The Rock

Part 1 What about you?

11^th November 2016

Matthew 16v13-18
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.

A little time before (in Matthew 14v22-33) the disciples had been out in a boat on the lake, and it had been a bit stormy. And they saw Jesus walking on the water towards them. Some were afraid, thinking it was a ghost, but Peter recognised it was Jesus and said, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water". And Jesus did. And Peter got out of the boat, and started walking on the water, until he realised that the winds were whipping up the waves, and they were getting a bit high. Then he panicked and started sinking, and Jesus caught him.

Verses 32 - 33 of Chapter 14 say, And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who we in the boat worshipped Jesus, saying "Truly you are the son of God."

But the things we say in times of great fear, or great excitement, or great relief because God has delivered us from a difficult situation, might not be the same as the things we say when we're being calm, and reflective, and thinking things through. We've all said things in what you might call the heat of the moment that we wouldn't say when were completely placid and in control of our emotions.

So Jesus took them to Caesarea Philippi for a chat. He took then out of Israelite territory, into what is now Syria, away from all the ministry, away from the crowds, away from the excitement, away from the fear of the Romans and the Pharisees, to a place of calm, for what these days we'd probably call a retreat. And he spent time with them, sat them down and asked them, "Who do people say the son of man is?" And they answered Him, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets".

(Actually, some people were saying Jesus was Beelzebub, but the disciples didn't tell him that. Others were saying Jesus was a danger to the peace, but they didn't tell him that, either. They were being nice, giving him the positive answers. They weren't giving him all the answers.)

Then Jesus asked the twelve a question that is the most important question he will ask you and me. This is the most important question there is: "But what about YOU? Who do YOU say I am?" It doesn't matter what other people think. What's important is, who do YOU say Jesus is? Who do YOU say? What do YOU really think? Never mind what you said at a particularly intense moment of worship, or fear. When you're calm, thinking things through, being reflective, what do YOU really think? Now there's nothing riding on it apart from the truth, what do YOU say?

Simon - the man who said "Tell me to come to you on the water" - the man who really trusted Jesus - answered. Nobody else answered. Simon said "You are the Christ, the son of the living God". Jesus is the Christ - the Messiah - the Anointed One. Jesus is the promised prophet, the promised sacrifice, the promised leader, the promised king, the one Israel had been waiting for 1,000 years. But He's more than that - He's the Son of God.

Simon hadn't worked out his doctrine of the Holy Trinity to four decimal places, like we have now. It took the church 400 years to do that. But he knew Jesus wasn't just a man. Somehow, he knew Jesus was divine. He said, "You're the son of... God".

Is that who Jesus is? Is Jesus the Messiah? Is He the second Person of the Holy Trinity? Is he God? This is the only question that really matters. Because if he isn't, then why bother with Christianity at all? But if he is, then everything changes for all eternity. What do YOU say?

How did the others react? What did they think? We don't know. But it's the same in any seminar, isn't it? One person says, "Well, I think..." And the others are glad he answered, because they can just sit at the back and see what happens.

There is a value in boldness. And there is a value in confessing with your lips that Jesus Christ is Lord. It's not enough to believe it; we have to confess it. Paul wrote in Romans 10v10, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved". It's important to admit what we truly believe. Simon did. James and John and Andrew and Thomas and the others didn't. Not yet, anyway.

Jesus replied to Simon, "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah..." Simon had just said "You are the son of... God". And Jesus reminded him, "Yes, and you're the son of Jonah". There's a difference, The greatest disciple, the greatest Christian leader in the world, is just a human. Jesus is the son of God. There's a huge difference. He's divine and we're not.