Knowing Jesus-What a Difference it Makes
Written by Ed Allen
Saturday, 15 April 2000 19:00
Some questions are really important. If you're in a foreign country, for example, the question "Where's the bathroom?" tends to be important. If you're at the Doctor's office or if you take your car to Jonathan at Koon's, then "How much will it cost?" is a very important question. "Will you marry me?" is almost always an important question; as is, "Where do babies come from?"
This morning we're going to be looking at what I believe to be the most important question ever asked. And, unlike some of those other important questions, this one has to be answered by everyone. It's a question that Jesus first asked his followers 2000 years ago. And I believe he asks the same question of you and me everyday. Let's look at this question and see what God has to say to us both from the question itself and from the response of the disciples.
Matthew 16:13-20
(13) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
(14) They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
(15) "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
(16) Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
(17) Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. (18) 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. (19) 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." (20) Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
You and I are about to be inundated with polls. Newspapers, television and radio will give us daily updates concerning Vice President Gore and Governor Bush. How many people will vote for who? Which one do more people think will do a better job with education? Which one will do a better job with defense? With the budget? How many women will vote for which candidate? Etc.
In this incident, Jesus takes his own opinion poll. "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Son of Man is one of the things Jesus occasionally called himself. "What do they think of me? Who do they think I am?" he asks.
Jesus learns from the disciples that his favorability rating is extremely high. "Some of the people think you are John the Baptist." This was a response based on confusion. Evidently people in outlying areas had heard about the ministry of Jesus and of John and had gotten the two of them confused. Still, John was a popular figure so this could be taken as a great compliment.
"Some of the people think you are Elijah." This was very, very high praise. Some of you may have seen the peaunts strip about Elijah. In one scene the TV is blaring but no one is listening. It is broadcasting a golf tournament. In the next scene the announcer says, "Smith has to make this putt to win the championship. There will be no tomorrow." Lucy walks into the room just in time to hear this last sentence. She gets very confused and runs around telling people that there will be no tomorrow. The rumor grows larger and larger with each telling. In the last scene a confused Charlie Brown says wistfully, "I thought that Elijah was suppose to come back first."
Charlie Brown's theology is right on target. The Jews believed that an Elijah figure, or the reincarnated Elijah himself, would return before the Messiah came to announce the coming of the Messiah. Some believed Jesus to be that figure. This was an immense endorsement of his ministry.
Finally, one of them said, "Other people don't know what to think, but they know you are something extraordinary. They believe you are Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
All in all, Jesus reputation put him in very esteemed company. Generally, people thought very highly of him. If they had been asked, "Do you believe in Jesus?" they would have thought this an odd question, but some would have said, "Yes, I believe he is the most remarkable man we have seen in many years." Others could have said, "Yes, I believe he is the first prophetic voice we have had in generations and maybe the most powerful prophet ever."
This was potentially heady stuff for Jesus to hear about himself - but still he wasn't satisfied. Even these esteemed opinions did not rise high enough. It is exactly this kind of incident that led the famous British atheist turned Christian, C. S. Lewis, to disregard the generally accepted notion that Jesus was a good man, or a great teacher, or a great prophet. Lewis said that Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or he was the living Son of God. This is a perfect example of what Lewis meant. Here Jesus has just heard that many people believe that he is one of the great heroes of faith resurrected from the dead. This may be the highest favorability rating that any public official has ever received - but Jesus is unsatisfied.
So he turns his attention to the disciples. "What about you? Who do you say I am?" Don't miss the significance of this moment. The biographers of Jesus didn't miss it. Right here, Jesus makes the right understanding of himself the key to right relationship with God and to right living.
And in my experience, he is exactly right. Being a pastor for over 14 years, I've had the privilege of watching many, many people work out their spiritual lives. I've been able to walk beside many, many people as they have sought after God. And in every single case, Jesus has, at some point, through one means or another, posed this same question: what do you think of me? On the one hand, every person I have ever known or read about who has made significant progress spiritually has done so because they have answered this question correctly. On the other hand, every major cult that I am familiar with has resulted from answering this question wrongly. If this is true, it would be critical for us to get it right. So this morning we will look at three things in this dialogue that are helpful for us. First, we will look at the critical issue of what the disciples had come to believe about Jesus. Secondly, we will look at how they came to that knowledge. And lastly, we will look at what difference that knowledge made.
WHAT THEY CAME TO KNOW ABOUT JESUS
From all four biographies, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we get the impression that Peter is the most outspoken and the most impulsive of Jesus' followers. He answers Jesus' question, but his opinion probably represented a majority of the group, if not the whole group. You know this had to be a hot topic in their conversations whenever they were away from Jesus. "Who do you really think Rabbi Jesus is? Maybe the Messiah? Yes, and maybe we will be his generals."
"You are the Christ," Peter says.
The word Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. In other words, "Jesus you are the chosen man of God who will save God's people from their oppressors. You are the one for whom we have been waiting for generations. You are the rightful heir to the throne, you are the long-awaited king. In every sense of the word, Jesus, you are THE MAN."
Can you see why C. S. Lewis said what he did? Any "good teacher" would have recognized a teachable moment. In humility, they would have accepted this immense, larger-than-life compliment and corrected it without belittling the complimenter. A good teacher would have given a lesson about the Christ and what he represents. A good teacher would have reminded his learners of the ancient lessons concerning the Christ. A good teacher would not have accepted such a commendation.
Any prophet worth his salt could not have allowed such a comment to go unchallenged. A great prophet would have addressed the need for the Christ and their responsibility to pray for his coming. A great prophet would have quoted several prophetic passages concerning the Christ to remind his learners of the details of his coming. But a great prophet would have rejected such testimony.
Peter isn't finished. "You are the Son of the Living God," he said. If you grew up going to church, then you are accustomed to hearing Jesus referred to as the Son of God. But Jesus' hearers would not have been so accustomed. Sometimes in Hebrew poetry the Israelite kings were called "sons" of God. On one occasion in the Old Testament the angels are called sons of God. But this was not a typical way to refer to anyone or anything by any means. Peter probably means by this that he believed Jesus was of divine origin. In other words, Peter seems to be saying, "Jesus, you come from God in a way that the rest of us do not."
The truly troubling thing about all of this, of course, is that Jesus not only accepts what Peter says, but he gives him the highest possible praise. As we said, Jesus makes himself the centerpiece of a right knowledge of God. And after his death his followers did the same thing. Peter told his listeners, "Salvation is found in no other name, but the name Jesus." Paul told his readers, "When I was with you I was determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. That's all I talked about, all I preached about, that was the center of everything I said to you." And John told his students, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." He goes on, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." The right knowledge of Jesus is the centerpiece of Biblical faith. Everything that the Bible means by faith revolves around a right understanding of who Jesus is!
"What about you? Who do you say Jesus is?"
Some of you today need to answer that question for the very first time. You have never settled this issue. You may have thought it was enough to just be sincere in whatever you thought. Or you may not have had the question posed to you before. Not really. Today - consider it posed! Some of you need to answer that question again, for today. You have a correct understanding of Jesus. And at times in your life, this has given you direction and purpose. But you've lost sight of that in the midst of difficulty or heartache or busyness. You have lost sight of who he is. We will find out in a minute what a difference our knowledge of him makes. We need to be reminded!
HOW THEY CAME TO KNOW WHAT THEY KNEW
How did the disciples come to this information about Jesus?
Let's begin with the obvious. They spent time with Jesus. Jesus invested considerable time with the disciples and they with him. They left their lives as they had known them, to be his students. They traveled with him. They watched how he ate and who he ate with. They watched how he dealt with others, with them. The heard him teach. They had intimate opportunities to ask him about his teaching. They spent a great deal of time with Jesus.
We don't have the luxury of walking around with him. But we can spend time with him still. That's what Paul meant when he said, "I want to know Christ." That's what the writer of the book of Hebrews meant when he said, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." We get to know him by spending time with him.
But Jesus makes it clear that Peter did not come to his insight by being smart, or even by hanging out with him. The Father in heaven revealed it to Peter according to Jesus. And the Bible makes it clear, all of its authors, across 1500 years and hundreds of instances, that ours is not a faith for the clever, or the insightful, or the right family or country or even for the sincere. Ours is a faith for those to whom God has revealed himself. You do not figure out Jesus. You do not reason your way into faith. God shows himself to you.
Fortunately, Jesus promised us that if we seek, we'll find. And the prophet Jeremiah told us that if we seek God with all our hearts we will find Him.
The disciples came to know Jesus by hanging out with him. But they really came to know who he was because God showed them. It is the same for us today.
WHAT DIFFERENCE DID THEIR KNOWLEDGE MAKE
We learn from what Jesus said in response to Peter that the disciples gain 3 things by their knowledge.
1) Eternal purpose
"I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church."
a. Church = "an assembly, a congregation of people."
b. Notice the authority that Jesus himself assumes here. It is to be "his" church.
c. Upon what rock will Jesus build his church?
1. Catholic church has always believed that the "rock" upon which the church is built is Peter, the first Pope. Disagree with this for 2 reasons:
- this claim evolved over several centuries.
- there is no other Biblical support for it.
2. We must take Jesus' words here very personally. The Catholic scholarship is right in claiming that Jesus is addressing Peter.
The name Peter means "Rocky." Jesus literally says, "You are Rocky and on this rock I will build my gathering." But Jesus is not establishing institutional authority here. He is not setting up a hierarchy for his church. He is commending Peter, in the strongest terms, because of Peter's confession. The foundation upon which Jesus will build his people is the right knowledge of himself.
d. And here is the eternal purpose for which you and I are made. This is that for which our hearts long. Once we come to the right understanding of who Jesus is for us, then we become part of the congregation that he is building. We get connected with what he is doing.
e. The psychologist Carl Jung said that most of the mental distress he encountered was the result of a lack of purpose. God gives us that sense of purpose through our knowledge of Jesus. You want to be part of something exciting, something world-changing? Then get to know Jesus.
2) Divine power
a. There is about the lives of those who know Jesus not only eternal purpose, but divine power. "I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overcome it," Jesus promised. We cannot be overcome even by hell itself. What a powerful promise: no matter what happens we will not be overcome.
b. This is what Paul meant when he told his readers that through Christ we are "more than conquerors." In fact, Paul catalogues all of our potential enemies. "Trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, the sword, death, life, angels, demons, the present, the future" in fact over all creation we are more than conquerors.
c. If you're anything like me you don't feel like your life is marked by divine power sometimes. Sometimes I don't feel like more than a conqueror. I have had 2 conversations in the past week in which I was engaged in complaining about the lack of apparent power in my life. But as I was putting this lesson together God reminded me of my friend Larry.
3) The right perspective
a. When we know Jesus our lives have eternal purpose and divine power. They also have the right perspective. "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven."
b. Jesus is here using language that his listeners would have been familiar with, but which is mostly lost on us. The terms "binding" and "loosing" were used typically in Jesus day to suggest permitting and forbidding. So when a mom bound her child from going outside, the child was forbidden to go outside. When a Rabbi loosed his students to travel on the Sabbath, the students were permitted to travel on that day.
c. Here, Jesus is saying, "I will give you the perspective of heaven. The Pharisees and teachers of the law are constantly getting it wrong. They are majoring on minors and minoring on majors. They permit what they should forbid and forbid what they should permit. But because of your knowledge of me, you will get it right. What you forbid will be the same thing that is forbidden in heaven and what you permit will be the same thing that heaven blesses."
d. What an incredible assurance for us who believe! That means when we give advice and counsel, to the degree that we are basing our council on our knowledge of Jesus, it will be wise council. In our relationships, in raising our children, in our marriages we will make right decisions if we base those decisions on our knowledge of Jesus.
I have often heard it said that the key to success is not what you know but who you know. According the Bible, that is only partially true. According to the Bible, the key to success in life is what you know about who you know.