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

Sermon on Matthew 16 – Who Do You Say Jesus Is?
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some
say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or
one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say
I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for
this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’”
Over the years I’ve always enjoyed watching Jay Leno’s “Jaywalking”
sketches where he asks simple questions of ordinary people on the
streets. A while back he asked people about their knowledge of the
Bible. Simple questions like, “how long did it take God to create the
universe?” Answers varied from one day to eight days and eight
nights. “Eve was created from __?” One woman said, “an apple?”
“Fill in the blank, Cain and __.” “The Barbarian?” was one answer
given. “What Bible character was swallowed by a whale?” or as we
would say, “a great fish.” “Pinocchio?” was the reply.
I wonder how the average person would answer the question Jesus
asks in our text for today. “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
I’m sure you would hear all sorts of good things about Jesus. Great
Example! Great Guy! Great Prophet! Great Teacher! It’s safe to say
people regard him highly, but unfortunately not all people regard him
highly enough. How many people would go as far as saying that Jesus
is the only way to heaven? Who Do You Say Jesus Is? May God grant
us the faith that always confesses, I. He is our only Savior. II. His is
the work we do.
Every once in a while you come across those television shows that
begin with the disclaimer that the following program contains opinions
that do not reflect or represent the views of the station. In today’s
world many people hold views of Jesus that do not reflect or represent
the views of God’s Word. Jesus’ disciples expressed some of the views
that were present in Jesus’ day when they answered Jesus’ question by
saying, “some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others,
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Many people saw Jesus as a great
teacher, a great prophet, a miracle worker, an earthly and political
Messiah who would free them from the yoke of Roman oppression and
make them a great nation once more. Which is why Jesus’ question
had to hit home when he asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?”
It was a question that highlighted the real issue in all this because a
person’s beliefs about Jesus are eternally important. Peter was the first
to confess that day, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Oh, Peter had come a long way from the first time he met Jesus on the
shores of the Sea of Galilee. At the time he was a fisherman. He and
his friends had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught a thing. The
next morning Jesus told them to put out into deep water and let their
nets down to which Peter replied, “Master, we’ve worked hard all
night and haven’t caught anything but because you say so, I will let
down the nets.” You probably remember what happened next. They
caught so many fish that the nets began to break and when Peter called
his friends over to lend a hand, both boats began to sink. On that
occasion Peter didn’t confess Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the
living God, rather he confessed, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a
sinful man!” But Jesus didn’t go away, rather he called these men to
follow him saying, “from now on you will be fishers of men.” And so
it was that ordinary fishermen who would become fishers of men,
sharing the good news of Jesus the only way to heaven.
Are you comfortable with that statement? It’s easy to confess that truth
within the friendly confines of Good Shepherd, but what about to the
Hindu you work with? The Jewish grandmother across the street? The
Muslim neighbor who lets your kids play on his swing set? The
Jehovah’s Witness that knocks on your door? The unchurched relative
who seems to be the life of the party at every family reunion? To the
friend whose only comfort in losing a loved one is that he lived a
pretty good life and hopefully God will be happy with that. Dear
friends, these are some of the many opportunities God gives us to
confess, “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God…that
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father
except through him…that there is no other name under heaven given
to men by which we must be saved.”
Like you and me, Peter wasn’t perfect at doing this either. In fact, in
the verses following our text, Peter tried to prevent Jesus from going to
the cross saying, “Never Lord…this shall never happen to you!” Jesus
didn’t commend his good intentions, rather he said, “Get behind me,
Satan!...you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of
men.” And some time after that, the cold chill of the night air and the
warmth of a fire would find Peter calling curses down on himself that
he never knew Jesus! “Ashamed of Jesus? Yes, I may when I’ve no
guilt to wash away, no tear to wipe, no good to crave, no fear to quell,
no soul to save. Till then – nor is my boasting vain – till then I boast a
Savior slain; And oh, may this my glory be: That Christ is not ashamed
of me.”
Not ashamed of me for the many times I’ve been ashamed of him.
Ashamed to confess the truth that he is the only way to heaven.
Ashamed to confront a sinner in their tracks and speak the truth in
love. Ashamed of the times I haven’t let my light shine the way he
would want me to. Ashamed of the things I’ve thought, said, and done
over the years, just one of which makes me deserving of suffering the
eternal shame of hell. Like Peter we know we could easily confess,
“Lord, go away from me; I’m a sinful man.” And how terrifying it
would be if he actually did, but he doesn’t, rather he says, “don’t be
afraid…come to me all you who are weary and I will give you
rest…take heart, your sins are forgiven.” Fully and freely forgiven
through my death and resurrection! Working through Word and
Sacrament the Holy Spirit leads us to confess along with Peter, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” and as Paul tells us in the
book of Romans, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved.”
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you
by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not
overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Many misinterpret these
words to believe that Peter was the disciple on whom Jesus built his
church, but in the Greek Jesus says, “You are Peter (petros) and on this
rock (petra) I will build my church.” Petros is masculine and refers to a
stone. Petra is feminine and refers to a rocky cliff much like the one on
which the wise man built his house. Jesus wouldn’t build his church on
Peter, the petros rock, rather he would build his church on the petra
rock of Peter’s confession that “you are the Christ, the Son of the
Living God!” All who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord are being built
as living stones on the solid rock of Christ.
In our text Jesus gives believers a special ministry known as the
ministry of the keys to be about his work. Luther’s Catechism tells us,
“The use of the keys is that special power and right which Christ gave
to his church on earth: to forgive the sins of penitent sinners but to
refuse forgiveness to the impenitent as long as they do not repent.”
Just like this key either locks or unlocks the door to my house so too
Jesus gives you the keys that either lock or unlock the doors to heaven.
The use of the keys boils down to sharing law and gospel. The law
shows our sins and the punishment we deserve because of them. The
gospel shows our Savior and the forgiveness and eternal life in heaven
that is ours through Christ’s death and resurrection. There is no higher
freedom than to be a forgiven sinner. There is no harsher prison than to
be bound under guilt and the condemnation of hell. Which means that
the use of the keys should not be taken lightly or neglected because the
eternal welfare of souls is at stake. When believers use the keys, they
aren’t acting on their own as it were, they’re acting by the command of
Christ and with the authority of Christ.
Dear friends the gates of hell are wide open and accepting people in
droves because the path to hell is wide and many people find it
because there are many ways and religions in this world that will lead
people down that path. The gates of heaven are also wide open, but as
Jesus himself once said, the path is narrow and only a few people find
it because there is only one way that will lead people up that path. The
one and only way is Jesus and the true work of the true church is
leading people to see that.
This weekend we take some time to give thanks to God for our
principal Mr. Scott Schmudlach who has faithfully served as our
principal for the past 15 years. Someone who continues to make Jesus
the focus and priority of everything that goes on in our school with the
hopes of leading little lambs to see Jesus as their only Savior.
Someone who continues to pour his heart and soul into our school
knowing the direct impact it has together with our church in carrying
out our Savior’s Great Commission to, “Go and make disciples of all
nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
We can’t begin to count the many blessings God has showered on
Good Shepherd over the years, not to mention the impact our students
have when they graduate from here and move on in life. God only
knows where they’ll end up. They may never become as famous as Jay
Leno, but as opportunities present themselves, they know the answer
to the question, “who do you say Jesus is?” He is our only Savior. My
life is all about serving him. May God grant us all the faith that
continues to confess the same!
Amen.