WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:06.879 So most of us, I'm sure, have had the awkward experience of calling someone by the wrong name. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:07.679 Right? 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:17.039 Have you ever been talking to someone for several minutes and then suddenly you realize that you've been calling them by the wrong name or you've been mentioning their name wrong for the entire time? 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:20.160 At that point, right, you you kind of had have two choices. 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:30.079 Either admit it immediately, I'm sorry, I've been calling you by the wrong name, or just avoid saying their name for the rest of the discussion or the conversation. 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:31.920 I think I do the latter. 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:36.640 You know, we laugh about that because we know that names or someone's name matters. 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:41.759 Calling someone the wrong thing means that you really don't know who they are. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:43.840 You really don't know much about them. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:48.479 In our passage this morning, something similar is happening with Jesus. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:55.280 People are talking about him everywhere, but they keep getting his identity wrong. 00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:03.119 We have all heard, if you've been around church, you've you've heard Jesus being called Christ. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:08.480 He's called that way in the Bible, he's called that way around churches. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:10.560 But but what does that word mean? 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:15.200 In case you didn't know, Christ is not his last name, it's not Jesus Christ. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:17.760 Christ is a title. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:21.439 But what does it mean to be the Christ? 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:27.920 I think it's a good question because Christ is not a word that we use in our everyday vocabulary. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:30.560 We don't go around calling people the Christ. 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:34.640 Well, the Greek word Christ is simply the Hebrew word Messiah. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.640 It means the anointed one. 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:42.719 The concept of a Messiah in ancient Israel speaks to an anointed king. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:47.680 When kings were set apart to lead nations, they they were anointed. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:54.079 In other words, they were specifically set apart for the task of leading their people. 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:59.359 Before Jesus came, Israel was waiting for the Messiah. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:06.719 They had lost their land, they had lost their king, and they had been overthrown by other nations. 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:10.479 And during this time, they were under the rule of the Roman government. 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:16.319 So they were waiting for a Christ, a Messiah, to come and set them free. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:19.360 And this is who Peter is claiming Jesus to be. 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:22.240 He is the one who they have been waiting for. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:32.000 He is the Messiah who has come to set things in order for them, the one true king who would free them and who would deliver them. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:41.919 Now it doesn't mean that Peter knew exactly what that all meant, but his confession is the first human confession of who Jesus is in Luke's gospel. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:46.879 Remember, the angels and the demons have already acknowledged who he is. 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:51.280 Now we have an acknowledgement by a person, by a man. 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:57.520 You know, Peter is often viewed as the spokesman for the disciples. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:03.360 So really his confession is most likely theirs as well. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:11.039 They see that this man, Jesus, is not merely a prophet, and he's not merely just a great teacher. 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:15.520 No, this man, Jesus, is something much more. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:19.120 This is the one who the scriptures pointed to. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:23.120 This is, as Peter says, the Christ of God. 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:28.719 I titled this sermon this morning, Confessing Jesus. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:36.080 Because like these disciples, we must all wrestle with this question of who Jesus is. 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:48.800 When Jesus asks, who do people say that I am, or who do you say that I am, we must all make a confession of who Jesus really is. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:54.000 I have four takeaways from our passage as we consider the question before us. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:55.039 Who is Jesus? 00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:57.039 Who is Jesus? 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:12.479 Number one is the call to confess, number two is the wrong confession, number three as is as you guessed it, the right confession, and number four is the cost of confession. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:20.800 The call to confess, the wrong confession, the right confession, and the cost of confession. 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:24.240 This is what we will be looking at this morning in the passage. 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:26.639 Let's look at number one, the call to confess. 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:27.439 Verse 18. 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:35.439 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he asked them, Who do the crowd say that I am? 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.839 The question of who Jesus is had been stirring up among the people. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.920 You remember earlier in the chapter, Herod and others had this same question. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.560 And now we are starting to get some answers. 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:52.879 Jesus, by feeding the 5,000, which we saw last week, was displaying who he is. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:05:02.639 Peter and the disciples here give a verbal confession of who he is, and later on in the chapter, we will see God the Father from heaven confess who he is. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.399 But Jesus knows that the question was being asked about him. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:09.839 People wanted to know who he really was. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.360 Luke tells us that he, as he was praying alone. 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:22.639 Now he doesn't give us the area, but in Mark's gospel we are told that this is near Caesarea Philippi, which is a city north of the Sea of Galilee. 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:25.920 It was also known as a very pagan city. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.560 In other words, they worship other gods there. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:33.040 And the primary God that they worship in this city was the Greek God Pan. 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:41.439 It's fitting that the true God is confessed in a city where a false God is often confessed. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:50.000 But as he was praying, as Jesus was praying, he poses this question to the disciples, Who do people say that I am? 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:51.839 Now it's not that he didn't know. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:56.480 Jesus knows all things, but he wanted the disciples to answer the question. 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:03.920 In a moment, he will ask the disciples who they think he is directly, but for now he wants to know, what do others think of me? 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:06.160 What are others saying about me? 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:10.720 What do people say about me and who do they say that I am? 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:14.079 What do others confess about Jesus? 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:18.959 It's a question that everyone must answer. 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:21.680 No one is exempt from answering this question. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:31.120 Now, some might delay it, some may try to never think about it, they'll avoid it, but sooner or later, everyone will have to answer for who Jesus is. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:34.240 See, many people think that this question is not for them. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:39.439 Many people think that this question is only for those Christians, only for those who follow Jesus. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:48.639 The business of knowing who Jesus is, the business of discovering who Jesus is and to know about him only belongs to Christians and those who go to the church. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:07:00.319 Many people think that if they avoid the things of God and just live their lives as if he doesn't exist, or if he does exist, he's not for me, then they will avoid having to answer the question all together. 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:04.480 But the truth is that no one will be able to avoid the question. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:09.279 One day, everyone will have to give an account for who Jesus is. 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:13.279 Everyone will have to give an account for what they believed about him. 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:18.240 Everyone must confess whether he is Lord or they are Lord. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:20.160 And the truth is, here's the truth. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.519 People make this confession every single day. 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:26.480 Maybe not with their lips, but with their lives. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:36.240 With their lives, they are confessing that they are Lord over themselves, and consequently, they are confessing that Jesus is not Lord at all. 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:41.920 Today, the answer to who Jesus is is often answered wrongly. 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:46.720 And that's partly because we're answering the wrong question. 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:54.639 Instead of trying to find out who Jesus is, what most people in this world are trying to do is find out who they are. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:57.279 Who are we? 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:04.079 Instead of who is Jesus, we are consumed with who am I? 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:09.920 We aren't seeking him, we aren't seeking who he is, we're seeking ourselves. 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:14.879 We're trying to find ourselves, we're trying to figure out who we really are. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:18.319 We're trying to figure out our meaning and our purpose. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:19.600 Are we good people? 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:21.199 Are we bad people? 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:26.160 Martin Luther once said, we're all legalists at heart. 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:35.919 And that basically means that we're always trying to do right and do wrong based on our own perception of what is right and what is wrong. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.919 And we're always trying to justify right and wrong. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:48.159 In other words, we're always telling ourselves that we're not that bad, or even if I am that bad, I have an excuse for doing bad. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.360 I have a reason for doing the things that I do that are bad. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:09:04.559 It is because I grew up in this family, or it's because I was born in a certain area, or it's because this is all I've seen, or we're always trying to make excuses for why we do the things that we we know that we probably shouldn't do. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.840 Look what it says in Romans chapter 2, verse 12. 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:17.440 It says, For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:24.080 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:33.120 For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:49.200 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:10:00.879 So what this passage is saying is that those Gentiles, which everyone who is not a Jew, which is most of us in this room, I don't know everybody personally, but if you are, I apologize. 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:07.440 But most of us in this room who are not Jews are Gentiles, and and we didn't grow up in the Jewish law. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:26.960 We didn't, we we weren't, we don't have a family history of of knowing the Jewish law in the old covenant, but even though we don't have the law, there is a law of nature that is that is bearing witness to all of this, and it is it is it is written on the hearts of men. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:32.240 The law, what's right and what's wrong, is written on everyone's heart. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:38.399 In other words, all of mankind knows what God expects of them. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:41.519 You say, how can you say that? 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:47.279 Well, do you do you rarely have to teach a child that it's wrong to steal. 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:51.360 You rarely have to teach someone that it's wrong to kill. 00:10:51.840 --> 00:11:00.639 You rarely have to have, you know, a lot of classes saying how how wrong it is to cheat on your wife or cheat on your husband. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:02.960 You you ever people know that. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:04.799 People know it's wrong to do those things. 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:05.600 How do they know that? 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:07.120 They don't have to go to church to know that. 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.039 They don't have to open a Bible to know that. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:10.320 How do people know that? 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:14.080 Well, as the text says here, it is written on people's hearts. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:19.360 God has put it on people's hearts to know what is right and what is wrong. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:24.960 So if we know what God requires, what will be the basis of our justification before him? 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.559 In other words, how can we be made right before him? 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:33.679 As legalists, we will point to the things that we did or didn't do. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:38.720 Or again, if we did bad things, we will say, well, not as bad as that guy. 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:46.480 People will say, God, I know I'm not perfect, but I stayed with my wife even though I wanted to trade her in. 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:51.840 I may have wanted to a few times, but I never did it. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:57.440 Look, I stayed with her, and God, since you know everything, you know how hard that was for me to do. 00:11:57.600 --> 00:11:59.200 You know how difficult she can be. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:02.720 I mean, think, I think I should get extra credit for this one. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:08.320 Not only did I keep thou shalt not commit adultery, but I also kept thou shalt not kill. 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:12.879 Kept two commandments in one marriage. 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:17.759 Surely, Lord, you're going to look kindly on me for that. 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:25.039 See, mankind will always use the excuse that we're not as bad as we could be. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:26.799 And that's the problem. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:35.919 See, many will stand before God making a defense for what they did or didn't do with themselves when that's not the question. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:39.600 The question is not what did you do with yourself? 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:43.120 The question is, what did you do with Jesus? 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:51.200 Because you can pile up all of your good works and deeds and bring them before God, and they're not going to be enough. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:13:02.159 Your good works and your good heart will fall short of what you need, of the righteousness that you need to appease a holy God. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:04.159 That canyon is too deep. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:05.519 The ocean is too wide. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:12.399 Your good deeds can never fill the gap that is between you and a holy God. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.919 The only one that is able to fill that gap is Jesus. 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:24.159 The only one that we can stand before God the Father, the only name in which we can stand before God the Father is Jesus. 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.759 And we have to be clothed in his righteousness. 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:32.799 And there are too many people who think they can get by with their own apparel. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:37.840 Day by day, people everywhere assume that they won't have to be confronted with this question. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.000 But it simply can't be avoided. 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:43.360 Christ asked his disciples, Who do people say that I am? 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:46.639 That's a question that every soul will have to answer. 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:49.120 Who is Jesus? 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:52.879 And that brings us to our next point: the wrong confession. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:54.720 Look again at verse 19. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:57.600 And they answered, John the Baptist. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:59.200 But others say Elijah. 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:02.799 Another say that one of the prophets of old had risen. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:04.080 Let me stop there. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:07.919 So, like today, many people misunderstood who Jesus was. 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:10.320 People were saying that he was John the Baptist. 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:13.200 Others were saying he was Elijah, one of the prophets. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.639 Again, the people were going around and they were talking about him. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:18.480 Buzz was all around. 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:25.279 The miraculous powers that he was displaying meant that Jesus had to be somebody. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:26.879 He couldn't be just any man. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:31.360 The authority in which he preached in meant that he wasn't just any teacher. 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:36.559 Obviously, they they believed him to be something more, but they still got it wrong. 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:39.360 Their eyes were still blinded to the truth. 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:45.519 They had yet to see and to understand who it was who was with them. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:51.759 Yes, they believed in what they heard and what they saw because they couldn't deny the miracles. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:56.559 Yes, they spoke highly of him, but they also spoke wrongly of him. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:01.840 And when you look at who they thought he was, you will see that many people today think the same thing. 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.240 Let's take a little closer look at these men. 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:05.279 They believed him to be. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:08.240 Two great men, yes, but not the Christ. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:09.919 First, John the Baptist. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.759 Again, we've seen John the Baptist before, as he we've been walking through Luke's gospel. 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:19.200 A couple of weeks back, we read about him being beheaded at the request of King Herod. 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:22.960 And some believe that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:27.039 Again, John the Baptist was the voice of the one crying in the wilderness. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:31.120 He was the one who was preparing the way for the Messiah to come. 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:40.000 Remember, the people of Israel look forward to a day when a Christ would come and make things right, a day when their Messiah would come and set things in order. 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:46.320 And their scriptures told them that before that day comes, someone else would come to prepare that way. 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:48.480 And that's who John the Baptist was. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:16:00.639 As he was in the wilderness, many would come to him, hear him preach, and hear his message, and he was preaching repentance and baptism, telling people of the coming kingdom and the kingdom that was at hand. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.039 And still others believe he was Elijah. 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.960 Now Elijah, he was a revered prophet to the Jews. 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.320 You can read about him in 1st and 2 Kings. 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:19.679 And it wasn't so much that Elijah was greater than any of the other Old Testament figures, but Elijah held a special mystique among the Jews. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:26.240 Second Kings chapter 2, we read that Elijah was taken up to heaven by chariots of fire. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:30.080 In other words, Elijah never died, he never tasted death. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:35.279 How pleased God must have been with Elijah for God to take him up. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:39.519 Elijah to the Jews was an exemplary figure. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.480 He was a model servant of the Lord. 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:49.759 And like John the Baptist, Elijah was also seen as someone who was going to come and prepare the way for the Messiah. 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:56.399 In their day, they believed that Elijah would return and make way for the Messiah, which added to the mystique of the prophet. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:59.919 I mean, here he was that he didn't even die, and he's going to come back again. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:02.799 You can read about that in Malachi 4, 5. 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:06.480 So here we are with these two men who people are saying Jesus was. 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:09.920 Some said he was John the Baptist, others said he was Elijah. 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.759 Two great men, yes, but again, two men who are not the Christ. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:25.680 And as we we will see, and in the the modern landscape of our world, much hasn't changed from their day to ours. 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:33.200 Like John the Baptist, Jesus is seen as someone who just points to something else. 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:35.279 Someone who points to something greater. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:44.640 Like Elijah, Jesus is seen as a model figure, someone to look at look to as an ultimate example to how to live our lives. 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.079 Someone whose example we should follow. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:53.039 You know, Jesus is okay with a lot of people. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:57.680 There's not too many people who have a negative view of Jesus. 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:02.400 Even unbelievers and atheists don't have that bad of a view of him. 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:06.079 They're not really bothered by a form of Jesus. 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:09.519 Even among the lost, his approval ratings are pretty high. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:17.680 Gandhi once famously quoted, I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:20.160 Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:25.039 Now, what would make a Hindu like Gandhi say such a thing? 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:29.039 Never mind that it might be true that some Christians aren't like Christ. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.240 What would make him say that he likes Christ? 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:35.440 It's because he didn't know the true Christ. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:39.599 It's because he had an idea of Christ and he liked that idea. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.720 Many people like the idea of Jesus. 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:45.759 They like the idea of who Jesus can be. 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:49.200 They like that he was someone who taught others a better way. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:54.640 They liked how he showed others how to live and treat one another, that he was someone who lived what he taught. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:59.599 And if that's all who Jesus is, that's the wrong confession of him. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.839 And it's not only those outside of the church making these wrong confessions. 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:05.759 Many churchgoers do as well. 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:14.079 There are many people who are going to church Sunday after Sunday, filling the pews, who don't know the truth about who Jesus is. 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:19.359 There are many people who know about Jesus and they know the story of the cross and they know the story of the resurrection. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:26.400 They know about Easter and Christmas, but they still get the answer wrong to who Jesus is. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:35.039 Again, let's consider that the people believed that the return of John the Baptist and Elijah meant something. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:36.240 It signified something. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:40.079 It signified the end to their troubles. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:57.200 Because if this man, if these men, either John the Baptist or Elijah, have come to prepare the way, then that means the Messiah who's going to fix everything is just around the corner. 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:02.000 And he will come and he will free us from all of our problems. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.640 He will come and he will make things right again. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:13.680 He will come and he will give us back our land and he will give us back our king, and he will give us back our kingdom, and he will free us from Rome and from all of the oppression. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:17.599 When the Messiah comes, he will give us a better life. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:22.079 Which is what people think about coming to Jesus for today. 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:25.440 They like the idea that he can do some good things for them. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:32.000 There are so many people who seek Jesus for who they want him to be rather than for who he is. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:46.319 Some people want him to be their personal genie, someone who will give you anything you wish for, someone who will be there to give you everything that you ask, someone who's always just waiting for you to draw up enough faith so that he can give you what you want. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:48.160 Others consider him Mr. 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:48.880 Fixit. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:59.920 He's someone who can fix everything that is wrong in my life, whether it's marriage problems or financial problems or family problems or career problems, maybe an addiction, maybe an anxiety. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:03.440 They hear that Jesus is the one who fixes things. 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:06.400 Something, he's a social justice warrior. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:11.759 That his whole purpose is to overturn all of the injustices that we see in our world. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:20.079 Others like him to be the political Jesus wrapped up in the American flag, using his name to argue for your favorite policy. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:23.920 And still, there are those who like the sentimental Jesus. 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:28.720 When their feelings are down or they need a friend, he's someone who's always there. 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:30.559 He's someone you can always talk to. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:36.640 He's someone you can come and cry to, especially when you have emotionally driven worship music on in the background. 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:41.039 And let's not forget about the ticket to heaven, Jesus. 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:44.880 He's the one people use as a commodity to get them into heaven. 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:52.559 As they're living their best life, Jesus is there on the side as that golden ticket into heaven. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:56.880 Now, there's a little truth about Jesus in all of these. 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:02.319 He is someone who answers prayers, he is someone who Who can help marriages and break addictions? 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.240 He is someone concerned about justice. 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:07.519 He is a trusted friend who you can come to in your time of need. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:10.160 And of course, he is the only way to get to heaven. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:15.519 But confessing those things only confesses what he does. 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:18.640 It doesn't confess who he is. 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.599 Notice the question again. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:26.000 The question wasn't, what do people say that I do? 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.279 It was who do people say that I am? 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:35.359 There's too many people confessing what he does without confessing who he is. 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:37.200 So let's look to the right question. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:38.799 Look at verse 20. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:42.319 Then he said to them, But who do you say that I am? 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:46.079 And Peter answered, The Christ of God. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:52.720 While others answered wrongly, Peter, he answers right. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:55.359 His eyes were beginning to open. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:00.640 He may have not seen everything quite clearly yet, but he was starting to see something. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:09.119 That this man who was before him was not just a prophet, and he wasn't just a good teacher, but this man was the Christ of God. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:13.759 That this is the one who all of the scriptures, all of the Bible pointed to. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:21.039 What all that meant at the moment, he might not have known, but what he was sure of was that this is the one. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:22.559 He's from God. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:28.079 There's no need to wait, there's no need to look for another because this is the Christ. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:29.680 This is the Messiah. 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:34.000 This is the one who has come to save and deliver his people. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:38.880 He's not just teaching us good things, he's not just paving the way for someone else. 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.119 He's not just showing me a good example. 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:44.319 This is the appointed one of God. 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:50.480 After many wrong confessions, Peter and the disciples make the right one. 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:55.839 What does it mean to confess Christ rightly? 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:01.359 What does it mean to confess who Jesus really is? 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:05.519 Well, it means to confess what the Bible says about him. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:14.079 And here are a few things, I'm gonna go a little quick, but here are a few things that Scripture tells us about Jesus and who he is. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:15.839 Number one, he is God. 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:16.799 John 1.1. 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:21.519 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:32.720 He is the Son of God, Romans 1.4, and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:35.119 He is one with the Father, John 10.30. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:36.720 I and the Father are one. 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:38.799 He is our Savior, Matthew 1.21. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:45.039 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:47.359 He is our mediator, 1 Timothy 2.5. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:52.480 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:54.079 He is our propitiation. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.920 That means that he is the one who can appease God for us. 00:24:58.079 --> 00:24:59.119 1 John 2.2. 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:05.119 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:06.559 He is our righteousness. 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:09.599 1 John, I'm sorry, 2 Corinthians 5.21. 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:17.279 For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:18.720 Here's one more. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:20.240 He is the only way to God. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:21.680 John 14 6. 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:24.480 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:28.640 No one comes to the Father except through me. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:31.039 I keep going, but I'll stop there. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:31.839 On and on. 00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:37.839 We can keep going about the wonderful truths that the scriptures tell us about who Jesus is. 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:46.400 His personhood, his work, his mission, all things that are distorted today in today's view of Jesus. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:51.920 Look, if Jesus is anything else, then you don't need Christianity. 00:25:52.960 --> 00:26:08.400 If Jesus is merely a good teacher who taught you some good things, if he's merely a virtuous man who sets great examples, if he's just a personal friend who you can talk to in your time of need, then you can go anywhere for that. 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:10.400 You don't need to come to Jesus for that. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:12.799 You can go to other religions and find that. 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:20.960 What distinguishes Christianity from all other religions is not simply what he did, but who he is. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:24.880 Because who he is makes what he did important. 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:29.039 Many people have laid down their lives for others. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:31.440 Many people have taught good things. 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:36.720 Many people have set great examples, but none of those people were God. 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:47.599 Jesus, our God, humbled himself to die for those whom he loved. 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:59.119 No other God emptied himself and put on human flesh, not only to live with us, but to live for us. 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:05.839 Our God didn't just come to be near to us, he came to be one of us. 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:10.240 He came to live our life and die our death. 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:16.880 Look, reject that, and you reject everything about Him. 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:21.839 He didn't come to cure our social ills. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:26.480 He didn't come to bring you your best life. 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.480 He came to live your best life for you. 00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:33.920 Because your best life would have sent you to hell. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:39.200 Your best life would fall short of the glory of God. 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:43.200 Only his best is acceptable. 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:45.200 And he gave his best. 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:50.079 He gave his best for those who would trust and believe in him. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:54.240 Your own works, your own abilities are not enough. 00:27:54.319 --> 00:28:04.720 Unless you submit your desires and your passions and your entire life to his will, then you will not know the answer to who Jesus is. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:14.160 And here's the thing once you find out who he truly is, you will see that he's so much more than you ever thought him to be. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:20.400 You saw him as love because you thought he wanted you to have a great life. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:23.920 Wait until you see his love in the light of the cross. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:34.559 People will say they think much of Jesus because they believe he can meet their needs or make them happy and make them successful. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:37.519 When the truth is that's thinking too little of him. 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:45.200 A Jesus that can make your life a little bit better than it is now is not that great. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:51.119 That was the misconception people have, misconception people had in Jesus' day. 00:28:51.359 --> 00:29:01.200 They thought that Jesus was going to come and he was going to overthrow Rome, that he was going to come and he was going to defeat their enemies. 00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:10.799 But look, there have been many, if you know history, there have been many great men throughout history who have come and won and conquered and who've led revolutions. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:15.039 There have been many who have led charges to conquer kingdoms. 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:21.119 But there's only one who has led a charge to conquer hell, death, and the grave. 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:24.319 Which Christ are you confessing? 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:28.640 Are you confessing the right one or the wrong one? 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:33.200 And lastly, the cost of confession, verse 21. 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:49.039 And he strictly charged them, or and he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed on the third day, and on the third day be raised. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:30:00.079 So after Peter confesses rightly who Jesus is, that Jesus is the Son of the Christ of God, Jesus charges him and the rest of the disciples not to tell anyone. 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:01.759 That might sound strange. 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:05.119 Why wouldn't he want this word to get out? 00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:07.920 But remember, they're still figuring this out. 00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:14.960 The disciples are barely coming to this conclusion that he is Christ, that he's the Christ of God. 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:16.960 They're still trying to learn some things. 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:19.519 Soon they'll be able to teach others, but not quite yet. 00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:21.680 So he commands them not to tell everyone. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:23.039 They're not ready for this. 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:26.880 Although he does reveal to them what kind of Christ he is. 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:32.640 He has not come as the conquering Messiah, but as the suffering Messiah. 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:39.440 As he says, he will suffer many things, be rejected, and killed by the chief priests and the scribes. 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:46.640 This is the first time in Luke's gospel that Jesus is predicting his death and his resurrection. 00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:50.079 This must have been a shock to the disciples. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:51.839 Because they were hearing this for the first time. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:31:03.759 I mean, here they are, finally confessing that this is the Messiah, that this is the one who had been sent from God, but he has not come to save them from their human oppressors. 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:06.400 But there's better news. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:09.759 He has come to save them from their spiritual ones. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:12.640 He has not come to conquer by the way of the sword. 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:15.920 He's come to conquer by the way of the cross. 00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:20.319 But here's where it really hits home for the disciples. 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:34.160 If Jesus was going to suffer, and he was going to be rejected, and if he was only going to be, and if he was going to be killed, would they be willing to follow him all the way through? 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:40.559 See, it's one thing to follow Jesus through the healings and the miracles, which is what they've already been doing. 00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:44.880 They've been following Jesus around, healing the sick and casting out demons. 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:48.160 It's one thing to follow him through that. 00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:53.440 It's quite another thing to follow him when he's going to be rejected and when he's going to suffer. 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:59.039 It's one thing to follow him when the crowd is pressing in and cheering on his name. 00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:03.599 But what about when the crowd turns on him and calls for his blood? 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:08.880 Soon enough, their confession is going to be tested. 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:12.559 See, it's easy to confess Jesus when things are safe. 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:15.519 But what about when things get dangerous? 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:20.720 What about when it gets costly to confess him as Lord? 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:22.400 And here's the truth. 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:27.920 Every Christian throughout their Christian life will face similar tests. 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:33.920 There will be moments when confessing Jesus as your Lord will be costly. 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:43.200 Because it's easy to confess him on Sundays when you're in church and when you're around brothers or sisters and the Bibles are open and everyone's singing. 00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:45.680 It's easy to confess Jesus then. 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:49.279 But what about Mondays when the storms of life hit? 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:53.440 What about when temptations come and draw our hearts away from him? 00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:58.000 What about when trials make us question his love for us? 00:32:58.240 --> 00:33:00.720 Are we willing to follow Christ then? 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:05.359 Are we willing to follow Christ wherever that might lead us? 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:09.920 Are we willing to suffer with him in order that we might glory with him? 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:12.000 Romans 8, 17. 00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:21.599