The Most Important Question - Matthew 16

I don't [singing] want anything

but you.

You're more [singing] than every

dream come true.

All of the [singing] things I thought I

wanted [singing]

don't come close to knowing you.

Now that [singing] I'm yours and you are

mine,

our love [singing and music] is the

secret

that I find.

I'll spend forever

in the pleasure

I find looking

in your eyes.

Give me Jesus.

Give me

Jesus.

>> [singing]

>> You can

have

all this world.

You can

have all this world.

More [singing] than silver,

more than

gold.

You are [singing] the treasure

that

I hold.

Now that I've tasted

>> [singing]

>> of your goodness,

nothing else will

matter

in time. Just give me

Jesus.

Give me

Jesus. [singing]

You can have

all

this world.

You can have

all this world.

I don't want anyone [singing] else.

I don't need anything else.

You are

>> [singing]

>> my one thing. You are

my one thing. I don't want anyone else.

>> [singing]

>> I don't need anything else.

You are [singing] my one thing. You are

my one thing. You are my one thing. You

are [singing] my one thing. You are my

one thing.

Just give me Jesus.

Give me [singing] Jesus.

You can have

all [singing] this world.

You can have

all this world.

Just give me

Jesus.

Give me Jesus.

You can have

all this world.

>> [singing]

>> You can have

all this world.

>> Jesus name we pray. Amen.

So that brings us to our big question

today, who is Jesus? That's the question

that is going to be asked all week long

during Vacation Bible School. And how

about a round of applause for all the

people that are serving, that had helped

uh just create this beautiful place,

[applause]

decorations.

This is literally years of work. They

start at least a year in advance um

working on Vacation Bible School. So

thank you all for that. Uh but the great

thing is that this question, who is

Jesus, is not a question that is

reserved for children. It's actually a

question that everyone should answer. So

as we turn to Matthew chapter 16, we're

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

going to let Jesus ask us that question.

Um and so as you're turning there, I

just want to tell you about a story that

happened to me several years ago. One of

the most unforgettable evangelism

experiences of my life. Uh we went to I

used to take the when I was a youth

pastor, I used to take students

door-to-door to just tell people about

Jesus and invite them to church. And we

went into one neighborhood in Currituck

County and we'll just say it was a

neighborhood with a little bit of

character, if you will.

And so I had two two teenagers with me,

a boy and a girl. And uh we we knocked

on the door of a house and this lady

came out and we started to tell her

about Jesus and she was excited to talk

about church and all kinds of stuff. And

then all of a sudden it was like boom,

the door flew open and her teenage son

came straight at me. But he wasn't

coming for me, he was coming for the

student that was with me. Um so he just

plows over me, knocks me down, and he's

going after my student. So my student

turns it into like an Olympic event. So

he runs and he jumps on the hood of a

car and then hurdles over a fence and

what and then the boy that was chasing

him did the exact same thing and

meanwhile I'm looking up like whether my

insurance covers evangelism related

injuries or not. Um

it does not by the way.

Uh so I finally make it around the fence

cuz I'm not jumping over nothing. Uh and

I find my

I find my student and he's hiding under

a truck. So I get a hold of him. I don't

I told the girl to go wait in the car.

So I get him and we're headed back to

the car um and as soon as we get to the

car, the mom comes and she's got the

boy, her teenage son. She's got him by

the ear. Not like pinching the ear.

She's got the whole ear in her hand. It

was amazing. She drags him up to the the

window of my car and she's like, "He has

something to say to you." I'm like, "No,

he doesn't. We're good."

>> [laughter]

>> This never happened. So I'm throwing it

in reverse and getting ready to peel out

in her driveway and she's like, "No."

She stands behind my car so I can't back

up and she says, "He has something to

say to you." And she's like,

"Apologize." And so he comes over and he

apologizes and he says,

I to my student he said, "I thought you

were somebody else." And as it turned

out, he thought that the kid that was

with me was the same kid that was riding

around the Walmart parking lot in his

truck with this guy's girlfriend in the

truck the night before. Now, I know for

a fact it wasn't my student cuz he was

not that exciting, okay?

Bro bro had never been he'd never even

talked to a girl before, right? That's

why that's why he's out doing

door-to-door evangelism with me, all

right?

He's not right. So I know

that this was a mistaken identity. Now,

usually when you get someone's identity

wrong, it's just a little bit awkward.

It's a little bit embarrassing. But if

you get the identity of Jesus wrong,

that has eternal consequences. And so

that's what we're going to begin with

today in Matthew chapter 16 if you'll

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

join me in verse 13.

When Jesus came to the region of

Caesarea Philippi, he said to his

disciples, "Who do people say that the

Son of Man is?"

So So Jesus is speaking privately uh to

his disciples after months of being in

public ministry with him. And And

everywhere he goes, because of the

things that he's doing, people are

asking the same question, "Who is this

guy? Who is this man? Who is this

teacher? Who is this this rabbi?" And so

Jesus asks his disciples, he's like,

"Hey, who have you been hearing through

the grapevine that people are saying

that I am?" And it's interesting that he

asks this question in the middle of

Caesarea Philippi, because this was a

city that was filled with temples and

monuments of of gods and Caesars.

Literally everywhere you looked, there

was someone that was claiming authority.

Every shrine had a different god, every

every temple claimed a different truth,

and every statue demanded your

allegiance.

Um and so it's against this backdrop

that Jesus strategically chose to ask

this question. He says, "Who do people

say that I am?" And so in verse 14, they

replied, "Some say John the Baptist,

others Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of

the prophets." The disciples had heard

and they they answered. They said, "Some

say that you are John the Baptist come

back to life."

Okay, that's a compliment. He was a

famous evangelist. Others say, "You're

Elijah." Famous prophet. Others say,

"You're Jeremiah." That's a compliment,

too. A famous prophet. Any of the

prophets are are famous. None of these

are insults. The

crowd is not hostile in this moment.

They just don't understand who Jesus is.

Like nobody here in this report is

saying that Jesus is evil. Nobody is

saying that he's crazy. Nobody is saying

that he's insignificant.

That makes what is happening so

interesting because

they all seemingly respected

Jesus.

They just didn't know who he was.

And and not much has changed today. As

you go out there and you ask people,

"Well, who do you think Jesus is?"

You're going to get all kinds of

of answers and some of them are going to

say, "Hey, he's a great teacher."

Obviously, read the Bible. It's good.

He's He's morally excellent. He's a

revolutionary. He's a prophet. He's a

spiritual guide. He's the founder of

Christianity. He's a He's a life coach.

He's my homie. You know, you'll hear all

kinds of different answers about who

Jesus is and a lot of them aren't

insults. In fact, some of them are even

things you could consider a compliment.

But, they're incomplete.

They're not actually who Jesus is. See,

the question has never been do people

have opinions about Jesus? Well, of

course they do. The The question is do

their opinions align with the Jesus that

is revealed in the Holy Scriptures? And

so, Jesus starts with that conversation.

Who do they say that I am? And then he

makes it more personal. In verse 15, he

says, "But you."

Speaking to his disciples, "But you

who do you say that I am?"

I I love that. Jesus is such a a master

teacher. He He's so good at icebreakers.

He He starts out with the them

conversation. Who do they say that I am?

Who do the people out there say that I

am? And the disciples could safely

answer that question because all they're

doing is repeating what they're hearing.

And they're like, "Well, some people

think you're John the Baptist, some

Elijah, some Jeremiah, some uh the

prophets." It's like so easy to talk

about what other people believe.

This is what they're saying about you,

but then Jesus changes the whole climate

of the room by simply changing one word

in his question. He says, "But who do

you

Peter, James, John, who do you say that

I am?"

See, in that moment, the crowd

disappears.

There's no more hiding behind public

opinion. There's no more borrowing

someone else's answer to the question.

There's just Jesus looking his disciples

in the eyes and saying, "Who do you say

that I am?"

And that's a question that every person

needs to answer at some point in their

life. But here's the trick. The thing

is, you your parents, they they can't

answer that question for you.

Your spouse, they can't answer that

question for you. Your pastor cannot

answer that question for you. Because

one day, every one of us is going to

stand before Jesus, and the question is

not going to be, "What did your family

believe? What did your parents believe?

What did your spouse believe? What did

your friends believe? What did your

community believe? What did your church

believe?" That's not going to be the

question. The question will be, "What do

you believe? Who do you say

that Jesus is?"

Well,

Peter uh

realizes that Jesus is no longer asking

for public opinion. He's asking for his

opinion. And of course, Peter's one that

likes to share his opinion. And so,

he's realizing that Jesus is asking for

a confession, and so he gives him one in

verse 16. Simon Peter answered, "You

are

the Messiah.

You are the Christ.

You are the son of the living God."

The entire Gospel of Matthew has been

building up to this point. 16 chapters

in the Gospel where Jesus is calming

storms, and he's healing the sick, and

he's casting out demons, and he's

feeding thousands of people with just

some loaves and some fishes. He's even

demonstrated his authority over death

itself. And because he's been doing

these things, everyone around him is

saying, "Who is this? Who is this man?"

And now Peter finally says what what no

one really understood until this point.

He says, "You are the Messiah."

The The word there is Christos. It's a

Greek word, and it means Christ.

See, Christ isn't Jesus's last name.

Christ is his title. It's his job

description. It's his office. And so

Peter says, "Jesus, you are the savior

that the scriptures have been

prophesying about. You are the Messiah.

You are the Christ. You are the savior

of the world." And this is a very bold

confession, especially given where

they're standing when Peter makes this

confession. Because they are surrounded

by temples, and they are surrounded by

idols. They're surrounded by statues of

gods that cannot speak and cannot save.

And in this moment, Peter looks at

Jesus, and he says, "You are the son of

the living God." This backdrop is

intentional. There's a There's a

contrast that Jesus is playing with

here.

These gods around them were dead, but

Yahweh God was alive. These idols around

them were demanding a sacrifice in order

to bring a blessing to someone, and yet

Jesus is standing in the middle of these

idols saying, "No, it's not about you

bringing a sacrifice to me. It's about

me being a sacrifice for you." That's

how you're saved. And that's why

Christianity is so much more than just

learning facts about who Jesus is. It's

more than admiring Jesus. It's more than

respecting Jesus. It's confessing that

Jesus actually is who he says he is.

See, in that moment, Peter stopped

talking about what other people believed

about Jesus and and he started believing

in exactly who Jesus is according to the

scriptures that revealed the Christ to

him.

And friends, that's exactly what Jesus

wants for you this morning. He He wants

you to receive him exactly as God

reveals him in the Bible. And when you

do,

everything changes. Look at verse 17.

Jesus responded to Peter. He says,

"Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah,

because flesh and blood did not reveal

this to you, but my Father in heaven.

And also say to you that you are Peter,

and on this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of Hades will not

overpower it. I will give you the keys

of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever

you bind on earth will have been bound

in heaven, and whatever you loose on

earth loose on earth will be loosed in

heaven." So Peter finally says, "You are

the Christ." And Jesus is like, "Yes,

you got it right, but guess what? You

didn't You're not the smartest kid in

class or anything like that." Like God

actually gave you that answer. And then

he says all these amazing things that

are going to happen to Peter. And

imagine Jesus is saying these things to

you as well. He's saying, "Peter, Kevin,

because you know who I really am,

God will open your eyes to things that

you have never been able to see before."

He says, "Because you know who I am, you

are blessed." That That word means you

can have joy in the good times and the

bad because God is always with you.

He says, "Because you know who I really

am, I'm going to do awesome things

through you.

Because you know who I really am, get

this, death has no dominion over your

life anymore."

These are the things that Jesus says to

you when you confess him as your Lord

and Savior.

That's why we walk fearlessly into these

ages of opportunity that the Lord lays

before us because we have these promises

in our back pocket.

Peter's confession

before it, there were only questions.

But after his confession

there were only promises.

Friends, everything in your life changes

when you know who Jesus really is. When

you place your faith in him, when you

give your life to him.

So, that's where I want to end today.

Back to verse 15.

He says, "But you,

who do you say that I am?" So, imagine

you're in a room with Jesus. It's just

you two. And he's looking you in the

eyes and he's saying, "Look, I know what

they're saying about me, but who do you

who do you say that I am?"

This question has not changed in 2,000

years since Jesus has asked it. It's

still the most important question that

you will ever wrestle with in your life.

Today, Jesus isn't asking for a poll of

what your church believes or what your

community believes. He is asking you in

this moment from this text

what you believe.

Not what your family believes, not what

your friends believe, not what your

pastor believes. He wants to know in

this moment, what do you believe? Who do

you say that Jesus is?

When that young man in Kurt Talk

apologized for what he had done, he said

those words, "I thought you were

somebody else."

And they've haunted me for years.

Because I apply on the scripture and I

think about all the the people out there

that

are looking at Jesus today and they're

saying,

"Oh, no.

I I thought

you were somebody else.

I thought you were just a great teacher.

I thought you were just another prophet.

I thought you were some morally upright

person. I thought you were just another

religious leader."

But Peter looks at Jesus and he says,

"You are the Christ. You are the son of

the living God."

That's very important that he called him

the Christ because that means Messiah or

promised savior. Peter understood who

Jesus was. Now, in Peter's life, he

still had to learn what Jesus' mission

was.

He He knew who Jesus was, but he didn't

really know what Jesus' mission was.

That's why in a few verses he gets

rebuked for his lack of faith in what

Jesus' mission actually was, but guess

what? We don't have to wonder about that

cuz we live on this side of the cross.

We've seen it. We know what happened. We

can look back. We know that Jesus came

to accomplish a mission.

And in the very next paragraph in

Matthew, he starts to tell his disciples

about what that mission was going to

look like. He says, "I'm going to

Jerusalem

and I'm going to suffer many things and

I'm going to die and I'm going to rise

again. I'm going to give my life as a

ransom for

everyone who has faith."

See, on this side of the cross, we need

to make sure that it's not just about

knowing who Jesus is. It's also about

knowing what his mission was because

those two things can never be separated.

He is the Christ.

Why? Because he came to save.

That was his mission. That was his

title. That was his job.

He came to live the life that we could

never live, one of perfection. And he

came to die the death that we deserved

on the cross because of our sin.

And he rose again so that everyone

everyone who places their faith in

Jesus, no matter where you come from or

what you've done in your past, no matter

what sin that you have hidden in your

closet, you can have eternal life. For

God so loved the world that he gave his

only begotten son. That whosoever,

that's inclusive, whosoever believes in

him shall not perish but have eternal

life.

Faith begins when Jesus stops being

everyone else's savior and starts being

your savior.

So before you leave today, before you

get all super busy with vacation Bible

school and all the other things that are

going on this week, I I need you

in your heart and your mind this morning

to simply answer that question that

Jesus has laid before us. Who do you say

that he is?

And friends, if he is truly the Christ,

if he is truly the son of the living

God,

then I would encourage you today, don't

simply admire him,

don't simply

respect him,

but do like Peter and confess him.

Confess your belief in him, place your

faith in him, receive his forgiveness

and his Holy Spirit as a seal of your

salvation, and then live your life for

him. Every second of every day, live for

Jesus and you will never regret it.

So So Peter got the answer to the

question right.

Will you?

Let's pray.

Jesus, you have laid before us the most

important question that could ever be

asked.

And Father, as I look around this room

and think about the people that I know

are watching online, I know there are so

many people that have already answered

that question in the affirmative saying,

"Yes, Lord, you are the Christ and I

give my life to you. I receive your

forgiveness and your Holy Spirit and I'm

saved." But also, Lord, I know that

that life is difficult and there's a lot

of messaging that's flying around the

world and it just so easy for us to to

have a view of Jesus that's not

accurate. And I don't want anybody in

this room or anybody watching online to

ever say, "Well, I I just Sorry, I

didn't I didn't know who you were. I I

mistook you for someone else."

Lord, I want everybody to be able to

answer that question in the affirmative

saying, just like Peter, "You are the

Christ."

Friends, you don't have to have a

theology degree to be a Christian.

You just need childlike faith and it'll

grow from there. It's that mustard seed

that becomes a life of faith.

And so, what I'm challenging you with

this morning is to simply answer the

question, "Who is Jesus?" And if you

come up with any answer other than he is

the Christ, the son of the living God,

then you have misidentified

Jesus and it is time to correct that.

Jesus is the one who went to the cross

so that you could have eternal life.

Jesus is the one that substituted his

righteousness and perfection for your

sinfulness.

He nailed your sin to the cross so you

don't have to live with guilt or shame.

You can live in a a new life free from

the the shackles of sin and death that

have held you captive for so long. Jesus

did not have to do that. Jesus chose to

do that because Jesus loves you and God

loves you. And so, what I want you to do

this morning is to walk into that love.

If you have not given your life to

Jesus, then simply say this prayer out

loud or in your minds.

And then, friends, if you mean it from

your heart and your mind, then you will

be saved according to Romans chapter 9.

Romans 9 · chapter mention

But just say something like, "God, I

know I'm a sinner

and I need a savior.

And I believe that savior's name is

Jesus.

He is the Christ.

He is the son of the living God.

He died on a cross.

He rose from the dead.

Proving

he is who he says he is.

So,

I give my life to him.

Forgive me.

Save me.

Help me to walk in your ways.

And friends, if you said that prayer

this morning,

the Holy Spirit of God has come to seal

your salvation. You are adopted into

family of God. There will never be a day

where death has dominion over your life

anymore because you have an eternity

waiting for you in heaven. You have that

blessed assurance of knowing that when

you go through the good times and the

bad, you got God right there with you so

you can have joy even when life hurts.

You'll be able to do things far beyond

your wildest dreams.

You get to live all of those promises

that Jesus made to Peter. So, welcome to

the family. Welcome to the faith.

And I'm excited to see what God's going

to do in your life.

And I would just simply challenge you if

you made that commitment this morning,

the next step is baptism.

Two weeks in a row we got to baptize

people who are following Jesus and we

would love to do that again. So, just

let me know about the decision that

you've made and we'll figure out a time

for you to make your faith public

through believers baptism.

So, God, thank you for what you've done

this morning. Thank you for what you're

doing and and children's church is the

vacation Bible school students studied

the same message and I have no doubt

that that that they're challenged with

this question too. And all week long,

Lord, they're going to be investigating

that. And so, Lord, I just pray that as

they do that, that we would just see

lives changed and people that come to

know you better and some some lives

saved as well.

So, thank you, God, for what you're

doing today and what you're going to do

tomorrow and and the next day and the

next day and at our commencement service

next Sunday. Lord, I'm just so excited

to be a part of it. So, thank you for

that privilege. In Jesus' name I pray.