Let us pray: Heavenly Father: send us your Holy Spirit to open our ears to hear your preached Word. Comfort us by your Word. Help us to learn the stories in your Word and to tell them to others. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Let’s briefly recap the steps for Biblical storytelling from last week:

Step 1: Learn a Bible story. We learn a story by becoming familiar with it. Read it a few times. Try a few different translations (you can find these free online). Practice telling it e.g. in front of the mirror, record on your phone, with people you trust.

Let’s do it, let’s learn our story for today. Most stories have structure. If you can work out a structure, it can help you remember the story. Our story today has the following structure:

• Location marker: Caesarea Philippi.
• Four part conversation: Jesus, disciples, Jesus, Peter.
• Three part speech by Jesus: Blessed …, Peter …, Keys …

Step 2: Introduce the story. “Hey, can I tell you a story from the Bible. It helps explain what I believe. Afterwards we can talk about it.”

Step 3: Tell the story. Tell the story. Use simple language, but keep it accurate and make it memorable e.g. gestures and expressions.

Step 4: Talk about the story together.

• What stood out to you? (Open-ended, non-threatening).
• Do you have any questions? (Again open-ended, non-threatening).
• What is the main point? (Stories communicate points without explicitly saying them).
• What does this story teach about people and God?
• If this story is true, how will you live differently?

Let’s hear the story again. (Read aloud Matthew 16:13–20 again).

(a) What stood out to you? (Pause to think about what stood out to you, or if you are with others, talk with them). What struck me in this story is the word ‘Christ.’ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” This seems to be at the centre or crux of the story. It’s what the story revolves around. We’ll come back to this later.

(b) Do you have any questions? I had a few questions from this story.

Firstly, where is Caesarea Philippi, and is this location important to the story? It’s inland from Tyre, but still north, up in Galilee. It is important, because it was a religious and civic centre of the day. There were various temples and statues to Greek gods, including Pan and Zeus. In one of the temple complexes was a cave filled with water, thought to be a gate to “the nether,” the underworld, the realm of the dead: Hades. Also, the Roman ruler of this city (Philip the Tetrarch) had built a temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus (hence the name of the city: Caesarea for Caesar, and Philippi for Philip). The Roman Empire ruled by military force and might. And their current king, Emperor Augustus, fashioned himself as a ‘son of god’ — his adoptive father, Julius Caesar, had been deified and declared a god.  So Caesarea Philippi is a significant place for the ‘gods’ of the day. This is the perfect place, a loaded place, for Jesus to ask the pregnant question: “Who do you say that I am?” It’s as if he’s saying: “Am I like these other gods? Am I a man come back from the dead? Have I escaped the gates of Hades? Am I a military king? Do I rule by might and power? Am I a man who calls himself a god?”

Secondly, what does ‘Son of Man’ mean? In short, the Jewish prophets prophesied that a human would come with special authority from God. Jesus often uses this title to refer to himself.

(c) What’s the main point? The main point is Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ. This word ‘Christ’ is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word ‘Messiah.’ So ‘Christ’ and ‘Messiah’ mean the same thing. Literally this word means ‘to be anointed [with oil].’ In the Old Testament people with special God-given roles would be anointed e.g. kings and priests. But notice what Peter does and doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “I think you are a christ.” He doesn’t say, “For us you are a christ.” He says, “You are the Christ.” A plain declaration: “You are.” And not a christ, but the Christ (the definite article and capital C). Jesus is the King. Jesus is the Priest. Jesus is the one and only King and Priest. His sacrifice on the cross is the only sacrifice necessary. He is the ruler of the kingdom of God. He is the one and only mediator between us and God, who enters into the throne-room and beckons us to follow.

(d) What does this story teach about people/you? What does this story teach about God?

The world (including us, including me) has all sorts of different thoughts and expectations about who Jesus is. Jesus asks, “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” Is he some great figure of the past reincarnated and come back from the dead? Or is he a prophet, come to point out our failings and call us to repent? Is he a great teacher, warning us that if we continue down our path we’ll end up doomed, locked up in Hades? Is he a renewer of old traditions, like some of the prophets, polishing and giving new life to old ways? We have all sorts of superstitious and nonsense beliefs about who Jesus is. Who do you say Jesus is? Is he a genie in a bottle, that if we rub hard enough, pray hard enough, he’ll give us what we want? Is he a famous madman or conman? Is he a great moral teacher like Confucius, with helpful riddles and sayings? Who do you say Jesus is?

This story says that Jesus is none of those things. Jesus is the Christ. He’s not a prophet, but the one the prophets were talking about and pointing to. He’s the anointed King of the castle. As the Son of Man, God has given authority to Jesus. Jesus has the key to the dungeons of death. In his death on the cross, Jesus has gone down to the depths of Hades, and he come back. Once the gate of Hades were locked and the dead were trapped there forever. But now he’s unlocked and thrown open the gates of death. And Jesus the Christ, Jesus the King, invites all the people trapped down there in Hades to life everlasting. Jesus is the Son of the living God. He’s not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. He has creative power to make stuff happen, creative power to do new things, to unlock and open the door to the throne-room of heaven itself. And we get all of this in ten words: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

(e) If this story is true, how will you live differently? This story of freedom impacts my life in a number of ways. There are always two sides to freedom: freedom from, and freedom for. Firstly we are freed from something: this story means I am free from death and the fear of death. If Jesus is the King of the castle with the key to unlock the gates to the dungeons of death, then I do not need to fear anything, even death. There’s so much fear in the world right now. We fear this COVID-19 virus. We fear terrorism. We fear foreign threats. We fear change. But even the gates of Hades will not be strong enough to overcome our rock of salvation. Yes, one day we will visit that cavernous cave of death. But Jesus has the key. And now those gates are wide open. We can walk out and live free and alive, starting right now. Secondly we are freed for something: I am free to serve my King. I am free to belong to and work for the community of life that Jesus says he’s building on Peter the Rock — the church. See Jesus has given us — his church — the keys to unlock and free others. We have God’s authority to lock the gates to the kingdom of death behind those who have been freed, and to open the door to the throne-room of the kingdom of heaven. And this is the gospel, this is the good news story that we are free to tell others. I want to serve my King by telling others this good news. How are you using your freedom to serve your King? Who will tell this good news story to?

In Christ alone my hope is found! My fears are stilled. My strivings cease. Jesus the Christ has burst forth, up from the grave he rose. Sin and death has lost its grip on me. There’s no guilt in life, no fear in death. For Jesus the King commands my destiny. So here in the power of Christ we stand. Amen.

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