The Most Important Question | Matthew 16 | Tim Goossen

Thank you, pastor.

It's good to be here with you. Uh again,

uh we we've been around in the area,

just that we aren't usually here on the

weekend as we visit other churches in

Michigan, other places in Ohio. But it's

good to be back also in our sending

church and our home church here and be

able to share with you different things

that have been happening. Uh and also

share the word of God. [clears throat]

I'm not a reporter myself and sometimes

I really hate to ask many questions. Uh

sometimes I feel like I'm snooping in

people's businesses,

but the reporters are trained

to ask questions, right?

They always have the who and the where

and the what and the why and the how and

the when and maybe others other

questions also.

And sometimes they bug bug people with

those questions.

Sometimes they even ask the wrong

questions or what I would call the

stupid questions.

family has their house burnt down.

Now, while they're doing a report on to

the family, you can see the smoking

uh

rests of the house in the background and

they ask, "How do you feel?"

Well, it's obvious.

Sometimes they ask questions to stir up

animosity.

This happens a lot in Argentina.

Uh a catastrophe happens or something,

you know, like somebody

um in the neighborhood or some

organization does not accomplish their

responsibilities of safety and there's

an accident. And so the reporters are

there and they're making questions and

they ask, "Have any author have any of

the authorities showed up for this, you

know, and trying to get people mad and

stirred up?" Um, trying to blame others

and things like that.

Today, I'd like to share a question that

Jesus Christ asks. He's not a reporter,

but he does ask the most important

question

in life. And I'd like you to turn to

Matthew chapter 16 to see that question

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

because that is a question we ought to

answer ourselves also.

The most important question in life. We

have Matthew chapter 16, the record of

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

the gospel writer here. Matthew who was

one of the disciples. She was uh one of

the eyewitnesses of this event. And in

Matthew chapter 16 verse 13, I'd like to

Matthew 16:13

read through verse 27. Now, we're not

going to see all this and study all this

passage, but I'd like you to see ahead

of time what Jesus Christ is preparing

them with this question.

So, Matthew chapter 16:3 says, "When

Jesus came into the region of Ciceria,

Philippi, he asked his disciples,

saying, who do men say that I, the son

of man, am?"

So they said, "Some say John the

Baptist, some Elijah, and others

Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say

that I am?" Simon Peter answered and

said, "You are the Christ, the Son of

the living God."

Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed

are you, Simon Barjonah, for flesh and

blood has not revealed this to you, but

my father who is in heaven. I also say

to you that you are Peter, and on this

rock I will build my church, and the

gates of Hades shall not prevail against

it. And I will give you the keys of the

kingdom of heaven. and whatever you bind

on earth will be bound in heaven. And

whatever you loose on loose on earth

will be loosed in heaven.

Then he commanded his disciples that

they should tell no one that he was

Jesus the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to show to

his disciples that he must go to

Jerusalem and suffer many things from

the elders and chief priests and scribes

and be killed and be raised the third

day.

Then Peter took him aside and began to

rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you,

Lord. This shall not happen to you." But

he turned and said to Peter, "Get be get

thee behind me, Satan. You are an

offense to me. For you are not mindful

of the things of God, but the things of

men." Then Jesus said to his disciples,

"If anyone desires to come after me, let

him deny himself and take up his cross

and follow me.

For whoever desires to sa to save his

life will lose it, but whoever loses his

life for my sake will find it. For what

profit is it of to a man if he gains the

whole world and loses his own soul? Or

what will a man give in exchange for his

soul? For the son of man will come in

the glory of his father with his angels

and then he will reward each according

to his works. Let's pray. Heavenly

father, we thank you for this portion of

scripture.

We thank you for the question of Jesus

Christ.

This question that is the most important

that we need to deal with and that we

need to answer.

Help us to observe and examine this

question and answer it sincerely

and clearly.

And Lord, we would pray that you would

work in our hearts and lives that all of

us here in present might be able to

answer this question correctly.

And Lord, we would also ask that you

would work in our hearts and lives so

that we might be able to see those who

are around us in light of this question.

that even though we are concerned maybe

about political inclinations,

even about economic needs

or social differences or disabilities

that we might be concerned about those

spiritual life

and help us as we engage in our

Thanksgiving celebrations

and spend time with family, with

friends, that we might

redeem the time, that we might

be able to be involved

in the redemptive actions

of sharing the gospel and exhorting one

another.

We pray Lord these things to work in our

hearts through your Holy Spirit in Jesus

name. Amen.

So here Jesus uh said as it says here in

the record uh he came into the region of

Ciceria Philippi. Before that he was

around the Sea of Galilee.

And basically I'd like to highlight

three big points that kind of um

underline this most important question.

The greatest the greatest question of

all times.

Now there are many important qu uh

questions that we need to answer in our

life.

Who are we to marry?

Where are we going to live?

Maybe even, you know, what am I going to

study?

What what is my work going to be for the

rest of my life? Those are important

questions. But there's one question that

is even more important than this. And

that's the question that Jesus asked.

But as we come to that question, Jesus

is traveling probably a full day's trip

from the Sea of Galilee over to where

Cicia Philippi was. We've got a map

right here. So here's the Sea of Oops.

I thought I had a pointer.

Okay, so the Sea of Galilee and then

right up there you have Dan and Banas.

That's where Cyia Philippi is. And so

they travel that way. And it says when

Jesus came or having come to Cicia

Philippi to this region. So Jesus and

his disciples make this long journey to

the north from the Sea of Galilee to

this region of Cicia Philippi about 25

miles. And it say seems like Jesus spent

some time with his disciples in this

region. We don't know how much. But it

wasn't just that he was passing by. He

was just he wasn't just passing through.

Ciceria Philippi was a town and it was

the northernmost edge of the Israelite

border. So after that you had gentile

country

at the foot of Mount Hermon

and about 25 miles north of the Sea of

Galilee.

This ancient city

uh was established after Alexander the

Great had his conquest

and it was established around a spring

that is the headwaters of the Bayas

River and the Bean River is a tributary

of the Jordan. So there's four rivers

that make up the what eventually has uh

forms the Jordan River's waters and the

spring originates in a cave carved into

the side of the mountain, a rocky

mountain. And here was the sanctuary

dedicated to the Greek god Pan,

not pots and pans, but Pan

and many other related deities.

So there is a series of shrines that

were sculptured into the side of this

mountain.

So you see some of these places niches

those things are very common in

Argentina. They they put their like

virgins or saints in these little

niches. Sometimes they have them in

homes or in corners of the houses. So

this is where they had these deities.

Years later, Augustus Caesar presented

this city along with the surrounding

land to Herod the Great, who built a

temple there in honor of the emperor.

And Herod's son, Philip the Tetrarch,

enlarged the town and renamed it Cisoria

Philippi uh to distinguish it from the

other Cicia

and the region surrounding Cicuria

Philippi had several villages and that's

the area where where Jesus was at this

time

and Jesus and his disciples were

traveling through these villages and on

their way Jesus asked his disciples this

important question that they would have

to answer

and Luke says that Jesus had been

praying privately and his disciples

joined him and that is when Jesus asked

this question. So perhaps he was praying

for his disciples

to be able to answer this question

correctly or even to be able to process

the information about his coming death

in a right way. Because notice as we

read the scripture passage, this

question prompts

promises

about the coming about the church, but

also it prompts a declaration about two

crosses.

Christ's cross, he was going to go to

Jerusalem and face death, but also the

Christian's cross. If anyone was going

to follow Jesus, they would have to deny

himself and take up his cross and follow

Christ.

And so these were important. This this

decision this this question answering

this question was very important even in

preparation for what was going to come

in the future. Perhaps Jesus

So I think that those are the pictures

right there. So perhaps Jesus asked the

disciples this question while observing

these shrines.

There were niches for many gods. Each

had a name and each had you know had

been attributed

uh different powers as gods.

The main god in that place was Pan. Pan

was the god of the wild things,

shepherds and flocks, the untamed

mountain landscape, rustic and

spontaneous music and the companion of

the nymphs.

He had goat legs and goat horns. And in

pagan religions, you know, as you study,

you know, the antiquity, in pagan

religions, each god has their area of

expertise and power.

Supposedly some gods helped each other

and others fought each other.

However, there is only one God

who is the first and the last.

Isaiah 446 says, "Thus sayith the Lord,

the King of Israel and his redeemer, the

Lord of hosts. I am the first and I am

the last. Besides me there is no god. So

even though there's lowercase G gods in

the world, we know that there are no

gods.

The phrase the first and the last

conveys the idea that God is everything.

Everything I need from A to Z

or from alpha to omega.

Jesus Christ is that person because he

presents himself to the church of Smyrna

in Revelation 2:8. He presents himself

Revelation 2:8

as the first and the last. So he is

everything that we need. That's why it's

so important to answer this question.

Who is Jesus

to you?

This church was about to experience

severe persecution, the church of

Smyrna. And it was crucial for believers

to know that Jesus Christ was everything

they needed

when there is no persecution when things

work well. You know, sometimes it's

like, well, I can be on my own. I can do

the things. I can live the life with my

own strength and my own understanding.

But when there's pressure, that's where

it really shows who you're trusting in.

And when everything else was lacking,

Jesus Christ supplied all their needs

with his presence, with his person, and

with his pro provision.

So Jesus asked this question in verse

13. Who do men say that I, the son of

man, am? So he refers to the people in

general, not to the leaders of Israel.

He talks about the men. Who do men say

that I am? Luke, the gospel of Luke uses

in a parallel passage. The gospel of

Luke uses the word crowds,

which means a large number of people, a

multitude. Who do the multitudes say

that I am? Jesus is referring to those

people who saw his miracles and heard

his teachings. those multitudes who

followed him and benefit benefited from

his healing, deliverance and feeding.

He was not asking about the Greco Greco

Roman world.

Those people lived in ignorance or

indifference.

They had never heard about Jesus or if

they did, they didn't care. Generally

speaking, you do have some Gentiles

during Jesus Christ's ministry that were

interested. But generally speaking, the

Greek or Roman world lived in ignorance

or indifference. So who is Jesus to

them? I don't know. I don't care.

He was not asking

about the Jewish leadership world. He

was not saying who do the scribes and

Pharisees say that I am. Those

were in unbelief and antagonism.

I mean, they called him a Samaritan.

They said he had a devil, that he was a

blasphemer. They called him a glutton, a

wine bber, and a friend of tax

collectors and sinners.

They even asked him to show him a sign

in chapter that the beginning of chapter

16. They even asked Jesus to show him

them a sign from heaven after all the

signs he had al already showed from the

father.

So they were in unbelief. Jesus did not

ask that question. No, Jesus was asking

about the Jewish world.

What did the common people, the majority

of the population believe?

Who am I? That's the biggest question

that we need to answer. Who is Jesus?

Jesus makes the disciples realize that

this is the most important question to

answer in life.

Following Jesus, bringing the sick to

Jesus, learning from Jesus,

being healed by Jesus, talking about

Jesus

were all were all wonderful things.

But the abundant life that Jesus came to

offer is not about those things.

Abundant life has to do with my personal

belief in Jesus as the son of God who

came into this world to be the sacrifice

for my sin.

So Jesus here calls himself the son of

man. He says, "Who do men say that I the

son of man am?"

That is the messianic title of Jesus. It

originates in Daniel, Daniel 7:13. And

Daniel 7:13

this title is associated both with his

divinity and his humanity. He's the God

man. He's God who became flesh.

So Jesus wanted the disciples to think

about other people's beliefs regarding

Jesus's identity.

He asked them, "Who do men say that I

am? Who do they believe I am?"

And we too also should think about

others in relationship to their beliefs

about Jesus.

When we think about others, now we're

going to gather many many of us at least

we're going to gather together with

family, friends

or Thanksgiving.

When you look at those who will be

around you even in in your work area or

your place of study or where you go to

Walmart or as you're doing uh business,

what do you think when you see other

people?

When we think about others, our first

question should be, do they believe in

Jesus?

We shouldn't focus on their political

position. Maybe they're, you know,

Democrats and you're a Republican or the

other vice versa or whatever.

We shouldn't be concerned about their

political position first of all and

foremost

or their alma mater. Oh, you went to

that, you know. Oh, you and Ohio State.

I don't know different other things, you

know, Michigan. Oh, no. Can't do that.

Or their profession. Oh, what do they

do? Or their sports inclination. I mean,

those are things that we could ask, but

we shouldn't be concerned that would

that shouldn't be the first question in

our minds. We should focus on what they

believe about Jesus because at the end,

that's what matters the most.

But notice the popular opinion. What was

the popular opinion about Jesus? What do

men say that Jesus the son of man was?

Verse 14 disciples answer this question.

So they said some say John the Baptist

some Elijah and others Jeremiah or one

of the prophets. So they had an they

didn't have to you know text or make a

survey. They knew they had heard what

other people say said about the

identification or the ID of Jesus

and Jesus calls himself the son of man

son of man. So and but he when when um

when the disciples answer

as we look at these responses we realize

that people did not have a unanimous

understanding of Jesus identity.

He says some some of these crowds who

met Jesus said that he was John the

Baptist

probably raised from the dead because

John the Baptist was already dead by

this time. This was Herod's view.

Obviously those who thought this did not

know Jesus in his earthly ministry and

we realized that John the Baptist and

Jesus ministries over overlapped. So

those who knew Jesus on in his early

ministry knew that this couldn't be.

And then he says, "Some say Elijah."

This phrase indicates others of the same

kind.

Some say John the Baptist. Others of the

same kind say that your Elijah probably

descended from heaven because remember

Elijah hadn't died. He was he was taken

up in he heaven in a whirlwind. And

these were people similar

to those who believe that it was John

the Baptist. You know, John the Baptist

risen from the dead.

But then it says, "And others," and this

phrase indicates others of a different

kind.

They believed it was Jeremiah or one of

the prophets, one of the other prophets

of the Old Testament

who were raised from the dead. Perhaps

the difference was that these people

were not digmatic or certain.

Oh, I think he's Jeremiah, but we can't

be certain. You know, he he could be

some of these other other prophets

because it seems like, well, some say,

"Oh, no, he's John the Baptist." Others

say, "No, he's Elijah." all with these

others. Well, he could be Jeremiah or

Isaiah. He could be Ezekiel.

So, they

weren't sure, but for them, Jesus was

some resurrected Old Testament prophet,

but they did not know exactly which one.

So Jesus Christ as a perfect man

perfectly embodied the admirable

characteristics of each of these

individuals because what Jesus Jesus's

words and works reminded them of what

they had read about these prophets. He's

like Jeremiah. He's like some of these

prophets. He's like Elijah or he's like

John the Baptist. And Christ possessed

the godly character and virtues of the

entire group of great men of God. He had

the compassion of Jeremiah, the boldness

of Elijah and John the Baptist. He spoke

in symbols like Daniel and like Ezekiel.

And the disciples response here of what

the populace

believed in about Jesus. The disciples

response indicates that the people had a

high opinion of Jesus

giving given his position among the

great prophets

and even higher opinion

considering that he would represent

all of the great men of God at once.

However, their opinion of him was not by

him.

What was the problem with John the

Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or the

prophets?

What is the problem? They were all

sinners, mere men, and could do nothing

to men.

That's the big problem.

Honorable people can be an inspiration

in your life.

And it's good to have role models that

we're inspired by.

So honorable people can be an

inspiration in your life. They can be an

example to follow and their legacy can

instill in you for uh respect for

important values in life.

But they can't save you. They can't

avert your condemnation.

And they can't bring you to a closer

favor with God.

So with this question, Jesus is opening

the disciples minds so that they can

correctly assess the spiritual condition

of Israel.

Up to that point, probably the disciples

were saying, "Boy, this is pretty good.

There's a lot of people following Jesus.

He has a lot of likes." you know, if

they had Facebook and Twitter and all

that kind of things, they had a lot of

followers, a lot of thumbs up, a lot of

little hearts going up.

But, you know, and I I had often

wondered also when I was younger, why

did Jesus have to postpone offering his

kingdom to Israel if the common people

had already received it? It was the

leaders, the Jewish leaders that opposed

him. The others followed him.

But they certainly

weren't the majority.

The crowds

received Jesus, but the key to assessing

whether the people of Israel were ready

to receive the kingdom lies in the

identity that they attached to Jesus. It

doesn't lie on if Jesus was liked or

followed or not, but who Jesus is for

them.

Yes, the common Jewish people received

Jesus, but how did they receive Jesus?

As John the Baptist, as Elijah, or as

Jeremiah, or some other prophet? Not as

the biblical Messiah, not as the son of

God.

That is why John could say he came to

his own and his own received him. No.

In this world, there are four camps

where people find themselves in

relationship to the identity of Jesus

Christ.

The camp of the ignorant,

they do not know Jesus. They have never

heard his name or what he did.

There are unreached tribes who have

never heard the gospel. And the question

is, who will bring them the good news of

salvation before it's too late for them.

There's that one camp and it's a large

camp.

And we're we're losing ground rather

than gaining ground. You know, we we

call our nation a Christian nation, but

it's a post-Christian nation. Many

people don't even even here in the

States don't even know who Jesus Christ

is.

But also number two, there's a camp of

the adversaries,

those who oppose Jesus, and there's

plenty of them. And like the Pharisees

who accused him of casting out demons

with sat satanic power,

there are these today.

And if you are in this group,

I advise you to read the testimony of

Paul. Let's turn to that. Acts chapter

Acts 26 · chapter mention

26. We'll come back to Matthew 16, but

turn to Acts chapter 26:9.

If in the old if in the New Testament or

the book of acts there was some somebody

who was antagonistic against the gospel

that was Saul of Tarsus.

Acts chapter 26

Acts 26:9

verse 9,

Paul is giving his testimony and he

says, "Indeed I myself, believe it or

not, I myself thought I must do many

things contrary to the name of Jesus of

Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem.

And many of the saints I shut in prison

up in prison having received authority

from the chief priests. And when they

were put uh and when they were put to

death, I cast my vote against them. And

I punished them often in every synagogue

and compelled them to blaspheme. And

being exceedingly enraged against them,

I persecuted them even to the foreign

cities.

But one day Paul had an encounter with

Jesus

who said to him, "Saul, Saul,

why are you persecuting me? It is hard

for you to kick against the goats?

What should we do with those who oppose

Jesus?

What should be our relationship, our

response to this type of camp?

pray for them. Jesus recommended or

commanded us to pray for those who

spitefully use us and persecute us.

Matthew chapter 5. Pray for them. But

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

also show them a godly example. Turn to

we we saw this uh in Sunday school this

morning, but turn to Titus chapter 2.

Titus 2 · chapter mention

Look what it says in Titus chapter 2

Titus 2:6

verse 6 6 to8.

Titus 2

6 says, "Likewise, exhort the young men

to be sober minded in all things,

showing yourself to be in a pattern of

good works in doctrine showing

integrity,

reverence, incorruptibility,

sound speech that cannot be condemned,

that one who is an opponent may be

ashamed, having nothing evil to say of

you." So those that oppose you, maybe

they don't understand your

apologetics,

but if you have a godly example,

they cannot refute your your example,

your godliness.

That's what uh we ought to show to those

that are uh maybe we don't have all the

answers to their questions. But you can

show them a godly example,

but then also correct them with

humility. It's not like, well, you know,

just write them off. Notice what it

says. We're close there. So, let's turn

to Second Timothy chapter 2. Second

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention 2 Timothy 2:24

Timothy chapter 2 verse 24.

2 Timothy 2:24 says, "And a servant of

2 Timothy 2:24

the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle

to all, able to teach, patient in

humility, correcting those who are in

opposition, if God perhaps will grant

them a repentance so that they may know

the truth,

and that they may come to the s their

senses and escape the snare of the devil

having been taken captive by him to do

his will. So we need to pray for them.

We need to show them a godly godly

example but also we need to correct them

but with humility.

We cannot just write them off. We cannot

just like scold them. We need to come

about that with the right heart

attitude. They need to see that we are

sinners also. that we are only saved by

grace. That we do not we're not better

than them, but that we want their good.

There's a third camp though, and that's

the camp of the admirers. They admire

Jesus. They they honor him as a great

person, a great prophet, a man of God, a

sincere and loving person. And many

times they try to emulate or follow his

example. But their admiration falls

short.

Their admiration falls short because

instead of recognizing him as the only

savior, they try to save themselves.

Instead of recognizing him as the only

lord, they try to imitate him but not

submit to him.

They want to be like Jesus without

submitting to him.

Instead of recognizing him as their sole

source of satisfaction,

they place him on par with many other

people whom they also want to imitate.

Humanism as has an immense pantheon of

men and women who they try to honor by

imitating them. And Jesus is one of the

many.

And instead of worshiping the only

triune God, they raise men and women

into pedestals of veneration.

And the saints and the Virgin Mary are

practically on the same level as Jesus

Christ.

But then we have the camp of the

worshippers.

They worship Jesus.

They recognize him as God their only

savior and lord. They recognize him as

Peter did.

And that is why when John says, "But as

many as received him, to them gave he

the power or the right to become

children of God to those who believe on

his name." He is not referring to those

receiving him as a great person,

nor as a great prophet,

nor as someone to admire, but as their

only savior and lord.

That's the way to receive Christ. Not to

add him to your life, not to add him to

the rest of your pantheon of admirers of

people that you admire, but to be your

sole soul savior and lord, your only

savior and lord. But notice as we go

back to Matthew chapter 16

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

in Matthew in in in verse 15, Jesus

asked the same question to the

disciples.

Jesus's question explores whether the

disciples opinion was influenced by the

popular opinion. Would they have given a

similar answer?

After living with Jesus for three years,

witnessing his miracles, hearing his

teachings, would they believe that Jesus

was merely a great prophet

or would they believe that he was more

than a prophet? And Jesus asked them the

most important question of life. And

that is the question that we need to

answer today.

Who is Jesus for you?

Who is Jesus to you? The great revealing

question is who is Jesus? Your sincere

and consistent answer to this question

will reveal the spiritual condition of

your soul. This is a penetrating

question.

To be sure you are saved, your answer

must be first of all correct.

That Jesus is the God man, not merely a

great prophet.

But it also must be sincere.

The correct answer must be the

conviction of your heart, not the

repetition of a catechism,

not something that you just learned,

somebody told you, and that you're just

repeating.

And this answer also must be consistent.

The correct answer must not be a mere

verbal ascent.

Not something you say that

intellectually that's what you believe,

but a conviction of the heart

something that you have put your will

and your emotions to.

And we have Peter's response here in

verse 16.

Simon Peter verse 16 answered and said,

"You are the Christ, the son of the

living God. You are the Christ, the son

of the living God." Peter was the

spokesman of the group of the disciples.

When they were together, Peter was often

the one who opened his mouth and he

often put his foot in.

But not this time. He did open his

mouth,

but he gave a precise and sincere answer

to Jesus's question. Peter's answer is

short but accurate. We could say, "Oh,

Peter, how could you come up with this

concise theological statement?" Well, he

didn't come up with it himself. And we

will see that Peter's answer is short

but accurate. He makes two confessions

in his response. per first Peter makes a

confession about the messianic dignity

of Jesus. The messianic dignity of

Jesus. You are the Christ.

Remember that Christ means anointed.

It is the translation of the Hebrew word

Messiah which also means anointed.

So in Israel there were three offices

that received anointing at the beginning

of their service. That is they were

anointed with oil on the head as an

initiation right to serve in their

capacity.

The prophet, the priest,

and the king. And God had promised to

send his anointed one to bring justice,

freedom, and blessing to Israel. Turn to

Isaiah chapter 61.

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

Isaiah 61.

>> [clears throat]

>> Isaiah 61:es 1 and 2 says, "The spirit

of the Lord God is upon me because the

Lord has anointed me,

the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed

one, anointed me what? To preach good

tidings to the poor. He has sent me to

heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim

liberty to the captives, and the opening

of the prison to those who are bound, to

proclaim the acceptable year of the

Lord, and the day of vengeance of our

Lord, to comfort comfort all who mourn.

So this is a prophecy about the anointed

one, about the Messiah.

The people of Israel were waiting the

fulfillment of these prophecies.

the coming of the Messiah, the Lord's

anointed one, the Christ. But when he

came, they did not recognize him.

Who is he? Oh, John the Baptist or

Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the

prophets. They did not recognize him.

But Peter did recognize him. He said,

"You are the Christ."

In other words, you are the fulfillment

of all the prophecies that have given

been given that have given us hope in

these difficult times.

You are the promised savior. That's what

Peter was confessing. Peter had seen

Jesus fulfill the prophecies of the Old

Testament time after time after time.

Jesus had freed the demon-possessed

captives as the prophecies foretold.

Jesus had given sight to the blind as

the prophecies foretold. Jesus had

preached the good news to the poor as

the prophecies foretold. Jesus had

opened the ears of the deaf as the

prophecies foretold. Jesus had made the

lame to walk as the prophecies foretold

and even had loosed the tongue of the

mute as the prophecies foretold.

Peter saw that and he said you are the

Christ.

But also Peter makes a confession about

the divinity of Jesus. Not only about

his dignity as the Messiah.

Not only about his messian messianic

dignity but also as the divinity of

Jesus. You are the son of the living

God.

In the Jewish mind, the word son when

applied in relationship to God did not

mean someone less than God. You know,

like a God junior,

but God himself.

At the end of Jesus's judgment before

the Sanhedrin, the high priest commanded

Jesus. He says, "I put you under oath by

the living God. Tell us if you are the

Christ, the son of God.

So he kind like put Jesus on oath to say

the truth and to to to uh uh to

incriminate himself, you know, to judge

himself with those words. And when Jesus

answered, they charged him with

blasphemy because they believed that if

you declared that you are the Christ,

the son of God, you are you you are

claiming deity.

And the Hebrew the Hebrew mind would not

use the term son of God to refer to

someone inferior to God like a small

creature of God but rather to refer to

the very essence of God. And that's what

Peter was saying. You are the son of

God. You are the God man, God with us.

So with these words, Peter was

confessing that Jesus was God.

He had seen him calm the storm. Declares

He had seen Jesus declare people's

thoughts.

He had seen Jesus forgive sins

miraculously multiply food.

With this, Peter was saying, "You are

the creator of the universe and the

judge of all the earth, the eternal I am

and worthy of all worship. You are the

son of God.

And Peter combined these two confessions

into one sentence. You are the Christ,

the son of the living God.

Every person who comes to Jesus for

salvation should have a clear

understanding of the savior savior's

identity in these two points.

Even if they don't fully grasp all of

their the their implications, I didn't

when I came to know Christ as personal

savior, I didn't understand all of that.

all the doctrines of salvation, all

the idea of of of the person of Christ,

the doctrines of the person of Christ,

but do you recognize Jesus as the

Christ, the savior of the world, as your

personal savior?

Do you recognize Jesus as the son of

God, the second person of the Trinity,

creator of the universe, and your

creator worthy of all worship?

Peter makes also a confession aided by

God the Father. Notice as we go back to

Matthew 16 verse 17.

Matthew 16:17

Jesus answers this response of Peter

with these words. He said to him,

"Blessed are you, Simon Barjonah, for

flesh and blood has not revealed this to

you, but my father who is in heaven."

Peter when he heard the first words of

Jesus he could have said this is what

they do in Argentina.

Okay. I don't know if they do have that

type of expression but you know blessed

are you. Yes. You didn't come up with

this with your on your own. You know God

the father revealed this to you. Oh it's

gone.

I thought it was a big mind. I thought

it was uh really understanding these

things. Peter makes a confession aided

by the by God the father. This aid is

blessed. Jesus says blessed are you.

It's a a beatitude.

Blessedness. It's a present blessedness

or beatitude because he said blessed are

you.

But it is also a permanent beatitude

because the verb is in a present

indicating continuity.

Jesus said, "I have come that you may

have life

and that they might have life or have it

more abundantly."

Jesus comes to give us a blessed life,

a beatitude life,

not

only presently but also permanently

but also all notice that this also is a

personal beatitude. He said Jesus calls

Peter by his name Simon Barjonah which

means son of Jonah Bar son.

That was his full name.

In Argentina sometimes when we talk to

people and they're burdened about some

things, you know, people that we see on

the street and they say, "Oh, you're a

pastor. Oh, yeah. You go to a church,

you know, I want you to pray for me or I

want to you to pray for so and so." And

I say, "Oh, yeah. What's what's your

name?" So, I'd get get my pencil and

paper and they would say something like

this, you know, they would say, "Um, my

name is Juan Carlos Emiliano de Laente."

They want to make sure that God knows

exactly who it is. Not any Juan Carlos.

It is that particular one. Okay. Jesus

is saying you are Peter son of Jonah.

I'm not just giving a blessing to

Peter's in general. You have confessed

my name. You are blessed.

You are blessed.

This blessedness applies to every person

who confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.

But this also this aid is familial.

Notice that Jesus says, "My father,

my father, blessed are you, Simon

Barjonah, for flesh and blood has not

revealed this to you, but my father who

is in heaven."

And before ascending to heaven, Jesus

himself said,"I am ascending to my

father and your father."

And we we understand as we we declare

this as we confess Jesus to be the

Christ, the son of the living God,

we become children of God. God the

father becomes our father. And even

though Peter was the son of Jonah, he

was also a child of God.

What a blessing. What a blessedness. And

he says, "For flesh and blood,"

referring to human human beings, flesh

and blood had not revealed that Peter

wasn't repeating words he had heard from

others.

nor had he reached this conclusion that

Jesus was the Christ, the son of the

living God, solely through his

observations of Jesus's miracles.

That's what sometimes we think. Well,

you got plenty of miracles. Oh, you are

Jesus, the Messiah, the son of the

living God. But God himself had

empowered and enlightened him to reach

that conclusion.

All humanity,

all humanity is blind to the truth Peter

confessed.

That's what happened with the crowds.

They saw Jesus's miracles and they saw

they thought, "Oh, he's Jeremiah or he's

John the Baptist. He's Elijah."

They were blind to this. If God does not

help man by giving him spiritual

understanding, he will not be saved.

John 6:44 says, "No one can come to me."

John 6:44

Jesus is talking. No one can come to me

unless the father who sent me draws him

and I will raise him up in the last day.

It is written in the prophets. So this

comes from the Old Testament too. And

they shall all be taught by God.

Therefore, everyone who has heard and

learned from the father

comes to me.

The work of salvation is not by human

will.

Those who become sons of God were born

not of blood, nor of the will of the

flesh, nor of the will of man, but of

God.

There's this tension, right?

Jesus

expected the crowds to be able to

interpret

his miracles and identify him correctly.

But at the same time, but at the same h

hand

it required God's revelation in the

heart.

We don't understand that. We don't

understand. We need to repent, but yet

God is the one that gives us life and

saves us. But that's biblical.

And the tension helps us to you know

like like the um

tight rope in Argentina they call it the

loose rope. I don't know why

tight rope is intention you know and

that helps you to be able to balance

your life or balance through that and

that's what we need in our Christian

life also. And there in scripture

there's many

there's many of those truths that are

create that tension.

We can go off one way or the other way.

We need that tension in our life even

though our minds can't wrap around him.

So the question this morning is who is

God? Who is Jesus to you? Who is Jesus

to you?

You are probably not completely ignorant

of him because you're here, but are you

antagonistic?

Are you kicking against the goats?

or are you an admirer of Jesus?

If you were his friend on Facebook, you

would like all his publications,

but that is all.

We ought to be worshippers of Jesus. He

is the only savior that died on the

cross

taking the penalty of our sin.

He is the creator who made you with a

purpose of glorifying him and he is the

judge that will evaluate your life and

my life

at the last day. Who is Jesus to you?

Maybe you are a worshipper of Jesus.

How do you see other people

when you get together? Do you think

about a bunch of things?

economics, politics, sports, or do you

think about their spiritual condition

before the Lord?

Are you more concerned about other

things? Or do you see them through

Jesus's eyes?

Do you pray for those who do not know

Christ?

Even those who give you a rough time?

Do you realize that your friends who are

only admirers of Jesus are lost and

going to an eternity in hell?

Do you take advantage of the

opportunities God gives you to share the

good news of salvation to them?

Do you think

about all those people who have never

heard the gospel once in their life?

Will you do something so that they can

hear also?

Let's pray. Heavenly Father,

as we answer this question,

who is Jesus?

Help us to have the right answer,

but not a copied answer, not a rope

memory answer.

if it's a correct answer that that it

might be sincere and consequent

that it really might be a truth in our

hearts and lives

and that we might be praying for those

who do not know you as personal savior

for there they be ignorant

or antagonistic

or even admirers that we might open our

mouth to preach and share the good news

of salvation with those who are around

us that we might have that boldness,

that we might have that concern,

that spiritual concern with those that

are around us. And help us to do

something about those who have never

heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. That

as individuals, as a church, we might be

involved in this great commission.

We pray these things in Jesus name.

Amen.

[singing]

>> As we go from [music]

this place

loving you [singing] more, trusting

[music]

you more.

May the power of your [singing] love

[music]

and the light of your word shine

to sin darken [singing]

world as we go from this

>> [singing]