The Most-Important Question You Face

Jesus saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? (St. Matthew 16:15)

 

 

          Recently some friends and I were having a discussion about salsa. As some of you know, I fancy myself a connoisseur of salsas, and while I think my basic recipe (given to me by my friend Manuel) is the best, I’m open to debate.

          That’s the fun of salsas: some of the best salsas have beans; other great ones have no beans at all; still others have lime juice; while others are sweet, not biting. When it comes to making salsas, “precision” is a foreign term. There really is no wrong answer!

 

          Not so with the searching, most-important question Jesus poses to you this First Sunday after Christmas: Who do you say that I am?

          This is the question he posed to his disciples at what marked a developmental point in the progress of his ministry. As we’ll see from our study of St. Matthew 16:13-19, Jesus expects a precise and correct answer from you to the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Your eternal blessedness and joy in fact depend on your answering this question with biblical detail.

          We’ll see this morning, first, that true confession of Christ is not the same as flattering Christ. Second, true confession of Christ is a supernatural gift from God, not the product of human effort. Third, true confession of Christ is the very foundation of the church.

          True confession of Christ – with biblical precision – isn’t popular within churchianity today. But as Jesus makes clear, your life, and the life of the church, depend on a correct confession of who exactly Jesus is.

 

          First, today’s text teaches us that true confession of Christ is not the same as flattery of Christ. The difference between the two actually is the difference between Heaven and Hell.

          In the preceding passage, Jesus had been instructing his disciples to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, but they were confused about his meaning. They thought he spoke of literal bread; he of course was speaking of the Pharisees’ and Sadducees’ corrupt and deadly doctrinal errors. The background to this question, then, was one of misunderstanding. But Jesus didn’t want his closest followers to be confused about his person and work, so he bluntly asked what folks were saying about him.

          Note all the compliments the populace had been paying Jesus. Some said he was John the Baptist – perhaps returned from the grave. Others asserted he was Elijah, perhaps harking back to an ancient prophecy from the Lord that He would send Elijah in the latter days. Still others said he was Jeremiah, the weeping prophet – possibly because Jesus wept over Jerusalem and was “well acquainted with grief.” These were all very nice compliments indeed: think of the light that shone through these holy servants of God. Certainly Jesus was a prophet sent from God, for as the Eternal Word he declared the invisible Father to mankind. We today confess that Jesus Christ fulfilled the office of a prophet, so much so that he was the final Word from God.

          But he is so much more!

          Jesus also is a priest and a king, and as our perfect prophet, priest and king qualifies as our Savior. Saying Jesus is a prophet is correct, but it is woefully inadequate as a confession of faith.

          Venture through the United States and continue on through the world, and should you ask people whom they say Jesus is, most folks will pay him high compliments. They will say he is a great teacher; they will chatter about him being a supreme moral example. They will not, however, confess him as he revealed himself to be: the only Savior of God’s elect.

          Do you compliment Jesus? Or do you confess him in the fullness of his glory?

 

          Second, true confession of Christ as Savior is a supernatural gift from God – not the product of human effort.

          Jesus got personal with his intimate followers, who surely had been talking among themselves about who this man was. He was not interested in popular misconceptions about him but rather in his disciples’ knowledge of him. So Jesus asked them as a group, “Who do all of you say that I am?”

          Peter – who else but Peter?! – piped up and offered the only correct answer a person can offer to Jesus’ question: “You are the Christ, the Lord’s Anointed, the Son of the Living God.” In saying Jesus was the Lord’s Anointed, Peter confessed Jesus was the Priest of God, making atonement for the sins of the elect and interceding for them in the presence of the thrice-holy God. He also confessed Jesus was the true King, who would defeat all the enemies of God and reign forever on the throne of David.

          To be sure, Peter had a lot of growing to do in his understanding of the person and work of Christ. Simply read on in verses 21-23. But Peter’s brief confession captures the unique essence of Jesus our Redeemer.

          Left to himself, and left to yourself, Peter and you would have been content to compliment Jesus. “Jesus, we also think you’re a really great guy – a teacher from God and a truly holy man.” You and I would compliment Jesus, but we certainly would not confess him in the fullness of his divine glory.

          This is why Jesus pronounces Peter “blessed,” or truly happy in the Lord. Observe how Jesus emphasizes Peter’s humanness: he calls him “Peter Johnson.” “Peter Johnson, flesh and blood – you yourself – didn’t reveal this truth about me to you. My Father in Heaven, who alone can draw men to me and give you a heart of flesh where you had a heart of stone, revealed me to you. You truly are blessed of God.”

          The issue before you right now is what you think of Jesus. Who do you say he is?

          If you agree from your heart with St. Peter, then you are blessed of God. He loved you enough to give you this faith, which is not something you deserved but rather the gift of His free grace.

          Talk about Christmas presents ...

 

          Third, true confession of Christ is the very foundation of the church. Without the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus, you and I have no life, and the church simply would not exist.

          Peter’s name, as you might know, is closely related to the Greek word for “rock.” Jesus told Peter he would build his church on “this rock,” and the Roman Catholic Church has taken Jesus to mean Peter would be the head of the church (hence the papacy). Given Peter’s doctrinal confusion a few verses later and his denial of Christ during Holy Week, it is impossible to think Jesus would build his church on one feeble man.

          What is the rock upon which Jesus would construct his church? Paul tells us later that it is the doctrine of the prophets and the apostles – in other words, God’s revealed truth in Scripture. Here, though, Jesus says he will build his church on believers’ confession of the divinely revealed truth of Christ. The church is a believing, living community that has life only so far as she believes the truth of the Living Savior.

          Jesus also said that the forces of Satan – “the gates of Hell” – would not overcome the church as she confessed the truth about Christ. All around we see what purports to be the church folding up and shutting down. We see Satan attacking believers in Leakesville with discouragement, Christians in North Korea with physical beatings and separation from family. How is it possible for the church in Asia to overcome governmental persecution, or for us to conquer spiritual indifference among the populace of Greene County?

          It’s possible because Jesus lives. And as you and I confess this truth and his redeeming work, we will conquer the forces of sin and Hell just as he did on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

          The church also has authority, but only as she preaches the Gospel. When Jesus gave the “keys of the kingdom” to his ministers, he wasn’t instituting private confession or making your preacher your judge. Instead he was investing us ministers with the authority to proclaim his Gospel: to tell repentant sinners of their forgiveness in Christ and to tell rebellious sinners of their damnation by Christ.

          Our life and the church’s life depend absolutely on true confession, and proclamation, of the unique redeeming work of Jesus.

 

          If you ask me how much garlic powder I put in my salsa, I honestly couldn’t tell you. Sometimes I’m more or less precise in sprinkling in the garlic powder, but precision isn’t really an issue with my salsa. It always comes out tasting just right.

          Not so, for example, with medicines. Pharmaceutical professionals and chemists have no room for error. The difference of a few grams can mean life or death.

          When it comes to confessing Jesus Christ, most people around you treat him like their favorite recipe. Precision really doesn’t matter. He is what you make him to be, and he always comes out pleasing to the senses.

          But complimenting Jesus is not the same as confessing Jesus as the Lord’s Christ, the only Savior of sinners. Your life in eternity, and the very life of the church, depend on correct precision in answering the most-important question you will ever face.

          The wrapping paper is gathered in big garbage bags. The gifts have been returned or stowed away. The decorations soon will come down.

          Yet Jesus question lingers: Who do you say I am?