OPEN: The real McCoy really wasn’t...
That is, the real McCoy wasn’t really a McCoy. His real name was Norman Selby. Raised on a farm in Indiana he left home around 1890, and after year in training, emerged as a boxer with the name "Kid McCoy."
In a day of bare fisted boxing, the Kid was something. He said he’d fight anyone, anywhere, and he did. For years he averaged a fight a month, and won most by knockouts. But the popularity of his reputation created an atmosphere where a host of imitation Kid McCoys soon cropped up - perhaps hoping to cash in on his reputation and the potential purses he would be offered.
That created a certain amount of confusion until “The Kid” agreed to a title fight with the legendary Joe Choynski on March 24, 1899. With that fight, “The Kid ended the confusion of his identity for all time. In a titanic slug-fest that cost him three broken ribs, Kid McCoy finished off the legendary Joe in the 20th round. After the fight, the San Francisco Examiner’s boxing writer declared, "Now You’ve SEEN The Real McCoy!"
APPLY: In our text today, we read about Jesus taking three of disciples on a special road trip.
Jesus had just begun a new phase in the preparation of His disciples. His time was short. In just a few days Jesus would be betrayed, and suffer and die on the cross. And because of the shortness of his remaining time, Jesus had begun the training of his disciples in earnest, preparing them for the fight that lay before them. A fight in which they would ultimately be asked to give their lives - for every disciple (except John) died a martyr’s death.
This trip up the mountain was a SPECIAL trip for Jesus… and it had a SPECIAL purpose. There was something that Jesus wanted to teach Peter, James and John on this mountain that He could teach them in no other place and in no other way.
And you can tell HOW important this teaching was to be, by how dramatic it was. In fact, it was so dramatic that this incident is recorded not only in Matthew, but also in the Gospels of Mark & Luke.
And then later, when Peter wrote his 2nd letter, he stated: "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ’This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’
We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain." II Peter 1:16-18
As I said, this was a special trip for Jesus and His disciples… and it had a special purpose.
I. Notice what happened when Jesus leads His disciples up the mountain:
No sooner had they reached the pinnacle when Jesus turned around and his entire continence changed. His face began to shine like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light. And, as if that weren’t enough, two men appear beside Jesus. We’re not told how the disciples knew who they were, but they suddenly realized these two men were Moses & Elijah.
Moses, the man to whom God gave the Law on Mt. Sinai
And Elijah - perhaps one of the greatest prophets of God who ever lived
The disciples are understandably bewildered… and terrified.
Peter (never at a loss for words) stammers "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters— one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." Matthew 17:4
All three Gospels agree, Peter didn’t have a clue what he was saying, but this seemed as good a comment as any. As Mk 9:6 informs us: “He did not know what to say”
Just then, as Peter utters his comment, a massive cloud envelops all of them and the voice of God declares: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:5)
At this point, the disciples can’t handle it any longer, and they fall on their faces in abject fear. The next thing they know, Jesus is touching them and telling them to stand up. They have no need to be afraid. And when they look up – everything has disappeared:
There’s No Elijah, no Moses, no cloud.
All they see is Jesus.
II. And, that is all that happens on the Mountain
That’s it!
There’s no special prayer time, no extended sermon or Bible lesson, no comment (even) on what has transpired. All Jesus says is: “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Matthew 17:9
Well (…pause) what had they seen?
They’d seen the real Jesus. That WAS the message Jesus wanted them to receive on this mountain. In fact, that was the entire message of Jesus’ ministry:
This is the Son of God… listen to Him!
In other words, there was going to be no other messenger, no other authority, no other contender worthy their attention, or ours.
This was the REAL McCOY.
Everything else paled and faded away in His presence. Even Moses and Elijah had to disappear when God spoke on this matter.
As Hebrews 1:1-3 tell us: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word….”
III. This is the foundational truth of our faith
If we don’t believe this or understand this central truth… then we’ve missed out.
Unless we see only Jesus, and listen to Him, it is difficult to even claim to be a Christian.
You can’t get by with simply believing Jesus was just
· a nice man
· or a great teacher
· or a powerful communicator
· or the founder of another world religion, like Buddha or Mohammed.
As C.S. Lewis once observed - you either have to believe that Jesus was a Liar, a Lunatic or He was Lord!
Everything we believe as Christians hinges on Jesus being God.
And that was pretty much what Peter had confessed 6 days previous to this incident on the Mountain.
When Jesus asked “who do you say that I am?”… Peter responded “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16).
Jesus praised Peter and then said: "I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:18)
But, now wait a minute. Look real close at that verse. Was Jesus telling Peter that he (Peter) was the rock on which the church would be built? "I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." There are many people who believe that, and there is even a church that bases much of their theology on that. The reason they are so convinced of this is that Peter’s name ("Petros") actually means a "rock." That’s why this sermon series is named "Rocky" - because it is centered around Peter and some of the major events in his life.
Because of that, there are those who teach that Peter (a rock) was THE rock upon which the church was built. And, if you didn’t know any better that would seem like a reasonable explanation of Jesus’ words here.… but we know better.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:11 “… no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
In other words, there is no other foundation for the church than Jesus Christ
· Not Peter
· Not James
· ot John
· No religious leader or council or synod,
· no board of Elders or famous preacher
ONLY Jesus can be the foundation of the church and of our faith.
IV. Well then, what did Jesus mean by telling Peter “upon this rock I’ll build my church?”
(pause…) Jesus was a master teacher, and at times He used clever techniques to drive His point home. You see, the name Peter (petros - the masculine form of the word) meant: “a small stone, or a rock.”
By contrast, when talking about the foundation of His church, Jesus used a different term “petra” (the feminine form of the word) which meant a “large stone or boulder.”
So now, picture this in your mind’s eye. Jesus is saying to Peter: "Peter, you SMALL stone you… I’m going to build my church on something much bigger and much more stable that you are. I’m going to build my church on a HUGE boulder.
Well then, if Peter wasn’t the rock on which the church was to be built, then what was this huge boulder Jesus had in mind? The foundation Jesus had in mind was the confession Peter had just made just a few minutes earlier: “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.”
V. Notice what it says in Matthew 17:8 (turn there)
"When they looked up, they saw NO ONE except Jesus." Matthew 17:8
This became the foundation of Peter’s preaching, his ministry and his life. In the book of Acts, we find Peter being confronted by the leading authority of his day: the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was not pleased with Peter’s preaching about Christ, tried to intimidate him into abandoning his commitment to Christ. Peter responded: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
ILLUS: The Imperials used to have a clever song that had this chorus:
It won’t be old Buddha that’s sittin’ on the throne
And it won’t be old Mohammed that’s calling us home
And it wont’ be Hari Krishna that plays that trumpet tune
For we’re going to see the Son, not Rev. Moon.
As Christians we should see NOBODY but Jesus. There should be no other name that is worth our attention. There should be no other faith or religion that even compares. Because ALL the rest are pale imitations of the true contender. The Real McCoy.
VI. Now, this is both a theological and practical reality
Not only is there NO other religion or faith or religious founder that is acceptable to God. There should be there no other allegiance that should even compete for our attention
Most of us would never think of joining a cult or denominational church that does not preach that Jesus is the son of God. Or become a follower of Islam or Buddha or Hari Krishna…
But we might allow ourselves to fix our eyes on someone or something else that (whether we admit it or not) we think of as being AS important… if not MORE important than Jesus.
ILLUS: My mom understood this kind of commitment. And because she refused to consider any other allegiance as being as important as her love for Jesus, she made an important impact on her children, and her husband (my dad).
Dad was a rounder. A man’s man. He was strong and confident and - while he was a very decent man - he saw no need for God or church in his life. By contrast, mom was faithful in her church, her Bible reading and her prayers. One day, dad became jealous of her love for Jesus and thought he’d shame her into giving up this religious foolishness and devoting herself entirely to him. He asked her: "Would you really be comfortable in heaven if I were in Hell?" he asked.
He was essentially asking mom to place him above her commitment to Christ. But mom wasn’t easily swayed from God by such a question. She had her priorities in order. She didn’t argue. She didn’t get angry. She responded in love. And because of the love in her reply - both for God and for dad - she changed his life. She responded: "Would you really be comfortable in hell if I were there with you?" With that single question she broke dad’s resistance and gave himself over to God and was faithful to Jesus from that day forward.
Now be aware. Because Satan will attempt this same approach with you. He’ll try to put you into a situation where someone in your family, someone you love, or someone who can have an significant impact on your life - will challenge your dedication to Christ. They’ll attempt to make you choose between your allegiance to God and your commitment to them.
Jesus said: "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” Matthew 10:37
Understanding this Paul wrote: “…I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ Philippians 3:8
CLOSE: The question for you today is not whether Jesus is the Son of God. Not whether you intellectually agree that Jesus was God in the flesh. I’m not even asking you today to consider if Jesus is more important than Buddha, or Mohammed, or some religious cultic or other religious leader. I don’t believe that’s a big issue for most of you…
The question this morning for you is this: is Jesus the ONLY thing you see in your life. Does everything else fade into unimportance and worthlessness in His presence
If not, you’re may not ready for the fight ahead of you. You see, Satan knows your weak spot, your glass jaw, the part of your body that he has to …keep hitting at to put you out of the fight.
Satan will score points and knockouts against you as long as someone or something else has more power over your life… and he will eventually draw you out of the fight, knock you out of the ring.
But if you decide to stand for Jesus, and to stand for Him no matter what else the world offers, then even Satan himself will not be able to knock you down for long, and you will win the fight.
CLOSE: Inez Thorson
The man who cannot settle in his mind
where he should stand, but merely stays astride the fence,
is certain in the end to prove himself of little worth to either side.
But he alone will be of value who,
though sometimes pressure may be brought to bear,
knows in his heart where he should stand
and then, despite the consequences, stands firmly there.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
Rocky – Preparing for the Fight (Matthew 16:13-28)
Rocky II – The Real McCoy (Matthew 17:1-9)
Rocky III – KO’d (Luke 22:31-62)
Rocky VI – The Comeback Kid (Acts 4:1-31)
