Eternal God: send us your Holy Spirit so that we may receive your preached Word and believe it. Glorify your Word in our hearts and comfort us by it to eternal life — for the sake of Jesus, your Son. Amen.

Introduction

During our lifetime we have to answer some pretty important questions. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Will you take [name] to be your lawfully wedded husband/wife?” You might have had to appear in court and answer the question, “Do you swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” What important question/s have you answered in your life so far?

In our gospel reading, Jesus asks the disciples an important question: “Who do you say that I am?”

I propose that Jesus not only asked this question 2000 years ago, but he asks this same question today. He asks you the question “Who do you say that I am?” And I’m going to suggest to you this is the most important question you will ever be asked in your entire life. “Who do you say Jesus is?”

Throughout history people have responded to this question in different ways. Let’s unpack some of the answers that people have given.

1. Fictitious legend?

When Jesus asks “Who do you say that I am?” some people respond by saying that Jesus is a fictitious legend. He’s simply an invention of human imagination. A fiction story to appease the masses. ‘Religion is the opium of the people’ (Karl Marx).

However when you think about this you see how absurd it is. We have historical proof, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Jesus of Nazareth was a man who walked this earth. Even if we take out the Bible from the picture there are ten known non-Christian writers who mention Jesus within 150 years of his life.[1]

The great Jewish historian Josephus (who was not a Christian) wrote the following in ~90 A.D.:

At [the time of Pilate] there was a wise man who was called Jesus. His conduct was good and (he) was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive; accordingly he was perhaps the Messiah. (Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3, section 3)

Some of these non-Biblical authors who provide the evidence that Jesus existed were even hostile to Christianity, strengthening further the claim that Jesus is not a legend but a historical person.

Here’s a few things that these non-Biblical writers historically confirm:

1. Jesus lived during time of Tiberius Caesar.
2. He was acclaimed to be the [Jewish] Messiah.
3. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
4. He was crucified on the eve of the Jewish Passover.
5. Darkness and an earthquake occurred when he died.
6. His disciples believed he rose from the dead.
7. His disciples were willing to die for their belief.
8. Christianity spread rapidly as far as Rome.
9. His disciples denied the Roman gods and worshipped Jesus as God.

So who is Jesus? He is definitely not a made-up legend.

2. Great moral teacher?

Perhaps Jesus is just great human teacher? I mean think about some of the profound teachings of Jesus: “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.” (Luke 6:20) “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12)

In our gospel reading, as Jesus is transfigured, Peter calls Jesus “Rabbi” which means “Teacher.” So is Jesus just a human teacher who spoke some profound moral truths in his lifetime?

This might be a convenient answer to our question, but it doesn’t gel with everything we know. See Jesus strangely predicted his death and resurrection. We heard this in our gospel reading “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31)

So if Jesus was just a man and a great moral teacher, then we need to throw out a lot of what he said and did. How can we call Jesus a great moral teacher when he talks about dying and rising again, and claims to be God’s very own son?

3. Liar or lunatic?

This has led some people to conclude that Jesus was either a liar or a lunatic. He either knowingly lied, or he was crazy and didn’t know what he was saying.

The atheist turned Christian author C S Lewis once wrote:

The one thing we must not say [is that “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.”]. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (C S Lewis, Mere Christianity)

So is he a liar or a lunatic? Again the evidence doesn’t support this. Firstly, even though Jesus said some strange and challenging things, together they paint a coherent picture that makes sense. Secondly, these things have been corroborated by convincing eyewitness testimony. Lastly, many of his disciples (past and present) were tortured to death believing what Jesus said and did to be true.

If you study the New Testament it reads exactly as would a collection of independent eyewitness accounts: different witnesses record the same basic details, with a few minor differences in details. The New Testament is convincing because it contains multiple, independent, eyewitness testimony from trustworthy sources, these documents were written soon after the events (within 30–40 years), and they have been reliably transmitted to us (historians have discovered thousands of manuscripts).[2]

So Jesus is not just a legend, he’s more than a great teacher, and the evidence does not support the theories that he’s a liar or a lunatic.

4. Earthly and military Messiah?

So what other options are there? Who is Jesus?

In our gospel reading Peter makes a confession about who Jesus is. He says “You are the Messiah.” Great! Our question has been answered! Here ends the sermon; I’ll sit down and we can sing our offering hymn.

But hang on, what does “Messiah” mean exactly? What or who is the “Messiah”?

“Messiah” is a Hebrew title meaning “anointed one” — one who has oil poured on their head (like an Old Testament king or priest). This signifies the person has special authority or purpose, that God has chosen them and they have God’s approval. This Hebrew word “Messiah” has an equivalent in Greek: “Christ.” So when you hear “Messiah” or “Christ” think of the same thing: “anointed and chosen by God.”

Now I have a confession to make: when I was growing up, I thought “Christ” was Jesus’ last name! “The name’s Bond, James Bond.” “The name’s Christ, Jesus Christ.” Messiah/Christ is not a last name, but actually a title e.g. Dr Ready, Queen Elizabeth, Christ Jesus.

So when Jesus asks “Who do you say that I am?” Peter rubs his hands together and jumps straight in, “You are the Messiah, you are Christ Jesus, anointed and chosen by God.” But Peter misunderstands what the Christ has been chosen to do! He most likely thinks the Christ has been chosen by God to kick out the bad guys (the Romans) by military force and rule the Jewish people as their earthly king.

Jesus was aware of this misunderstanding. So straight after Peter confesses “You are the Messiah” Jesus immediately teaches what kind of Messiah he is. Jesus says that he “must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). Suffer, rejected, killed, rise again.

But Peter takes Jesus aside. “What are you talking about Jesus?! You won’t suffer and die. You’re the Messiah! You can rally the people. You can lead a revolution. You can be the one to free our country from oppression, and lead our people as king!”

But Jesus wants nothing to do with an earthly, military messiah. He rebukes Peter in the harshest way, calling him Satan! “Get behind me Satan! Stop tempting me with these human concerns, I’m here for much more.”

5. ‎Crucified Messiah

Jesus is the Messiah — he has been chosen by God. We hear this very clearly as the voice booms from the cloud on the mountain of transfiguration. “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Jesus is the beloved, chosen one of God, God’s very own Son. He’s been given divine authority and purpose.

Yet he is a special sort of Messiah: Jesus is not an earthly or military messiah, but rather the crucified Messiah. He has been chosen by God to suffer, be rejected, killed, and rise again after three days. Jesus has been chosen to do this so that you can be made right with God (your sins forgiven), so that you can live with God forever.

Yet forever starts right now. When we answer Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” with the confession of faith “You are the crucified Messiah who came to suffer, die, and rise again to make me right with God” — when we confess our faith in this way — it has implications for how we live our life from that moment on.

See Jesus is a victorious king, come to free his people from oppression and rule his kingdom. It’s just that his kingdom is both an earthly and a heavenly kingdom.

We see this on the mountain of transfiguration. When Jesus’ full nature is revealed we don’t see a normal king wearing a gold crown and purple garments, with sceptre and sword in hand. Rather, we see a king clothed in white, which represents holiness and martyrdom (Revelation 7). White robes were worn by those willing to die for their beliefs.

So when we confess “Jesus is the crucified Messiah” we confess that Jesus died for us, and that we are part of his kingdom. And this means that we too are called to be martyrs, to “deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him” (Mark 8:34). Because the king has saved us by his death, we are called to offer our entire lives in service. So saying “Jesus is the crucified Messiah” has some pretty big implications and follow on effect for our lives!

Jesus asks you today, right now, “Who do you say that I am?” How are you going to respond? Will you ignore all the historical evidence and simply dismiss Jesus as a fictitious legend? Will you conclude that Jesus was just a human teacher who taught some great moral truths, but skip over his other sayings where he predicted his death and resurrection? Will you conclude he’s a lunatic or a liar, even though we have reliable eyewitness testimony to the contrary? Or will you conclude that Jesus is the crucified Messiah, who through his death and resurrection freely offers you life and salvation with God?

I for one confess that Jesus is the crucified Messiah. He is God’s beloved Son. He came to suffer, die, and rise again to make us right with God. Because of his person and actions we can belong to him, he rules over us, and we can serve him.

In a moment I’m going to invite you to publicly confess that “Jesus is the crucified Messiah.” In some countries saying such words is illegal and could get you thrown in prison, or worse. Even here these words are dangerous, because in them we confess what we believe, that we pledge to serve Jesus for the rest of our lives.

If you’re still not sure who Jesus is, I’d love to have a chat with you after service and hear your questions. Otherwise I invite you to say these words with care and conviction:

I believe that Jesus Christ, is my Lord. He is truly God — he has always been the Son of the Father. He is also a real human being, the Virgin Mary’s Son. Jesus rescued me when I was lost and sentenced to death. He set me free from all my sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. It cost him more than gold or silver; it cost him his life. Even though he was holy and innocent, he suffered and died for me. Jesus did this so that I can belong to him, and he can rule over me as my king. I can live under him and serve him, innocent and happy forever, just as he was raised to life, and lives and rules forever. This is certainly true.

[1] Josephus; Tacitus, the Roman historian; Pliny the Younger, a Roman politician; Phlegon, a freed slave who wrote histories; Thallus, a first-century historian; Seutonius, a Roman historian; Lucian, a Greek satirist; Celsus, a Roman philosopher; Mara Bar-Serapion, a private citizen who wrote to his son; and the Jewish Talmud. See Geisler and Turek, 2004, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, pg 222.

[2] The oldest known fragment of the New Testament is from 125 A.D. The oldest full manuscript of the New Testament (the Codex Sinaiticus) is from the early 4th century (circa 330 A.D.).

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