Regis Philbin is the host of the show, and after asking each question, he will say, “IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER?”
Each day we are asked many questions, and some of these questions make life difficult for us.
Illus: You decide to stop by a fast-food restaurant to get a hamburger. Now that should be simple: right? But look at the questions we are asked:
• “Hi, how are you?” – “I am fine!”
• “How can I help you? – “I want to get a hamburger.”
• “What kind of hamburger do you want?”
• “What do you mean?” “A hamburger is a hamburger!”
• “No, what I mean what do you want on the hamburger?”
• “Everything!” That should solve the problem; right! No!
• “Do you want Mayonnaise?” – “Yes!”
• “Do you want mustard?” – “Yes!”
• “Do you want Cheese?” – “No!”
• “Do you want plain bread or wheat bread?” – “Wheat!”
• “Do you want it toasted or not toasted?” – “Not toasted!”
• “Do you plan to eat it here?” – “Yes, right over there on that little table!”
• “Do you want fries?” – “No!”
• “Do you want a drink?” – “Yes!”
• “What kind?” – “Tea.”
• “What size tea do you want? Large, small, or medium?” – “Medium!”
Listen, that is a lot of questions just to get an ordinary hamburger!
In our scripture, Jesus asks every one of us two questions that will determine where we are going to spend eternity. Let’s look at these two questions and consider their message to us today.
I. THE LORD ASKED A POWERFUL QUESTION
Look at Mark 8:27-28, we read, “And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.”
This is one of the most POWERFUL QUESTIONS that has ever been asked. Everyone here needs to know the answer.
This is not the first time the Lord asked questions, however, we must understand that any time Jesus raises a question to anyone, it is simply a test. He knows the answer, but He wants to pull the answer out of them to make sure they know the answer.
For example:
• He asked his family, “Who is my mother, or my brethren?”
• On his way to Jairus’ home to heal a sick little girl, with the crowds pressing in on him, he turned to his disciples and asked, “Who Touched me?”
• When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"
The Lord often asked questions for the purpose of pulling the answer out of others.
Illus: Life is filled with all kinds of questions, however, I am satisfied that some questions just do not have an answer. For instance:
• Why do women open their mouths when they put on eye makeup?
• How do you get off a nonstop flight?
• How do you know when you’ve run out of invisible ink?
• How do you throw away a garbage can?
• How does a thermos know whether a drink should be hot or cold?
• How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?
• If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?
• If nothing ever sticks to Teflon, how do they make Teflon stick to the pan?
• What was the best thing before sliced bread?
• When you're sending someone Styrofoam, what do you pack it in?
• What is a "free gift?” Aren't all gifts free?
• What's another word for synonym?
• When sign-makers go on strike, what is written on their picket signs?
• Why is it that when you transport something by car, its called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, it is called cargo?
• Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
• If an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?
• Why does your nose run, and why do your feet smell?
• If olive oil comes from squeezing olives, where does baby oil come from?
We had better come up with the right answer to the two questions the Lord asked, because the answer to these two questions is going to determine where we are going to spend eternity.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST QUESTION THE LORD ASKED THESE DISCIPLES?
He asked, “WHOM DO MEN SAY THAT I AM?”
Jesus knew what people were saying about Him. He lived under the pressure each day of being in a “FISH BOWL” you might say. People were constantly watching Him and talking about Him.
Illus: Someone said, “If there is anything in the world more annoying than having people talk about you, it is having no one talk about you.”
Sometimes people talk about us behind our backs.
Illus: Keep this thought in mind: If people are talking behind your back, at least you are ahead of them!
The Lord knew people were talking about Him. The Lord is omniscient; He knows what people think of Him already.
When He asked, “WHO DO MEN SAY THAT I AM,” look at the kind of answers He got from them.
A. SOME SAID POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT THE LORD
When Jesus asked this question, His men told Jesus what others were saying about Him. They said some people say that you are:
• JOHN THE BAPTIST – We can see why some would think this. His preaching contained some of the same things that John preached. They both preached repentance and righteousness.
• ELIAS -- They believed that Jesus was Elijah raised from the dead, because both of them were used to perform many miracles.
• ONE OF THE PROPHETS – The prophets spoke of Him and so naturally they might have thought He was one of the prophets.
These were some great men, and to be mistaken for them was a positive thing. As complimentary as it was to be mistaken for John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets may be …THEY WERE WRONG! Their answer was a MISTAKEN IDENTITY!
Illus: There is a book called “Mistaken Identity” by Mark Tabb. The book poses this question: “Imagine if your daughter came back from the dead. How would you feel? Shocked, angry, ecstatic?”
These were some of the emotions the Cerak family felt when they received a call from the Grant County coroner telling them that their daughter might be alive -- five weeks after her funeral.
Their daughter and a female friend were in a tragic car accident that left both of them unrecognizable!
After the Cerak family had been grieving over their dead daughter they found out she was not dead, the other girl was.
The girls had been mistaken for each other in the aftermath of a tragic accident.
Some said positive things about who the Lord was.
B. SOME SAID NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT THE LORD
Some said…
• HE IS DEMON POSSESSED - The Pharisees and other religious elitists of the day said, “…He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?” John 10:20.
• HE IS A DECEIVER - The Scribes, the men viewed as great teachers of the Law, said, “He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils,” Mark 3:22.
• HE IS A BLASPHEMER - The Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jewish religion, said, “…He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?” Matthew 26:65-68.
• HE IS INSANE - His Own family and friends said, “He is beside himself,” Mark 3:21.
• HE IS A WEAKLING - Even as Jesus hung on the cross, giving His life a ransom for sin, the religious elite continued to express their evil opinion of Him. “Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him,” Mark 15:31-32.
That’s what some of the people in that day were saying about Jesus. They did not have the slightest idea of WHO HE WAS!
Some still do not know WHO HE IS!
• THE MORMONS believe that Jesus was the first baby born to God in Heaven, when God, in a physical body, had sexual intercourse with Mary, His Own daughter. He is the spirit brother of Lucifer.
• THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES believe that Jesus was once the Archangel Michael before He came to the earth. In their view, Jesus is not God in the flesh. They talk about Jehovah, but the Jehovah they talk about is not the Jehovah of the Bible.
Many during Bible times did not know who He was and many in our time have no idea of WHO HE IS!
C. SOME SAID THE RIGHT THINGS ABOUT THE LORD
• JOHN THE BAPTIST GOT IT RIGHT – John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
• THE ANGELS GOT IT RIGHT – Luke 2:9-14, “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
• THE DYING THIEF GOT IT RIGHT – Luke 23:42, “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
• THE ROMAN CENTURION GOT IT RIGHT – Mark 15:39, “And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.”
• THE BLIND MAN GOT IT RIGHT – John 9:38, “And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.”
• THE CROWDS OUTSIDE JERUSALEM GOT IT RIGHT – John 12:13, “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
• THE DEMONS GOT IT RIGHT – Mark 5:7, “And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”
When Jesus was baptized by John, in Jordan, God the Father said, in Matthew 3:17, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
When Jesus was transfigured, God the Father said, in Matt. 17:5, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him,”
IF GOD THE FATHER SAYS THAT JESUS IS HIS SON, THAT IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!
We see A POWERFUL QUESTION and -
II. PERSONAL QUESTION
In Mark 8: 29a, we read, “And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?”
Illus: They say that out of all the advertising dollars spent in the United States – whether it’s radio, television, magazines, newspapers, or the Internet – more than half of advertising is not meant to get you to go out to buy the product. IT IS MEANT TO GET YOU TO ASSOCIATE THE PRODUCT WITH AN IDEA.
Mitsubishi commercials that have been showing for three or four years now that are a perfect example of this.
They’re all a little bit different, but they’re all variations on the same theme. In every single commercial, they drive a Mitsubishi car. It’s always full; there are always four or five people in the car. They’re always young people. They’re always driving and look like they’re on the way to some party or something. They’re always listening to music, and they’re always singing along with the music.
They change the cars, and they change the people in the cars, and they change the music playing, but otherwise the commercial is pretty much the same.
This commercial isn’t meant to make you rush out and buy a Mitsubishi, since you might not even be in the market for a car. What the commercial is trying to do is to associate Mitsubishi cars in your mind with this kind of attitude – a youthful, fun-loving, good times with friends, enjoying life kind of an attitude so that when you are ready to purchase a car, you will think about Mitsubishi.
After hearing His disciples tell Him what others said, Jesus asks them for their opinion.
• He has heard public opinion
• He now wants to hear their personal opinion
He wants them to think about this question and He wants to know what they say. This is the moment of truth!
• Everything Jesus has taught them and shown them has been leading up to this moment in time.
• Every miracle was leading to this moment in time.
• Every word of truth Jesus spoke was leading up to this time.
Their response to this question would let Jesus know how effective His personal ministry to these men had been.
Jesus simply asks, “But, Whom say ye that I am?” It is a simple question, yet it is the most important question that mankind is confronted with.
• A correct answer to that question can take one to Heaven
• An incorrect answer to that question can take one to Hell
Peter spoke for the group. Peter said, “Thou art the Christ!” Peter, “IS THIS YOUR FINAL ANSWER?”
BINGO! He got it right!
In Matthew’s account of these events, Matthew quotes Peter as saying, in Matthew 16:16, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
WHAT A STATEMENT OF FAITH! HOW DID PETER REACH THE CONCLUSION THAT JESUS WAS THE SON OF GOD?
Matt. 16:17 tells us how. “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.”
God Himself revealed the Lord’s identity to Peter. This is true in every genuine conversion. John 6:44 states clearly, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
You see a person can not be saved unless the Holy Spirit draws him.
Some might be saying, “One of these days I am going to become a child of God.” You might and you might not! You see, the sweet Holy Spirit may be drawing you today, but if you continue to reject the Holy Spirit’s invitation to become a child of God, there may be a time when the Holy Spirit will no longer draw you.
Every person who is a saved child of God is saved because the Holy Spirit drew him into the fold of God. People are saved when their spiritual eyes are opened by the Lord. He gives them the faith to believe unto salvation.
Illus: In that group that day stood a man by the name of Judas Iscariot. He probably believed what Peter said in his head, but he never acted on that belief with faith in his heart.
Conclusion:
Suppose Peter got the answer right and then said, “YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, BUT I AM STILL NOT GOING TO ACCEPT YOU AS MY SAVIOR.” It is difficult to imagine Peter saying such a thing, but listen lost person, YOU KNOW WHO HE IS and if you will not accept Him as your Savior, that is exactly what you are saying.
After dealing with these two questions:
• If you are a lost person and truly believe that Christ is the Savior of the world, WHY WON’T YOU COME TO HIM FOR SALVATION?
• If you are a saved person and truly believe that Christ is the Son of God, WHY WON’T YOU TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW HIM?
Jesus is still asking, “But whom say ye that I am?”
• WHO DO YOU SAY HE IS?
• IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER?
We see -
I. A POWERFUL QUESTION
II. A PERSONAL QUESTION
