In the name of God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Who is Jesus? It’s a simple question but it is one that makes all the difference in our lives, in our deaths, and in our world. Who is Jesus? The question is not “What do the Creeds say about Jesus,” or “What is your favorite Biblical image of Jesus,” or “What does your priest say about who Jesus is.” But who do you say that Jesus is? The answer to that question will give you the foundation and the trajectory of everything else.
And if you have an answer in mind, something like “Messiah,” “Christ,” or “Lord,” think about going deeper in your response. Think about what the implications are for those calling Jesus one of those titles. If Jesus is Lord, what does his Lordship mean for your life? How does it change the way that you see yourself and the world? My hope is that this sermon urges you to think more deeply about who you say that Jesus is and how your answer gives shape to your life.
That question, “Who is Jesus?,” is at the center of today’s reading from Mark. In Mark, this incident comes as Jesus is beginning his journey to Jerusalem which will culminate on the Cross. So he asks his disciples what they’re hearing about him. They mention that some people think that Jesus is a prophet, someone John the Baptist or Elijah. And there are some Biblical connections between Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of a prophet, so those answers make sense. But then Jesus makes it personal and asks – “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter’s response is often referred to as “the Confession of St. Peter.” He says “You are the Messiah.” We’ve been using that title for Jesus for 2,000 years, and so it may be that we don’t get the impact of what it would have meant coming off the lips of Peter. The word “Messiah” comes from a Hebrew word that means “the anointed one.” In Israel, there were three primary occasions for someone to be anointed with oil.
First, prophets were often anointed with oil as a commissioning for their ministry. The anointing symbolized that they were God’s messengers and were set apart for this holy task. By claiming that Jesus is the Messiah, Peter meant that Jesus’ ministry was prophetic – he was a means by which God’s grace was being communicated.
Second, priests were anointed with oil as their ordination. The function of the priest was to ensure that worship in the Temple happened and that it was done properly to glorify God for the benefit of the people. The priest was also the one who conducted the religious sacrifices which represented the people’s prayers of thanksgiving, petition, repentance, and lament. By identifying Jesus as the Messiah, it is a claim of Jesus’ reconciling ministry of giving us peace with God.
And third, kings were anointed with oil as they took the throne. Kings were seen as being divinely appointed to rule the people with God’s justice and mercy. To say that Jesus is the Messiah is to make a claim about him being a person of authority who rules over God’s people.
At the time of Mark’s writing, there was no expectation that the Messiah would be divine, but rather would be a human source of liberation who would function as a prophet, priest, and king. And so Peter’s confession is quite shocking. To this point in Jesus’ ministry, the claim that he is the Messiah really is unfounded. Jesus has given no indication that he is more than a prophet, which is why other people are saying that he’s John the Baptist or Elijah. Jesus has shown no political, militaristic, or royal ambitions. He has announced the coming justice of God, he has cast out demons, he has healed people. These are the sorts of things that line up with prophetic ministry. But for Peter to claim that Jesus is the Messiah is a bold and radical claim that is not yet supported by much evidence.
It is no accident that this confession of Jesus’s Messiahship comes at Caesarea Philippi. It is a city in northern Israel in the hills, near the source of the Jordan River. Obviously, the name Caesarea Philippi has political and royal connotations. Philip was a local ruler who renamed the city to honor Caesar Augustus, and slipped his own named into the name as well. But before it was named Caesarea Philippi, this place was known as Paneas, named after a Greek god. By asking the question “Who do you say that I am?” in this particular location, Jesus is intensifying the range of responses. It would be as if someone took you into the Oval Office and asked you “Who is the most powerful person in the world?” To answer anything other than “the President of the United States” would be jarring. That’s what’s going on here – by asking his question in a political and religious setting, he is setting up the clear contrast for a political and religious answer.
Though Peter gives a good response, he has not understood what it truly means to be the Messiah. He is thinking in terms of military conquest; Jesus is thinking in terms of the Suffering Servant. To be the Messiah is to suffer. These two ideas can never be separated from one another. Jesus only becomes the Messiah by suffering on the Cross. He is highly exalted because he has gone low into the deepest and darkest of human experiences. Jesus tells us “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
To deny ourselves does not mean that we are to become the world’s doormats and have people walking over us, but it does mean that we should be dead to the world if we are to follow Jesus. Things like fame, prestige, and wealth should hold no sway over us. And we have an immense benefit that Peter and the disciples did not have – we know that the Resurrection lies on the other side of the Cross. And so we are able to take up our cross and follow Jesus trusting that light overcomes darkness, trusting that death is not the worst thing that can happen to us, trusting that suffering can be redeemed, trusting that brokenness can be healed by the love of God.
So who do you say that Jesus is? That’s the crux of the matter. However you answer that question will determine how you view God, yourself, and others. It will set your priorities and guide you in your decisions; because if we, like Peter, claim that Jesus is the Messiah, then absolutely everything changes.
The question “Who do you say that Jesus is?” is the same as “What difference does Jesus make in your life?”. And so if you say that Jesus is Lord or Messiah, then it is a claim that he makes all the difference in the world. If Jesus is Lord, then Caesar is not. If Jesus is Lord, then the economy is not. If Jesus is Lord, then peace, forgiveness, and mercy are always at hand. If Jesus is Lord, then it is the meek and the lowly who are blessed. If Jesus is Lord, then, truly, there is nothing to be afraid of. If Jesus is Lord, then generosity, self-denial, and love are the most natural things in the world. The way of Jesus becomes the grain of the universe, and when we work with the grain, we will find the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. But when we go against the grain, when we hold grudges, when we are not generous, when we are not welcoming of others, then chaos ensues.
Literally, everything that we have ever hoped for, the reconciliation that our community and nation need, the peace that our souls long to have are all freely available to us in Jesus Christ. If we confess with our lips that Jesus is the Messiah, then we begin to participate in the difference that Christ makes. This is hard work, and Jesus makes this clear to those that follow him. In losing our lives for the sake of the Gospel, we will find them anew.
There are ways for us to practice being different – and the more we can commit ourselves to these practices, the more the difference that Christ makes will transform us. Having a set rhythm of prayer and Scripture reading is one such practice. Such as practice not only brings us closer to God, but it also makes our schedule different by devoting time to God. Generosity makes us different, as it not only makes the balance of your bank account different, but it also makes you different. When we practice generosity, a holy thing happens: money no longer becomes something that we chase and worry about, but rather it becomes just a tool to be used instead of a master to serve. Forgiving ourselves and others is a difference-making practice, as it roots us in the power of the Resurrection to bridge all divides. There are many other practices that take us deeper into the difference that Christ makes, but these three – prayer, generosity, forgiving – are great places to start.
Following Christ also makes different the way we negotiate life and make decisions. In our culture, it is extremely fashionable to hear people speak about the importance of being true to yourself, whatever that means. People often say “I just gotta be me” or “I need to take some time and find my way.” I have no idea what that means or how you do it, and, in truth, neither do the people who are on that inward journey. Such attempts to “find ourselves” are just narcissistic explorations that give us license to do whatever we want and not be accountable to one another. This is where Jesus being the Messiah makes all the difference in our lives.
When we say that Jesus is the Messiah, when we decide to follow Jesus, it means that we are no longer searching for our true self or trying to find the right path for us. Jesus gives us that path and he becomes our true selves. Before Christianity was called “Christianity,” the followers of Jesus were known as “members of the way.” Jesus shows us the path of peace, the way of righteousness, the road of salvation. And this is where we find our meaning, our purpose, our fulfillment, our joy, not on the journey inward, but on the journey of following Jesus Christ to the Cross.
My prayer is that each of you discovers the grace of the difference God’s love makes in your life. I hope that as the Messiah, Jesus is a prophet, priest, and king in your life. I pray that the Holy Spirit’s movement in your life is palpable and transformative.
Earlier this year, borrowing a phrase from John’s Gospel, I set forth “Come and See” as a motto to both invite others to St. Luke’s and to go deeper into our faith. This Confession of St. Peter that Jesus is the Messiah and its implications for our lives are what we come and see. We come and see why Peter and so many others have said that Jesus is the Messiah. We come and see the difference that Christ makes. We come and see how this difference makes all the difference in our lives. This week, sit with that question: “Who do you say that Jesus is?”; and pray for God’s grace to lead you to come and see the difference that Christ makes.
