Sermon # 14 - The Way Of The Cross Part 3 - Who Is Jesus To You? Series

We read in Matthew 16:13, Now after coming into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus questioned His disciples, saying, "Who do men declare Me, the Son of man, to be?" (AFV)

The above was the question that Jesus asked His disciples. Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs and wonders amongst the people, and therefore wanted to find out what people’s perception of Him was.

This is a crucial question, and one that every person should be able to answer for themselves. So many people have missed out on numerous blessings in their lives, simply because they have not comprehended who Jesus truly is.

Who is this Jesus?

I hope that by the end of this sermon, you would have been able to receive an appropriate answer to this question.

The perception of the people

The question Jesus posed to His disciples was, “Who do men declare Me, the Son of man, to be?”

This was the reply the disciples gave Jesus in Matthew 16:14, And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." (AFV)

Among the people there was a wide spread belief that Jesus was one of the prophets. If this was so, then like all other prophets, Jesus too would have been born, lived on earth and died. His life would have ended, just like any one of those prophets. As human beings everyone has a birth date and a death date, which signifies the length of our life span here on earth.

Jesus then asked a further question to his disciples in Matthew 16:15, He said to them, "But you, who do you declare Me to be?" (AFV)

The disciples of Jesus had been with Him, observed His life closely on a daily basis, experienced all the wonderful miracles He performed, and therefore the question was now posed to them as to who they thought Jesus really was. There are many leaders who have dichotomous lives and can never tell their followers to live as they do. However, Jesus was totally open with His disciples, and there was nothing that was hidden from them, for He lived a life of total holiness.

The confession of Peter

This was the reply that Peter gave to Jesus as recorded in Matthew 16:16, Then Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (AFV)

When Jesus asked the disciples about people’s opinion of Him, He referred to Himself as the Son of Man. However, in this response to Jesus, Peter proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus was born on this earth as the Son of God.

If we were to compare Jesus with every other human being who was born in the past, present or future, Jesus is transcendent and unmatched. Peter not only said Jesus was the Son of the Living God, He also referred to Jesus as the Christ, which meant ‘anointed one.’ In those days when a man was chosen to be king, they had a tradition of anointing the person with oil, and thereby declared him to be a king. Jesus was born a king, was a king even before He came down to the earth and will always be a king.

Jesus was born a King

When Jesus was born, there were some wise men who came seeking after Him, and this was the question they asked in Matthew 2:2, They asked people, "Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him." (ERV)

Jesus was a king whose birth was announced by a star that shone in the east. Those astronomers who studied the stars in the sky, understood that a king was born. They travelled a long distance just to find this child and worship Him.

King Herod was agitated

Interestingly, when King Herod heard about the birth of Jesus this was how he reacted.

We read in Matthew 2:3, When King Herod heard about this, it upset him as well as everyone else in Jerusalem. (ERV)

King Herod who was on the throne at that time was agitated and upset. Herod must have strived hard to get to the throne, and he could not comprehend the fact that someone would be born a king. Not only was Jesus a king at birth, his kingship was evident even in His teachings. There were many teachers who taught in the days of Jesus, but Jesus was outstanding in his teachings in that He taught with authority.

Not only did He teach, Jesus also adhered to all that He taught others. Those who were struck with incurable diseases were healed instantly by Jesus. Jesus calmed the raging storm with just a word from His mouth. Jesus also drove out the demons that tormented people, with the authority of His word. He fed and satisfied more than five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Everything that the kings of the earth could never accomplish, Jesus did with just the power of His words.