Who do you say that I am?

Introductory Remarks

Good Morning again! As I have already mentioned, my name is Austin Thomas, and I am the Director of Student Ministry here at Marietta Community Church. I have been on staff for over a year now and have had the privilege to see two of our classes graduate.

I just want to say before I dive full in this morning that my message is geared toward our seniors graduating as they prepare to head off to college, but even so, while preparing today’s message I realized the eternal weight and importance of this message for myself and how even I needed to be reminded to answer the question laid before me.

Opening Story

You see, I myself did not come into a saving faith until I was a senior in high school. Through a series of events that took place in my life, The Lord brought me to himself.

And as I reflected back on that time, I reflected on the first time in my life I had ever been asked if I accepted Jesus and had come to know him.

What is strange to me is that as I reflected on that moment, I realize that there is not a single detail that I cannot remember. I recall that day as if it had happened yesterday.

And I think it stands out to me so much because as someone who was raised in the church, who had gone to church pretty much all my life, at least off and on, maybe just Christmas and Easter some years, I thought that I was a Christian and that I has already accepted Christ.

But that moment stands out so stark in my mind because in all my life of attending church, I had never, not once, considered what it meant to accept Jesus. What it meant to say yes to him. Not just because I had been in the church, but because I had said yes to him.

And so, that Wednesday evening in March, not even two weeks since my parents separated in their marriage, I found myself in church, and attending a youth group for the first time because family friends invited us to be a part of their lives.

And after youth groups that Wednesday evening, I walked down the stairs into the lobby where I, along with the friends son who was also my age, was to meet up with my mom and his mom, along with our sisters.

And once we had met up with them, his mom looked my straight in the eye beaming with joy that I couldn’t quite understand. And as she stared at me she asked me, “did you accept Jesus tonight?”

If I’m honest I was so caught off guard by the question that I kind of just stared blank back at her. Finally I just kind of shrugged it off and said “yeah, I think so.” At which point she got so excited she hugged me.

But I tell this story, because what is even more vivid is not the moment she asked the question, but the moments following. As we walked out the church and went our separate ways, as my mom and sister and I loaded into the car, I paused, looked at my mom, and asked her, “What did Mrs. Kim mean by “did I accept Jesus?” I thought that I already had him?” To which my mom responded that she was just excited that you were at church.

But I can tell you now, that that question she asked was so much more than that. I believe, without a shadow of a doubt, it was a prompting of the Holy Spirit for a boy who was so lost and confused and truly did not know what it meant to say yes to the move of Jesus in his life.

There are several memories that I have on instant recall about how I became a Christian. About how I came into faith. How I started to follow Jesus. How I gave my life to ministry. But I do not think that any of them are as significant or as important as that single question Mrs. Kim asked me that night after my very first youth group.

Remember, that at this time I am a senior in high school, it’s second semester and I am preparing to graduate and head off to college. And for the first time, I realized the abundance of voices around me fighting for my heart.

Story regarding the first time I was asked if I had accepted/knew Jesus (Kim Smith, Trinity Chapel, after my first youth group)

More specifically, the number of voices around me trying to tell me what to believe, who Jesus is, and what that means for our life. But, there is one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt, that in the mix of all the voices, there is only one question we must answer, “Who do you say that he is?”

Scripture

If you have your Bibles with you this morning, please open them up to . Matthew is a gospel written by a Jewish Christian. Meaning he was a Jew that converted to the faith. More specifically, the is written by the apostle of Jesus, Matthew, who had been a tax-collector.

And as Matthew writes this gospel, his intention of the gospel is to get Jewish people to believe that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, the Royal King that has come down through the line of David.

And up to this point in the account of Matthew, Jesus has faced the Religious Authorities, that is the scribes, pharisees, and sadducees, no less than 10 times, and his first encounter with them isn’t until chapter 9. And these religious authorities are challenging Jesus because Jesus speaks as one with authority on matters, which means the religious elite are losing their power and their grip on the people.

And we all know what happens when people start to lose their grip on the authority that they have, they will do anything in order to keep it. Which is where we find ourselves in the scripture today. Let’s read Matthew 16:13-17

Matthew 16:13–17 ESV

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.

[Let’s Pray]

Who do others say that I am?

Jesus has spent his entire ministry up to this point teaching the masses and his disciples about the Kingdom of God. Through parables, sign, wonders, and miracles, Jesus was revealing that the Kingdom of Heaven had come, and that the people needed to turn and repent.

But he has yet to be specific about who he is and the authority that he carries. Yes he has mentioned that he is the Son of Man, He has referred to his death and resurrection, and he has called God Father. But now the focus is changing as Jesus comes to Caesarea Philippi.

The first thing that Jesus asks his disciples is the question: “ Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Who is Jesus? What are people saying about him? What things are they calling him?

And his disciples respond with answers like: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, a prophet. These are all things they have been hearing as they walk through the crowds with Jesus. As they helped feed the five thousand. As they listened during the Sermon on the Mount.

It also things they have heard as the religious authorities questioned Jesus, questioned his disciples.

The truth is that not a lot has changed. There a lot of voices telling us who Jesus is, who God is. There are voices all around us that w have either heard or will hear.

in this scripture Jesus asks the disciples because he knows they will heard, and have heard

Jesus asks this question to his disciples and to all of his followers, even me and you, because he knows that hearing what other have to say about him will be unavoidable in our life.

he asks because he knows that it is unavoidable

Seniors, there will be no greater place in your life where you will hear a world of opinions about who Jesus is than in college. From the people you choose to surround your self with, to your peers in the classroom, and even your professors will have an opinion on Jesus.

Some people will say who he is because it is what is convenient, it is what is safe, it is what is comfortable. Some will speak because it is inciting, divisive, and controversial. And other will not even know what to think about Jesus.

and people will say who he is because it is what is convenient, it is what is safe, it is what is comfortable

You might hear that Jesus is a great moral teacher, that he was a prophet, that he was a lunatic, an upriser, a liar. Some may even try to tell you that he is made up, not a true historical figure. That the gospels were fabricated, even though all evidence points to the contrary.

But the question asked by Jesus 2000 years ago is still valid today, “Who do people say that he is?” We have to know what the other voices are. We need to know what they are saying about him. We have to be aware so as not to be lead astray.

is one such occasion:

Jesus inquires this question of his disciples because he knows what they are hearing. But the truth is that all the answers they give cannot be further from the truth.

we are living in a world today where the religion of the culture is humanism, secularism, and progressivism. If you do not bow down to these beliefs, than you are wrong

college professors will put you to the test. they will say who Jesus is. your classmates will tell you who Jesus is. your friend will try to tell you who Jesus is.

And the only conclusion that any of them will come too will not touch the truth of who he is.

Who do you say that I am?

Which leads us into Jesus’ next question: “Who do you say that I am?” Who do you say that I am?

I would argue that there is not a more important question in all of scripture than this question asked by Jesus: Who do YOU say that I am?

Jesus started by asked his disciples who other people are calling him. But now he shifts the conversation and asks them, but — oh that all important but. A simple conjunction, and yet in scripture, you want to pay special attention because they always indicate a contrast. Jesus is contrasting the answers of the masses, to the answer of the individual.

Who do YOU say that I am? Disciples, who am I? Followers, who am I? All who will listen, who has ears to hear, who am I?

Out of every question that I have ever been asked in my life, this is the one that has stood out the clearest in my mind. I opened by telling you the story about how this simple question, thought asked in slightly different words, has been with me 11 years later.

And though in the moment when I was asked the question, I could not fully answer it, I have not gone a day since asking that question of myself. Who do I say that Jesus is? Jesus, who do I say that you are?

When Jesus asked his disciples that question, Peter spoke up and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Lets GO! That’s it! That is the answer that Jesus was looking for: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah!”

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah!”

Can you hear the excitement in Jesus’ voice the moment that Peter responds to Jesus with “You are the Christ!” He even uses his full name! And not in the you just broke the expensive China and mom is calling for you to explain yourself use of your full name. The the one when you see someone you haven’t seen in a long while. A dear dear friend whom you see on the street and you use their full name to see if they will turn in your direction. Because that is what is happening hear. Simon Peter has turned in the direction of Jesus. He has recognized him in his fullness.

This is the first time in the New Testament that the title of Christ is ascribed to Jesus in a quotation. Meaning up to this point, the only time we read Christ is when the author has written it into the narrative, but nobody up to this point has said it out loud, “Jesus you are the Christ!”

I mentioned that the author of this gospel is Matthew, a Jewish-Christian, writing so that his readers might also be able to come to the same conclusion that Peter has come to—that Jesus is the Christ. The only the. The one they have been waiting for. The one that the prophets of old spoke of. The one who would come to deliver the people.

“Who do you say that I am?” That is the question! The only question that matters.

Jesus continues on in verse 17, “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

The truth about who Jesus is will only come from move and work of the Holy Spirit within the individual. The words of the gospel, as Paul remind us in “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believe.”

By the grace of God, we have been given this gospel. we have been give the scriptures. Which Paul says in is “the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.”

We do not need to look any further than right here [hold up bible] to receive the same revelation that Peter received to declare Jesus as the Christ.

Conclusion

So, “Who do you say that I am?” Church, “Who do you say that I am?” Seniors, “Who do you say that I am?” That is the question that Jesus is asking each and every one of us today. “Who do you say that I am?”

There are a lot of voices. A lot. And they will all tell you who He his. Whether it is the safe choice, the choice to control, to regain authority and power, or the right choice. There are many many voices.

Which one will you listen to today? And how will you respond. Not just right now. But tomorrow. A week from now. You first day in college. your last day in college. Will you respond then as you do now?

I once had the same question asked of me. And for lack of a better word, it has haunted me to this day. “Who do you say that I am?” That day, and this day, I will declare that you are the Christ, there can be no other name by which i must be saved.

Let’s Pray