Who Am I? – 10/1/2017

WARNING PREACHY…

Who Am I? – 10/1/2017

Matthew 16:13-17

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”

In Mark’s Gospel, Peter simply answers the question and the story moves on.  In Matthew we see that Jesus responds to Peter’s answer by saying, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”

The true knowledge of who Jesus is is a matter of revelation.

Last week we saw the Saul realize who Jesus was and he fell to the ground and was blind for three days before he became Paul, the greatest evangelist the church has ever known.  And it seems that anytime anyone had a revelation of Jesus they seemed to “fall as though dead”.

In 1994 I had a reality check on my own mortality and I prayed out “God, if of you exist, I need to know who you are.”  And I didn’t care who he was, I just wanted to know the truth.  And over the course of the next month, or so, a series of events happened and it was revealed to me that this Jesus of Nazareth actually rose back to life after he was executed on a Roman cross.  I did not see a vision nor was not struck blind or fall to the ground as though dead, but the results of my understanding was overwhelming and that single fact drastically changed the entire course of my life forever (and yes, for the better).

This question of who Jesus is is a faith question through and through, and it’s a battle some times to continue to believe and keep the faith.

Luke 7:18-23

¹⁸John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, ¹⁹he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

²⁰When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ”

²¹At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. ²²So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ²³Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

In Luke 7 we learn that even John the Baptist began to have doubts about who Jesus was.  When he found himself in prison this guy who baptized Jesus and saw the dove descend upon him and heard the voice of God call from heaven approving Him as Hus very Son began to doubt.

This world is the under the authority of the devil and we are beat up all the time with reports of wars, murders, rapes, molestations, and a slew of weather related devastations and we are continually wondering if God is even real.  But if we listen to the words of Jesus as he answers John’s disciples and look at the good and the blessings in this world then maybe we will be able to see the reality of Jesus touching our world.

Seeing the positive in our world can be difficult, but if we attend to counting our many blessings and naming them one by one then maybe, just maybe God will reveal to us Jesus in our own worlds today.

PS.  I often think about the birth of my children and with that thought alone I see the clear love of Jesus in my life.