Who Do You Say I Am? - Matthew 16:13-20

Teachers look for it. Parents wait for it. Pastors pray for it. What is it? It is that moment of recognition; a time when the “light goes on” and understanding is found.

Have you ever had one of those times when you meet someone in a store and they start talking to you as if you are old friends but you have no idea who they are? As you are listening to them you are searching for clues that will unlock the mystery and help you remember who the person is. If and when you remember the whole nature of the conversation changes, doesn’t it? You are more animated, engaged, and the laughter is more genuine. You ask intelligent questions and nod with real understanding.

This is what happens in our text from Matthew 16:13-20. Surely, Jesus prayed for His disciples to understand who He was. He yearned for them to understand that He was more than a great preacher or even a prophet. In this text, Peter seems to finally understand. It is possible that Peter may have been voicing what the disciples as a group were thinking.

This passage is also controversial. What Jesus said to Peter in response to his insight has led to all kinds of debate. We will try to understand what Jesus was saying as we study this morning. Let’s get to the text,

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Caesarea Philippi was a Roman city that was formed by Philip, one of the brothers of King Herod. It was a Gentile city north of the Sea of Galilee. It is interesting that Jesus picked this city, which was home to many different “gods” as the place to ask his disciples about what made Jesus distinct.

The Question

The question Jesus asked is one of the most significant questions we can ask: “Who do we say Jesus is?” The answer to this question helps us to see whether a person understands or does not understand the Bible.

Obviously, the disciples had a good sense of what the crowd said about Jesus. The disciples reported, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah and still others say Jeremiah.” These seem like odd answers. Jesus and John were contemporaries. John was just six months older than Jesus! Elijah and Jeremiah had been dead for centuries! The only way to make sense of this is to do some detective work.

As for Jesus being Elijah, the last verses of the Old Testament predicted the coming of Elijah who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Some people thought this is who Jesus was. (Jesus said this was John the Baptist.)

The idea of Jesus being John seems bizarre. However, remember where this conversation is taking place: in Gentile territory. It is possible that the Gentiles had heard of John but didn’t know much about him. They might not have even have known he died (they didn’t have 24 hour news channels). Some of them may have simply wondered if this was that “John the Baptist guy” they had heard about.

The idea of Jesus being Jeremiah (which is not in the other gospels) is a little more difficult. Some Jews believed (based on the book in the Apocrypha called 2 Maccabees) that Jeremiah had hidden the Ark and the table of incense from the Temple in a cave before the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. It was a cave no one could enter except Jeremiah. They believed Jeremiah was going to return to open the cave and begin rebuilding the Temple. Once again, some people thought this might be who Jesus was.

The thing to note is each of these descriptions showed that the people knew Jesus was different, a special servant of God. They all see Jesus in the line of the greatest prophets in the history of Israel. However, it was not enough.

Lots of people today have various viewpoints about Jesus. Most of those are very positive. They believe he is a great teacher, a prophet, a revolutionary, and even a man of God. In each case there is great affection for Jesus. However, none of these views goes far enough.

The Disciple’s Answer

Jesus turned the informational question into a personal question: Who do YOU say that I am? The response is the moment of insight Jesus had been waiting for

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Simon was sharing his personal opinion, but the disciples surely talked about this question many times. I don’t know how you could witness and hear the things these disciples experienced and not wonder: “Who is this guy?” Peter may not have been alone in his conclusion.

What Peter says is significant because he is applauded by Jesus. First, Peter said Jesus was the Messiah (the Greek word for Messiah is “Christ” – they mean the same thing.) Peter recognized that Jesus was the promised and anointed one of God. He was the One for whom all Israel had been waiting. He was the One to fulfill the promises of God. He was the One, they believed, who would make Israel great again.

What Peter says next is quite insightful if not shocking! He identified Jesus as the Son of God. In other words, he recognized the “god-ness” of Jesus. Most Jews would have considered this statement to be blasphemy. The idea of calling a human being God was an act worthy of death! When Thomas saw Jesus after the Resurrection and declared, “My Lord, and my God” it was an equally spectacular claim. These would not have been words these men said lightly!

By saying Jesus is God they acknowledged His kingship. They recognized that He was more than just another man. He was God Himself who had come to save them. Until a person recognizes Jesus as God become man, they have not yet understood who He is.

Have you ever seen one of those 3d Stereograms? They are pictures that are hidden within what seems to be a bunch of dots and colors. To see the picture, you must stare at the picture and un-focus your eyes. Then something amazing happens! These seemingly random shapes and colors turn into a 3D image!

This is what it is like to finally understand who Jesus is. We can look at him, appreciate him, and like him, but until we have seen Him in all His richness, we really haven’t seen him at all! And once you do see Him . . . it changes everything.

The Response of Jesus

What Jesus said to Peter has been the source of a great deal of debate.

17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus said Peter could not have understood these truths without the work of God’s Spirit in a sense, “opening the eyes of his soul.” The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the gospel. In theology, this is called regeneration. It is the “Aha” moment that leads to salvation.

Jesus gives Simon a new name, Peter (which means Rock). Then Jesus said “upon this rock I will build my church, and the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven . . . “

The question is: what “rock” is the church going to be built on?

Peter himself

The truth that Peter just expressed

Or was Jesus referring to Himself

Catholicism uses these words as the Biblical foundation for the office of Pope. They say the Apostles were the leaders and foundation of the church. In this text (they believe) Peter is given the preeminent place of authority in the church. Tradition says Peter became the bishop of Rome. Therefore, the bishop of Rome holds the highest position which came to be known as Pope. In Vatican I his powers were greatly increased.

The thing that troubled the Reformers and many others over the course of time is that this significant position is established and rooted in a rather questionable verse. Peter was certainly a leader in the church. But there is no sense in which he was infallible (as the Pope is believed to be when he speaks on “matters of faith and morals” to the whole church). There is no indication Peter was superior to any of the other disciples.

In Galatians 2 Paul rebuked Peter. In just a few more verses Jesus rebukes Peter. He was not called the rock at that point . . . he was a stumbling block! Peter was a prominent figure at the beginning of the book of Acts but then took second place to Paul. There is nothing here that indicates Peter’s role in the church was superior to anyone else. And there is nothing in scripture about his position being something handed down to others over the course of time.

I think the best way to understand the words, is Jesus saying to Peter: the truth you just uttered (about Christ) is the foundation of the new community of faith followers I am going to build through you (all of you).

Jesus said he was giving him the “keys to the Kingdom”. Does this mean that Peter (as Pope) is now able to render binding judgment on the rest of the church (as Catholicism believes)? Or does this refer to Peter’s role as the one who would unlock the door of salvation for the Gentiles? Peter had the vision in Acts 10 that led him to go to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, and declare Him to be a genuine part of Christ’s Church. It was Peter in Acts 15 that argued that the Gentiles were just as much believers as Jews and nothing more was required of the Gentiles other than faith in Christ.

I like the idea of Peter unlocking the door of salvation to the Gentiles. However, I think the strongest understanding is that Jesus is referring to the fact that through the writing of the disciples (in the Bible) they would establish (by the leading of God’s Spirit) what was true and false, what was approved and unapproved, what is the policy of the church. Jesus did build the church on and through the disciples who rested on the foundation that is Christ. Jesus said this church He would build would stand forever. It would not be overcome by Satan.

Conclusions

I hope your head is not spinning from the debate about these verses. Let’s put the truth of these words into some principles which are necessary to understand.

Jesus is God who has come to rescue us. The same truth that our Lord longed for the disciples to understand is the truth that He wants us to know as well. Jesus is unlike any historical figure we honor. He is greater than any person we have ever known. He is the Lord Himself who has come to rescue us. No matter where you are in the Sea of Life He has come to save you and lead you home.

If we see Jesus as merely a man, even a great man, we will never truly trust Him for salvation or to lead our lives. We must understand that He ALONE can save us. He ALONE has the right to rule our lives. Until we come to that realization we will always hold back. We will hesitate to trust Him. Just as a person drowning needs to relax and let the lifeguard bring them to safety, so we must relax and let the Lord do in us what only He can do.

So, the question that needs to be asked is this one: Who do YOU say that He is? It is not enough to say the words of Peter (You are the Messiah, the Son of God). You must understand what those words mean and accept the implications that come with them. If Jesus is who He said He is, then

We need to come to Him for forgiveness

We should listen to Him and adjust our lives accordingly

We should trust Him as we walk through life.

If you have never done so, I encourage you to turn to Jesus today. Stop fighting and running away and instead come to the One who promises to make you into a new person with a new life, purpose, and destiny.

This truth is the basis for salvation so this is where we must keep the focus when talking to others. Jesus is the key to our salvation. In other words, rather than point people to programs, to the church, to individuals, to authors, to changes that need to be made in behavior or anything else . . . we must keep the spotlight on Christ and what He has done for us. People will try to change the subject to argue about lesser things but the focus must remain on Jesus!

We are prone to try to demonstrate how knowledgeable we are. We want others to see that they should be like us (because after all, we are fantastic). We want to promote our church, our class and our group. But none of this is truly helpful to anyone. It is our job to get off the stage so all the attention can focus on Christ. He alone changes lives and we need to remember that.

The church is God’s agent for reaching the world. The church has its problems. It certainly has its critics. There are some “churches” that are personality cults, churches that teach some pretty wild stuff, and churches who are merely entertainment centers. However, the Church is still how God plans to reach the world.

When Jesus talked about the Church He was not talking about a building, an organization, and especially not a denomination. He was referring to the church as the people of God. The Church transcends nations, races, genders and generations.

Paul said we are his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5) as if God were making His appeal through us. Because of that Paul said,

We live to please Him whether in the body or away from it (9)

We work hard to persuade others (11)

We are controlled by Christ’s love (14)

We stop evaluating people from a human point of view (16)

If Christians lived more as “the church” and less as territorial bodies who are trying to build their own personal kingdoms we would more faithfully serve the Lord.

However, having said all this, one of the best ways to serve and honor the Lord is in a local church. This is where we work hard, help each other, and look to serve Christ in tangible ways as we set out to accurately teach the truth of God.

People who feel they don’t need the church, who say that we have become too focused on denominations . . . are just forming another church . . . the church of me! When we absent ourselves from the body of Christ we lose a measure of accountability and our theology will begin to drift, our disciplines will weaken, and we will lack the support that comes from a local body of Christ.

There is a balance. Christians who pull out of churches will drift. Christians who become too devoted to “their” particular church body will also drift. We are one church who gathers in different places. And we forget this to the harm of the gospel of Christ.

No matter how much the world attacks the church, it will not be defeated. Jesus told Peter that the church would withstand whatever comes against it and in the end God’s people will be victorious. The very gates of Hell cannot hold us back! The reason for this is that God is in our midst! The Holy Spirit resides in each one of us. As John reminded us, “Greater is He who is in us, that he that is in the world”

There are certainly times when we feel like we are losing. There are times, when like Elijah, we feel like we are “the only one left”. But we are not. God’s people exist around the globe and even though persecution at times has been severe the church has remained strong. And so it shall always be.

Rather than be intimidated by the threats of men we must remember that we stand in the power of God. This shouldn’t make us obnoxious . . . it should make us humble, confident, and determined. We hold on, because we know that our Lord and Savior is holding on to us.