Sermon on Matthew 16 – Who Do You Say Jesus Is



Sermon on Matthew 16 – Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’”

Over the years I’ve always enjoyed watching Jay Leno’s “Jaywalking” sketches where he asks simple questions of ordinary people on the streets. A while back he asked people about their knowledge of the Bible. Simple questions like, “how long did it take God to create the universe?” Answers varied from one day to eight days and eight nights. “Eve was created from __?” One woman said, “an apple?” “Fill in the blank, Cain and __.” “The Barbarian?” was one answer given. “What Bible character was swallowed by a whale?” or as we would say, “a great fish.” “Pinocchio?” was the reply.

I wonder how the average person would answer the question Jesus asks in our text for today. “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” I’m sure you would hear all sorts of good things about Jesus. Great Example! Great Guy! Great Prophet! Great Teacher! It’s safe to say people regard him highly, but unfortunately not all people regard him highly enough. How many people would go as far as saying that Jesus is the only way to heaven? Who Do You Say Jesus Is? May God grant us the faith that always confesses, I. He is our only Savior. II. His is the work we do.

Every once in a while you come across those television shows that begin with the disclaimer that the following program contains opinions that do not reflect or represent the views of the station. In today’s world many people hold views of Jesus that do not reflect or represent the views of God’s Word. Jesus’ disciples expressed some of the views that were present in Jesus’ day when they answered Jesus’ question by saying, “some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Many people saw Jesus as a great teacher, a great prophet, a miracle worker, an earthly and political Messiah who would free them from the yoke of Roman oppression and make them a great nation once more. Which is why Jesus’ question had to hit home when he asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” It was a question that highlighted the real issue in all this because a person’s beliefs about Jesus are eternally important. Peter was the first to confess that day, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Oh, Peter had come a long way from the first time he met Jesus on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. At the time he was a fisherman. He and his friends had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught a thing. The next morning Jesus told them to put out into deep water and let their nets down to which Peter replied, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything but because you say so, I will let down the nets.” You probably remember what happened next. They caught so many fish that the nets began to break and when Peter called his friends over to lend a hand, both boats began to sink. On that occasion Peter didn’t confess Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God, rather he confessed, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” But Jesus didn’t go away, rather he called these men to follow him saying, “from now on you will be fishers of men.” And so it was that ordinary fishermen who would become fishers of men, sharing the good news of Jesus the only way to heaven.

Are you comfortable with that statement? It’s easy to confess that truth within the friendly confines of Good Shepherd, but what about to the Hindu you work with? The Jewish grandmother across the street? The Muslim neighbor who lets your kids play on his swing set? The Jehovah’s Witness that knocks on your door? The unchurched relative who seems to be the life of the party at every family reunion? To the friend whose only comfort in losing a loved one is that he lived a pretty good life and hopefully God will be happy with that. Dear friends, these are some of the many opportunities God gives us to confess, “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God…that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him…that there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Like you and me, Peter wasn’t perfect at doing this either. In fact, in the verses following our text, Peter tried to prevent Jesus from going to the cross saying, “Never Lord…this shall never happen to you!” Jesus didn’t commend his good intentions, rather he said, “Get behind me, Satan!...you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” And some time after that, the cold chill of the night air and the warmth of a fire would find Peter calling curses down on himself that he never knew Jesus! “Ashamed of Jesus? Yes, I may when I’ve no guilt to wash away, no tear to wipe, no good to crave, no fear to quell, no soul to save. Till then – nor is my boasting vain – till then I boast a Savior slain; And oh, may this my glory be: That Christ is not ashamed of me.”

Not ashamed of me for the many times I’ve been ashamed of him. Ashamed to confess the truth that he is the only way to heaven. Ashamed to confront a sinner in their tracks and speak the truth in love. Ashamed of the times I haven’t let my light shine the way he would want me to. Ashamed of the things I’ve thought, said, and done over the years, just one of which makes me deserving of suffering the eternal shame of hell. Like Peter we know we could easily confess, “Lord, go away from me; I’m a sinful man.” And how terrifying it would be if he actually did, but he doesn’t, rather he says, “don’t be afraid…come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest…take heart, your sins are forgiven.” Fully and freely forgiven through my death and resurrection! Working through Word and Sacrament the Holy Spirit leads us to confess along with Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” and as Paul tells us in the book of Romans, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Many misinterpret these words to believe that Peter was the disciple on whom Jesus built his church, but in the Greek Jesus says, “You are Peter (petros) and on this rock (petra) I will build my church.” Petros is masculine and refers to a stone. Petra is feminine and refers to a rocky cliff much like the one on which the wise man built his house. Jesus wouldn’t build his church on Peter, the petros rock, rather he would build his church on the petra rock of Peter’s confession that “you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” All who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord are being built as living stones on the solid rock of Christ.

In our text Jesus gives believers a special ministry known as the ministry of the keys to be about his work. Luther’s Catechism tells us, “The use of the keys is that special power and right which Christ gave to his church on earth: to forgive the sins of penitent sinners but to refuse forgiveness to the impenitent as long as they do not repent.” Just like this key either locks or unlocks the door to my house so too Jesus gives you the keys that either lock or unlock the doors to heaven. The use of the keys boils down to sharing law and gospel. The law shows our sins and the punishment we deserve because of them. The gospel shows our Savior and the forgiveness and eternal life in heaven that is ours through Christ’s death and resurrection. There is no higher freedom than to be a forgiven sinner. There is no harsher prison than to be bound under guilt and the condemnation of hell. Which means that the use of the keys should not be taken lightly or neglected because the eternal welfare of souls is at stake. When believers use the keys, they aren’t acting on their own as it were, they’re acting by the command of Christ and with the authority of Christ.

Dear friends the gates of hell are wide open and accepting people in droves because the path to hell is wide and many people find it because there are many ways and religions in this world that will lead people down that path. The gates of heaven are also wide open, but as Jesus himself once said, the path is narrow and only a few people find it because there is only one way that will lead people up that path. The one and only way is Jesus and the true work of the true church is leading people to see that.

This weekend we take some time to give thanks to God for our principal Mr. Scott Schmudlach who has faithfully served as our principal for the past 15 years. Someone who continues to make Jesus the focus and priority of everything that goes on in our school with the hopes of leading little lambs to see Jesus as their only Savior. Someone who continues to pour his heart and soul into our school knowing the direct impact it has together with our church in carrying out our Savior’s Great Commission to, “Go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

We can’t begin to count the many blessings God has showered on Good Shepherd over the years, not to mention the impact our students have when they graduate from here and move on in life. God only knows where they’ll end up. They may never become as famous as Jay Leno, but as opportunities present themselves, they know the answer to the question, “who do you say Jesus is?” He is our only Savior. My life is all about serving him. May God grant us all the faith that continues to confess the same!

Amen.

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