Who do you say that I am?
Matt. 16
Peter's Confession of Christ
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”
Context- They are in Caesarea Philippi. The town is called that because it was built by King Herod Phillipus to honor Caesar. In the town is a large white temple dedicated to Caesar- Caesar was worshipped as a God by the Romans, and this worship was imposed on everyone the Romans ruled.
This town is also near the place where the Jordan River starts- coming from underground streams. The Jordan river is the life force for all of Israel.
This area was also considered by the Greeks to be the birthplace of pan- the little “toot” guy with pig legs and goat horns from “Hercules”.
So this is where Jesus asks the question “Who do the people say that I am”.
Who do people now a days say that Jesus is?
“Jesus is Lord”, God, prophet (Muslims), good man (Dan Brown), didn’t exist, records unreliable, liar, lunatic, cult leader, etc.
To those who say that Jesus did not exist or that the records of him are unreliable;
There are more historical documents about Jesus than about any other person from that era- Caesar, Alexander the Great, etc. To say that these documents are all wrong, that they are an elaborate collaboration created in order to deceive, requires more faith than to say that Jesus was God! You assume a thing to be true, and ignore the facts in such a manor as to support your assumptions. What benefit did anyone receive from creating the myth about Jesus? The apostles were all killed. The Roman Empire collapsed. Being a Christian was not considered beneficial in the worldly sense for the first 300 years of its existence! So why would anyone conspire to create this kind of a lie?
No good historian on the planet takes seriously the idea that Jesus did not exist.
Another set of theories that no good historian takes seriously are those suggested by people like Dan Brown- that the stuff in the Bible about Jesus was made up by people with an agenda and are not true. There are some people who think that the only true thing that the Bible says about Jesus was that he called God “Our Father”. They say that everything else must have been made up.
Why? Because according to the Bible, Jesus walked on water and healed the blind and rose people from the dead and eventually rose from the dead himself! Seeing as those things are impossible, obviously someone must have made it up, right? Again, this works with the assumption that Jesus was not God, and therefore he couldn’t have done those things. But what if he was God? Isn’t that the whole point?
So let’s assume that the documents referring to Jesus are as reliable as any other historical documents. Who then was this guy who once lived?
CS Lewis referred to this problem as a “trilemma”. (Term coined by Josh MacDowell) Jesus said he was God. So either he is God, or he’s lying, or he’s a lunatic. So what is He, Liar, Lunatic or Lord?
It’s funny if people think that he is just a good teacher, because what moral teacher would lie about being God? Think about the weird things Jesus said; “Be like me, because I am meek and humble of heart.” What kind of person goes around telling people how humble they are? “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” How arrogant is it to claim to be the only way to God? Surely if he was a moral teacher he wouldn’t make such crazy claims! No other great teacher in history- Buddha, Confucious, Muhammed, Moses- none of these ever claimed to be God! It is too outlandish to say!
Unless it’s true. The question is, does Jesus seem like the type who would lie about such things? He told people to be perfect, as His heavenly Father is perfect, he taught them to love, he claimed to even be the truth and said that people should worship in spirit and truth- pretty strange things for a liar to teach people. Moreover, what did he benefit from his lie? He was crucified! Why didn’t he just admit the truth?
Of course, he could have been crazy. If he believed that he was God, but he was not God, this is like someone believing that they are a poached egg. It’s just crazy talk.
I met someone once who claimed to be God. The guy stood in the door of a downtown church in Ottawa, telling people that he was Jesus, and that they had to leave everything behind and follow him. I talked to him for a few minutes, but as it turned out I took too long to convert, and he eventually decided that I had missed my chance for salvation from him.
Now here’s the thing- he seemed crazy. He was inconsistent in what he said, he was angry, his eyes looked weird. Jesus, apparently, did not seem that way. When he told people to follow him, for some reason, they did! For some reason they thought he was right- so much so that it made the local officials mad, and they had to kill him! In fact, when the local officials would argue with Jesus, who would always say something clever and corner them. If he was crazy and inconsitent, the how come no one could point out the lack of logic in his arguments?
Then of course there’s the whole problem of miracles. Now maybe he faked all the miracles somehow- had people pretend to be blind, had rocks strategically placed in the water so he could “walk on it”, the storm just coincidentally stopped when he told it to… maybe all this happened, but it’s not likely. But even if he did… how did he ‘fake’ rising from the dead?
To me, this is the single strongest argument of the truth of Christianity. All of the apostles but one died for saying that they had seen Jesus risen from the dead. The last one was exiled. How is it that these 12 men did not crack and give in? Admit that they were making it up?
So here’s the thing. As far as I’m concerned, if Jesus rose from the dead, than he is who he said he was. If he didn’t, than maybe the whole thing is a lie. Did he? Even St Paul admits that everything hinges on that one idea. 1 Cor 15:17-19 “17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Here are the possibilities;
Jesus never died on the cross.
Jesus never rose- his body was still in the tomb.
Mary Magdalene went to the wrong tomb.
The disciples stole Jesus’ body for their lie.
Jesus never died on the cross:
Here’s the problem with that argument. First of all, a lot of people saw him die on the cross. There’s no real possibility that he wasn’t up there- that it was someone else and they were confused, etc. Some people say well, maybe Jesus was in so much pain, and had so much blood loss, that he fainted. Then, after lying in a nice cool tomb for 3 days, his strength was restored, and he got up and left.
Now think about it. The Bible tells us that a large stone was rolled across the front of the tomb, so large than when the ladies went there on the third day they were worried about who would help them move it. Are you trying to tell me that a guy who had been scourged within an inch of his life, then nailed to a cross, lay down for 3 days, didn’t eat or drink anything, and when he was done he got up and moved a massive boulder?
Jesus never rose, his body is still in the tomb;
Some people say the disciples just lied, that Jesus never rose and his body was still in the tomb. But if that happened, why didn’t the Pharisees and the enemies of Christianity just take people to the tomb and say “see?”
Mary Magdalene went to the wrong tomb;
Perhaps Mary went to the wrong tomb, and made the honest mistake that Jesus had risen. The problem is, the other disciples also went to the tomb, and a lot of people said they saw Jesus after he rose, and again the Pharisees could have just said “see?” if that happened!
The disciples lied, and stole the body;
First off, the disciples all died for their lie, (11 of 12 apostles were martyred, the other, John, was exiled). Also- how did they get the body past the guards? Roman Guards- professional soldiers who would suffer the death penalty for failure- were posted outside the tomb. Are we really supposed to believe that the disciples came and stole the body while the guards happened to be snoozing? In fact, the Bible tells us that when the Romans realized Jesus’ body was missing, they were instructed to lie and say that is what happened!
So here’s what I think. I think Jesus rose from the dead, and that he was who he said he was- God.
But, just ‘cause I think that, doesn’t mean that you have to.
I think a lot of times we hear a talk and think “Hmm, good points. This guy has a good reason to hold the opinion that he has.” But notice Jesus didn’t just leave it at “Who do other people say that I am.” He asked “Who do you say that I am.”
That’s my question to you. Who do you say Jesus is? Not your parents. Not the school. You. You have to start thinking for yourself now- you have to make a decision about this sometime. Is He the Son of God? Some obscure historical figure? A guy with good ideas? Someone who never existed? A cosmic abstraction?
Is Jesus relevant to your life? Have you got a personal relationship with Him?
This is between you and God. Pray about it, and see where you stand.
Peter's Confession of Christ
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”
Context- They are in Caesarea Philippi. The town is called that because it was built by King Herod Phillipus to honor Caesar. In the town is a large white temple dedicated to Caesar- Caesar was worshipped as a God by the Romans, and this worship was imposed on everyone the Romans ruled.
This town is also near the place where the Jordan River starts- coming from underground streams. The Jordan river is the life force for all of Israel.
This area was also considered by the Greeks to be the birthplace of pan- the little “toot” guy with pig legs and goat horns from “Hercules”.
So this is where Jesus asks the question “Who do the people say that I am”.
Who do people now a days say that Jesus is?
“Jesus is Lord”, God, prophet (Muslims), good man (Dan Brown), didn’t exist, records unreliable, liar, lunatic, cult leader, etc.
To those who say that Jesus did not exist or that the records of him are unreliable;
There are more historical documents about Jesus than about any other person from that era- Caesar, Alexander the Great, etc. To say that these documents are all wrong, that they are an elaborate collaboration created in order to deceive, requires more faith than to say that Jesus was God! You assume a thing to be true, and ignore the facts in such a manor as to support your assumptions. What benefit did anyone receive from creating the myth about Jesus? The apostles were all killed. The Roman Empire collapsed. Being a Christian was not considered beneficial in the worldly sense for the first 300 years of its existence! So why would anyone conspire to create this kind of a lie?
No good historian on the planet takes seriously the idea that Jesus did not exist.
Another set of theories that no good historian takes seriously are those suggested by people like Dan Brown- that the stuff in the Bible about Jesus was made up by people with an agenda and are not true. There are some people who think that the only true thing that the Bible says about Jesus was that he called God “Our Father”. They say that everything else must have been made up.
Why? Because according to the Bible, Jesus walked on water and healed the blind and rose people from the dead and eventually rose from the dead himself! Seeing as those things are impossible, obviously someone must have made it up, right? Again, this works with the assumption that Jesus was not God, and therefore he couldn’t have done those things. But what if he was God? Isn’t that the whole point?
So let’s assume that the documents referring to Jesus are as reliable as any other historical documents. Who then was this guy who once lived?
CS Lewis referred to this problem as a “trilemma”. (Term coined by Josh MacDowell) Jesus said he was God. So either he is God, or he’s lying, or he’s a lunatic. So what is He, Liar, Lunatic or Lord?
It’s funny if people think that he is just a good teacher, because what moral teacher would lie about being God? Think about the weird things Jesus said; “Be like me, because I am meek and humble of heart.” What kind of person goes around telling people how humble they are? “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” How arrogant is it to claim to be the only way to God? Surely if he was a moral teacher he wouldn’t make such crazy claims! No other great teacher in history- Buddha, Confucious, Muhammed, Moses- none of these ever claimed to be God! It is too outlandish to say!
Unless it’s true. The question is, does Jesus seem like the type who would lie about such things? He told people to be perfect, as His heavenly Father is perfect, he taught them to love, he claimed to even be the truth and said that people should worship in spirit and truth- pretty strange things for a liar to teach people. Moreover, what did he benefit from his lie? He was crucified! Why didn’t he just admit the truth?
Of course, he could have been crazy. If he believed that he was God, but he was not God, this is like someone believing that they are a poached egg. It’s just crazy talk.
I met someone once who claimed to be God. The guy stood in the door of a downtown church in Ottawa, telling people that he was Jesus, and that they had to leave everything behind and follow him. I talked to him for a few minutes, but as it turned out I took too long to convert, and he eventually decided that I had missed my chance for salvation from him.
Now here’s the thing- he seemed crazy. He was inconsistent in what he said, he was angry, his eyes looked weird. Jesus, apparently, did not seem that way. When he told people to follow him, for some reason, they did! For some reason they thought he was right- so much so that it made the local officials mad, and they had to kill him! In fact, when the local officials would argue with Jesus, who would always say something clever and corner them. If he was crazy and inconsitent, the how come no one could point out the lack of logic in his arguments?
Then of course there’s the whole problem of miracles. Now maybe he faked all the miracles somehow- had people pretend to be blind, had rocks strategically placed in the water so he could “walk on it”, the storm just coincidentally stopped when he told it to… maybe all this happened, but it’s not likely. But even if he did… how did he ‘fake’ rising from the dead?
To me, this is the single strongest argument of the truth of Christianity. All of the apostles but one died for saying that they had seen Jesus risen from the dead. The last one was exiled. How is it that these 12 men did not crack and give in? Admit that they were making it up?
So here’s the thing. As far as I’m concerned, if Jesus rose from the dead, than he is who he said he was. If he didn’t, than maybe the whole thing is a lie. Did he? Even St Paul admits that everything hinges on that one idea. 1 Cor 15:17-19 “17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Here are the possibilities;
Jesus never died on the cross.
Jesus never rose- his body was still in the tomb.
Mary Magdalene went to the wrong tomb.
The disciples stole Jesus’ body for their lie.
Jesus never died on the cross:
Here’s the problem with that argument. First of all, a lot of people saw him die on the cross. There’s no real possibility that he wasn’t up there- that it was someone else and they were confused, etc. Some people say well, maybe Jesus was in so much pain, and had so much blood loss, that he fainted. Then, after lying in a nice cool tomb for 3 days, his strength was restored, and he got up and left.
Now think about it. The Bible tells us that a large stone was rolled across the front of the tomb, so large than when the ladies went there on the third day they were worried about who would help them move it. Are you trying to tell me that a guy who had been scourged within an inch of his life, then nailed to a cross, lay down for 3 days, didn’t eat or drink anything, and when he was done he got up and moved a massive boulder?
Jesus never rose, his body is still in the tomb;
Some people say the disciples just lied, that Jesus never rose and his body was still in the tomb. But if that happened, why didn’t the Pharisees and the enemies of Christianity just take people to the tomb and say “see?”
Mary Magdalene went to the wrong tomb;
Perhaps Mary went to the wrong tomb, and made the honest mistake that Jesus had risen. The problem is, the other disciples also went to the tomb, and a lot of people said they saw Jesus after he rose, and again the Pharisees could have just said “see?” if that happened!
The disciples lied, and stole the body;
First off, the disciples all died for their lie, (11 of 12 apostles were martyred, the other, John, was exiled). Also- how did they get the body past the guards? Roman Guards- professional soldiers who would suffer the death penalty for failure- were posted outside the tomb. Are we really supposed to believe that the disciples came and stole the body while the guards happened to be snoozing? In fact, the Bible tells us that when the Romans realized Jesus’ body was missing, they were instructed to lie and say that is what happened!
So here’s what I think. I think Jesus rose from the dead, and that he was who he said he was- God.
But, just ‘cause I think that, doesn’t mean that you have to.
I think a lot of times we hear a talk and think “Hmm, good points. This guy has a good reason to hold the opinion that he has.” But notice Jesus didn’t just leave it at “Who do other people say that I am.” He asked “Who do you say that I am.”
That’s my question to you. Who do you say Jesus is? Not your parents. Not the school. You. You have to start thinking for yourself now- you have to make a decision about this sometime. Is He the Son of God? Some obscure historical figure? A guy with good ideas? Someone who never existed? A cosmic abstraction?
Is Jesus relevant to your life? Have you got a personal relationship with Him?
This is between you and God. Pray about it, and see where you stand.
posted by Peter van Kampen at 2:20 PM
1 Comments:
Greetings Peter ...
You state "... Because according to the Bible, Jesus walked on water and healed the blind and rose people from the dead and eventually rose from the dead himself! Seeing as those things are impossible, obviously someone must have made it up, right? Again, this works with the assumption that Jesus was not God, and therefore he couldn’t have done those things. But what if he was God? Isn’t that the whole point? ..."
Now to begin with ... I am a Christian, and I have no problem in believing what the Scriptures say about Jesus.
However I am wary of men's assumptions.
It is true that some people reject Jesus because of the impossible things that he did; however it does not change who Jesus claimed to be.
In the very verses that you are talking about (Matthew 16:13-17); Peter did not make an assumption or even declare that Jesus was Almighty GOD. He declared that Jesus was the son OF GOD i.e. the ONE GOD's Son!
The whole point is not that Jesus is GOD ... the whole point is that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the ONE LIVING GOD. This is the confession that Jesus endorsed ... this is the truth that Jesus said the ONE GOD, the heavenly Father, had revealed to Peter.
Jesus as well as his disciples were Jews. The Jews believe in solely ONE Invisible, Almighty GOD; and they would never endorse the belief that 'God is a man' in any shape or size. The Jews quote the Shema [Deut 6.4] daily in affirming their monotheistic belief; Jesus the Messiah himself affirmed the Shema in Mark 12:28-34. The scribe who heard him stated "Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:"
The scribe obviously did not believe Jesus was GOD. He did not understand Jesus to say such a thing. No! Jesus like every other Jew in his time, confessed the Shema, and affirmed the Jewish monotheistic belief in solely ONE GOD, who of course, was distinct from him. (Remember, salvation is of the Jews, John 4.22).
Elsewhere, Jesus called the ONE GOD, his Father, the only true GOD. [John 17.3]
So as great as men like C.S. Lewis may have been, we must submit to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, who never ever said that he was Almighty GOD! Nor did any of his disciples affirm such a belief ... like Peter, they confessed that Jesus was the Lord Messiah not the Lord GOD.
There is a big difference!!!
Jesus is indeed Lord. In light of Psalms 110:1 (the most quoted OT verse in the NT); YAHWEH, the ONE GOD, prophetically spoke of the time when He would invite one man to sit at His right hand. This man, David calls my Lord.
Jesus as well as his apostles, used this verse as a prooftext to define who Jesus is (e.g. Mark 12.35-37, Acts 2.32-36). GOD has made Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Messiah. That is the whole point! Jesus is that Lord who is now at the right hand of the LORD GOD.
So, the Lord Messiah [Col 3.24, Luke 2.11] is at the right hand of the LORD GOD.
So, there is ...
ONE GOD, the Father, YAHWEH.
And ONE Lord Messiah, the man Jesus of Nazareth, now glorified, currently at the right hand of the ONE GOD, YAHWEH.
ONE GOD, ONE man!
[1 Cor. 8.4,6]
BTW, the Hebrew word for the second word, 'Lord', in Psalms 110.1 is the Hebrew word adoni; which in all its 195 occurrences, is never ever used to denote deity; it is solely used to denote beings who are NOT GOD i.e. human beings and angelic beings. And of course, Jesus was not and is not an angelic being [Hebs Chaps 1-3]. He was and is a man.
(1 Tim 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Now, all the miracles, the impossible things that Jesus did, he did not do them because he was GOD; rather the ONE GOD, in actuality performed these works, through Jesus Christ. Jesus himself confessed this as well as his disciples. All that Jesus did, he did by the power of the ONE GOD; Jesus of himself could not do nothing!
[John 5.19,30; 14.10, Acts 2.22, 10.38]
Jesus never lied about being God because he never ever confessed that he was GOD; he ever confessed that he was GOD's Son, the Promised Messiah; and confessed that the only true GOD was the Father, who was not only greater than him, but greater than all. [John 14.28, 10.29]
The reason why Jesus made the arrogant claims as you call them, was indeed because he is the Promised Messiah, That Prophet, that Moses spoke about [Deut 18.15,18-19], that was to come; and as such in fulfillment of being That Prophet, he was to speak ALL that he was commanded to speak. Jesus confessed that he was obedient to his calling ...
(John 12:49-50) For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
Compare also (John 7:16-17) Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
Jesus never ever spoke of himself. He spoke the words that GOD gave him to speak. His disciples confessed that Jesus was indeed That Prophet, (Acts 3:20-22) And he [GOD] shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
So Jesus was not being arrogant ... he was being obedient. Speaking the things which the ONE GOD, his Father, gave him to speak. Being That Prophet, the Messiah, he was GOD's mouthpiece, GOD's chosen spokesman, GOD's ultimate prophet.
And again, in all that he spoke, Jesus never ever claimed to be Almighty GOD!
Jesus of Nazareth, was indeed who he claimed to be, That Prophet, the Messiah, the Son of the Living GOD. The most awesome vindication of his claim, is that, the ONE GOD, the Father, raised the crucified Jesus of Nazareth from the dead.
This is what the apostles proclaimed again & again. These truths is what they died for. These were the truths of the early church.
Jesus is not a liar or a lunatic.
He is indeed the Lord Messiah, the Son of the Father! [2 John 3]
That is the whole point!!
Yours in Messiah
Adam Pastor
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