Who Do You Say the Son of Man Is? - Matthew 16: 13-20

When Jesus asks a question, that question has a way of getting to the heart of the matter quickly and directly of what it is to be His disciple and who He is as the Son of God.

In Matthew 16, the questions are asked near Caesarea Philippi. This was on the northern border of Israel, geographically about as far from Jerusalem and the Temple as you could get and remain in Israel. Politically, it was far from Jerusalem, too. King Herod the Great’s son, Phillip the Tetrarch, had named the city for himself, adding the ascription of Caesar to his name. It was an odd mixture: a Jewish king was also claiming to be a Roman deity. With few Jews living there, the region became Hellenized very easily. That tells you something about the theology of the land, too, and Cesarea’s theology was far, far from the sacrifices and prayers of Jerusalem.

So, when Jesus asks the question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” it is far from an innocuous question. When Jesus asked it in Jerusalem, the Pharisees, scribes and Sadducees didn’t know how to answer. Jesus was, among other things, a threat to their position. The people thought He was a bread-king, a socialist, a leader primed for rebellion. The Canaanite woman that we heard of last week, a heathen foreigner, she confessed Jesus as the Son of David – she at least understood the Messianic fulfillment in Christ. Even Peter had his moment, remember, until he lost sight of Jesus, both literally and figuratively, when the waves surrounded his sinking feet. So, when Jesus asks the question about the people in this region far from the Temple, it was a very real question: do these people way up here, so far from Jerusalem, do they get it? What are they saying about me?  So, the disciple’s answer becomes even more notable when they say some are considering Him to be John or Jeremiah or a prophet as of old. The people don’t quite get it, that Jesus is Messiah, but at least they are seeing Him as a man of God, powerful in word and deed.

Jesus turns the question from the people “out there” to the disciples. “How about you Twelve? Who do you men say I am?” Peter, acting as spokesperson for the Disciples, answers with a Spirit-given confession of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is the confession that Jesus will build His church. (Our Roman Catholic friends misunderstand this, arguing Jesus has been praising Peter, and he is the antecedent of the pronoun “this” noting the play on words - in Greek, Peter is Petros and rock is petras. However, for Jesus to build His church on a sinful man, even one like Peter, it would be antithetical to a church built on Christ and His being the Son of God.)

Now, go back to that first question for a minute: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” That question is as pertinent today in this community as it was 2000 years ago in Caesarea Philippi. Ask that question, have that question in your mind when you are in Aisle 6 at Jumbo and you see that mother with two small children arguing over which cereal to buy; who does she say the Son of Man is? When you’re pumping gas in Hennessey and the kid on the other side of the pump, with questionable music lyrics blaring out the windows of his car and with a big pentagram tattooed on his arm, who does he say the Son of Man is? What about Margaret, that you play dominoes with, or Manuel who coached your grandson’s baseball team, or your next-door neighbor who you see but don’t talk to, who do they say the Son of Man is? What about your CPA who has a copy of the Book of Mormon on his credenza, or your mechanic who has a painting of the Virgin Guadalupe in his shop, or the Vietnamese lady who did your mani-pedi with the jade Budda at the counter, or the homeless teenager who is digging through the dumpster at Aldi for a bite of still tolerable food, who do they say the Son of Man is?

What if you asked them? Instead of talking about baseball, or the debate, or the weather, or the price of groceries, or the highway project, what if you dared to ask, “Who do you say the Son of Man is?” What might happen? What happens if you approach people that way – whether out loud with a literal question, or if you just start to see them that way, as people who may or may not know who Jesus is?

"Christ's Charge to St. Peter" - Raphael
(The Sistine Chapel c. 1515)

I suggest two things might happen: one, you might find out what they say about Jesus. Be prepared to be surprised, both in a good way and a bad way. Your CPA with the Book of Mormon might say, he’s a great liberator of the poor. That kid with the pentagram and blaring heavy metal, he just might say, “Dude…He’s the Savior, and He forgives me even for getting this stupid tattoo.” And dear, sweet Margaret just might say that He means nothing to her because He didn’t answer her prayers the way she wanted. That Vietnamese lady might lean up and whisper, “I’ve heard about this Jesus. He is a fool for dying like that.” And the kid might crawl out of the dumpster with a loaf of moldy bread, tear off the worst part, and say, “He gives me the crumbs I need each day.” There are lots of answers, lots of good answers, and you hope and pray that some of those people might have those answers as well. Some might say Jesus is the Good Shepherd, or even the Lamb of God. Some might say He’s the Alpha and the Omega. Some might even make a personal connection – He is the vine and I am the branch. So, there are lots of good answers. Even Pilate’s answer, The King of the Jews, though sadly not offered in faith, was right.

That answer, good or bad, right or wrong, impacts you. That answer touches you. That question and its answer has a way of getting right to the heart of the matter because the answer literally has life-or-death repercussions.

Perhaps another question to ask is, “and why are these answers such a big deal?”

Jesus’ name gives us the answer. Jesus means “Savior.” He came to save the world from their sins, to take our place under God’s wrath, to satisfy the Law’s demand of perfection that no one else could attain, and be the once-for-all vicarious atonement (substitutionary price) for us. There’s another fancy word that is used in the Bible: propitiation. It means “blood covering.” His blood cleanses us from all sin. To describe it another, simpler way: His death earns our forgiveness from the Father.

Forgiveness of sins is only obtained by God’s grace through faith in Jesus as that very Savior. Any answer that offers something besides Jesus, that denies His saving work of dying and rising, that even alludes to the idea that one can save him or herself is no answer at all. No other name, no other person, no other act can save. Only Jesus at the cross through the God-given faith that trusts that saving act.

Every Sunday, that is the message proclaimed in the Word that is read, the sermon that is preached, and in the Sacraments that are administered. It sounds like just words; it seems like plain water; it’s just a bite of bread and sip of wine. But, in those simple elements, forgiveness is delivered, because Christ promises it. “Whoever’s sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” That includes the most grievous of sins and the most grievous of all sinners. Jesus forgives people like them…and you, by grace through faith in Him.

A moment ago, I said that when you ask what people think of Jesus, two things might happen. The first one, I said, is that you might find out what they say about Jesus. The second thing that might happen is that you are then asked in return, “And you – who do you say the Son of Man is?” Now, to be fair, Jesus is asking all of the Disciples, not just Peter – it’s the plural you, “y’all;” Peter just speaks for the men. But, that “y’all” in and of itself gives you the clue of how you might answer it, personally. You have the confession of the Church that stretches back to that moment at Caesarea Philippi. You don’t have to be creative. You don’t have to come up with some unique and profound truth on your own, something that would make a seminary professor applaud in awe and wonder. No – you confess that which has been revealed to you by the Father, through the Holy Spirit who has been at work in you in water and word, creating, sustaining, and growing the faith that says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Last week, I mentioned the objective Christian faith of the Scriptures. Use the language of the Christian church – I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary…” Or, perhaps you want to narrow it down a bit with a confession that is unique to Lutherans, from the Small Catechism, “I believe in Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, also true Man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me a lost and condemned creature…” Or, maybe you simply want to speak of your subjective faith, “Jesus died for me so I can go to heaven.” There are lots of good answers, remember, answers which flow from the Father through the Spirit in the Word which is given to us.

St. Peter – the one whose faith ebbed and flowed, who confessed Jesus and who in a week or two we’ll read of him being called satan for getting in the way of Jesus – when Peter wrote his epistle, he included the instruction, (1 Peter 3:15), always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…” As he wrote those words, I have to think he thought of his own swing-and-a-miss. Always be prepared…

Be prepared… In the business world, there is what is called the “elevator pitch,” the idea being that you have the time for an elevator ride to sell your idea to a fellow elevator traveler. Now, what if you had to do that with the Gospel? What if you had the opportunity to explain Jesus, or the Gospel, or the Christian faith in the amount of time of an elevator ride? Make it simple, make it concise, but make it as full and rich as possible. That was the challenge issued by David Heim, the executive editor of the magazine THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY. Heim decided to ask various theologians to try this exercise: what is the essence of Christianity in seven words or less? (https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-08/gospel-seven-words) The contestants could offer follow-up explanation of why they wrote what they wrote, but they could only use seven words to convey the message.

Using that idea, here is your assignment for next week – except, since Peter had 10 words, I’ll give you ten words also. In ten words or less, answer Jesus’ question: “Who do you say I am?” Prayerfully consider the question, read through the Scriptures this week, and then give an answer. Bring it with you next week.  I won’t embarrass anyone, I promise.

I know this isn’t fair – I’ve had time to work on this – but here is my seven-word answer: Who is Jesus? “Through the cross, He’s the Savior of the world.”

Interestingly, when Jesus dies, Peter and Company are nowhere to be seen (except for John). Peter’s bold confession is silent, scared quiet by a little servant girl. Only one person is recorded as understanding who Jesus is, and what His death meant. A Roman soldier, who had witnessed His crucifixion and death, gets it right: “Truly, this Man was the Son of God.”

When you think this way, with these two questions, as you are out and about in the community, in your place of business, where you rest and relax, at the grocery store, the mechanic’s shop, the salon, the gas station, even at the stop light, you see the world in a different light. And, it impacts what you say and do in those places so that Christ may be seen and heard in and through you.

In the name of Jesus.
Amen.