The Question We Must All Answer

The Question We All Must Answer … What will we do with Christ.

The

C.S. Lewis in his book “Mere Christianity” made a the Statement about Jesus...

“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)

Who is Jesus? Was he just a man or more? How much more?

The greater the more accountability to that individual.

Just a teacher, a voice of many?

A person, so many Chesters go to hear about twice a year?

I believe Jesus was always asking questions of his disciples. You learn a lot about what someone thinks when you ask them questions don’t you?

The whole book of Matthew had that purpose in mind to reaveal Jesus as the long awaited Messiah listen “The book of generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

The audience is Jewish in scope.

Matthew means “Gift from God”

He was a tax collector getting the name Levi and was one of Jesus merry men

The book of Matthew is a bridge to tie the Old to the New Testament.

There are at least 129 Old Testament quotations and allusions in Matthew’s Gospel.

The word Kingdom is found over 50 times

The book of Matthew is similar in it’s mode of teaching having five block’s of progressive teaching.

Chapters 1-2: begins with his origins

Chapter 3-4:11: deal with his growing and preparation for public ministry.

Chapters 4:12-7:29 … The Proclamation of the Kingdom

Chapters 8:1-10:42 … The Power and Mission of the Kingdom

Chapters 11:1-13:22 ... Questioning of and Opposition to the Kingdom

Chapters 13:53- 18:35 … Opposition to and Confession of Jesus

Chapters 19:1-25:46 … Jerusalem Receives and Rejects Her King

Chapters 26:1-28:20 … The King Is Tried, Crucified, and Raised.

The King presents Himself in Chapters 1-10

The King is resisted by the religious leaders in Chapters 11-13

The King withdraws from public to private preparation in Chapters 14-20

The King is rejected and crucified in Chapters 21-27

The King rose, commissioned his disciples. Chapters 28

Who do you say Jesus is?

Let’s keep it real simple.

The Question

First Question? General

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

Recall there would have been a lot of talk after the previous miracle that was displayed … The feeding of the 5,000.

They (His disciple begin to offer answers) disciples a group of followers and

learners of Jesus teaching.

First Answer? General

John the Baptist already answer being put out their by

others.

Elijah in response to great and terrible day of the Lord

Jeremiah who would reappear and fulfill the prophecy of

They assumed that explained .

One of the Prophets maybe one that Moses spoke of in

Application: Remember that man in and of himself cannot understand

spiritual truth unless he be illuminated or enlightened. Can the world

learn this apart from the knowledge of God? The World is blind to the

thing of God to which Satan has blinded them. Which came first the

chicken or the egg? Do we or Does God?

Second Question? Personal

“But whom say ye that I am?”

Very personal question okay, okay, but what do you say?

Faith cannot be lived out through other people. We cannot share another

persons salvation.

Second Answer? Public

“Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God.”

The Word Christ means MESSIAH title for anointed one.

A prophetic statement made about the coming deliver.

A coronation of who Jesus is

Jesus hold the office of prophet, priest and king all three would be

anointed. Jesus was anointed by the Spirit for all three

In a human sense He is the Son of David, Messiah, The Christ

In divine nature he is the Son of the living God.

The phrase Son of the Living God.

Peter spoke for the group … Verbal recognition of who Jesus really was.

Do you recognize Jesus? He doesn’t need your validation or

recommendation. Jesus is the Son of God regardless of what you or I

think.

Do you respect Jesus? by the way you live … how you honor him.

practical … How can you and I honor Christ.

If Jesus was living here in Baltimore. How would you honor him.

What are some things you honor? grades, girls, boys, sports, what gets

your time and energy … does Christ? Not what we see. Church,

loving people.

Things on the inside. Thoughts, love

Jesus grades the answer!

You are Blessed means happy, fortunate makarios.

This was a divine revelation.

You didn’t get this from others on earth.

To God revealed means to make public out in the open

Incredible heavenly knowledge from God.

Benefits: Peter you are a chip of the old block.

Jesus is the Rock on which the church shall be built.

Hell won’t prevail over it.

Peter will represent to the Jews … and Gentiles Cornelius house.

Power because of Christ.

To go forward you must have the power of Christ.

Who do you say that Jesus is?