Whenever we’re having a Baptism, notice is always given on the announcements sheet the week before. And often, someone will ask - who’s being baptised? Who is it? So, tonight, who is P ? There are lots of ways that she can be described - in relation to being A & S ‘s daughter, and A ‘s sister. And maybe when she was born there was the question of which side of the family she looked like.
By now, P is becoming herself, her personality coming through - whether she’s loud or quiet; into books or music or sports or dressing-up; and so you would be able to say who P is; what she’s like. Distinct and different from everyone else. And we’ll continue to see how she grows and develops and becomes herself, more and more.
It’s that question of identity that I want to focus on for a few minutes this evening. It’s the question that Jesus asks his disciples as they’re travelling along the road together. Now, maybe you have some games that you play as you drive along in the car - looking out for yellow cars, or I-spy. Jesus has a question for his disciples - related to his identity.
First of all, he asks a lead-in question, in verse 27. ‘Who do people say I am?’ You’ve known P for almost two years. And the disciples have been with Jesus for about the same amount of time. Jesus has been going around, doing all sorts of amazing things - teaching people about God’s kingdom; healing people; feeding the five thousand; walking on water; and so much more.
So who do people say I am, Jesus asks. What’s the word on the street? What have you heard the crowd saying as they chat about me? And the disciples shout out the answers. ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ (28). The crowd are divided, they’re not sure who Jesus is, but they’re sure of what he is - all the answers point to a prophet of some sort. They know Jesus is special in some kind of way, and so they compare him to some of the prophets they’ve known or heard of.
But then Jesus changes the question. Now, it isn’t, what do other people think of me - now, it’s more personal. ‘But what about you? Who do you say I am?’ (29) It’s easier to talk about what other people think of Jesus, rather than answering the question of what we think of him. But Jesus asks the question directly. Who do you say I am? What do you make of me? What do you think about what I’ve been doing?
Straight away, Peter launches in with his answer. Peter always seems to be the first to speak, the first to answer, the first to action. And he comes straight out with it: ‘You are the Christ.’
That word Christ is one that we’re used to hearing in relation to Jesus Christ. but it wasn’t Jesus’ surname, the way mine is McMurray, or P ’s is N . Christ is a title. It refers to the anointed one (and means the same as the Hebrew word Messiah). Kings were anointed with oil, to set them apart as king, and so the title Messiah or Christ became linked to the promised King who would be sent by God to rule over his kingdom.
And Peter gets it right. Jesus is indeed the Christ, the King sent by God. It seems strange, then, doesn’t it, that Jesus tells them to not tell anyone about him! We would expect that Jesus would want everyone to know that he is the Christ, the King. So why the secrecy?
Well, we see why he says it in the next verses. Now that Peter and the other disciples know that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus begins to explain what being the Christ will involve. And to get the full weight of surprise that the disciples felt, we need to know that the Christ was expected to be an all-conquering king coming to kick the Romans out of Israel. That’s what people wanted and expected. The Romans had invaded, and so everyone thought that the Christ would come and conquer and kick them out.
But that’s not what Jesus came to do. Instead, we see what Jesus will be like as the Christ: ‘the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.’ (31). And these things weren’t optional extras - things that he might do, or choose not to do. No, did you notice the word ‘must’? Twice he says that he ‘must’ suffer and ‘must’ be killed.
This is the job description of the Christ. And it was all written down in the Old Testament hundreds of years before Jesus was born. Jesus is the Christ, the suffering Saviour. You see, everything that Jesus suffered, he did it for you. His death on the cross was to take away your sin. He did it all because he loves you. And he offers us a fresh start, and new life in him and with him. Who is Jesus? He’s the Christ, the suffering Saviour.
But Peter - the same Peter who knew that Jesus was the Christ - Peter doesn’t like this idea. He takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. Surely you won’t suffer and die? Do you see how Jesus responds? ‘Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’
Peter, who got it so right, now gets it so wrong. He’s echoing the devil, Satan, who opposes God’s plans, and had tempted Jesus, trying to take him off course before. But Jesus is committed to his job description, to the way of the cross, in order to be the Christ, the suffering Saviour.
This is who Jesus is. And as we hear his words tonight, his question still comes to us - who do you say I am? He’s asking you that same question. So how will you respond? Is he just a good man? An amazing miracle worker? A prophet? Or is he your King, your suffering Saviour? In a little while, P , through her sponsors will answer that question in a series of questions. Do you turn to Christ? Do you submit to Christ? Do you come to Christ?
But what does that really look like? If you know that Jesus is your King, your suffering Saviour, what does it look like to follow him? Well, he tells us, as he calls us to do precisely that - to come after him, and follow him.
‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’ (34) The path of following Jesus is one of denying oneself, and taking up our cross. It means following Jesus, and doing what he wants - rather than what we want. It means dying to our desires, and walking in the way Jesus walked - the way of the cross.
When Jesus said these words, the crowd would have seen people carrying their cross. It was showing that they were on the way to die. And Jesus calls us to follow him - because in dying to ourself and our desires, we find what it is to truly live.
And we see the contrast in the pictures Jesus paints in the next verses. If we try to save our lives, we’ll lose them; but if we lose our life for Jesus and the gospel, then we save it. Or, imagine that someone worked hard, and ended up with all the money in the world. Gaining the whole world would be amazing - but what good would it be if you’ve forfeited your soul?
Jesus calls us to what really matters - not just in this life, but in light of eternity. And he wants us to see things from the perspective of eternity, when Jesus comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels. To be ashamed of Jesus now, will mean that Jesus is ashamed of us on that day. Will we follow him? Not be ashamed of his words? Live by them, even when it hurts, even when it causes us to seem strange in the world’s eyes?
At the end of the day, it all comes down to how we answer that question which Jesus is asking us. And he asks us individually, to answer for ourselves - not what someone else might think, but your own answer, your own opinion. So who do you say Jesus is? My prayer is that each of us will know him, and be able to answer him - that Jesus is the Christ, the suffering Saviour, who calls us to follow him. Or to answer him directly, you are the Christ, my suffering Saviour, the one I’m following.
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday evening 2nd September 2018.
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