Luke 9 18-24 2004
Pentecost 5 preached on Pentecost 7
Luke 9:18-24
July 18, 2004
“Who Do You Say That I Am”
Intro: There are many earthquakes each year. The United States Geological Society estimates that several million earthquakes occur in the world each year. There are about 50 earthquakes each day, or about 20,000 a year. According to long-term records (since about 1900), we can expect about 18 major earthquakes (7.0 - 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) in any given year. They occur throughout the world. Many of these earthquakes are accompanied by human suffering. This year close to 1400 people died in two separate earthquakes in February, one in Papua New Guinea and the other at the Strait of Gibraltar. In 2001 an earthquake in India killed over 20,000 people. In 1999 an earthquake in Turkey killed 17,000 people. These are terrible human tragedies. Besides the death, hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless and suffered. One thing stands out for people that survive these earthquakes. They have a question. They want to know why – why when two houses were next to each other – one was left standing and the other demolished. When standing, both houses looked the same, but not anymore. Though the houses looked the same, it is obvious that one house was built on a better foundation and with better materials. It is left standing while the poorly built house lies in ruins
People all over the world, living in earthquake zones are wondering how well built their homes are. Will they stand or will they fall when the next earthquake comes. And it will come.
In a spiritual sense, we are all living in an earthquake zone. In this zone the earth is continually shaking. Mans sin and rebellion towards God has resulted in our earth shaking separation from God, resulting in our own destruction. Our world shakes with the consequences of our sin -- disease and death. Our world shakes with fear and uncertainty. In the midst of the uncertainties of this world, we do not have to be uncertain whether our own spiritual house stands or falls. Our certainty is determined by how we answer one question. Jesus asks you – “Who do you say that I am?”
Who Do People Say That I Am?
What they said then.
There have always been many opinions about who Jesus was. In our Gospel lesson Jesus asked His disciples who the people thought that he was. Some thought that he was John the Baptist resurrected from the dead. This was not strange. The Old Testament scriptures taught and therefore the people believed in the resurrection of the dead. Other people wondered if He was Elijah, returning to earth from Heaven to herald the Messiahs coming as prophesied by Malachi. Jesus, like Elijah did many miracles. Some people thought that Jesus might be Jeremiah. In many ways Jesus was a suffering prophet and he too was met with contempt by the religious elite. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was rejected. Some people thought that He was just another prophet or political leader that would free them from Roman tyranny and usher in an age of national peace and prosperity for the Jewish people. Obviously they respected Jesus and gave Him a lot of distinction as a man of God. But they didn’t see Him as THE man of God.
What they say now.
In our day too, there are many opinions about Jesus. Some people say that He was a great teacher. They say that if people do what He said and live the way He lived, our world would be a better place, a peaceful place. Some people see Him as a spiritual man – one of many in the history of the world. These people compare Him to the Buddha, Confucius, the Dali Lama, all of which they say are great spiritual leaders. And all these leaders, they say, lead to Heaven in one way or another. Some people believe that Jesus merely showed us the way to Heaven. He was just a trail blazer. In the end it is still up to us to get their on our own by following His example. To some, Jesus was just a great man who influenced the world. Spiritual houses built on these beliefs will fall in the path of destruction.
What about us.
We see about us many churches with many differing opinions about who Jesus was and what we as Christians should do. Their are liturgical and non-liturgical churches. There are churches that stress the sacraments and those that don’t. Some are emotional and others are cold and intellectual. Some of them take the Bible literally. Some take it hardly at all. What is at the heart of the matter is Jesus question: “Who do you say that I am.” The answer to this question is the core of the Christian faith. What other people believe is not important. What you believe does. Your spiritual house will stand or fall according to how you answer. There is only one right answer. C.S. Lewis states it poignantly in his book Mere Christianity. He states, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He’d either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he’s a poached egg – or else He’s be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God; or else a mad-man or something worse.” The apostle Peter clearly states the right answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Who Was He Really?
The Christ
Jesus is the Christ, the son of man and the Son of God. Here Peter makes a bold confession. He steps out beyond the beliefs of his contemporaries. Jesus is not John the Baptist. He is not Elijah or another prophet. Jesus was not a political leader. Jesus was the Son of God. Peter says that Jesus is the Messiah or Christ. Still we can’t be sure how Peter understood Jesus to be the Messiah. Shortly after Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ Peter is chastised by Jesus because he rejects the idea of Jesus suffering and dying on a cross. Perhaps he and the others were looking for a Messiah that was to usher in a earthly reign of peace and prosperity. Perhaps they wanted a temporal peace – a peace here and now. They were not interested in a peace between people and God that is given by grace through the forgiveness of sins. They were not looking for a suffering Messiah. They did not want a Messiah that was weak or would die. Still Peter recognizes Jesus as the Son of the God. As the Son of God He came with a special purpose.
Our Savior
That special purpose was met at the cross. The cross is exactly where Jesus had to go and die. There He had to be weak, taking your weakness on Himself. He had to suffer, taking your suffering on Himself. He had to die your death and bear your separation from God. Then He had to rise from the dead and be glorified so that you to will rise from the dead and be glorified in the presence of your Heavenly Father forever.
Our Foundation
Jesus is our Savior and He is the foundation of our faith. Peter Confessed his faith. You confess your faith. On the rock of your confession Christ promises to build His Church – You. The Earth-quaking gates of Hell will not prevail against you. The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “…you are members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief corner stone. You are secure and indestructible, built on Christ and built by Christ.
The Father Reveals His Grace
Your Father in Heaven loves you so much. His grace abounds. Just as He revealed His Son to Peter He reveals Him to you. Blessed are you, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by your Father in Heaven. It has been revealed to you as you hear God’s Word. It has been revealed as you come to worship here. And it is revealed in the sacraments of communion, baptism. In humility we realize God’s grace as we remember the words in our catechism --“I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith.”
Conclusion: Imagine Peter, face to face with our Lord. Then comes the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Soon – it will be your turn. You too will stand face to face with Jesus. He will look you in the eye and ask you that same question. “Who do you say that I am?” By the grace of God and by His power may you speak boldly and with certainty – You are the Christ who takes away the sin of the world. On You the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking, shaking sand.
Amen.