During my lifetime there have been many people who fulfilled the Lord’s prophecy, claiming to be the Messiah. Some of them made the claimed themselves, and in other cases disciples made that claim on their behalf. Any more, most of these people don’t make the headlines, because it is insignificant, old news. As they say, it isn’t news that a dog bite a man; the news is when some man bites a dog. Imitation Messiahs are a dime a dozen, so they don’t get the ink that they once did.
But then there are notable exceptions. Do you remember David Koresh from the early 1990’s. When Koresh came into the coast of Waco, Texas, he asked his disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the son of man am?” And his followers began to answer – “Some say that thou art a harmless lunatic. “Some say that thou art a dangerous lunatic. “Some say, Lucifer; some, the Anti-Christ.” He saith unto them, “But whom say YE that I am?” And one disciple replied; “You have told us that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
I don’t intend to take you back to the debacle outside Waco, Texas, but I hope that you can see the huge gap which exists between Matthew 16 and that man who died in a gun battle with U.S. authorities.
Christ asked his disciples a question: “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”
Of course, the question was not asked to satisfy the curiosity of the Lord Jesus. The Lord knew exactly what men were saying, and why they were saying it. The question was asked to guide the disciples into making a clear-cut distinction for themselves. It is still an appropriate question.
In order not to direct the answer, Jesus spoke of Himself as “the Son of Man.” He didn’t want to give the answer in asking the question, so He used some harmless misdirection. He didn’t say, “What do people think? Am I the eternal Son of God?” The phrase, “the son of man” leads us to the way in which Jesus addressed Himself. For example, when did the Saviour ever call Himself “a Jew?” Greatly irritating some people, Jesus was a Jew – He was a Judean. But never, to my recollection, did He call himself that. He was called the “King of the Jews,” by others, but that is not quite the same thing. And He didn’t initially say of Himself that He was the “King of the Jews.” And when did Jesus call Himself “THE son or even “A son of Abraham? That Jesus was the prophesied Seed of Abraham is an important theological statement. It is said about Him, and it is used to help identify Him, but He didn’t use it Himself. If you think about it, Jesus doesn’t give Himself any name or title which isolates Him or limits Him. Praise God, He is the Saviour of far more than the Jews or the children of David or Abraham.
That is somewhat like an email which I received this week. It mentioned that people who have passed away are sometimes euphemistically said to be “late” – “the late Mr. Smith.” But Christ Jesus is never described as late. No sir, He is unique – even though He died on the cross, He lives. And even though He was born a son of David, a son of Israel, a son of Abraham, He is the Saviour of people from all races and nationalities.
When Jesus referred to Himself He usually called Himself “the Son of Man.” That is similar to “the Son of Men” of “the Son of Mankind.” He is the complete and perfect antithesis – the answer and opposite to Adam, our first father. He is the brother of any man – from Boston to Borneo. Only under special circumstances during His lifetime did the Lord Jesus ever whisper, “I am the Christ.” How unlike that man at Waco. Jesus was not yet ready to fill the role of Messiah and Ruler of the Millennial Kingdom.
And still, this was an important question. What other men say about Christ, or about us, is unimportant. And what we think or know about Christ is very important. The question of verse 15 is extremely important compared the question of verse 13. Every human being is going to be eternally judged on his answer – and his response to that answer.
The disciples tell us about some of the MISTAKEN ANSWERS to the question.
“Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others Jeremias or one of the prophets.” Obviously, the answers reflected the corrupted opinions of the people. Some people were saying that Jesus was John the Baptist alive once again from the dead. This report was coming out of some of the strangest places. For example, we’ve already heard those words out of the un-religious, almost agnostic palace of Herod. The very family which murdered John was saying that Jesus was the resurrected Baptist. Remember that the Herodians were often allied with the Sadducees who said that there was no resurrection or life after death. Isn’t it strange that the atheist will give up his atheism when he really needs a god? As that atheist gets nearer and nearer to eternity, his heart cries out in fear.
Why were some people thinking that Jesus was John resurrected? Perhaps because both were preaching the same kind of sermons. They were both preaching the coming of the Kingdom of God. And they both were demanding conversion and repentance. I preach the same sort of thing, but no one has ever hinted that I was a resurrected man of God. There were huge differences between John and Lord Jesus. For example, Christ did not confine himself to camel’s hair, locusts and deserts. He was accused of being a glutton and a wine-bibber, eating with publicans and sinners. And Jesus was a miracle-worker, while John was just a simple preacher.
The disciples also reported that some people were saying that Jesus was actually the resurrected Elijah. This is interesting because it was prophesied that in the last days there would be a man coming in the spirit of Elijah. Malachi 4:4-6 says, “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” And the very next verse in God’s word begins, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” – Matthew 1:1. Of course, we know that Christ declared his cousin, John, to be the fulfillment of that prophecy. But John, in humility, couldn’t perceive himself as that important, even if it was the truth. But why were people saying that Jesus was Elijah returned from the dead? Could it be because hearts were being changed and turned through His ministry, just as Malachi had said? Unlike John, Elijah and Jesus had ministries filled with spectacular miracles. For anyone else but Christ to be compared to Elijah would be a very high compliment. But it was slander and a slur in this case because Christ was Elijah’s God.
Other outsiders assessing the Lord Jesus said that He reminded them of Jeremiah. I find this opinion kind of strange, but when ignorant people make ignorant comments, those comments can go in any direction. I have studied Jeremiah on a couple of occasions, and to my mind, he was a dark, gloomy sort of person. He was called “the weeping prophet” and the title was well-deserved. That is in no way said in a derogatory way. Judah was in terrible shape spiritually, and Jeremiah’s heart was sincerely broken over it. But we see tears in the eyes of Christ only once or twice, and not many others were even aware of them. At the tomb of Lazarus Jesus was truly sad – but it was at the unbelief of the family and friends. The only other occasion where we might picture Christ weeping was as He came over the edge of the Mount of Olives to look down on the wicked city of Jerusalem. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Personally, I think that comparing Christ to Jeremiah would be an unnatural thing. But there was the fact that both Christ and Jeremiah loved parables and physical illustrations. Was that the connection?
Finally, some people said that Jesus must have been “the” well-known prophet. Christ did spend some time foretelling the future. And He was certainly as great a man in some eyes as was Moses. In fact He displayed characteristics of many of the prophets. And people beyond Jesus’ true disciples talked about these things. But in the case David Koresh or Sun Myung Moon, who outside of their disciples ever made similar comparisons? Sure, some of Christ’s enemies said that Jesus was a lunatic, even that he was Baalzebub. They said that of the man in Waco, Texas, but where were the good comparisons?
What is the truth in Jesus’ case?
We don’t have time to do anything but touch the hem of the garment tonight. We will have all of eternity to explore this question and to praise our Saviour. Suffice it to say that Jesus was and is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed of God. “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
What is the meaning of the statement that “Jesus is the Christ?” “Christ” and “Messiah” both speak of the same thing from two different languages. Jesus is the One solemnly ordained, anointed of the God to fulfill His special purpose. He is God’s one and only Saviour, Redeemer, Forgiver of sin. He is the only One commissioned to sit upon the throne of David, His Father, and to usher in the Kingdom of God upon earth. He was consecrated to make the trip to Calvary and to pour out His blood as the fulfillment of every Old Testament sacrifice ever offered. He was chosen to be the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.
And the Lord Jesus is “the Son of the Living God.” When Peter spoke, he emphasized the little article, “THE Son of THE living God.” There was no doubt in his mind about the uniqueness of that relationship. There was no doubt that both Jesus’ friends and enemies considered this to be a statement about the deity of Lord Jesus. This is no special man, This is the God-man. Yes, the Father is God, Christ Jesus is God as well. There is no doubt in my mind that Peter believed that Jesus to be divine. And if you do not believe that, if you deny that, I cannot conceive how you could possibly be a Christian. Everyone of us must believe that Jesus is Christ the Son of God. Everyone of us eventually will believe that to be true. “At the name of Jesus every knee (shall) bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Peter stated the fact, and he trusted the One behind it.
And where did Peter get this?
He did not come to this conclusion simply by the observation of Jesus’ life. Those observing Christ said that He was John, Elijah or Jeremiah. The disciples knew more of Christ, simply because it had been given to them of God. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
Thank and praise God for His gracious revelation. Sure, thank Him for the revelation of the Word of God, the Bible. But more importantly than that are the revelations made to our unbelieving hearts. It should be our constant prayer that God would open the Lydia-like hearts of our loved ones and neighbors. Lydia and Saul of Tarsus would have agreed with Peter, but only because God taught them in the same miraculous way.
Without this blessing, Peter, Andrew and all the rest of would remain in the family of Satan, children of Hell. Without this blessing and revelation you are an alien, a stranger to God’s promises. NOT to be BLESSED, is to be DAMNED.
What say ye of Christ, whose Son is He? What say ye of Christ, Whose Saviour is He? He is mine, and I am his redeemed child.