God’s great grace, His magnificent mercy, and His powerful peace are yours, now and always, from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

In Christ Jesus,

“Who do you say that Jesus Christ is?”

That is the question for today. It is the question Jesus asks His disciples in the Holy Gospel account this morning. And it is the question He asks all of us, as well! WHO DO YOU SAY THAT JESUS CHRIST IS?

It is the most important question you will ever answer in your life!

It is the most critical question you will ever answer in your life!

It is the most crucial question you will ever answer in your life!

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT JESUS CHRIST IS?

Let’s see:

Jesus is like a role model to me. I try to live my life the way He would have lived it if He were alive today.

Jesus was a prophet, a man ahead of His time. Too bad we don’t have someone like Him now.

Jesus was a friend to the poor and the oppressed, a voice calling out for social justice in the world and our country.

Jesus was a revolutionary, and the world murdered Him, just like it does all revolutionaries.

Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived. His death at such a young age was for a tragedy for all of us.

STOP IT……Please!

Stop it if that is Who you say Jesus Christ is!

Stop it if that is how you would answer the question!

Stop it if any of those responses are yours!

Stop it, please, because you make Jesus sound like just another man. And worse, you make Him sound like He’s a dead man….dead and gone, as if the resurrection never happened!

Then who do I say Jesus is?

I say that Jesus is a flesh and blood person, but that’s not all.

Jesus was, and still is, the Messiah--- the Son of the Living God.

He was crucified, dead, and buried. But on the third day He rose from the dead. As the Son of the Living God, He lives to bring us into everlasting life because of His death on the Cross for each of us on Good Friday afternoon, and because of His resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday morning!

Who do I say Jesus is? I say Jesus is my Savior, and I will follow this living Son of God to the end of time and beyond!

Early in the ministry of Jesus Christ our Savior summoned to discipleship 12 men who were to be the foundation for the new creation that is His Church.

They followed Him

They heard Him speak,

They saw His deeds.

He revealed to them His will, His motive, and His mission on earth.

And then one day, after their training was all over, He asked them, “WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?”

Peter spoke up first, of course! “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God! This is the first essential in the preparation of disciples and for membership in the church. It is the faith of this confession that separates disciples from everybody else---from those who hearts are set against Jesus Christ and from those whose hearts are not set at all.

“Who do other people say that I am?” was the first question Jesus asked His disciples. And they answered openly and frankly, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet.”

Everyone agreed that Jesus was no ordinary person. He was something different---obviously a wonder-worker, certainly a teacher sent from God, for no other had ever taught with such authority as He taught.”

But then Jesus asks them the critical question: “Who do you say that I am?”

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!!”

The correct answer…the right answer…the absolute answer.

This confession marks the faith of the disciple.

The true disciple does not pay compliments to Jesus, and let it go at that.

The true disciple does not admire the eloquence of His speech or the morality
of His teaching, and let it go at that.

The true disciple does not imitate the morality of His teaching and let it go at
that.

The true disciple doesn’t follow Jesus around like part of the golf-course crowd
to cheer His drives, chips, and putts.

THE TRUE DISCIPLE CONFESSES JESUS AS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD---THE MESSIAH, FULFILLER OF THE ANCIENT PROMISES-- THE ONE WHO WAS TO COME.

In short Jesus Christ is the object of a true disciple’s faith.

And we need to remember that. Today the term disciple is applied to anyone who admires Jesus, who think His teachings are noble, His person pure, and who wants to be member in the Jesus Christ fan club.

But discipleship begins with this confession: JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD! And once we have said this we are prepared for lesson number 2: namely, that the mission of the Messiah is to suffer and die on the Cross.

Jesus Christ did not come, as Israel expected, with military power to lead His troops against the Roman Empire. HE CAME TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD!

Jesus Christ does not come today, as many people expect, to build a perfect society where justice prevails for all and everyone can have his share of steak for dinner. HE CAME TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD!

By the confession: “YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD,” WE ARE ALSO VOICING THE CONFESSION that we are the ones in need of saving. We are the ones in need of a Savior. We are the ones whose sins sent Him to the Cross!

Jesus is the Christ, Fulfiller of God’s plan and purpose. He is no mere founder of some religion who wandered across the stage of history 2,000 years ago, and then died and faded from the scene.

He is the Alpha and the Omega of all human history, the Beginner and the End------AND IN THE MIDDLE THERE IS A CROSS---on which He died for you and me so that we will live forever!

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?” “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!”

When Peter spoke for the disciples this wonderful confession of faith, Jesus makes it clear that Peter’s confession…and even his faith, was not the product of his own religious insight, but that it was a gift of God. “THIS TRUTH DID NOT COME TO YOU FROM ANY HUMAN BEING, PETER, BUT IT WAS GIVEN TO YOU DIRECTLY BY MY FATHER IN HEAVEN.”

Faith is not inherited. It is created in our hearts. It is a gift from God!

Faith is not bought. It is created in our hearts. It is a gift from God!

Faith is not discovered. It is created in our hearts. It is a gift from God!

Discipleship is not a decision arrived at after weighing all the options and angles: IT IS A GIFT OF GOD TO EACH OF US!

Let’s not forget that!

AND FAITH IS POWER---LET’S NOT FORGET THAT EITHER!

FAITH IS POWER. Did you hear what Jesus said to Peter? “PETER, YOU ARE A ROCK, AND ON THIS ROCK FOUNDATION I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND NOT EVEN DEATH WILL HAVE ANY POWER OVER IT.

Did you really hear that! .

By a cross Jesus Christ destroyed the power of the devil. No devil will have
any power over the church! And therefore, no devil will have any power
over you….for you are the church!

By a cross Jesus Christ destroyed the power of hell. No hell will have any
power over the church! And therefore, no hell will have any power over
you…for you are the church!

By a cross Jesus Christ destroyed the power of death. No death will have
any power over the church! And therefore, no death will have any power
over you…for you are the church!

This needs our attention and our understanding as well.

The power of the church and the power of Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation is not to be found in our membership numbers or worship attendance figures: IT IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!

The power of the church and the power of Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation are not to be found our beautiful Sanctuary or in our wonderful facilities. IT IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!

The power of the church and the power of Good Shepherd Lutheran church are not to be found in our busy calendar of activities or in our relatively huge dollar budget. IT IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!

The power of the church and the power of Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation are found in the Gospel of the Cross---which judges us as sinners---and in the Gospel of the Resurrection, which judges us as forgiven saints!

AND ONE OTHER THING!

This power of the church and this power of Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation cannot be measured by any standard or numbers. It can only be reflected in you---

You who will take up the cross and follow Jesus.

You who will deny yourself and surrender to His total claim upon you;

You who will go into your communities and all the world as cross-marked men and women to witness of His great love for all people!

But can we do it?

Are we sufficient for the ministry and the mission Jesus Christ has given us as

His Church?

Are our credentials impressive enough that we can qualify as His disciples of
today and tomorrow and next year?

The answer isn’t difficult.

We know---each one of us---how often we have failed…to be His church.

We know---each one of us---how often we have retreated from being His
church.

We know---each one of us---how often we have been defeated…as members
of His church

We know---each one of us--- how easily we shrink from sacrifice, and how easy it is to let someone else “do it” in the church.

But we also know that the Gospel of the cross is the power of our faith also. And if our answer to the question: WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS” is the same one Peter gave: YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD!” then we are committed.

We are committed to His cross!

We are committed to His cause!

We are committed to His church!

And in that commitment to Jesus Christ we find our joy! For the cross our Savior gives us as He calls us to be His church is no other burden than the burden of compelling love. Every other burden disappears as His Gospel of love points us to

the victory of His death…

the full forgiveness of all our sins..

the sweet relief from the guilt, the anxiety, and the stress of going it alone.

Every other burden is replaced by the burden of compassion for a world that stumbles on in its distress and darkness.

Compassion becomes the cross we carry, as His church. For if we have been committed to the Christ and to His cross, then we are also committed to the world Christ loved as He poured out His blood to save it.

“WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?”

I say that Jesus is a flesh and blood person, but that’s not all. Jesus was, and still is, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. He was crucified, dead, and buried. But on the third day He rose from the dead. As the Son of the Living God, He lives to bring us into everlasting life because of His death on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead for each of us.

Who do I say Jesus is? I say Jesus is my Savior, and I will follow this living Son of God to the end of time and beyond!

May that be our confession of faith in Jesus. Amen.