Who Is Jesus To You

Todays gospel reading in Luke is the same story also found in Matthew ch.16. The Matthew account has much more detail and so I will use that so we can better understand the story.

The geographical setting of today’s gospel story is Caesarea Philippi. This town is located in the North East part of Israel and at the foot hills of the Golan Heights. Right there, from the base of Mt. Hermon, the Jordan River starts gushing out of the mountain side. It is like a miracle. To the right on the rocky face of the mountain is engraved several idols that people worshipped. These were pagan Gods. In Jesus’ time, a temple also stood there.

This particular spot was sacred to the Pagans because they believed there was another world behind the cave from which the waters flowed. At the same time, we must remember that the waters of the Jordan are considered “holy” to both Jews and Christians. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan and the Israelites who came out of the Exodus could not enter the holy land unless they crossed the Jordan River and so in that sense, there was a promised land the other side of the river.

But on that particular day at Caesarea Philippi, the Creator of the Universe was standing in their presence observing scores of people falling down and worshipping the idols of stone which had neither breath nor life. Obviously they never accepted Jesus as God, or else they would have worshipped him. I don’t know if Jesus was disappointed or perhaps saddened but it caused him to ask the question, “who do people say the son of man is?” The disciples said “some say you are John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

Perhaps God is looking down from heaven right now and wondering what has gone wrong with humanity who though endowed with wisdom and understanding worship “things” rather than the maker and creator of those things. People take comfort and security in their possessions rather than in an everlasting God. Before judging others, I have to admit there was a time in my life too when “things” were very important to me. I wanted to make it big so we can have a better life and enjoy all the luxuries it offered. It was nice to drive an expensive car and wear designer clothing. It was nice to be able to walk into a high end restaurant and order our hearts desire. It is not that God wasn’t on my list; it was just that he wasn’t on the top of my list. I am sure some of you have been there too. Many are chasing the perishing instead of clinging on to what lasts forever.

I thank my God those days are long gone. I wish that is the case with all of you as well but if it is not, let this message be a reminder to you that there is a fork at the end of this earthly road – one leads to eternal destruction and the other to everlasting life. We cannot blame anyone other than ourselves because we are the ones that chose the road. The gospels tell us that many are called but only few are chosen.

God takes no pleasure in condemning anyone to eternal destruction but at the same time he will never force anyone to love him more than anything else. That choice has to be our own. God does not want robots following him. He is looking for true worshippers to worship him in spirit and truth. The people who worshipped idols at Caesarea Philippi outnumbered those who followed Jesus and it isn’t any different today. Not a surprise really because in Luke ch 18 Jesus says when it comes time for him to return, “will there be faith on earth.” What he means is that a majority would not believe in our God. Friends, the more you read the word of God and the more you pray, the nearer he will draw to you.

Jesus died for the sins of the whole world but the whole world does not want him. By calling Jesus a prophet, the people of Caesarea Philippi made God equal to or lesser than a man. The Scribes and Pharisees of that day had opinions too. They called Jesus a Liar, a Glutton, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. They also said he was a demon and blasphemer of God. Then there were others who did not accept him as God but were comfortable to call him Teacher, Master, and so on.

Friends, I don’t know who he is to you – Is he your Savior and friend? Is he everything to you or is he the one on the end of your list who you reach out to when you get to a dead end or face a tragedy in life. Don’t get so caught up with this world my friends that you forget God. If you put God first, he will put you first. Obviously you will hear a lot of other voices too that suggest you live it up and enjoy your life because at the end of the day everything will be alright. Some may even discourage you from worshipping the living God as if it were a waste of time. For example, an ex Bishop of the Episcopal Church Katharine Schori said Jesus was just a nice fellow and there are many other ways to salvation other than through him. Surprisingly, she had many followers.