, but a universal church composed of all who make the same confession of faith that Peter made. Jesus also speaks of the church being “My Church” and in His church Jesus Christ would unite believing Jews and Gentiles and form a new temple, a new body. In His church, natural distinctions would be unimportant. Jesus Christ would be the Builder of this church, the Head of this church. Each believer in this church is a “living stone” (1 Peter 2:5). While believers met in local congregations, or assemblies, to worship Christ and to serve Him; they also belong to a universal church, a temple being built by Christ.
Someone has said that the Gospel in the first century was carried by a good system. It was called the teleperson system, and it truly got results, better than we do today with our telephones, televisions, and so on. The woman of Samaria carried the Gospel after her meeting with Christ by the teleperson system. It is said that “many of the Samaritans...believed on Him for the saying of the woman” (John 4:39).
The Holy Spirit works to reveal the Messiah to us
Sometimes in our zeal to be messengers of the good news, we answer a little too quickly. We don’t want anyone to know that we just aren’t exactly sure what we mean when we say that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. Then, as now, true understanding of “who Jesus is” and the ability to confess that fact comes not from our human nature or will, but from God alone. Jesus emphasized that the Father had revealed this truth to Peter, but Satan also prompted Peter to talk Jesus out of his upcoming death. In our passage today, Peter is called a “rock,” but in verse 23, he is a “stumbling block.” These contrasting images show Peter’s vacillating nature. And we are no different from Peter.
The faith that Jesus praises in Peter is the revelation that Jesus is Christ (as the Messiah), the Son of God, and the real foundation of the church. The Church surely needs leaders like Peter at all levels of its structure who have recognized Jesus and whose own lives are being built on him. In a very real sense, such leaders are the “rock” on which Jesus founds his Church.
It comes from outside us, this revelation of who Christ is so we give the credit to God for our belief. Jesus both did the work that enables our salvation and provides the means of our accepting it. As blind people need a miracle from to “see” the world, so spiritually dead people need God to find spiritual life and Jesus.
When it comes to bragging about your faith, brag about God. He is the one who gives us faith.
In his bequest John Harvard (who gave the first large gift to the present Harvard University) said, “Let every student be plainly instructed to consider well the main ends of his life and studies; to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all knowledge and learning. Let everyone seriously set himself by secret prayer to see Christ as Lord and Master.”
A boy said to his mother, “When I grow up I am going to be a Christian like Father. Nobody knows whether he is a Christian or not.” That man was like the clock in a certain courthouse tower we used to see. It had no hands. It may have been working inside, but how are we to know it?
Karl Barth said that “The very man who knows the Word of God also knows that he can bring no capability of his own to this knowledge, but has first to receive all capability.”
Yes, Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, the second person of the Trinity, our Lord and Savior, but what do these titles mean to us today? Maybe our answers would be more complete if we simply listed words that describe what we mean. Jesus is: loving, gentle, compassionate, understanding, and forgiving. Jesus is: my helper, my guide, my friend, my God. Simply put, who is Jesus to you?
Conclusion:
And so, when questions of faith come up, we’re tempted to give a short reply like, “Jesus is the answer,” then change the subject as quickly as we can. If we say more than that, someone might realize that we don’t have all the answers, and how would that look? Who do you say that Jesus is? The gift of faith places the confession on our lips, “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” But every day we must struggle to understand exactly what that means when we’re faced with the difficult questions of life and faith. When these questions arise in your life–and they will–God doesn’t expect you to have all the answers. We CAN confess our faith, and I certainly encourage you to do that. But sometimes it’s also okay to admit, “I just don’t know the answer to that. I don’t completely understand how God works. No one does. But I’m working on it. I’m searching for answers, just like you. Maybe we can look together. Would you like that?”
For now, we see “through a glass, dimly,” as Paul wrote. But one day, someday, we will understand fully what it means to confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Until that day, we must continue our daily journey of faith, taking one shaky step at a time. And we must not be afraid to ask questions or to admit that we don’t have all the answers. I’ve got news for you: we don’t even know all the questions yet.
AMEN