Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?” Have you ever asked
yourself how Jesus’ disciples here and now would answer that question? Who do the crowds on the
streets of 21st Century America say He is?
If we look closely we find that there are some parallels between Jesus’ context and ours today. For
instance, as we’ve noted recently, we’ve increasingly become a pluralistic culture, in which we have
a whole buffet of different religious faiths and philosophies to choose from. The same was true in the
Roman Empire of the First Century. And like today, if you rocked the boat by proclaiming Jesus to
be absolutely unique, and the only way to God, and even divine himself, you were likely to face
some pretty harsh responses.
This morning’s Gospel reading cuts right to the heart of Jesus and the Christian faith. It’s a critical
passage in understanding who Jesus is, and what His life means. St. Matthew begins this morning’s
Gospel reading with a quick reference to location. He says that Jesus and the disciples were at a
place called Caesarea Philippi when it took place. Caesarea Philippi was a place with all kinds of
religious associations. In Old Testament times the pagan god Baal had been worshiped there.
There’s a cavern in a hill overlooking the town in which the Greek god Pan was supposed to have
been born. And in more contemporary times Herod the Great built a temple to the “divine” Caesar.
This area was truly a patchwork of religious beliefs and history. It was a place with a tradition of
religious pluralism. And it was here that Jesus chose to assess his disciples’ understanding by
asking his two questions. First, who do they say that I am? If we were to ask people on the street
today, what kind of responses do you think we’d get? “Well, Jesus was a great teacher of love and
peace. He taught us how we can get along with each other.” Or, “Jesus was one of the great
enlightened spiritual masters. Maybe he was a reincarnation of the Buddha. Or maybe he was an
avatar—a rare incarnation of some god. Or, “Jesus was a great prophet, in the line of Abraham,
Moses and Mohammed.” Or even, “I don’t believe we can really know who Jesus was. He’s probably
more myth than substance.”
Do you see some parallels with what the crowds in Caesarea Philippi were saying? “Well, Jesus, they’
re saying all kinds of things about you! Some are saying you’re John the Baptist, others that you’re
Elijah, and still others that you’re one of the ancient prophets come back to us.” Sometimes it
almost seems that there are as many opinions about who Jesus is as there are people to ask. A few
weeks ago we talked about this whole phenomenon of pluralism in the West. That now we all can
claim the right to have our own truth, and we reject the notion of some universal, overarching truth
outside ourselves. So each person’s opinion about who Jesus is becomes for them the truth.
At first blush maybe that doesn’t seem unreasonable. But have you ever thought of what it would
look like if Jesus had bought into that kind of thinking? He would have been just fine with everyone’s
different opinion. “Hey, great! To them I’m John the Baptist, or Elijah, or an old-time prophet. And to
you I’m the Messiah. Whatever! Your own opinion is what’s important. Just go out into all the world
and don’t try to lay your beliefs on anyone else.” Is that the way Jesus lived and taught? If you look
at the scriptures, you can’t in your wildest imaginings find that kind of indifference in Jesus. He knew
who He was, and who He was is of urgent importance to the whole world. That’s why he needed to
know if the disciples were really getting this.
You see, there’s an important point to be made about getting the big picture of who Jesus is. And
that is, if you only get bits and pieces of Jesus’ words or activities, you’re likely to miss other bits and
pieces that are very important. If you just read selected excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount,
you might get the image of a wise man teaching humility, peace and social justice. If you just read
about His healings, you might assume that he was a gifted faith healer, or maybe even some kind of
shaman or something. But to get a more complete picture of Jesus we need to read the whole
account. Really, we need to read the whole New Testament, but at the very least, the Gospel
accounts.
Let’s take a moment to put this picture together when we do. We do indeed have Jesus teaching
about peace and justice. And we have him performing healings and many other miracles. We even
have him raising people from the dead. But then we also have His words about Himself. We have
Him saying He’s the one and only way to God the Father. He says that He’s the gate for those who
want to be saved from spiritual death.
He says He knew the Father before the world was even created. He even states that He and the
Father are one and the same. And as we’ll see in a minute, He proclaims something about the role
of Messiah that’s completely unexpected to His listeners. If we miss any of this, we get only
fragments of a picture.
British theologian J. Sidlow Baxter summarized all of this very well, I think. He said, “Fundamentally,
our Lord’s message is Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that
Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, ‘I am the bread.’ He did not come merely to
shed light; He said, ‘I am the light.’ He did not come merely to show the door; He said, ‘I am the door.’
He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, ‘I am the shepherd.’ He did not come merely
to point the way; He said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’” If we miss these truths, we miss
what’s most important about Jesus. I think it’s safe to say that many who are more briefly or casually
exposed to Jesus and His ministry have ideas about Jesus that are incomplete. And this is reflected
in who the crowds say He is.
So, Jesus has heard who the crowds say who they think He is; now He needs an answer to the 2nd
question: “Who do you say that I am?” And I think it’s wonderful that it’s Peter who answers, “You are
the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter, the one of stormy temperament, the one who would
later crack under pressure by denying Jesus when He was arrested. Peter’s the one with the clarity
of vision to state simply what the overwhelming majority of people of that time and place would
deny. And of course over and over again even the disciples just didn’t get it when Jesus tried to
explain His role and His identity to them. Perhaps they were so close that they didn’t even see the
obvious.
It’s kind of like one rather apocryphal story of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. Remember them? Well,
the Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their tent all set up, both men
fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto woke up the Lone Ranger and said in his familiar broken
English, “Kemo Sabé, look towards sky; what do you see?” The Lone Ranger replied, “I see millions
of stars.”
“What that tell you?” asked Tonto. The Lone Ranger pondered for a minute and said,
“Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies. Temporally, it appears to be
approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, God is all powerful and we are
small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems that we’ll have good weather tomorrow. What’s it
tell you, Tonto?”
“It tell me you dumber than I thought. Someone stole tent.”
Sometimes when we get stuck in our heads trying to figure everything out we miss the simple truth.
Like Tonto, Peter does not. God gives him the plain clarity of vision at this moment to “get it” about
Jesus. It’s here that we see a reality that applies directly to us. Peter has a moment of personal
discovery. He knows what others are saying about Jesus, and now He needs to decide what he
believes about Jesus. In fact, Peter receives God’s illumination, because Matthew, writing of the
same incident, records Jesus as saying, “You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah! For this was not
revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” God the Father gives Peter the sure
knowledge of His Son’s identity. In the confusion that reigns all around us, may He do the same for
us.
So Jesus is very clear that it’s not enough for us to speculate, or intellectualize, or even to devise
our own philosophy about who He is. We’re called to answer the same question when it’s posed to
us. “Who do you say that I am?” And Jesus’ response to Peter shows that this isn’t just a matter of
opinion. There is a correct answer to this question. And if we truly comprehend it, this answer can
do no other than to cause our knees to bend in worship, love, and gratitude. “You are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.” As a matter of fact, Jesus responds to Peter by proclaiming, “You are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell itself will not prevail against it.”
The foundation of the church of Jesus Christ on this earth is based upon Peter’s clear
understanding of who Jesus is.
So Jesus confirms that Peter’s understanding is correct. What follows next is fascinating. Jesus
doesn’t tell His disciples, at least at this point, to fan out and proclaim his identity to all. Rather, He
orders them not to let the cat out of the bag just yet, because the time isn’t yet right. Peter knows
who Jesus is, but this is not yet for general consumption. It’s to be revealed by Jesus in the time and
manner of His own choosing.
And there’s a good reason: Jesus has a destiny to fulfill. His destiny is tied up with the destiny of all
humankind. It is of such immense importance that nothing must be allowed to interfere with it.
Timing is crucial. With full willingness and resolve, Jesus is to lay down His life to ransom all of
humanity from the chains of spiritual death. He’ll take onto His shoulders the sins of mankind, and
carry them to the grave to be buried forever.
And please, I encourage you not to be swayed by people who claim that the atonement is some old
superstition that amounts to divine child abuse. I think Jesus would have seen that line of thought as
pathetic. Remember that the night before his Crucifixion Jesus said, “What shall I say? `Father,
save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your
name!” Glorify your name that my suffering will turn the tide against evil in the world. Glorify your
name that I’ll be the gateway of salvation for all who believe! Glorify your name that you will raise
me again to life incorruptible and everlasting, and through me all things will once again be made
new! Father, glorify your name!
Caesarea Philippi is where Jesus first let His disciples know that being the Messiah isn’t just about a
glorious military conquest. It’s about an eternal, spiritual victory that would come about as a result of
suffering, death, and then, Resurrection. May we never forget our need to receive the complete
picture of Jesus that was entrusted to us by the apostles and their successors. May we never forget
that to the question “Who do you say that I am” there is indeed a correct answer. And most of all,
may we embrace this answer with joy and hope, and tell it to the world as the Good News that it truly
is.
“Who do you say that I am?”
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
yourself how Jesus’ disciples here and now would answer that question? Who do the crowds on the
streets of 21st Century America say He is?
If we look closely we find that there are some parallels between Jesus’ context and ours today. For
instance, as we’ve noted recently, we’ve increasingly become a pluralistic culture, in which we have
a whole buffet of different religious faiths and philosophies to choose from. The same was true in the
Roman Empire of the First Century. And like today, if you rocked the boat by proclaiming Jesus to
be absolutely unique, and the only way to God, and even divine himself, you were likely to face
some pretty harsh responses.
This morning’s Gospel reading cuts right to the heart of Jesus and the Christian faith. It’s a critical
passage in understanding who Jesus is, and what His life means. St. Matthew begins this morning’s
Gospel reading with a quick reference to location. He says that Jesus and the disciples were at a
place called Caesarea Philippi when it took place. Caesarea Philippi was a place with all kinds of
religious associations. In Old Testament times the pagan god Baal had been worshiped there.
There’s a cavern in a hill overlooking the town in which the Greek god Pan was supposed to have
been born. And in more contemporary times Herod the Great built a temple to the “divine” Caesar.
This area was truly a patchwork of religious beliefs and history. It was a place with a tradition of
religious pluralism. And it was here that Jesus chose to assess his disciples’ understanding by
asking his two questions. First, who do they say that I am? If we were to ask people on the street
today, what kind of responses do you think we’d get? “Well, Jesus was a great teacher of love and
peace. He taught us how we can get along with each other.” Or, “Jesus was one of the great
enlightened spiritual masters. Maybe he was a reincarnation of the Buddha. Or maybe he was an
avatar—a rare incarnation of some god. Or, “Jesus was a great prophet, in the line of Abraham,
Moses and Mohammed.” Or even, “I don’t believe we can really know who Jesus was. He’s probably
more myth than substance.”
Do you see some parallels with what the crowds in Caesarea Philippi were saying? “Well, Jesus, they’
re saying all kinds of things about you! Some are saying you’re John the Baptist, others that you’re
Elijah, and still others that you’re one of the ancient prophets come back to us.” Sometimes it
almost seems that there are as many opinions about who Jesus is as there are people to ask. A few
weeks ago we talked about this whole phenomenon of pluralism in the West. That now we all can
claim the right to have our own truth, and we reject the notion of some universal, overarching truth
outside ourselves. So each person’s opinion about who Jesus is becomes for them the truth.
At first blush maybe that doesn’t seem unreasonable. But have you ever thought of what it would
look like if Jesus had bought into that kind of thinking? He would have been just fine with everyone’s
different opinion. “Hey, great! To them I’m John the Baptist, or Elijah, or an old-time prophet. And to
you I’m the Messiah. Whatever! Your own opinion is what’s important. Just go out into all the world
and don’t try to lay your beliefs on anyone else.” Is that the way Jesus lived and taught? If you look
at the scriptures, you can’t in your wildest imaginings find that kind of indifference in Jesus. He knew
who He was, and who He was is of urgent importance to the whole world. That’s why he needed to
know if the disciples were really getting this.
You see, there’s an important point to be made about getting the big picture of who Jesus is. And
that is, if you only get bits and pieces of Jesus’ words or activities, you’re likely to miss other bits and
pieces that are very important. If you just read selected excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount,
you might get the image of a wise man teaching humility, peace and social justice. If you just read
about His healings, you might assume that he was a gifted faith healer, or maybe even some kind of
shaman or something. But to get a more complete picture of Jesus we need to read the whole
account. Really, we need to read the whole New Testament, but at the very least, the Gospel
accounts.
Let’s take a moment to put this picture together when we do. We do indeed have Jesus teaching
about peace and justice. And we have him performing healings and many other miracles. We even
have him raising people from the dead. But then we also have His words about Himself. We have
Him saying He’s the one and only way to God the Father. He says that He’s the gate for those who
want to be saved from spiritual death.
He says He knew the Father before the world was even created. He even states that He and the
Father are one and the same. And as we’ll see in a minute, He proclaims something about the role
of Messiah that’s completely unexpected to His listeners. If we miss any of this, we get only
fragments of a picture.
British theologian J. Sidlow Baxter summarized all of this very well, I think. He said, “Fundamentally,
our Lord’s message is Himself. He did not come merely to preach a Gospel; He himself is that
Gospel. He did not come merely to give bread; He said, ‘I am the bread.’ He did not come merely to
shed light; He said, ‘I am the light.’ He did not come merely to show the door; He said, ‘I am the door.’
He did not come merely to name a shepherd; He said, ‘I am the shepherd.’ He did not come merely
to point the way; He said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’” If we miss these truths, we miss
what’s most important about Jesus. I think it’s safe to say that many who are more briefly or casually
exposed to Jesus and His ministry have ideas about Jesus that are incomplete. And this is reflected
in who the crowds say He is.
So, Jesus has heard who the crowds say who they think He is; now He needs an answer to the 2nd
question: “Who do you say that I am?” And I think it’s wonderful that it’s Peter who answers, “You are
the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter, the one of stormy temperament, the one who would
later crack under pressure by denying Jesus when He was arrested. Peter’s the one with the clarity
of vision to state simply what the overwhelming majority of people of that time and place would
deny. And of course over and over again even the disciples just didn’t get it when Jesus tried to
explain His role and His identity to them. Perhaps they were so close that they didn’t even see the
obvious.
It’s kind of like one rather apocryphal story of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. Remember them? Well,
the Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their tent all set up, both men
fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto woke up the Lone Ranger and said in his familiar broken
English, “Kemo Sabé, look towards sky; what do you see?” The Lone Ranger replied, “I see millions
of stars.”
“What that tell you?” asked Tonto. The Lone Ranger pondered for a minute and said,
“Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies. Temporally, it appears to be
approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, God is all powerful and we are
small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems that we’ll have good weather tomorrow. What’s it
tell you, Tonto?”
“It tell me you dumber than I thought. Someone stole tent.”
Sometimes when we get stuck in our heads trying to figure everything out we miss the simple truth.
Like Tonto, Peter does not. God gives him the plain clarity of vision at this moment to “get it” about
Jesus. It’s here that we see a reality that applies directly to us. Peter has a moment of personal
discovery. He knows what others are saying about Jesus, and now He needs to decide what he
believes about Jesus. In fact, Peter receives God’s illumination, because Matthew, writing of the
same incident, records Jesus as saying, “You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah! For this was not
revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” God the Father gives Peter the sure
knowledge of His Son’s identity. In the confusion that reigns all around us, may He do the same for
us.
So Jesus is very clear that it’s not enough for us to speculate, or intellectualize, or even to devise
our own philosophy about who He is. We’re called to answer the same question when it’s posed to
us. “Who do you say that I am?” And Jesus’ response to Peter shows that this isn’t just a matter of
opinion. There is a correct answer to this question. And if we truly comprehend it, this answer can
do no other than to cause our knees to bend in worship, love, and gratitude. “You are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.” As a matter of fact, Jesus responds to Peter by proclaiming, “You are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell itself will not prevail against it.”
The foundation of the church of Jesus Christ on this earth is based upon Peter’s clear
understanding of who Jesus is.
So Jesus confirms that Peter’s understanding is correct. What follows next is fascinating. Jesus
doesn’t tell His disciples, at least at this point, to fan out and proclaim his identity to all. Rather, He
orders them not to let the cat out of the bag just yet, because the time isn’t yet right. Peter knows
who Jesus is, but this is not yet for general consumption. It’s to be revealed by Jesus in the time and
manner of His own choosing.
And there’s a good reason: Jesus has a destiny to fulfill. His destiny is tied up with the destiny of all
humankind. It is of such immense importance that nothing must be allowed to interfere with it.
Timing is crucial. With full willingness and resolve, Jesus is to lay down His life to ransom all of
humanity from the chains of spiritual death. He’ll take onto His shoulders the sins of mankind, and
carry them to the grave to be buried forever.
And please, I encourage you not to be swayed by people who claim that the atonement is some old
superstition that amounts to divine child abuse. I think Jesus would have seen that line of thought as
pathetic. Remember that the night before his Crucifixion Jesus said, “What shall I say? `Father,
save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your
name!” Glorify your name that my suffering will turn the tide against evil in the world. Glorify your
name that I’ll be the gateway of salvation for all who believe! Glorify your name that you will raise
me again to life incorruptible and everlasting, and through me all things will once again be made
new! Father, glorify your name!
Caesarea Philippi is where Jesus first let His disciples know that being the Messiah isn’t just about a
glorious military conquest. It’s about an eternal, spiritual victory that would come about as a result of
suffering, death, and then, Resurrection. May we never forget our need to receive the complete
picture of Jesus that was entrusted to us by the apostles and their successors. May we never forget
that to the question “Who do you say that I am” there is indeed a correct answer. And most of all,
may we embrace this answer with joy and hope, and tell it to the world as the Good News that it truly
is.
“Who do you say that I am?”
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Who Do You Say That I Am?
Matthew 16: 13-20
Matthew 16: 13-20
August 24, 2008
Fr. Dan Tuton
Fr. Dan Tuton