WHO DO YOU SAY HE IS? MARK 8:27-30 NOVEMBER 1, 2015
Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, Who do people say that I am? They told Him, saying, John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets. And He continued by questioning them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to Him, You are the Christ. And He warned them to tell no one about Him. (Mark 8:27-30NASB) Everyday each and every one of us will either ask a question or we are asked a question. Some of the question we ask are just routine questions. What would you like to watch? What s for dinner? Do I have any clean socks? Even though these questions are important at the moment, they really don t have any long term effect. Then there are other questions that we don t want to hear such as; may I see your fishing licenses or do you know why I pulled you over? The Boston Globe once published a list of the top ten unanswerable questions. One was asked by a nine year old boy whose cat was overweight; How many calories are in a mouse? Some of life s questions are just plain unanswerable. For instance, Why do women open their mouths when they put on eye makeup?, Why do men refuse to stop and ask for directions?, If nothing ever sticks to Teflon, how do they make Teflon stick to the pan?, and What was the best thing before sliced bread? these and many others are questions that really do not matter in the least. Today in our text we come to a location called Caesarea Philippi. It was located about 25 miles north of Bethsaida. It was a beautiful area yet it 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. It was here, in this region 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 here where Jesus asked a question that must still be asked today; I. Who do people say that I am? Look at the answers they gave. They told Him, saying, John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets. Jesus most certainly resembled John the Baptist in His preaching. Both men preached a message of repentance and righteousness. But, many people had seen Jesus and John together, so this response is kind of strange. Of course, Herod Antipas believed that Jesus was none other than John the Baptist raised from the dead, so there is a high probably where that theory came from. Others believed that Jesus was Elijah. After all Elijah did raise the dead. Not only that but both Jesus and Elijah conducted a ministry that was marked by clear, convicting preaching and convincing miracles. Then we come to one of the other prophets, like Moses, because Jesus did declare the Law of God. And like Isaiah, Jesus preached about sacrifice and holiness. He was also much like Daniel, the message of Jesus was a prophetic message of a coming King and His kingdom. Like Jeremiah, Jesus carried out a ministry marked by compassion and brokenness. Like Hosea, Jesus loved the unlovable and was willing to redeem lost, wretched sinners. Today people say all kinds of things about Jesus. Just as it was in the days when Jesus walked this earth, there are a multitude of opinions about Who He was and is. The Muslim says that Jesus was a prophet, but He was not crucified on a cross. He will return, but He is not God. The Hindu believes that Jesus is just one of millions of gods. The Jews believes that Jesus was a great prophet and teacher, but He is not God. The Mormon believes that Jesus was the first baby born to God in Heaven, when God, in a physical
body, had sexual intercourse with Mary, His Own daughter. They teach that He is the spirit brother of Lucifer. The Jehovah s Witnesses believe that Jesus was once the Archangel Michael before He came to the earth. According to their own writings, in their view Jesus is not God in the flesh. The atheist denies that Jesus ever existed at all. The agnostic just doesn t know what to believe about Jesus. Society believes that Jesus was a great teacher; that He had some good ideas about loving your fellow man and being good to others, but they do not believe that He is the Savior, or that He is God in the flesh. Most people acknowledge His existence, but they refuse to bow to His authority. That question still rings out today, who do people say that Jesus is? After hearing the answer from His disciples pertaining to what public opinion was, Jesus turns and ask a very personal question... II. Who do you say that I am? For years the Jews had expected a great political, military leader. A new king who would restore Israel back to the glory days of King David, but now was the moment of truth! Everything Jesus has taught them and shown them has been leading up to this moment in time. Every miracle, every word of truth Jesus ever spoke was meant for this very moment in time. These men were now at a great spiritual crossroad. Jesus question was a simple question, but it is filled with eternal implications. A correct answer to that question takes one to Heaven; an incorrect answer to that question takes one to Hell. A simple yet profound question indeed. Peter who so many times would open mouth and enter foot, got this one right. Peter answered and said to Him, You are the Christ. Peter looked at Jesus and saw the Messiah, which is what the word Christ means. It is a title and not a name. It literally means The anointed One. So we must understand that Jesus last name isn t Christ, it is His title, it is who He is the Messiah, the Anointed One from the Father.
In Matthew s account of this wonderful revelation, Matthew wrote, Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. What a statement of faith! What truly makes it even more amazing is the fact that up to this point, only God the Father and demons have recognized the identity of the Lord Jesus. Helen Keller, shortly before her sixtieth birthday, expressed pity for the real unseeing, for those who have eyes yet do not see. Her long years of physical blindness have given her a spiritual insight which enables her to enjoy life in all its fullness. She says: "If the blind put their hand in God s, they find their way more surely than those who see but have not faith or purpose."----western Recorder The Scriptures tell us that Peter did not come to the knowledge on his own. Jesus tells us it was revealed to him. Again in Matthew s account he writes, And Jesus said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17NASB) The Lord s identity was revealed to Peter by God Himself. This is true in every genuine conversion, God reveals Himself to us. Even though He pursued many of us for years, it wasn t until we genuinely opened our spiritual eyes that God was able to truly reveal Himself to us. People are saved when their spiritual eyes are opened to the Lord. May I remind you however not everyone who was around Jesus came to the understanding as to who He is. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us? And they took offense at Him. (Mark 6:3NASB) John writes, He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. (John 1:10-11NASB) With that in mind, may I draw your attention to someone else who was in the crowd that day? Someone who walked with Jesus personally for more than three years. His name was Judas
Iscariot. Do you recall what Jesus Himself said about Judas? Jesus answered them, Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil? (John 6:70NASB) We discover many in the Bible who believed. Allow me to list just a few. The angels believed that Jesus was the Son of God. John believed. Simeon believed, Anna believed, the dying thief on the cross believed. The Roman soldier believed. Blind Bartimaeus believed. Even the demons believed. This just serves to remind us that your opinion about who Jesus is, is a very personal thing. No one can speak for you. No one can believe for you. In the end, it does not matter what anyone else has to say about who Jesus is; it all comes down to who you believe He is. Your answer to the Lord s question is absolutely vital to your salvation. How you answer that question will determine where you spend eternity. Jesus is still asking, But who do you say that I am? Here is a word of caution, your words will be validated by your actions, because your actions will reveal your true answer. If you say that He is the Lord, then according to Jesus you will keep His commandments. Your actions, your words, the places you go, the things that you do, will all be an indicator of who you truly claim He is. In verses 30, Jesus told His disciples to tell no one. Now there are a couple of schools of thought as to why. One reason is He did this because it wasn t time. Had they gone over the land preaching that Jesus was the Messiah; opposition would have grown so great that Jesus would have been unable to complete His mission. The second school of thought is that the disciples wasn t ready to defend their faith. Yes, they had seen Jesus preform all kinds of great miracles, but they hadn t truly come to the understanding that Jesus was more than a king, He was the Messiah! Not only that, but to fulfill the task that would be set before them would require more knowledge and more power and that would only be fulfilled after the resurrection and the day of Pentecost.
You see Peter s confession was the beginning not the end of his spiritual journey, his walk of obedience with Christ. Conclusion; in this region devoted to the worship of idols and man-made gods Jesus asked a very important question. In our world today when it appears that so many people are following after idols and many man-made gods, a time when wrong is called right, and right is called wrong, we must be that voice proclaiming the same question into a dark world, Who do you say He is? Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God is not just a statement we make. It is the acknowledgement of a powerful, costly Truth. We must not merely say it with our lips. We must be ready to back it with our lives. Amen