Lesson 2: Identity

Last week we started this look into Peter’s life. There is so much we can learn from Him and I’m excited to continue that today. Before we dive into Peter’s story, I want to prepare you for what we will be talking about today. We’re going to be looking at Identity.

Our Search for Identity

That all important question of “who am I?” We start asking this question in our teenage years and continue to wrestle with it into adulthood. Even later in life this question keeps popping up. Who are you? Who am I? What is it that defines who I am? I’ve noticed, maybe you too, that we’re really good at looking in the wrong places to find the answers to this question. It’s true.

Here are some of our go-to answers when we try to determine who we are.

We say we are what we do. It’s one of the first questions people ask when meeting/mingling: What do you do. Oh, I’m a truck driver, a teacher, a medical professional, a graphic designer, or I’m a student now, but I’m studying to become a Physical therapist. We wrap up a lot of our identity in what we do. I understand that, We spend huge amounts of time (probably too much) in our professions. But what we do should not and does not define us.

Sometimes we determine who we are by our relationship roles: I’m a husband, a father, a son. Others may say a girlfriend, a sibling, a mother. All those roles are incredibly important. They do, in fact, shape your life. But they should not and do not define us.

There’s so much else we like to cling to in efforts to define ourselves. Our hobbies, interests, passions. Many of those come with titles that we think helps aide our identity: If you like music you must be a musician. If you like video games you must be a gamer, if you like sports you are an athlete. If you like to give away your $ you are a philanthropist. (if you’re like me, you thought philanthropy was an ingredient to salsa not a wealth management lifestyle). Our hobbies, interests, and passions may have a part in our identity, but solely, they should not and do not define us.

So we have a problem. We’re back to that question. Who am I? What is it that defines you and me? That’s what we’re looking at today. We’re wresting with issues of identity.

Let’s jump back into Peter’s story as he will help us discover some of these answers today. Let’s look at Matthew Chapter 17. This is an incredible story where Peter, James, and John witness something truly extraordinary.

Matthew 17:1–9 NIV

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

The Transfiguration

This is called the transfiguration of Jesus. Peter was one of the first to see Jesus in his authentic Identity.

This is such an incredible opportunity. These men get to see Jesus in his real appearance. It’s not that Jesus changed into something he wasn’t before. It’s more like Jesus’ identity is no longer concealed from them.That on the mountain side, is the real Jesus. The Jesus who glows a glorious white because he is in the presence of God. This story should remind us of when Moses came down from the Mt. Sinai with the 10 Commandments his face with radiant with the glory of God.

This is literally a mountain-top experience that Peter will remember for the rest of his life. He actually mentions in it in 1 Peter 5 that he writes years later. It’s a huge defining moment for him. Not only were Peter, James, and John the first to see Jesus in his authentic identity they are also among the last that saw or will see him like this until Jesus comes again on Judgement day. WOW. Extraordinary. Here Jesus is displayed as God’s son! He’s fully clothed in God’s majesty and light. In this moment, there is no denying who Jesus is. He is clearly the powerful, son of God whom God sent to do his work. So how does Peter get here? Last week we started by looking at Peter on Pentecost boldly preaching, then we re-wound to look at Peter taking his first steps following Jesus. This week we just looked at this incredible moment of clearly seeing the true Jesus, but now let’s back up a bit and see how this happened.

Let’s back up in the story to about a week earlier.

Back in Matthew 16 starting around verse 13. This is pretty far into the life/ministry of Jesus. Peter and the other disciples had been with Jesus for at least 2 years . Jesus had performed so many miracles. Healings, exorcisms, feeding. Peter and the disciples have heard Jesus preach to the thousands and tell parables to the few. Jesus has also had plenty of run-ins with the Jewish religious authorities. He had caused quite the discussion among the Jews. There was lots of speculation as to who this mysterious Jesus was and what he was up to. Best guesses ranged from he was a religious teacher all the way to he was a radical nationalist who was going to lead a military rebellion and overthrow the Roman empire (even though Jesus spoke a message of peace). People were confused about Jesus. They wanted him to be what THEY thought they needed to be. Jesus is very aware of this and so starts a simple, yet profound conversation with his disciples about this. He asks them this: Who do they say that I am?

Let’s read the story in Matthew 16.

Matthew 16:13–14 NIV

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Who do they say that I am?

Now to be clear, Jesus knows who he is very clearly. So he’s asking this to gauge the understanding of the crowds that follow him and to gauge the understanding of his disciples. The crowds have a very diverse view of Jesus. It looks like the further away from Jesus you are, the fuzzier the image of him you have. So the people who only observe Jesus from a distance or only hear sound-bites from Jesus they have a fuzzy image of Jesus. They seem to recognize that Jesus is important, wise, influential, and maybe even sent from God. But they still have a fuzzy image of who Jesus is.

Is it possible that we, too, have a fuzzy image of who Jesus is? Our culture definitely doesn’t know who Jesus is. They throw his name around as a punch line to a joke. Our culture definitely only sees a fuzzy image of Jesus. Politicians recognize the political importance of Christianity where they often quote from the Bible, but they struggle to live like Jesus. When pressed they often will list Jesus among a list of other wise teachers and religious leaders. That is not a clear picture of Jesus. Ya’ll, I even believe you can grow up coming to church every time the doors are open and still only see a fuzzy image of who Jesus is. Is that possible? I think so. If Jesus only gives you wisdom to help you live your life, I think your view of Jesus is a little fuzzy.

We’ll come back to us in a minute. Let’s get back to Peter. Peter was one of the first to see Jesus in his authentic identity. Even before the glory revealed in the transfiguration, Peter figured out the truth about Jesus. Let’s continue reading in Matthew 16.

Matthew 16:15–17 CSB

“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.

Who do YOU say that I am?

Who do YOU say that I am? This is getting to the real issue. Jesus wants everyone to know who he is, but I feel he asked the question of “who do THEY” say I am to setup this potentially awkward question. Jesus makes it personal, he asks these men who have followed him closely, and intimately for the past two or so years. Who do YOU say that I am? This is the moment of truth. Do they get it? Peter, who so often was the spokesperson for the disciples speaks up and becomes one of the first to see Jesus in his authentic identity! Even before the transfiguration, Peter sees who Jesus is. He may not yet see the white-shining glory of Jesus as we will a week later on the mountain top. But He sees who Jesus is. Peter responds to Jesus’ Question: “You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.”

Jesus - The Messiah and Son of God

[nailed it! Good job Peter good job! v17 didn’t listen to people to discover identity

Gold Star - Peter you nailed it! Jesus is the Son of God. The Messiah, the one the prophets long ago talked about, the one God was sending to come and save the world. That is who Jesus is! So, Jesus is more than just a teacher, more than a prophet. He’s a KING! He is our LORD. That means he should be the boss, not us. Not only that, but he is GOD. I think all those words I just said have kinda lost their weight with us church folks. These are heavy, meaningful words.

I want us to experience the full weight of this encounter. This is Peter, remember how earlier in Peter’s life when Jesus performed the miracle that led to Peter and his fellow fishermen to catch a boat-full of fish? Do you remember how Peter dropped to his knees and confessed to Jesus that he was a sinner? Now he is standing face-to-face with the most powerful being in the universe. Imagine being Peter right now. He, who knows how much a sinner he is, looks God in the eyes and speaks that he knows that Jesus is God’s son.

In this INCREDIBLY powerful moment, I think there are two things going on in Peter’s mind. 1) Compared to Jesus, Peter is NOTHING. This is CREATURE staring into the eyes of the CREATOR. I’m sure Peter here is reminded of his own vulnerability, his own weakness, his own sinfulness, his own need for mercy for living in disobedience from his God. So Peter probably is feeling kinda small. 2) He is wondering, “what kind of God is this who still wants to be with me?”I think he sees Jesus in this authentic identity, a God of LOVE who YEARNS to have relationship with his creation. Peter gets it. He became one of the first to see Jesus in his Authentic Identity.

Like I said before, I think our identity is closely related to how we see Jesus. Next, in Matthew 16, Jesus turns the conversation talk back on Peter’s identity. Let’s talk about Peter ,The Lord called this man the Rock. The gates of Heaven are his to unlock.

Matthew 16:18–19 NIV

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Petros (Peter) a Petra (Rock)

Here is this moment after Peter looks Jesus in the eye and tells him you are God. If any of us were Jesus this would be a very conceited moment, we would be striking a powerful pose, gloating in our glory. “Tell me I’m God, one more time.” This would be a power moment for us. Jesus could have looked back at Peter and demand the Peter kneel and beg for mercy before his God. Thankfully, that’s not what Jesus does. God in the flesh, right after Peter tells jesus who he is, that Jesus is God, Jesus turns around and with love, tells Simon Peter who he really is.

[Who is Peter?]Jesus calls him Peter. It’s not like he just accidentally called him the wrong name and it stuck. This is Jesus using this new name to signify how God will use him. This is a conversation about identity. He calls him Petros which is the greek name for Peter. Next Jesus says that he is a petra a rock. So Petros is a Petra. It’s a play-on-words. But it’s been revealed to Simon Peter that he will have a significant role in building Jesus’ Kingdom. Rocks are used as building materials, as the foundational elements of a structure.

So Peter is named a Rock. The Man the Lord called the Rock the Gates of Heaven are his to unlock. While this is huge, I think it’s important for us to remember that Peter is A rock, not THE rock. We should not forget, this is still the middle-class fishin’ man. Peter is NOT God. Jesus is not saying, Peter I’m going to place the entire burden of the church on your back or that the entire integrity of the church depends on you, Peter. There’s a lot of discussion and confusion about what Jesus means here. I don’t know that I have the “right” answer for you. But check this out.

There is someone else who is called a rock, this rock is way more important than Peter. That rock is Jesus. Think of all the songs we sing about Jesus being the rock. (Rock of ages, build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ alone cornerstone, on Christ the solid rock I stand, Jesus you’re my firm foundation). Those songs are about Jesus not Peter. Jesus is the chief cornerstone. Jesus is the anchor that holds the church together. That image of Jesus being THE rock is all over the New Testament in the gospels, in Acts, in Paul’s writings, and in Peter’s own writings. Later when Peter is writing his letter’s we know as 1/2 Peter, he even knows that he is not THE rock, Jesus is!

So when Jesus calls Peter the Rock he will build the church on, I don’t think it’s a message of how important Simon Peter is. I think it’s a message of how much Peter is starting to resemble Jesus, THE ROCK. This is a validation of Peter’s discipleship of his becoming more like Christ. I don’t know if Peter got that initially, but that’s what I think he is doing here.

Let’s take a minute and recap some things so we can talk about what we’re learning.

Earlier in this passage: Jesus asked his disciples who the crowds thought Jesus was. As the various answers came in: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, a prophet, etc. It became clear that while the crowds knew he was special they didn’t know who Jesus was. We said the Further you are from Jesus, the fuzzier your image of him will be. On the opposite side we learn this from Peter and the disciples:

The closer You are to Jesus the more clearly you see him

The closer you are to Jesus, the clearer your image of him will be. Talking about how we see Jesus, I think we’re talking about two things; Proximity - how close you are to something and Frequency - how often you do something.

Like I’ve said, you may come to church every time the doors are open and you may even read your bible every day, but that doesn’t guarantee that you have a clear picture of who Jesus is. You may know all there is to know about the Bible, Christianity, and Jesus. But if you don’t let Jesus close to your real life, “close to home” where Jesus gets to speak into your life, Call you out for sins, lead you to serve others---if he’s not close to who you are Monday-Saturday you may not be viewing Jesus as clearly as you could be.

Bob Goff, a Christian author/speaker, just a guy (even though he’s the American Consul of Uganda and a successful lawyer) speaks about “Stalking Jesus”. He talks about how far too many Christians have gotten into the habit of accumulating facts, details about Jesus and his life where we can recite from memory the names of his disciples, or we can list the miracles he performed, but when you think of how real relationships work, it’s not about memorizing facts, it’s about knowing a person. He says that if we do to people what we do with Jesus we’d be stalkers, not truly in a relationship with them. That means we need to STOP stalking Jesus and bring Jesus closer into our lives.

Here are SOME ideas on what that means: Pray to God in the midst of your struggles, turn to his word first for advice, call someone from your church family who can support you, love you, and nurture you. Your life might be going really well right now—minimal conflict, but that does NOT mean Jesus is close to your life. Another way you can apply this is by bringing your faith with you throughout the week. Don’t just think about God on church days. Try to get into the habit of making your first thoughts in the morning about God. Track the time you spend in the week. How much of your time are you giving to your faith? Maybe it’s no surprise that we only have a fuzzy view of Jesus when we’re only with him 1 hour a week. I don’t say that be critical of anyone. I still struggle with this. Some days, I feel like I have to squint to see Jesus. I just know it’s best for all of us, if we strive to see Jesus more often and closer to where our real-lives take place.

The more we learn about Jesus, the more he teaches us about ourselves

Peter followed Jesus, he observed him. He learned from his teaching. At some point, Peter realized that Jesus was God. He was one of the first to see Jesus in his authentic Identity. Once he was confronted with that truth, Peter had to change the way he lived. Like Peter standing next to Jesus, we are just sinners compared to Jesus. The fact that Jesus still stands next to Peter proves that Jesus loves him. The same is true for us. Jesus loves you. that is what we need to know about our identity. You are God’s creation. [You are loved by God. God is the one who gets to give you your identity. In the beginning of Revelation in the letter to the church in Pergamum it describes believers getting a new name that only God knows. Guess what that name is written on? A white, rock. a stone. Here’s your second blank to summarize more of this:]

Here’s the next truth I want to share with ya’ll. We see this in Peter and in our own lives today.

As you pursue knowing Christ more, WHO HE IS will transform WHO YOU ARE BECOMING.

As you pursue knowing Christ more, WHO HE IS will transform WHO YOU ARE BECOMING. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you start to look like him.

That is what we see in the life of Peter. That is what we can see in our lives. This week decide to get closer to Jesus. Wake up earlier, to journal/pray, stay up late reading God’s word, Ask a friend to study the Bible together and then let that accountability help you get into the word throughout the week.

There is a battle going on all around your for your IDENTITY. Everyone wants to tell you who you are. I believe for us to truly understand who we are we need to strive to know who God is first. Along the way of learning who God is, we will discover ourselves.

We still have plenty to learn from Peter these next few weeks:

How does a middle class fishin' man

End up in the middle of God's mission plan?

He's a back water who walked on water.

One of the first to see Jesus in his authentic identity.

The Lord called this man the Rock.

The gates of Heaven are his to unlock.

He's a truth denier turned Spirit-filled testifier.

After the resurrection God gave him a new direction.

God used this ordinary to do something extraordinary.

He didn't become the man he was in a day.

So we need to look and see how he got this way.

This week: change one thing in your life to bring you closer to Jesus so you can see him more clearly. As you pursue knowing Christ more, who Christ IS will transform who YOU are becoming.