(08-06-29) Who do You Say I Am - Matthew 16.13-20
“Who do you say I am?” – Matthew 16:13-20
· Reassuringly, there are many things that I love about Jesus!
· Jesus asking questions
o cutting right to the very heart of the issue…
o “Who do you say I am?”
§ ‘Who do you think you are?’
· Looking at two things – in reverse!
o Jesus’ response to Peter’s correct answer
o Peter’s answer itself, and our own embrace of that answer
· Four Peters at Petertide; Rocky I, II, III & IV!
o John and I considered changing our names to make it easier for the Archbishop; Jennie was less sure!
· Who or what is the Rock?
o Peter or the truth of his confession?
§ petra/PetroV (Greek); kēphā/kēphā (Aramaic)
§ may well be that both are true
· Spiderman
o sensible brown leather shoes…
o “With great power comes great responsibility”
· Peter was given great authority and responsibility as a result of having received this revelation from God (keys; binding/loosing)
o yet he shared this authority with the other apostles/disciples
§ in 16:19 the ‘you’ is singular whereas in 18:18 it is plural
o Peter’s own understanding?
§ living stones – 1 Peter 2:4-5(-12)
§ Christ as the cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6; 1 Cor 3:11)
· founder and foundation
o the rôle of the ‘Church’ which is built upon the rock…
§ worship (“offering spiritual sacrifices” v5)
§ evangelism (“declaring praises” v9)
§ justice (“living good lives” vv11-12)
o in that building, every confessor finds a place
· Brings us back to the confession itself – “Who do you say I am?”
o “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
· Who is Jesus…
o to me, to you, to us?
· People often known by what they do and/or who they are
o job – ‘the chemist’
o achievements – scored the winning try/goal/run
o relationships – Bob’s wife (Andy’s son-in-law!)
· Knowing who He was, what He did and who He is
o “The Christ, the son of the living God”
§ anointed as King and/or priest
§ divine – ‘of God’
· Son of the Father
· Trinitarian theology
§ Philippians 2
o “Became obedient to death, even death on a cross”
§ no time / always time to talk about the cross…
§ the failure of humankind to worship God
· sin
§ worshipping in perfection
· destroying the power of sin
· freeing us to worship in purity and holiness
o The Risen Christ
§ sender of the Spirit
§ present in our midst
§ enthroned in glory
· worshipped
· shared
· followed
· Our rôle?
o seeing Him for who He is
o helping others to see Him for who He is
o following Him with our eyes fixed on Him