Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in your sight oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen
The questions that Jesus asks in this Gospel reading are the most important questions any person wrestles with. The first question is, “Who do people say that I am?”
Any thoughts? Who do people say that Jesus is?
“The savior.” “The son of God.”
“A really good man.” “Our Lord.” “A perfect example.” “The good shepherd.” “The messiah.” “A healer.” “A great teacher.” “Son of man.”
We’ve got lots of words for him. Later in the service we will be saying the Nicene Creed which is the ancient statement of faith that says such things about Jesus as “God from God.” "Light from Light"
Some of those words we’re pretty familiar with. You can probably tell me what a teacher is, because we know teachers. Or a good man, we know about good men.
But what about Messiah? Now that’s the “correct” answer that Peter gave. But the Messiah? What does the word messiah mean? The word we translate as Messiah in Greek is Christos, the anointed one. For the Jewish people of Jesus’ time the Christos, the Messiah was going to be a warrior king like David. He was going to come and lead the Jewish people to once again have control of their land. That would fight Rome so that they would be a free and great nation. That’s not what Jesus turned out to be. He was a very different kind of messiah. A different kind of savior.
When we listen to all the ways Jesus has been described, we find that most of the time it is kind of complex. It is not easy language. During our lives we’ve heard a lot about who Jesus is. If you went to Sunday School as a child, you heard one thing. In the secular world you might hear something else. Here in church we hear other things. So we have lots and lots of answers to, “Who do people say that I am?”
All of those comments, all the theology, all the books written about who Jesus is, all the creeds can be helpful, but it is the second question that really matters. That’s when Jesus looks at his disciples and says, “Who do you say that I am?”
How do you know who Jesus is? What do you say? Not quoting someone else, not based on what someone else says that Jesus is, but who is Jesus to you? Right now, today, this morning.
I find that when we are on a spiritual journey our understanding of who Jesus is changes over time. Sometimes from day to day. It changes as we study scripture. It changes as we are in discussions with others. It changes as we read meaningful books. But most of all it changes as we have life experiences. As we go through difficult times. As we wrestle with the meaning of life. When we deeply love or deeply hurt. As we discover that through it all, Jesus is somehow there, walking with us.
The most important question of your life is “Who do you say that Jesus is?” Your answer makes all the difference in the world. And only you can answer that question. Some might start with the answer that to you Jesus is a great teacher. That is accepted pretty much around the world. There is almost no one who doesn’t say that he had some wonderful teachings and that he showed a great deal of wisdom. That is one way to approach Jesus, but is not quite consistent with what he said. C. S. Lewis wrote that if you say that Jesus was just a great teacher then you have to assume that he was either a liar or insane because he said that he was much more than that. It is hard to take the wisdom and teachings that we find in the Gospels and separate it from what he said about himself. But often the first way we get to know Jesus is as a great teacher. And that is important.
What about when we say that Jesus is my savior. What does savior mean? How has he saved you? Think about your own personal life. What have you been saved from? What have you been saved for?
How have you experienced, personally experienced Christ's presence in your life?
I've often wrestled with how to describe my relationship with Jesus, and this is what I've come up with. It is personal; it is where I am today. Where I am this morning. It may change, but it is what’s true for me right now.
I would say that who Jesus is to me is that he is my friend. He is my friend who loves me no matter what. He is my friend who values me and holds me precious because he helped to create me. I am of incredible worth to this friend; and he accepts me for who I am. Loves me for who I am. And loves me enough to not let me stay who I am, but encourages me to become more than I think I can be. He is my friend who is always there, whenever I need him. He always cares.
And he is my friend that gave his life for me. And no love is as great as offering your life for another. We don’t have a lot of experiences of what it means for someone to give their life for us. People who have been soldiers, police and the firefighters, like the brave men and women who today are fighting the fires around us, know what it is like to have companions that go into dangerous and difficult situations together. And they know that these companions will offer their lives to protect each other. It is said that when soldiers go into battle once the battle gets intense, they are not concerned with their country, they are not concerned with any grand statements of principle, they fight because of their comrades, the ones they are fighting with. And they want to protect them, and they will risk their lives in order to protect their friends, and they would be willing to die for one another.
Christ died for us. He is my friend that was willing to die for me, and in this passage, he asks for me to be willing to do the same. To pick up my cross and follow him. To be his friend the way he is a friend to me. That might mean giving my life, although being in the United States it is unlikely. But it does mean transforming my life. It challenges me to give up my self-centeredness. It asks me to let go of my sense of ego control. It means changing my priorities, and it affects every decision that I make every day of my life.
And so I'll ask you again,
Who do you say that Jesus is?