WEBVTT 00:00:31.949 --> 00:00:37.789 Alright, I'll ask you to please open your Bibles to Luke chapter 9 verses 18 through 22. 00:00:39.629 --> 00:00:51.390 As Presbyterians, we believe that elders like me have an obligation to the loc not just the local body, Hickory Grove, but also the broader church. 00:00:51.469 --> 00:00:56.349 So Nashville Presbytery, the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church of America. 00:00:56.509 --> 00:01:00.349 We have a kind of regional understanding of our duties. 00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:10.430 And one of the ways in which I serve the broader body is that I serve on our Presbytery's Leadership Development Committee and I teach at Reformed Theological Seminary. 00:01:11.949 --> 00:01:16.990 This past Thursday, I started teaching a new course on Christian thought and philosophy. 00:01:17.150 --> 00:01:28.509 And philosophy classes are a lot of fun because you get to conduct thought experiments where you ask silly questions like, What is this wooden object right in front of me? 00:01:28.670 --> 00:01:33.710 And you just watch as the students squirm to try to give the right answer. 00:01:34.670 --> 00:01:38.669 Now, let's say we do that right now. 00:01:39.150 --> 00:01:51.629 Imagine I hand out a pen and a pad to every person in this room, and I ask you to identify and define this wooden object right here in front of me, and then pass your answer up to me. 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:59.710 I'm willing to bet that if we did that, we would end up with 150 different answers to the question, 150 definitions. 00:01:59.949 --> 00:02:05.229 Sure, they would agree in plenty of ways, but they'd probably disagree in others. 00:02:05.469 --> 00:02:08.590 Like, is this a pulpit or is it a podium? 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:10.270 Or is it a table? 00:02:10.430 --> 00:02:12.030 Or is it a lectern? 00:02:12.509 --> 00:02:13.789 Is it brown? 00:02:14.189 --> 00:02:15.150 Is it tan? 00:02:15.629 --> 00:02:17.389 Is it some kind of yellow? 00:02:17.629 --> 00:02:19.310 Honestly, I'm not sure. 00:02:20.270 --> 00:02:23.389 Does it look good or does it look ugly? 00:02:23.710 --> 00:02:27.629 Is it the kind of thing you want to see in a pulpit or whatever it is or not? 00:02:27.870 --> 00:02:28.830 And so on. 00:02:29.069 --> 00:02:38.030 I think we're safe to say that not everybody in the room would agree about their definition of this wooden object. 00:02:38.509 --> 00:02:38.830 Okay? 00:02:40.269 --> 00:02:44.989 Now what should we conclude from that disagreement? 00:02:45.549 --> 00:02:48.189 Should we conclude that this thing doesn't exist? 00:02:48.989 --> 00:02:53.229 Because clearly, if it did exist, we would all define it in the same way. 00:02:54.189 --> 00:02:55.789 Well, that's silly, right? 00:02:56.189 --> 00:02:56.989 Here it is. 00:02:57.150 --> 00:02:57.949 It exists. 00:02:58.189 --> 00:03:00.989 Even if we disagree about what exactly it is. 00:03:01.789 --> 00:03:03.629 Or should we become skeptics? 00:03:03.870 --> 00:03:07.949 Yeah, sure, okay, it exists, but we really can't know what it is. 00:03:08.109 --> 00:03:10.030 We really can't know what it's like. 00:03:10.189 --> 00:03:12.030 We are just too limited for that. 00:03:12.349 --> 00:03:14.109 Well, that's silly too, right? 00:03:14.269 --> 00:03:15.709 I mean, come have a look. 00:03:15.870 --> 00:03:17.389 Investigate it for yourself. 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:19.789 Run some tests if you need to. 00:03:20.030 --> 00:03:22.349 You can come to know the pulpit. 00:03:22.909 --> 00:03:26.750 Okay, so should we maybe maybe we should become relativists? 00:03:27.069 --> 00:03:29.150 Any definition is as good as another. 00:03:29.310 --> 00:03:36.349 You you have your truth about the pulpit, I'll have my truth about the pulpit, and we'll all just get on with our lives. 00:03:36.669 --> 00:03:40.429 And at this point, you're probably asking, can you just get on with the sermon? 00:03:41.549 --> 00:03:42.590 What's all this about? 00:03:42.669 --> 00:03:44.429 Like, what am I getting at here? 00:03:45.629 --> 00:03:54.349 There are a whole lot of people in the world with a whole lot of ideas about who Jesus is. 00:03:55.389 --> 00:03:57.789 There's a ton of disagreement. 00:03:58.109 --> 00:04:03.069 Some think he uh he was just an exemplary human being. 00:04:03.310 --> 00:04:06.189 Others think he was a great religious teacher. 00:04:06.509 --> 00:04:15.229 Jews think he was a charlatan, Muslims think he was a prophet, Mormons think he was the firstborn spirit child of the heavenly father and heavenly mother. 00:04:15.549 --> 00:04:17.230 Lots of different ideas. 00:04:17.550 --> 00:04:20.509 Lots of different lots of disagreement. 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:25.069 Now, what should we conclude from that disagreement? 00:04:25.870 --> 00:04:28.990 Should we conclude that Jesus didn't and doesn't exist? 00:04:30.269 --> 00:04:33.790 Should we conclude that we cannot know him as he is? 00:04:34.350 --> 00:04:38.910 Or that any definition of Jesus is as good as another? 00:04:39.470 --> 00:04:40.750 You see the connection, right? 00:04:40.829 --> 00:04:44.189 You see the connection between Jesus and the pulpit. 00:04:44.590 --> 00:04:55.230 Just because different people have different things to say about Jesus, that does not mean that he doesn't exist or that he hasn't given himself to be known. 00:04:55.390 --> 00:05:02.110 And it certainly doesn't mean that any diff definition of Jesus is as good as another. 00:05:02.910 --> 00:05:12.670 In today's passage, we uh Jesus, he's he's going to ask his disciples what the world has to say about his identity. 00:05:12.990 --> 00:05:18.590 But more importantly, he's gonna ask them who they say he is. 00:05:19.069 --> 00:05:28.270 And when he asks them that question, they're not gonna throw up their hands in the air as if there is no answer to the question, they're going to give an answer. 00:05:28.510 --> 00:05:34.430 And when they give the right answer in the wrong way, Jesus is going to take the time to correct them. 00:05:34.670 --> 00:05:35.310 Why? 00:05:35.710 --> 00:05:41.150 Because at the end of the day, all of our definitions of Jesus come short. 00:05:41.310 --> 00:05:54.750 And yet, even though we cannot know him comprehensively, even though we might fall short in ways, even though we might get things wrong on the periphery, we can know him truly. 00:05:55.950 --> 00:06:08.990 We may not be able to explain who he is in exhaustive detail, but we can still know him as he is, the Christ of God and the suffering servant who died to deliver his people from all their sins. 00:06:09.390 --> 00:06:13.550 We can know him, even in the midst of disagreement about him. 00:06:14.110 --> 00:06:18.750 So, with that said, I'll invite you to rise as I read today's sermon passage for us. 00:06:19.069 --> 00:06:23.710 This is Luke 9, verses 18 through 22. 00:06:26.750 --> 00:06:31.870 Now it happened that as Jesus was praying alone, the disciples were with him. 00:06:32.189 --> 00:06:35.950 And he asked them, Who do the crowd say that I am? 00:06:36.270 --> 00:06:39.150 And they answered, John the Baptist. 00:06:39.390 --> 00:06:45.390 But others say, Elijah, and others that one of the prophets of old has risen. 00:06:45.710 --> 00:06:49.069 And he said to them, But who do you say I am? 00:06:49.390 --> 00:06:52.430 And Peter answered, The Christ of God. 00:06:53.069 --> 00:07:07.310 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, and on the third day be raised. 00:07:07.950 --> 00:07:12.110 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 00:07:12.350 --> 00:07:18.590 Father, send your Holy Spirit now, we pray, to help us understand what you've revealed in your word. 00:07:19.150 --> 00:07:19.790 Amen. 00:07:20.830 --> 00:07:22.189 You may be seated. 00:07:23.710 --> 00:07:27.310 So our passage begins with the words, now it happened. 00:07:27.550 --> 00:07:35.870 And that's a fairly indefinite way of introducing the story that serves to untether it from what's come before. 00:07:49.230 --> 00:07:50.110 We don't know. 00:07:50.350 --> 00:07:52.189 Luke kind of makes it indefinite. 00:07:52.270 --> 00:08:08.750 And the reason that matters is because when we think about the setting for this exchange between Jesus and his disciples, we shouldn't be thinking about the miracle Jesus just did so much as we should be thinking about what it says in the next few words in verse 18. 00:08:09.150 --> 00:08:15.230 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. 00:08:15.710 --> 00:08:17.150 Jesus' prayer. 00:08:17.550 --> 00:08:20.910 That is the jumping off point in this passage. 00:08:21.230 --> 00:08:29.550 And when we see Jesus praying, we're meant to recall all of the other times in Luke's gospel where Jesus was praying and what he was up to. 00:08:29.710 --> 00:08:40.990 Like in chapter 3 after his baptism, as Jesus prayed, the heavens opened up and the Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove, and God spoke from heaven, You are my beloved son. 00:08:41.710 --> 00:08:51.710 Chapter 5, it says he would retreat to desolate places to pray as a kind of respite from in preparation for his heavy work of healing. 00:08:52.029 --> 00:08:58.990 Chapter 6, when he retreated to the mountain to pray, all night long so that God would prepare him to call the twelve. 00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:01.629 We'll see plenty more prayer in Luke. 00:09:02.590 --> 00:09:10.589 As I've said, this gospel is the gospel of prayer, because in it we see Jesus pray more than in any of the other gospels. 00:09:10.750 --> 00:09:13.069 Prayer is where Jesus communes with God. 00:09:13.230 --> 00:09:15.629 Prayer is where Jesus receives guidance. 00:09:15.709 --> 00:09:18.429 It's where he's encouraged and empowered permission. 00:09:18.509 --> 00:09:27.309 And most importantly, for today's passage and the one that follows it, prayer sets the stage for divine disclosure. 00:09:28.189 --> 00:09:30.269 Jesus is going to reveal himself. 00:09:30.669 --> 00:09:36.829 He's going to reveal something about himself that is crucial to the disciples' understanding of who he is. 00:09:37.069 --> 00:09:46.750 He is about to let them in on a secret that really they should have known all along, that he is the Christ, and the Christ must suffer. 00:09:47.469 --> 00:09:52.669 As we'll see, Jesus has two questions and a qualification for his disciples. 00:09:52.909 --> 00:09:54.589 Who do they say I am? 00:09:54.909 --> 00:09:56.589 Who do you say I am? 00:09:56.909 --> 00:09:58.990 And let me tell you what that really means. 00:09:59.230 --> 00:10:05.230 And surprise, surprise, this text is going to point the same three questions in our deck in our direction. 00:10:05.469 --> 00:10:08.990 Who do the crowds, who does the world say Jesus is? 00:10:09.230 --> 00:10:11.309 Who do we say Jesus is? 00:10:11.549 --> 00:10:13.549 And what does that really mean? 00:10:13.949 --> 00:10:17.069 So, first question: who do they say I am? 00:10:18.189 --> 00:10:20.189 Who is Jesus? 00:10:20.909 --> 00:10:24.110 You say, preacher, you're supposed to answer that question, not ask it. 00:10:24.750 --> 00:10:25.709 Who is Jesus? 00:10:25.870 --> 00:10:28.909 That's been an important question so far in Luke. 00:10:29.069 --> 00:10:39.469 And of course, the gospel starts by answering it for us through the various speeches of the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, the old man Simeon, the prophetess Hannah. 00:10:40.589 --> 00:10:46.829 So the right answer is front-loaded in Luke for the reader, but we learn more of it. 00:10:46.990 --> 00:10:52.909 We learn more of the reality of it as we watch people in the narrative grapple with his identity. 00:10:53.069 --> 00:11:05.469 Like in Luke 7, when Jesus dared to forgive the scandalous woman, and the scribes and Pharisees sitting at Simon's table murmured among themselves and asked, Who is this that even forgives sins? 00:11:05.709 --> 00:11:17.789 Or chapter 8, when Jesus calmed the storm, and the disciples were so awestruck and freaked out that they asked in verse 25, Who is this that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him? 00:11:18.429 --> 00:11:30.990 Most recently in Luke 9, verse 9, when Herod caught wind of this gospel movement sweeping across Galilee, and he asked himself, Who is this about whom I hear such things? 00:11:31.230 --> 00:11:35.069 And so people have been asking the question, who is Jesus? 00:11:35.230 --> 00:11:37.069 Again and again and again. 00:11:37.309 --> 00:11:40.110 But in today's passage we see something new. 00:11:40.429 --> 00:11:43.629 Jesus asks the question. 00:11:44.189 --> 00:11:47.789 And it's not because Jesus doesn't know the answer to the question. 00:11:48.029 --> 00:11:52.669 It's not because Jesus is having some sort of identity crisis and he doesn't know who he is. 00:11:52.909 --> 00:11:56.029 No, Jesus is just like a trial lawyer. 00:11:56.349 --> 00:12:00.349 He never asks a question unless he already knows the answer. 00:12:00.589 --> 00:12:06.429 And so his questions throughout the Gospels are not inquiries, they're rhetorical devices. 00:12:06.750 --> 00:12:12.990 He's leading the disciples somewhere, specifically toward a better understanding of who he is. 00:12:13.149 --> 00:12:19.149 And to do that, he's got to go through the crowd's misunderstanding. 00:12:19.789 --> 00:12:29.149 When the disciples answer his question in verse 19, they essentially repeat what Herod had heard in verses 7 through 8, nearly verbatim. 00:12:29.389 --> 00:12:31.870 Who do the crowds say Jesus is? 00:12:32.029 --> 00:12:35.949 Some say he's John the Baptizer, not the Baptist, John the Baptizer. 00:12:36.349 --> 00:12:42.509 Others say Elijah, and others say that he's one of the prophets of old that has arisen. 00:12:43.149 --> 00:12:47.069 Now, notice how Jesus doesn't correct their answer here. 00:12:47.389 --> 00:12:49.389 He doesn't outright say it's wrong. 00:12:49.549 --> 00:12:52.669 And part of that is because he's driving the disciples somewhere. 00:12:52.829 --> 00:12:57.709 And he's more concerned with their understanding and correcting that rather than dealing with the crowd. 00:12:57.870 --> 00:13:04.269 But it's also because the crowd's answer, their answers aren't entirely wrong. 00:13:04.509 --> 00:13:16.990 When the people identify him as John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets of old, they may be off in terms of his specific identity, but they're not entirely wrong in terms of his role. 00:13:17.149 --> 00:13:19.149 We talked about this a couple of weeks ago. 00:13:19.309 --> 00:13:25.629 In Malachi 3.1, God said, Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. 00:13:25.949 --> 00:13:34.589 Malachi 4.5 specifically named that messenger as Elijah, who stood as a representative of the prophets in the prophetic tradition. 00:13:34.829 --> 00:13:41.069 This became a popular idea in Second Temple Judaism that God would send a prophet before him. 00:13:41.309 --> 00:13:45.549 If not Elijah, then maybe Moses, maybe Jeremiah, maybe Isaiah. 00:13:45.789 --> 00:13:55.709 And that's why in Luke 7, when Jesus raised the widow's son, the people glorified God, and they said, A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited his people. 00:13:55.870 --> 00:14:00.909 And so the crowds, they aren't speaking lies about Jews, about Jesus. 00:14:01.469 --> 00:14:02.029 Jesus. 00:14:02.589 --> 00:14:03.549 Jesus. 00:14:04.669 --> 00:14:06.589 Slow down, Kenny. 00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:12.669 Ruby beforehand in Sunday school told me I'd make a bad auctioneer, and I agreed with her. 00:14:19.309 --> 00:14:24.750 They've not yet fully grasped who Jesus is in his fullness. 00:14:25.069 --> 00:14:34.669 And Jesus is subtly and patiently using their incomplete understanding to lead the twelve to a better one. 00:14:35.389 --> 00:14:45.789 Now, before we go on, I think the Spirit means to use this story to ask us the same question about the crowds that we have in our world today. 00:14:46.029 --> 00:14:48.829 Who do they say Jesus is? 00:14:49.230 --> 00:14:52.269 And there are a number of contemporary options on the table. 00:14:52.429 --> 00:14:53.789 Just to name a few of them. 00:14:53.949 --> 00:14:56.750 Jesus is the model of compassion. 00:14:56.990 --> 00:15:01.389 He's one of the kindest human beings to ever live, right up there with Gandhi and Mr. 00:15:01.549 --> 00:15:02.349 Rogers. 00:15:02.909 --> 00:15:07.469 And by following his example, we can become better, kinder people. 00:15:07.709 --> 00:15:09.870 Jesus is the model of compassion. 00:15:10.269 --> 00:15:13.709 Or maybe Jesus is the profound religious teacher. 00:15:13.949 --> 00:15:16.269 He's like Confucius or the Buddha. 00:15:16.750 --> 00:15:25.709 He had an exceptional depth of wisdom about spiritual matters, and we should pay attention to him if we want to get in touch with our own spiritual side. 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:29.149 Maybe Jesus was a political revolutionary. 00:15:29.230 --> 00:15:31.870 That's another kind of model you'll encounter today. 00:15:32.269 --> 00:15:36.429 Jesus stuck it to the man, even at the expense of his own life. 00:15:36.589 --> 00:15:45.629 And if we follow his political program, which just so happens to mirror whatever political program we happen to hold, then we can save our city. 00:15:45.870 --> 00:15:47.230 We can save our nation. 00:15:47.389 --> 00:15:49.230 We can save our world. 00:15:49.709 --> 00:15:51.709 Here's another model. 00:15:51.949 --> 00:15:54.429 Jesus, the unconditional lover. 00:15:54.669 --> 00:15:56.829 Jesus loved everything I love. 00:15:57.149 --> 00:15:59.469 Jesus condoned everything I condone. 00:15:59.870 --> 00:16:05.870 Jesus wasn't as tuned up and stuffy about sin and righteousness as all the Christians say he was. 00:16:06.029 --> 00:16:08.750 Live and let live, that's how Jesus rolled. 00:16:09.309 --> 00:16:10.669 Those are just a few. 00:16:10.909 --> 00:16:12.269 There are many more out there. 00:16:12.509 --> 00:16:18.750 It's just a few of the most prominent understandings or definitions of Jesus that you'll find out there today. 00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:30.990 And the reason they gain so much purchase in our world, the reason people actually believe them instead of rejecting them out of hand is because they contain glimmers of truth. 00:16:31.389 --> 00:16:35.149 Jesus was and still is the preeminent model of compassion. 00:16:35.469 --> 00:16:38.829 He was and still is a profound religious teacher. 00:16:39.149 --> 00:16:46.990 He was and is a political revolutionary in that he upends our political expectations and systems of the world. 00:16:47.149 --> 00:16:49.709 If you have any doubt about that, read Revelation. 00:16:50.189 --> 00:16:54.029 Jesus was and is the ultimate gift of God's love. 00:16:54.189 --> 00:17:06.349 Individually, these things are all true, but when you fix on one aspect of Jesus to the exclusion of all the others, you end up trading the whole truth for a lie. 00:17:06.910 --> 00:17:13.710 You come to know a figment of your imagination rather than the actual Son of God and Son of Man. 00:17:14.910 --> 00:17:17.069 But that's not what Jesus wants for us. 00:17:17.309 --> 00:17:20.269 He's not, it's not what it what he wants for any of us. 00:17:20.430 --> 00:17:28.910 And certainly not for his core group of disciples who he was training up to serve as the human foundation for his church. 00:17:29.150 --> 00:17:37.549 And so he turns from the crowds to the 12 in verse 20 and he asks them, Who do you say I am? 00:17:38.509 --> 00:17:46.670 The question starts with the word but, which is a very subtle indicator that the crowd's response didn't quite hit the mark. 00:17:46.909 --> 00:17:52.509 And the order of the words in Greek places a really heavy emphasis on the word you. 00:17:53.149 --> 00:17:56.109 And so the force of Jesus' question is this. 00:17:56.909 --> 00:17:59.309 That's what the crowd say about me. 00:18:00.190 --> 00:18:03.069 But what do you guys have to say about me? 00:18:03.309 --> 00:18:05.789 Who do you think I am? 00:18:06.750 --> 00:18:09.710 Now this is where Peter speaks up for the twelve. 00:18:10.029 --> 00:18:14.909 He was something of a leader and a spokesman for the apostles, but that's not because he was more important. 00:18:15.149 --> 00:18:21.789 It's not because he would carry an inordinate amount of authority in the early church, it's not because he was the first pope. 00:18:22.349 --> 00:18:25.470 Peter was more like a first among equals. 00:18:25.629 --> 00:18:36.349 And on behalf of the apostles, Jesus, Peter responds to Jesus' question with probably the four most important words that he uttered in his entire life. 00:18:36.909 --> 00:18:38.430 The Christ of God. 00:19:16.269 --> 00:19:23.230 If you've only got one word to describe not just who Jesus is, but who he is for us, then that's the word. 00:19:23.629 --> 00:19:25.549 He is the Christ. 00:19:26.190 --> 00:19:29.950 Christ is not his last name, Christ is his title. 00:19:30.109 --> 00:19:36.430 And that title contains within it all the promises of God to redeem his people. 00:19:37.149 --> 00:19:45.789 Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, which quite literally means the anointed one. 00:19:45.950 --> 00:19:48.269 Anointing was a big deal in the Old Testament. 00:19:48.349 --> 00:19:54.029 It was how you set people apart for specific roles, particularly roles in the temple. 00:19:54.190 --> 00:20:10.190 And in the prophets, especially in the book of Isaiah, you have this promise of the ultimate anointed one, this royal priest and servant king from the line of David, who would be anointed not just with oil, but with the Holy Spirit. 00:20:10.509 --> 00:20:16.029 This promise of a Messiah, this promise of a Christ, anointed with the Spirit. 00:20:16.430 --> 00:20:17.869 And do you remember? 00:20:18.190 --> 00:20:27.629 Do you remember what Jesus did in Luke 4 on the first day when he turned up in the synagogue to proclaim the kingdom of God? 00:20:28.269 --> 00:20:36.990 He read from Isaiah, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 00:20:37.230 --> 00:20:47.389 He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives in recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 00:20:48.269 --> 00:20:55.950 And as soon as he finished reading those words, he rolled up the Isaiah scroll and he said, This scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. 00:20:56.990 --> 00:21:00.990 So Peter is echoing what Jesus has already said about himself. 00:21:01.309 --> 00:21:02.829 He is the Christ. 00:21:03.149 --> 00:21:08.589 He is the anointed one of God, sent to deliver Israel from their Roman captivity. 00:21:08.909 --> 00:21:18.909 Most importantly, for Jews and Gentiles, he is the Messiah, came, come to save everyone who would trust in him from their bondage to Satan's sin and death. 00:21:19.069 --> 00:21:20.430 That's who he is. 00:21:21.149 --> 00:21:22.670 Do you believe it? 00:21:23.230 --> 00:21:25.789 Do you agree with Peter? 00:21:26.509 --> 00:21:32.029 Because once again, this the word and the spirit are taking this question and they're pointing it right at us. 00:21:32.190 --> 00:21:33.950 Who do we say Jesus is? 00:21:34.109 --> 00:21:36.909 Who do you say Jesus is? 00:21:37.629 --> 00:21:45.950 As much as our post-modern, post-truth, post-everything world may disagree, there is a right answer to that question. 00:21:46.750 --> 00:21:54.029 You and I, we don't get to define Jesus according to our own sense of what we would like him to be. 00:21:54.670 --> 00:21:58.909 He's not a figment of our or anyone else's imagination. 00:21:59.149 --> 00:22:01.629 He's not a social or religious construct. 00:22:01.789 --> 00:22:05.230 He's not a literary figure invented to control people. 00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:06.909 He is the Christ. 00:22:07.470 --> 00:22:20.670 He is the eternal Son of God who stepped down out of eternity into our creaturely reality so that people like John could say in his first epistle, we've heard him with our own ears. 00:22:20.909 --> 00:22:22.990 We've seen him with our own eyes. 00:22:23.149 --> 00:22:26.909 We've touched him with our own ears or with our own hands. 00:22:27.149 --> 00:22:31.549 We've looked upon the word of life, and that word of life is what we proclaim to you. 00:22:33.230 --> 00:22:37.789 See, that's the reality that lies behind the entire New Testament. 00:22:37.950 --> 00:22:43.549 The apostles who wrote it were men who encountered Jesus directly. 00:22:43.789 --> 00:22:44.990 They didn't make him up. 00:22:45.069 --> 00:22:49.069 They saw him, they heard him, they walked with him, they lived with him, they learned from him. 00:22:49.309 --> 00:22:58.190 And they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down exactly what needed to be said about who he is and what he's done. 00:22:58.349 --> 00:23:02.190 And we have those words right here in this book. 00:23:02.990 --> 00:23:03.789 I get it. 00:23:04.190 --> 00:23:08.190 We have not personally seen Jesus in the flesh. 00:23:08.509 --> 00:23:12.349 We have not heard him speak audibly in our presence. 00:23:12.589 --> 00:23:13.710 We haven't touched him. 00:23:13.950 --> 00:23:15.710 We haven't walked with him. 00:23:16.029 --> 00:23:24.829 And yet he has given us his word and he's reminded us that we don't walk by sight, we walk by faith. 00:23:25.069 --> 00:23:32.670 And as Hebrews 11:1 says, that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. 00:23:34.430 --> 00:23:46.670 And so through the inerrant word of God and through the illuminating power of the Spirit who helps us to read his word, we can know who Jesus really is. 00:23:47.869 --> 00:24:01.470 Not the Jesus of our imagination or anyone else's, but the real Jesus who was and is and is to come, just like Peter and the apostles knew and confessed him truly as the Christ of God. 00:24:02.269 --> 00:24:08.829 We can know him as he is because he has given himself to be known in his word. 00:24:10.509 --> 00:24:20.269 But here's the thing: as right as Peter's answer was, in a formal sense, it still came up short. 00:24:20.990 --> 00:24:27.309 Because even though Peter knew him truly, he did not yet know him fully. 00:24:27.789 --> 00:24:32.269 He had the right words to describe Jesus, but something was still missing. 00:24:32.349 --> 00:24:39.710 And so Jesus needs to help Peter and the disciples to understand what it really means for him to be the Christ. 00:24:39.950 --> 00:24:41.789 And that brings us to our third heading. 00:24:41.950 --> 00:24:43.710 We've heard Jesus' two questions. 00:24:43.789 --> 00:24:46.430 Now we get to hear his qualification. 00:24:47.149 --> 00:24:52.509 After Peter's confession, you might expect Jesus to praise him for giving the right answer. 00:24:52.670 --> 00:24:55.869 And he does something like that in Matthew's version of the story. 00:24:56.029 --> 00:24:58.909 But here, Luke cuts straight past that part. 00:24:59.069 --> 00:25:03.629 He cuts straight to the part where Jesus tells the twelve to keep their mouths shut. 00:25:03.869 --> 00:25:09.389 In fact, verse 21 says that Jesus strictly charges his disciple. 00:25:09.869 --> 00:25:15.549 And the word for charge there in other places in Luke is translated as rebuke. 00:25:16.109 --> 00:25:17.309 It's a strong word. 00:25:17.470 --> 00:25:25.389 We see it in Luke 4, when Jesus exercised the demons, and they came out of the man crying out, You are the Son of God. 00:25:25.710 --> 00:25:27.069 And then what did Jesus do? 00:25:27.230 --> 00:25:37.470 He rebuked them and said, quote, he would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 00:25:38.829 --> 00:25:41.389 That's an interesting connection, isn't it? 00:25:41.710 --> 00:25:47.309 When it comes to identifying Jesus, Peter gives the right answer. 00:25:47.789 --> 00:25:50.029 But then again, so did the demons. 00:25:50.430 --> 00:25:57.389 And just as Jesus told them to keep it under their hat, so he tells the disciples. 00:25:57.789 --> 00:25:58.430 Why? 00:25:59.710 --> 00:26:01.230 Why would he do that? 00:26:01.470 --> 00:26:03.950 Why would he ask them to keep the secret? 00:26:05.069 --> 00:26:06.589 Well, think about it. 00:26:06.909 --> 00:26:10.990 What did the Jews expect the Christ to come and do? 00:26:11.549 --> 00:26:14.029 They expected him to conquer the Romans. 00:26:14.269 --> 00:26:16.909 They expected him to take his seat on the throne. 00:26:16.990 --> 00:26:24.269 They expected him to seize power in the same way they'd seen all the other kings of all the other nations do before. 00:26:24.509 --> 00:26:26.909 That's what they thought it would look like. 00:26:27.149 --> 00:26:31.149 That's what they thought it would take for the Messiah to deliver them. 00:26:31.950 --> 00:26:37.309 And what they didn't realize was that their struggle was not against flesh and blood. 00:26:37.470 --> 00:26:42.430 Their struggle was against the cosmic powers and spiritual forces. 00:26:42.909 --> 00:26:45.309 Their true oppressor was not Caesar. 00:26:45.549 --> 00:26:48.430 Their true oppressor was Satan. 00:26:48.990 --> 00:26:55.789 And in order to be delivered, they needed Jesus to win a victory that would look a whole lot like defeat. 00:26:56.190 --> 00:27:07.470 This is what he tells them in verse 22 the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 00:27:08.349 --> 00:27:13.629 This is the first time in Luke that Jesus explicitly refers to his suffering. 00:27:13.789 --> 00:27:16.829 And you can imagine the disciples' confusion. 00:27:17.069 --> 00:27:22.670 It's a confusion that shows up again and again in the Gospels, especially after Jesus' death. 00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:33.389 On the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, Jesus appears to these two disciples as they're walking along and they're lamenting their dashed hopes for a Messiah. 00:27:33.549 --> 00:27:38.269 But do you know what Jesus says to them in the midst of their confusion and despair? 00:27:38.509 --> 00:27:42.109 You find it in Luke 24, verses 25 through 27. 00:27:42.670 --> 00:27:49.629 Oh foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 00:27:50.109 --> 00:27:55.149 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 00:27:55.470 --> 00:28:02.750 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 00:28:03.230 --> 00:28:07.069 In other words, don't be confused, guys. 00:28:07.389 --> 00:28:08.829 Don't despair. 00:28:09.149 --> 00:28:11.950 This was a part of the plan all along. 00:28:12.190 --> 00:28:16.190 It was necessary for the Christ to suffer. 00:28:17.149 --> 00:28:23.549 So do you see, Peter and the disciples, they they were right to name Jesus as the Christ. 00:28:24.190 --> 00:28:36.829 But even though the Old Testament spoke of these things, even though it envisioned the Christ's suffering, they still could not see or understand that dimension of him until it finally happened. 00:28:37.149 --> 00:28:46.670 They could not comprehend a crucified Messiah until Jesus actually hung on the cross and rose again on the third day. 00:28:47.149 --> 00:28:51.629 That's why Jesus told Peter to cool it when it came to the Messiah talk. 00:28:51.869 --> 00:28:55.389 Not because it was wrong, but because it was incomplete. 00:28:55.710 --> 00:29:02.670 And people needed to see what the real Messiah would do before they could appreciate what that word really meant. 00:29:04.029 --> 00:29:07.230 Now, what does that mean for us here today? 00:29:07.710 --> 00:29:17.069 How does Jesus' qualification of this understanding of him as the Christ apply to us here and now, 21st century Mount Juliet? 00:29:17.230 --> 00:29:18.109 Here's how. 00:30:57.629 --> 00:31:04.190 And so if you are one of his disciples, you can stand and you can speak. 00:31:04.829 --> 00:31:15.950 The opinions will swirl, the crowds will offer up their different definitions, people will continue to disagree, and they'll tell you so to their face. 00:31:16.589 --> 00:31:18.349 But you know the truth. 00:31:19.149 --> 00:31:26.990 You know him as he is, and not simply how you or your team imagines him to be. 00:31:27.789 --> 00:31:34.909 You know him because he has revealed himself to you by his word and his holy spirit. 00:31:36.909 --> 00:31:43.710 But maybe you're here today and you're not a disciple, or at least not yet. 00:31:43.950 --> 00:31:45.549 You're still in the crowd. 00:31:45.789 --> 00:31:47.629 You're still trying to sort it out. 00:31:47.789 --> 00:31:52.829 You're still trying to figure out who this Jesus is and how you would define him for yourself. 00:31:53.549 --> 00:31:57.389 If that's you, then I want to encourage you. 00:31:58.269 --> 00:31:59.950 Come out of the crowd. 00:32:00.509 --> 00:32:11.309 Bring your questions, bring your doubts, submit the glimmers of truth you've witnessed to the fuller picture of Jesus painted in the Bible. 00:32:11.789 --> 00:32:23.629 Resolve in your heart, right here, right now, to do everything you humanly can to figure out who this Jesus is and what he has done for you. 00:32:25.149 --> 00:32:29.629 Jesus is every bit as real as this pulpit. 00:32:29.869 --> 00:32:33.470 In fact, he is more real than this pulpit. 00:32:33.710 --> 00:32:36.190 And he has given himself to us. 00:32:36.349 --> 00:32:38.589 He has given himself for us. 00:32:38.670 --> 00:32:44.750 And he is inviting us, he might be inviting you right here, right now, for the first time, to know him. 00:32:45.230 --> 00:32:49.789 And in knowing him, to know your heavenly Father. 00:32:50.509 --> 00:32:52.829 Don't play this skeptical game. 00:32:52.990 --> 00:32:57.789 Don't play this relativist game where it's like, eh, whatever, Jesus, you know, whatever. 00:32:57.950 --> 00:32:59.309 No, Jesus is real. 00:32:59.789 --> 00:33:02.109 He has come once and he's coming again. 00:33:02.349 --> 00:33:04.670 And he is calling you right now. 00:33:05.629 --> 00:33:06.589 Believe in me. 00:33:06.829 --> 00:33:07.470 Come to me. 00:33:07.710 --> 00:33:09.710 You're weary and heavy laden, come to me. 00:33:09.789 --> 00:33:10.829 I'll give you rest. 00:33:11.069 --> 00:33:15.549 Rest for your body, rest for your heart, rest for your soul, rest for your mind, rest. 00:33:16.589 --> 00:33:22.190 That's the invitation that the real Jesus makes to everyone. 00:33:22.750 --> 00:33:23.950 Let's pray. 00:33:30.909 --> 00:33:35.549 Father, we thank you that you have revealed yourself to us in Christ. 00:33:36.349 --> 00:33:43.549 You've not left us to guess about who you are and what you want or what you've done. 00:33:43.950 --> 00:34:02.909 But you've sent Jesus in the flesh to walk a mile in our shoes and then some, to live as we were meant to live, to die as we were meant to die, to rise into newness of life and to ascend to your right hand. 00:34:04.589 --> 00:34:14.829 Father, help us always to submit our ideas, our notions, our misconceptions to the bar of your word. 00:34:15.550 --> 00:34:32.590 So that you can school us in the school of Christ, that you can teach us who he is and what he's like, and that you could encourage us in knowing that the real Jesus is better than any Jesus we could ever divide for ourselves. 00:34:33.389 --> 00:34:35.309 Help us in this, Lord, we pray. 00:34:35.389 --> 00:34:36.590 In Jesus' name. 00:34:36.829 --> 00:34:37.470 Amen. 00:34:38.349 --> 00:34:45.230 I'm going to invite our ruling elders forward and one of our deacons to prepare the Lord's table. 00:34:45.389 --> 00:34:47.550 If you see him, you'll know why. 00:34:48.110 --> 00:34:53.150 This table is Christ's gift to his people. 00:34:53.949 --> 00:34:58.349 We've talked about knowing Jesus mostly in an intellectual sense. 00:34:58.429 --> 00:35:02.029 And we tend to think about knowing Jesus in a purely intellectual sense. 00:35:02.269 --> 00:35:11.469 To know Jesus is to be able to recite a creed or a catechism, to be able to say all the theological things and use all the big words. 00:35:12.029 --> 00:35:17.630 But at the end of the day, knowing Jesus isn't just about knowing about Jesus. 00:35:17.789 --> 00:35:20.349 It's about knowing him relationally. 00:35:20.750 --> 00:35:23.789 Knowing him the same way we know one another. 00:35:24.029 --> 00:35:28.989 Even more intimately, though, than how we know one another and our spouses. 00:35:29.710 --> 00:35:42.909 And so Jesus invites us to this table to come and know him, to come and relate to him, to break bread with him, to experience real communion with him. 00:35:47.389 --> 00:35:51.230 It's not that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. 00:35:51.469 --> 00:35:58.349 It's that the Holy Spirit uses this bread and wine to bring us into the presence of Jesus. 00:35:58.750 --> 00:36:29.230 And so if you have put your trust in Christ, if you've been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, if you have joined yourself to an evangelical, Bible preaching, Bible teaching church where you can know and be known, then Jesus says, come forward, come to this table, whether that church is Hickory Grove or another, come to this table and be strengthened, be encouraged, have fellowship with the true, crucified, risen, and ascended Jesus. 00:36:30.269 --> 00:36:44.110 But if that's not your story, if you've not yet put your faith in Christ, if you have not yet submitted to Him in obedience by joining His body, then Scripture says, hold on a second. 00:36:44.429 --> 00:36:47.550 We got to discern the body before we come to the table. 00:36:47.789 --> 00:36:54.190 Whether that means discerning the actual physical body of Christ or discerning the spiritual body of Christ. 00:36:54.509 --> 00:36:57.949 And if you want to know more about what that looks like, please don't hesitate. 00:36:58.110 --> 00:37:00.670 Come to see me, come to see one of these guys. 00:37:01.469 --> 00:37:03.230 But for now, I'm gonna pray. 00:37:03.469 --> 00:37:06.590 I'm gonna ask the Lord to bless this meal. 00:37:07.309 --> 00:37:15.550 And after I do pray, you can come forward and receive the elements, take them back to your seats, and when everybody's been served, we'll partake together. 00:37:15.869 --> 00:37:18.110 Father, thank you for this meal. 00:37:18.670 --> 00:37:30.029 Thank you for this reminder that the Jesus we hold on to is not some abstract idea in our heads, but he is every bit as real as the bread and wine in our hands. 00:37:30.750 --> 00:37:42.509 Help us to remember that he truly did come for us to die on the cross and to shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. 00:37:43.309 --> 00:37:52.190 Help us to know this morning not just about that, but to know it in our bones, to know it in our mouths, to know it in our bellies. 00:37:52.989 --> 00:37:56.509 Thank you for this gift that enables us to do that. 00:37:56.909 --> 00:37:58.509 Would you bless it to that end? 00:37:58.590 --> 00:37:59.949 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:38:00.190 --> 00:38:00.590 Amen.