This question is part of a conversation between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus wanted to know their thoughts on what the people were thinking. It was at a time when many people were still confused and wondering about who Jesus was and why He was there. Remember the people were looking for an earthly king, a warrior king, to restore them to past glory. In this current climate of ignorance and arrogance, many of us can identify with looking at a leader’s outward appearance and earthly possessions. Are you looking for a leader who is tall, handsome, and rich? We compare this to looking for a tall, dark, and handsome man for a husband, which rarely works out for the good. If this question is for you, we hope the question will entice you to examine what you think you know about the Lord.
Who do you say the Lord is? When he walked among us, some people said He was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets (Matt. 16:14). Today, there are still people and religious groups who think Jesus was a prophet. Some consider Him a highly esteemed prophet, but not the Son of the living God. Some continue to reject the idea that Jesus is the Messiah.
After much discussion, He asked Simon Peter, “Who do you say I am.” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus blessed Peter for giving the right answer because He knew Peter’s heart and He knew the answer came to Peter from the Father. You see, many of us can give the right answer, but it does not mean it comes from communication with God or a revelation from God.
We can know the answer without communicating with God. We can read it in the Bible. Someone, even a heathen, can give us the right answer. Jesus did not bless Peter for knowing the right answer, He blessed him because Peter got the answer from God who was in heaven, which means Peter had a direct line of communication with God wherever He was. I say again, we are not necessarily blessed for knowing the right answer, Satan knows the right answers. We are blessed for believing in the Lord and allowing God to reveal the truth to us through the Holy Spirit. Our love for the Lord gives us a connection to God that will never end. So, who do you say the Lord is and what is He to you?
Many of you have been in church for a long time. The Pastor has preached sermons about Jesus and the kingdom of heaven where the Father sits on the throne. You have heard sermons about the miracles that Jesus performed, including feeding the five thousand. After hearing about Jesus calming the storm and casting out demons, who is Jesus to you? Is He just another man, an enlightened prophet, or the Son of God and our Lord and Savior?
By faith, I testify that Jesus is not of this world. He is anointed and divine. He is the Son of the living God. He is omnipotent and omnipresent! His mind stretches across the universe and across time, through the black hole we cannot see and into the time we cannot remember. He is the Word that became flesh; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). God will reveal this truth to anyone willing to listen and believe.
Jesus is not just a good teacher or a good prophet. He was more than that then and He is more than that NOW! He sees and hears all that humans do. No eye has seen, nor ear heard what the Lord knows about you. He saw the depths of the evil perpetrated by every individual who busted into the Capital Building on January 6th. He knows they were not just taking a stroll through the Rose Garden or taking a tour of the Capitol Building. Jesus heard the lies, the tall tales, and all the words used to misrepresent the truth by corrupt individuals who think more of themselves than they ought to. Some people think they are so good that people will believe anything they say, even when they know it is a lie.
Jesus feels the hate directed at the Jews, Palestinians, Americans, Ukrainians, Russians, Christians, Muslims, etc. He hears it all. I could go on and on about the many groups that too many humans decide they can righteously hate for no other reason than the color of their skin or their ancestry. God saw what you did last night. He heard what you said about your brother and sister in Christ this morning. He saw you abusing your wife. He saw the mother neglecting her children. He knows the father who does not pay child support.
Who do you say Christ is? You need to understand that just because you tithe, fellowship with like-minded people, attend church every Sunday, or adhere to other manmade traditions does not mean that you know who Jesus is. Yes, there are some rewards for doing all these things but adding to your knowledge of who Jesus is, is not one of them. Too many blindly follow church rules and group traditions but they do not get any closer to knowing who the Lord is.
You cannot use your money to bribe the Lord, money cannot buy you a seat in heaven. You cannot use your education to reason with the Lord, you are wholly outclassed. If you do not repent after believing, you do not know who the Lord is. You can put on that fake smile that you have perfected for your fellow humans. You can say I love you as many times as you like, but if you do not mean it, you are not fooling the Lord. Love is not rude and does not dishonor others.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). We have seen His glory which is full of grace and truth. The law was given to Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). God’s Law (Moses Law) points to Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill the Law (bring the law to fruition, completion). Have you noticed how many people revert to using the Old Testament to justify what they do in this current culture? Jesus came to fulfill the Law and what He said is in the New Testament. Who do you say the Lord is?
Let me tell you about the Jesus I serve. You are correct to think that Christ did not come to destroy the Law. Do not forget that He came to fulfill the law! What does that mean? I am fully confident that too many of you need to examine what you think you know and enlarge your vision to understand that His fulfillment of the Law is different from what many humans perceive it to be. For instance:
1. “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy” (Matt. 5:43). But Jesus says: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you (Luke 6:27). Are you able to take that leap of faith and love your enemies? Too many in the living generations have been unable to cross the line that separates love and hate. If we want to know Christ and be like Christ, we need to find a way to love those who are ungrateful and sometimes evil. Do you or can you learn to love those who hold grudges and seek revenge? God embedded free will into our DNA; so, we are called to freedom. It is our choice to love or hate! So, we must not use our freedom as an opportunity to only love ourselves and those like us. We cannot be Christ Followers and just love the Masons, Eastern Stars, Alphas, Deltas, immediate family, church family, etc. What reward is there if you only love people like you, people who agree with you? We have seen the consequence of this in today’s culture. This limited vision has caused churches to break up, conflicts to become wars, and governments to shut down.
2. “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’” (Matt. 5:33, NLT). Jesus says, do not make any vows. Do not swear at all by heaven, hell, or the hair on your head. “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matt. 5:37, ESV). Scriptures say, that if any of us talk long enough, we will say something we ought not to say. Put your brain in gear, before you put your mouth in motion. Let us magnify the Lord, not only in deeds but with our words as well.
3. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’” (Matt. 5:27, NIV). However, Jesus says: if you even look at a woman lustfully, you already committed adultery with her in your heart (Matt. 5:28). If you do not believe that the Lord is omnipresent, you may fool yourself into thinking that He did not see you coveting your neighbor’s house and His wife. Did you forget that Scripture says, if you lie with your neighbor’s wife, you defile yourself with her (Lev. 18:20). Too many like to blame the woman for immorality, but Scripture says the man is also defiled. “If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die” (Deut. 22:22, NIV). If you want to go back to the Old Testament and the law, let us go all the way. It would do well for you to examine what you think you know and push yourself to discern how much of the law and the gospel of man you have mixed with the gospel of Christ.
Those ignorant of the Lord’s Way and Truth are not an anomaly; it is widespread. The liars have confused many. Every word that anyone adds, subtracts, or takes out of context brings their belief closer to a fake gospel, the Gospel of Man. This confusion did not start yesterday, last year, or even in our generation. The Israelites, including Peter and some of the other apostles, believed for some time that Christ only came for the Jewish people. That is why they asked Him about restoring the kingdom of Israel before He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:6). It took them some time to realize that God also gave the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life (Acts 11:18). Enlarge your vision and understand that the Gentiles were part of God’s plan from the beginning.
Jealousy and pride are at the heart of most troubled spirits. Jealousy was in the heart of the brother of the prodigal son. The oldest son was jealous and angry with his father because he dared to continue to love his disobedient younger brother. Selfishness and jealousy were at the heart of the ancient Christians who wanted to maintain the circumcision law for Gentiles. They did not want the Gentiles to get what they perceived as a free pass. Open your mind and understand that a small vision of who the Lord is can diminish the image of an omnipotent God. Many people say repeatedly that “with God all things are possible” but they act like they do not truly believe that “the eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3).
We see the Lord’s Way in the father who runs to the prodigal son and welcomes him home. We see the Lord’s Way in the master who gives the same wages to the laborer who works for one hour as he does to the laborer who works all day. Remember, His ways are not our ways and He knows something that we do not know. We see the Lord’s Truth when He rebukes the prayer of the Pharisee who devotes his life to keeping laws and rituals but speaks unkindly and cruelly about the tax collector.
This perversion of the Gospel Message is the reason why Jesus calls men and women to preach and teach the Good News of the Gospel so unbelievers would hear the Word of God and believe, and believers would hear and obey. Like Paul and Timothy, we believe that “all Scripture is profitable for teaching” (2 Tim. 3:16) and reteaching, and reteaching. If we must teach it again and again and again, then we will teach and teach and teach.
Living a true Christian life requires perseverance, knowledge, and wisdom. We cannot shine a light on the evils in this world unless we know and are committed to the truth of God’s Word. We cannot affect others to do good unless they see something different in us. We have our assignment, to represent the church inside of us that is a light on a hill and a shelter in a storm. Do not miss the opportunity to be real, to reach out to whoever, and to evangelize the whole truth.
God did not call us to backbite and backstab each other. We must live holy, or we lack credibility as Christ Followers. In matters of morality and right living, unbelievers and believers look to the church for truth. When they look to us, do unbelievers find an example of the Lord’s Way and His Truth, or do they find hypocrisy?
Who do you say the Lord is? Make no mistake, the Lord is not a man. For a limited time, He walked this earth as a man, but He is a divine being, an omnipotent and omnipresent God. The Lord is my Shepherd and High Priest. As the song says, He is my joy in sorrow and my hope for tomorrow! Is there anyone here who wants to try the Lord’s Way? If your mind does not house the ultimate belief, now is the time to believe in something greater than yourself. God is Spirit, the Alpha, and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Join the Army of the Lord and the Holy Spirit will instruct you how to take back what the devil stole!
Lord, we thank you for your mercy, grace, and blessings. We bless your Holy Name.
