“Who Do You Say that I Am?”
Matthew 16:13-15
Here, Jesus has taking His disciples about 120 mi. from Jerusalem. This region was strongly identified with various religions.
It had been the center for Baal worship
The Greek god, Pan had a shrine there
A temple was built to honor Augustus Caesar
Right in the middle of all these choices of gods, Jesus throws out and unexpected question to his followers. “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Even some of the followers of Christ were confused about not only the question but who Jesus really was.
Some thought He was John the Baptist raised from the dead;
Some thought He was Elijah that was prophesied to return in the book of Malachi (4:5)
Some even believed that Jesus was actually Jeremiah.
In the middle of all of this confusion between religions and between the followers of Jesus, I want you to notice the question in verse 15.
“But who do you say that I am?”
It has and always will come back to a personal understanding of who God really is.
· Not what’s popular?
· Not who the Pastor says He Is.
· Not who Mom and Dad says He is.
“Who do YOU say that I am”
I want us to get personal. I want to look into the lives of a few individuals in scripture and see who Christ was to them. In doing so, you may find who Christ is to you.
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John 4
Christ is leaving Judea because the people there were trying to make it a competition in the popularity of Christ versus others like John the Baptist. I could go into significant details about this story:
· How Jesus went out of his way to take this route
· The long standing hatred between Samaritans and Jews
· How improper it was for a man, especially a rabbi, to speak with a strange woman.
For the sake of time, I just want to focus our attention on the needs of a woman who came to Jacob’s well. Jesus arrived at the well just before 6pm which was the same time that all the women folk would arrive to gather water for their households.
Then arrives a Samaritan woman who has a conversation with Jesus. We quickly learn that she is coming for water but in life she is searching for so much more.
Her thoughts might include:
How am I going to pay my bills this month?
To be a happier person
To be someone that others can depend on
To make my family happy
To help my family to get along with each other
To be a strong worker in the church
To live a more peaceful life
We know in v.15 this lady is wanting more than just the water she is about to pull out from the well. This lady is saying, “I am thirsty for something more.” Plus we learn that she had five husbands and the one that she was living with was not hers. This is a true sign that this lady was looking for “something more”. Never satisfied.
Here’s the problem:
So far in her life she has been trying to fill her needs with other things that she thinks will make her happy. But before you pass judgment on this Samaritan woman, you and I are doing the exact same thing.
Working overtime to make extra money
Making bad friendships because they are popular
Building houses to just keep up with others
Buying cars that we don’t need
What are you doing with these things?
You continue to thirst.
No matter how hard you work, no matter how high you build it, no matter how many church visitations you go on, YOU WILL CONTINUE TO THIRST!!!
Why? Because “you” are in the way. The water that Jesus was talking about here was himself. Get self out of the way and start doing things for the sake of Christ.
Who do you say that I am? To this woman, Jesus was a cool drink of water to satisfy her thirst for something more.
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John 5
I see a pool next to the sheep gate. They call it Bethsaida. This pool of water was special. At a moments notice each season, an angel would come and stir the waters. The first person to step into the stirring waters would be cured of their disease. So you can imagine the many people who are sitting next to this pool.
But I see one man who is lame. He has been this way for 38 years. He has gone as far as he can go. His excuse: “I have no man to put me into the pool”.
Gone as far as He can go – can’t go on any further
He’s sick and tired – and tired of being sick
No strength to continue – Ready to give up
Feeling sorry for himself – He has no one to help
Others are getting ahead of him – He thinks they are stealing his blessing.
Sound familiar? You sit there and watch as:
Co-workers get the promotions
Neighbors get more “toys”
Others get their healing
Others receive their blessings at church
Jesus is saying, “Who Do you Say that I am?”
To this lame man: the strength to walk just a little further to get my blessing. He could be your strength to walk when you can’t go on any further…
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John 9
This passage of scripture tells us of a blind man who has been blind since birth. You have to understand, during these days, people believed that these diseases and illnesses was due to somebody’s sin.
Read v. 2, 3
I am here for a reason
I have what I have for a reason
I may not be able to see now, but God has something for me
I may not know the future but I know who holds tomorrow
I may be down but I’m getting up
This blind man had done nothing wrong but the Bible says that his sickness was for the glory of God.
“Who do you say that I am?” – For this blind man he was – Eyesight for the Future
You maybe at a cross roads in your life not knowing which way to go, Christ is your sight. Christ is your future. Christ is the one to follow.
There are times in life when:
You can’t follow Mom and Dad
You can’t follow your boss at work
You can’t follow other men…
You simply have to sit tight and know that Christ is up to something in your life. You may not be able to see it right now, but Christ is your – Eyesight for the future
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John 10
When you find that Jesus is leading you into another area of life that you are not familiar with, this passage of scripture tells us in verse three, that Christ is our Shepard.
Read verses three and four.
Who Do You Say that I Am? My Shepard who leads me into paths that I may not understand. But I know wherever He leads me, that is where I am supposed to be.
So far, Christ has been:
My cool drink of water – to quench my thirst for more
My strength to walk further – when I feel all alone
My eyesight for the future – when I can’t see what He is up to
My Shepard’s voice when I am in a strange place in my life.
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Finally, in John 11
We see the story of Lazarus. This man was sick. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus to come and heal is body. But Jesus didn’t come when they thought He should have come. So Lazarus dies. They bury him. When Jesus arrived on the scene, He found many sad people who were mourning the death of their brother and friend.
Read verse 43, 44
I am glad that Jesus is:
My cool drink of water – to quench my thirst for more
My strength to walk further – when I feel all alone
My eyesight for the future – when I can’t see what He is up to
My Shepard’s voice when I am in a strange place in my life.
But I am so thankful that Christ is the giver of a second chance.
Lazarus was done. He was finished. He was already buried and Christ gave him another opportunity to live.
You might be in a similar situation:
People have already given up on you
They have already buried you
Maybe you have already given up on somebody
Maybe you have given up on this church
Maybe you have given up on the prodigal coming home
Who do you say that I am? He is a second chance. One more opportunity to see things happen again in my life.
Many names and many titles we could use for Christ:
Alpha and Omega Beginning and the End
Lamb of God the Open Door
Bread of Life Bright and morning star
Rose of Sharon True Light of the World
Only begotten Son Lord Jehovah
I Am the Almighty
Eternal life a Willing Sacrifice
But who do you say that I am?
Or
Who do you need me to be with you?
Philippians 4:19
“The God that supplies all of my needs according to His riches in glory.”
Everywhere you go and everywhere you turn, people are searching for something.
It is said that the recent Hurricane Katrina left 22 million tons of debris in southeast Louisiana that must be disposed of, including hundreds of thousands of flooded cars and homes that must be demolished.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, says at least 140-thousand homes and businesses can not be repaired and must be torn down;
350-thousand cars and trucks must be recycled
Another one million stoves, refrigerators and other appliances must be disposed of.
Evacuees who left the area for safety reasons during the storm will return back in search for something. Some for their homes, others for cars, jobs, even family members who are still missing due to this tragedy.
But it’s not just in New Orleans…
Even here today, many of you if not all, came to this service in search for something. Some of you may know what it is you need, others are just…searching!
My prayer is when you leave here today; you have found what you were looking for.
Looking for happiness?
Looking for peace?
Looking for answers?
You can find all of these things in one man: Jesus Christ!
