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Matthew 16:13-16 WHO IS JESUS TO YOU? Intro: Jesus and His disciples are in the “coasts
of Caesarea Philippi”. This was a predominately Gentile area located
some 25 miles north of Bethsaida where Jesus had just healed a blind man, Mark 8:22-26. It is here that a
spring issues forth from Mount Hermon that forms one of the tributaries that
becomes the Jordan River. This was a beautiful area that was
steeped in pagan religion. In ancient time, the city had been called “Balinas”,
because it had been a center of Baal worship. Baal was the Phoenician god of
fertility and nature. Later, the name was changed to “Panias”, because the
Greeks believed that their god Pan was born in a cave in the hills above the
city, at the foot of Mount Hermon. Pan was a half-goat, half-man god who was
believed to be the guardian of flocks and nature. In fact, the modern name of
this ancient city is “Banias”, which is a form of “Panias”. Caesarea Philippi also contained a
gleaming marble temple, built by Herod Philip, to honor Caesar, the Roman
Emperor, who was considered to be a god. The citizens of this city were
required to enter this temple, at least once per year, place a pinch of incense
on a burning altar and proclaim, “Caesar is Lord!” It was here, in this city devoted to
the worship of idols and manmade gods that Jesus chose as the place to make a
fuller revelation of Himself to His disciples. It was also here that Simon
Peter saw for the first time that Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God. Jesus used this tragic backdrop of
paganism and false worship to cause His men to think about the most vital issue
of life. That issue is, Who is Jesus To You? Correctly
understanding Who Jesus is means the difference between being saved and being
lost. It means the difference between Heaven and Hell. Today, I want to take a close look at
our Savior’s question in verse 15. The question is, “Whom
say ye that I am?” your answer to that question determines how you will
live your life here, and it will determine where you will go when you die. It
is the single most important question you will ever hear, or that you will ever
answer. Let’s consider the possible answers
together as I try to preach around the question: “Who Is Jesus To You?” I. LET’S
ASK HUMANITY A. What
Have Men Said In The Past? – During the life of Christ, men had a lot
to say about Him and who they thought He was. Verse 14 shows us who some thought Jesus to be. Some
thought: 1. John
The Baptist – A holy man willing to die for his faith. Even King Herod
thought that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead, Matt. 14:1-2. 2. Elijah
– The greatest of all the OT prophets. The Jews were expecting Elijah to return
just before Messiah came, Mal. 4:5.
Some believed that Jesus was the forerunner, but not the messiah. 3. Jeremiah
– A holy prophet who was expected to return to earth just before Messiah came. He
was supposed to bring with him the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and the
Altar of Incense which he had hidden in Mount Nebo before he died, 2 Maccabees 2:1-12; 2 Esdres 2:18. 4. One of
the Prophets – A man of God sent with a message for their time, or a man in
whom dwelt the spirit of one of the great prophets. (Note: All of these views
elevated Jesus above the status of an ordinary man. They show that the Jews at
least believed Him to be a great man, even a holy man, but their views of Him
fall far short of what is required for salvation.) 5. Not everyone in Jesus’ day thought He was a
great man. Some thought He was nothing more than a nobody. Some even thought He
was an evil man. ·
A
lowly carpenter – Mark 6:3 ·
The
son of Joseph – John 6:42 ·
A
sinner – John 9:24 ·
An
illegitimate child – John 8:41 ·
A
devil – Matt. 12:24 ·
A mad
man – John 10:20 ·
A fool
and the object of contempt and scorn – Matt.
27:38-43 6. Even
His half-brothers had harsh things to say about Jesus – John 7:3-5. Note: If
they will say these types of things about Jesus now, what will they say about
Him when He isn’t here on earth, working miracles and demonstrating His power, Luke 23:31? B. What Do Men Say In The Present? –
Just as men had an opinion concerning the identity of Jesus Christ in His day,
so they still do today. Here is what a few people are saying about Jesus. 1. The
Jehovah’s Witnesses – “Michael the Archangel is no other than the
only begotten Son of God, now Jesus Christ.” (New Heavens and New Earth, pp, 30-31) 2. The
Mormons – “…Jesus, our elder brother was begotten in the flesh by the same character
that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our father in Heaven.” (Journal of Discourses; Vol. 1, pp.
50-51.) “…that Lucifer the son of the morning is our elder brother, and the
brother of Jesus.” (Apostle B.
McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 163-164.) “Jesus was married at Cana of
Galilee and had many wives, including Mary and Martha, he also had man
children.” (Journal of Discourses,
Vol. 1, pp. 345-346; Vol. 2, pp. 79-82; Vol. 4, pp. 259-260; The Seer, p. 172). Jesus
was the first baby born to God in Heaven, when God, in a physical body, had
sexual intercourse with Mary, His Own daughter. He is the spirit brother of
Lucifer. 3. Islam
– “Jesus
was no more than a mortal whom Allah favored and made and example to the
Israelites. They are unbelievers who say God is Messiah, Mary’s son.” (Sura
43:59) Jesus was a prophet, but He was not crucified on a cross. He will
return, but He is not God. 3. The Hindu
– Jesus is just one of millions of gods. 5. The
Jewish Talmud – Jewish writings that detail how Jews are to live their
lives, has the following things to say about Jesus. “She who was the descendant of
princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters.” (Sanhedrin, 106a) “Miriam (Mary) the hairdresser had
sexual relations with many men.”, (Shabbeth
104b) “Jesus was executed because He practiced Sorcery”, (Sanhedrin 43a) “Jesus is in Hell being boiled in
hot excrement.” (Giffin 57a) The
Jewish Encyclopedia pictures Jesus as “blind in one eye and lame in one foot.” 6. People living
all around us have an opinion concerning Jesus Christ. Some think He was a good
man. Others think He was a great teacher. People hold all types of ideas
concerning who Jesus Christ is. What is sad is that nothing I have shared with
you thus far is even close to the truth. All of these people and groups have
ideas about Jesus, but none of them are biblical ideas. Since humanity cannot
help us determine the identity of Jesus, then let’s ask Heaven. I. Let’s Ask Humanity II. LET’S
ASK HEAVEN A. The
Sovereign – Notice what God the Father says about Jesus. “... This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased.”, Matt. 3:17.
“...This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”, Matt. 17:5. B. The Spirits
– The Spirit world has something to say about Jesus. 1. Heavenly Spirits – Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:8-20 2. Hellish Spirits – Matt. 8:29; Luke 4:41; James 2:19 C. The
Scriptures – Isa. 9:6; Micah
5:2; Isa. 11:1-5; Jer. 23:5; Isa. 53:1-12; John 1:1, 14; Mark 1:1; Phil.
2:5-11; Acts 2:36; Acts 10:36. The Bible is filled with information
about the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even the names given to Jesus in
the Bible speak of His position: He is called Lord, this implies that He
is in control; that He is deity. He is called Jesus, this name means “Jehovah
is salvation.” This is His earthly name. It
reminds us that He is human. He is called Christ, the name means “anointed”,
it refers to Jesus as the One chosen by God to be the Messiah. The Bible is
crystal clear on Who Jesus Christ is! D. The
Saints – Many of the great figures of the New Testament offered their
testimony to the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus told Peter in Matt. 16:17, the knowledge of
Who Jesus is does not come from the human heart, it comes from Heaven above. For
the sake of time, we will only ask two of these great men at the moment: John
the Baptist, John 1:34 and
Paul, Acts 9:20. E. The
Savior – What a person says about himself is also important in
discussing his identity. Here are some of the things Jesus said about Himself. ·
John
14:9, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” ·
John
10:30, “I and my Father are one.” ·
John 8:58, “Jesus
said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” ·
John
14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” ·
John
17 – The whole chapter! ·
John
6:35, “I am the bread of life.” ·
John
8:12, “I am the light of the world.” ·
John 10:9, “I
am the door.” ·
John
10:11, “I am the good shepherd.” ·
John
10:36, “I am the Son of God” ·
John
11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.” ·
John
14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life…” ·
John
15:1, “I am the true vine.” ·
C.S. Lewis once said, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort
of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a
lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be
the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son
of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or
you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with
any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left
that open to us.” I. Let’s Ask Humanity II. Let’s Ask Heaven III. LET’S
ASK OUR OWN HEARTS A. Let
Hear From Other Hearts – In the pages of the Bible, several people had
a personal encounter with Jesus that forever changed their lives. I want to
share a few of their statements about Jesus with you today. 1. Simeon – Luke 2:28-32, “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation...A light
to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.” 2. Nathaniel – John 1:49, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the
King of Israel.” 3. Simon Peter – Matt. 16:16 4. The Woman At The Well – John 4:29, “Come, see a man, which told me
all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” 5. Martha – John 11:27 “Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ,
the Son of God, which should come into the world.” 6. The Dying Thief – Luke 23:39-43 “And
one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be
Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost
not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due
reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me
when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto
thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” 7. The
Roman Centurion – Mark 15:39
“Truly
this man was the Son of God.” 8. Thomas – John 20:24-28 “My Lord and my God.” (Note: There are many other
witness that we could call to testify as to Who Jesus is. But, these are
sufficient to see that any life that is touched directly by His is a life that
is profoundly affected!) B. Let’s
Hear From Our Hearts – We have heard from man today. We have seen that,
among humans, there are those who deny that Jesus is the Son of God and the
only way of salvation. We have other testimony from lives that have been
changed by Him. These indicate that He is Who He claims to be. We have heard what God Almighty
has said about Him. We have listened as the angels gave voice to what they know
to be the truth. We have even heard the grudging witness of the demonic
spirits. We have heard enough to be
convinced that Jesus Christ is Someone about Whom we must make a decision. With
that in mind, what does your heart say about Him today? 1. Is He just a baby at Christmas and a guy on a
cross at Easter? Or is He the crucified and risen Lord of your life? 2. Is He a way to God, just one among many? Or.
Is He the way, the truth and the life? 3. Is He a good man, A great teacher and a
prophet? Or is He the Son of God and your only hope for salvation? 4. Is He a liar? Is He a lunatic? Or, is He your
Lord? 5. What is the testimony of your heart today? Are
you trusting Jesus and Him alone for the salvation of your soul? Have you faced
a time when you saw yourself as a sinner and Jesus Christ as your only hope? Are
you trusting Jesus and Jesus alone for your soul’s salvation today? 6. Let’s hear from the Bible one more time: John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12; Rom.
10:13; Rom. 10:9. Where do you stand in the midst of all this? Who is
Jesus to you? Conc: Who
is Jesus to you? Is your answer one that will guarantee you a home in heaven
when you leave this world? Is your answer the kind that pleases the flesh, the
world and the devil, or is it the kind that pleases the Lord? Are you saved? Do
you want to be saved? Will you some to Jesus right now? These questions are
vital. The most vital of all questions is the one we have been considering
together” “Who is Jesus to you?” Simon Peter got the answer right, v. 16. He only got it right
because the answer had been revealed to him by the Lord, v. 17. Right now, the Lord is revealing His identity to your
heart. He is convicting you of your sins and He is drawing you to Himself, John 6:44. Now is the time for
you to come to Him. Now is the moment for you to be saved, 2 Cor. 6:2. Right now you are asking “What
should I do with Jesus?” One day the question will be,”What
will Jesus do with me?” What
will you do with Jesus? Jesus is
standing at
your heart’s door, Standing
and waiting, He’s
knocked before. This
is the question you
face once more, What
will you do with Jesus? At your
sad heart, He is
knocking still, Longing
to enter, your soul to fill. You
must accept or reject His will, What
will you do with Jesus? Oh,
will you leave Him
alone outside, Or,
will you chose Him, what’er
betide, This
is the question you
must decide, What
will you do with Jesus? Chorus What
will you do with Jesus? What
will you do with Jesus? Neutral
you cannot be! One
day your heart will be asking, What
will Jesus do with me? |
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