Who Do You Say I Am?: Disciples Follow Their King (Sermon FFMC 19/3/25)
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. (Mark 8:27-30)
Mk 6:45 tells us that Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee and travelled north from Bethsaida to Caesarea Philippi. This was a city was located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, and was a centre of Baal, Pan and Caesar worship –previously called Paneas.
Perhaps it was the false worship prevalent there that prompted Jesus’ question to His disciples – but perhaps not. Jesus asks many questions in the Gospels – someone has counted 339. Some are to engage people and to begin a conversation. Some are obviously when He actually knows the answer and wants to force people to think. Some are when, with respect to his human nature, He doesn’t know (”Who touched me?”).
Here, when Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”, it was not out of curiosity. His motivation for doing it is different from ours. When we ask this kind of question, we are unlikely to ask out of lack of knowledge, but many times, we ask because opinions of others are important to us. We are often insecure. Jesus is never like that. The passage makes it clear that at the time, He did not even want people to know who He really was. So He asks the question to test His disciples with a follow-up question. “But”. Jesus wants to know if there is going to be a difference between the answer given by his disciples and the answer given by the world. Many, many people would have known of or experienced His miracles, but only His disciples had the privilege of living with Him day by day. His expectation of them was different. Jesus has expectations of us. What we know, how we think, speak and act must be different from the world. How different are you? How different am I because we call ourselves ‘Christians’? Can people at work or school even tell?
One more point about Jesus asking questions - the one asking is the one in charge. We may have questions we ask God – “Why did this happen? Where were you? What can you offer me?” It is good to have honest questions of God, but it is not good to feel we have the right to demand answers from Him. We can have the attitude that He owes us and we can judge His actions. The truth is very far from that: God owes us nothing. Paul says, “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” (Rom 9:20-21). So don’t sit there and say or think – “So what are you going to show me today? Let’s see what you have to offer?” as if we are His equals.
When Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?”, he asks as the one in charge. We are those who are answerable to God. We must acknowledge his Lordship over us. We are not free to live our lives the way we choose. We approach God with true humility and dependence.
1. Jesus cares about who you say He is, not who the world says He is.
Our society has many opinions about Jesus. People generally believe he is a great teacher, a good man. Perhaps an avatar of God, or even a myth. Some may have heard about Him, but they do not know Him. We Christians are supposed to know Him.
有眼不识泰山 story
We may see Him, but not recognize him in fullness. “who do you say that I am?” also means, “who am I to you?”, “what do I mean to you?”. “You are Jesus” is not adequate because anybody can say that.
Sitting in church today - do you know who Jesus is? Do you recognize Him? Can you see with eyes that are open to how wonderful He is? Or do we only see small parts of our narrow assumptions about Jesus? He is among us in majesty, the Lord of this church and the Lord of the world. Do you recognize Him? Do you see His greatness and beauty? Do you see that He is Lord, the one in charge of the universe?
2. Jesus is the fulfilment of all our hopes, the one worthy of being followed
Others saw His power and said “John the Baptist (i.e. John raised from the dead Mk 6:14); and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets). But Peter (spokesman for the disciples) gets to the heart of the matter. He calls Jesus, “the Christ”.
Nowadays we use the name “Jesus Christ” as if ‘Jesus’ was the first name and ‘Christ’ was a family name (like ‘Adolf Hitler’ where using the last name is enough to identify a person).
But Christ is a title, not a name. It means “anointed one”, and it comes from the Greek “Christos”. It is the equivalent of the Hebrew word we use in English as ‘Messiah”. Anointing is applying oil to the person, often as a sign of special identification or consecration to a role.
Many people are anointed in the OT – kings and priests.
There were many “anointed ones”, e.g. The
oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man who was raised on high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Sa 23:1)
But the Jews looked forward to the supreme Anointed One -
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound (Is 61:1)
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ (Je 23:5-6: 5)
This One would not just rule the Jews, but the world.
"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)
"He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth." (Zechariah 9:10)
This Anointed One comes from the line of David. He will rule forever. He will do what is just and right. He will be the hope not only of the Jews, but of the whole world. In a time of Roman occupation, the need of a Messiah was even greater. People cried out for God to act decisively to relieve their suffering. The Messiah would restore the land to the people, sit on David’s throne and bring an everlasting reign of righteousness and prosperity. He would be the greatest leader, the ideal politician, the perfect King.
So Peter calls Jesus “the Christ” – the Messiah. The hope of the Jewish people, the hope of the world. And he is right. Jesus really is the Christ. There is no other. In the gospel according to Matthew Jesus commends him and says “Blessed are you.. for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you” Mt 16:17). Mark’s gospel begins with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus is really the one the Jews looked forward to. He is the end goal of the Old Testament. He is everything they hoped for. And He, He alone – is really the one the world needs. The Jewish Messiah is the hope of everyone, the Saviour who will rule the nations. He is our Redeemer, Saviour, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End, the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah. He is (as Thomas said) our Lord and our God.
Is that what you believe of Him? How will you answer his question “But who do you say that I am?”
Most of us here are “Christians” – followers of Christ. Is he the hope of your world? The centre of your life? The most valuable person to you? Is He only a teacher with good ideas to follow? Do you look to him as your Lord and Master? If He is, then will you follow Him? Will you be loyal to Him? Will you obey every command of His? Will you surrender yourself to His authority? Would you sacrifice your own ambitions for Him? Would you die for Him?
Sometimes talk of obedience and surrender can be abstract. Maybe we could ask ourselves what It practically means to follow our King:
Am I giving at least a tithe to the Lord’s work?
Is there a persistent sin I need to give up?
Is there someone who has hurt me that I have not forgiven?
Am I actively open to feedback and correction from people about my actions and character?
Am I serving in the local church in a way that suits how God has gifted me?
Am I prepared to go out of my comfort zone to show hospitality to people I meet in church?
There are ten thousand different ways we can concretely express how Jesus is the Christ – the King of our lives.
3. Jesus does not always fulfil our hopes the way we want
So Jesus is our King, yes? The typical human response is to ask, “what do I get if you are my King?” (especially important in election years!) I will follow them as long as they give me what I want. We hope for prosperity, stability, good legal system, good social services, but why should I die for my Prime Minister?
This is exactly why Jesus doesn’t want His disciples to tell no one about Him. It’s strange, isn’t it? - that when someone finally recognizes Him for who He is, He tells them to keep quiet about it. Jesus will not allow wrong ideas of what being the Messiah means to hinder His true purpose. The Jews only wanted a political leader who would throw off the yoke of the hated Roman occupiers. They were humiliated and angry and suffering. They wanted freedom from injustice - from Roman law and Roman taxation. As Ps Bernard said some weeks ago, they wanted someone who would solve their immediate problem, not their eternal problem. The people actually tried to force Him to be king after he fed the 5000 (Jn 6:15). Jesus knew He would not meet their expectations of a Messiah.
The people had no categories for a suffering and dying Messiah. Jesus 3 times in Mark 8, 9 and 10 will speak about His death, and then He teaches about discipleship. To follow our King is to follow to death. We cannot follow for earthly benefits. We must have God’s plan in mind, not ours. God is not God so that he can fulfil our needs. We should be asking how God can change us, not what God can do for us.
Jesus does not want wrong expectations of Him. When we are in trouble and suffering we also have expectations, and these may not be met by God. God always plans the best for us in His wisdom. The Messiah comes, but not as the Jews hoped. And yet Jesus does not fail and accomplishes His purposes. God may be working in our lives and our situations effectively, powerfully, but we can’t see it because we had hoped for something we wanted and we expected God to answer our prayers accordingly.
Another lesson we can draw from the passage is that In the next few verses we learn how even Peter had the wrong expectations of Jesus. His understanding of Jesus was true (“the Christ”) but incomplete. He could not accept a Messiah who would suffer and die. But in the book of Acts he has come to know that it was necessary for the Christ to die. One lesson for us here is that knowing Jesus truly is not the goal of the Christian life. Our goal as disciples is to grow in Christlikeness by knowing Him better and becoming more and more like Him. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Cor 3:18). We become what we behold. We are to grow in understanding of who Christ is. Our knowledge of Him now cannot be static - the same as when we first became a believer. Even in old age we are called to grow in our faith.
Conclusion
What does it mean for us as disciples to follow our King?
• Jesus wants us to respond to Him in humble obedience
• Jesus wants us to see that He is all things to you.
• Jesus wants us to know that He does not intend to meet all our expectations.
• Jesus wants us to grow in our understanding of who He is and how we are to relate to Him.
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