But You, Who Do You Say That I Am

September 25, 2022 · Harmony of the Gospels

Series · Harmony of the Gospels · Week 15 of 36

Scripture referenced 8 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Mark 8:27 starting point for the harmony of gospels passage on Jesus questioning his disciples at Caesarea Philippi

27 Jesus went out, with his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”

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Matthew 16:27

parallel account of Peter's confession and Jesus building his church on this rock

27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds.

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Luke 9

third parallel account of the confession at Caesarea Philippi, noted as the shortest version

1 He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

2 He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick.

3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey—neither staffs, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats each.

4 Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there.

5 As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”

6 They departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the Good News, and healing everywhere.

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him; and he was very perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,

8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.

9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him.

10 The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done. He took them, and withdrew apart to a desert region of a city called Bethsaida.

11 But the multitudes, perceiving it, followed him. He welcomed them, and spoke to them of God’s Kingdom, and he cured those who needed healing.

12 The day began to wear away; and the twelve came, and said to him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms, and lodge, and get food, for we are here in a deserted place.”

13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”

14 For they were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

15 They did so, and made them all sit down.

16 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.

17 They ate, and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.

18 As he was praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”

19 They answered, “‘John the Baptizer,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again.”

20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

21 But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one,

22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”

23 He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it.

25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own self?

26 For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.

27 But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here, who will in no way taste of death, until they see God’s Kingdom.”

28 About eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up onto the mountain to pray.

29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling.

30 Behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah,

31 who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him.

33 As they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he said.

34 While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud.

35 A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”

36 When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him.

38 Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.

39 Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely.

40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t.”

41 Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”

42 While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

43 They were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples,

44 “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.”

45 But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

46 There arose an argument among them about which of them was the greatest.

47 Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side,

48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”

49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.”

50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t…

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Matthew 16:18

Jesus tells Peter upon this rock he will build his church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it

18 I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

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Matthew 16:19

Jesus gives Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever is bound or loosed on earth

19 I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”

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John 6

crowd after feeding the 5000 wanted to make Jesus king by force and he walked away

1 After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias.

2 A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.

3 Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?”

6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may receive a little.”

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him,

9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.

12 When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.”

13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.

14 When therefore the people saw the sign which Jesus did, they said, “This is truly the prophet who comes into the world.”

15 Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force, to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,

17 and they entered into the boat, and were going over the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

18 The sea was tossed by a great wind blowing.

19 When therefore they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing near to the boat; and they were afraid.

20 But he said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

21 They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

22 On the next day, the multitude that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except the one in which his disciples had embarked, and that Jesus hadn’t entered with his disciples into the boat, but his disciples had gone away alone.

23 However boats from Tiberias came near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24 When the multitude therefore saw that Jesus wasn’t there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats, and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

26 Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Don’t work for the food which perishes, but for the food which remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has sealed him.”

28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

30 They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, it wasn’t Moses who gave you the bread out of heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.

33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

34 They said therefore to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe.

37 All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

39 This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given to me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up at the last day.

40 This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

41 The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”

42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’”

43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father, and has learned, comes to me.

46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.

47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.

48 I am the bread of life.

49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.

51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

52 The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his…

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John 14

Jesus tells Philip that anyone who has seen him has seen the Father, upper room discourse

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.

2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.

3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.

4 Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.

7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’

10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

12 Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.

13 Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.

15 If you love me, keep my commandments.

16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,—

17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.

18 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also.

20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

21 One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”

22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23 Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.

24 He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

25 I have said these things to you, while still living with you.

26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.

27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.

28 You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I.

29 Now I have told you before it happens so that, when it happens, you may believe.

30 I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me.

31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

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Philippians 2

cited for consolation in love and comfort in the love of God, and unity in the body of Christ

1 If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,

2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;

3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;

4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.

5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,

11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without murmurings and disputes,

15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,

16 holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.

17 Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.

18 In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.

19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.

20 For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.

21 For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.

22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.

23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.

24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.

25 But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need;

26 since he longed for you all, and was very troubled, because you had heard that he was sick.

27 For indeed he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.

28 I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.

29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,

30 because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

The pastor opened with an honest admission: he was more nervous than usual because a visitor had mentioned bringing a seminary president to the service. That personal detail set the tone for everything that followed. The central question of the morning was the one Jesus put to his own disciples at Caesarea Philippi: not what the crowds think, but who do you say that I am?

What was said

Jesus and his disciples had walked roughly 25 miles north to Caesarea Philippi, a city rebuilt by Philip the tetrarch and named after Caesar and himself. It was a Gentile region with a charged spiritual atmosphere, including a rock formation the locals called the Gates of Hell. Walking and praying along the way, Jesus opened a conversation with a question he already knew the answer to: who do people say that I am? The disciples reported the rumors, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. All of them recognized that something was different about Jesus, but none of them landed on who he actually was.

Then came the sharper question, and the pastor pointed out it is emphatic in the Greek: but you, who do you all say that I am? Peter answered for the group: you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus pronounced him blessed, not because Peter figured it out on his own, but because the Father had revealed it to him. That pattern matters: the right answer about Jesus does not come from flesh and blood reasoning but from paying attention to God in humility.

What followed surprised the disciples. Jesus instructed them to tell no one, and then immediately began to explain that the Son of Man must suffer, be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, be killed, and rise on the third day. He said it plainly, not in parables. Peter, who had just gotten the question exactly right, took Jesus aside and rebuked him for it. Jesus turned and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God's purposes but on man's."

The pastor connected that moment to a recent LifeWay survey finding that more than half of people who identify as evangelical Christians describe Jesus as a created being, and that traditional convictions about who Jesus is have eroded even while people remain very certain about their political team. His point was direct: if someone does not know who Jesus is, the other answers they are giving in his name are built on nothing. Jesus is not on one side or the other of the culture's arguments. He is the answer for both sides.

The message then moved to Jesus summoning the crowd with his disciples and laying out the terms of following him. If anyone wants to come after him, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow. The pastor was careful about what that means: it is not about turning Jesus into whoever you need him to be. It is about letting his Word and his Spirit transform you into who he wants you to be. We are, as Peter demonstrated in the span of a single paragraph, just that capable of getting it right and then immediately going off course.

The pastor stopped deliberately in the middle of the passage, leaving the verses about being ashamed of Jesus for the following week. He said that text has often been used as a blunt instrument to push people toward bold public statements, and he wanted to sit with the harder prior question first: do we actually know who he is? The closing prayer asked God to pull away preconceived ideas, to move the congregation away from needing to be right rather than righteous, and to keep showing what the next step actually looks like.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

The pastor mentioned that people around Jesus were saying he was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. They recognized something was different about him but could not quite name it. Where do you see that same pattern today, people acknowledging Jesus as something significant but stopping short of who he really is?
Jesus asked his disciples an emphatic question: who do you yourselves say that I am? Not what does everyone else think, but you, the ones walking with me. How would you answer that question in your own words, and how does your daily life reflect that answer?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Speaker 1Hey, here it is. I don't know what's going on. Let's sing them in. Would you would you stand with us and we'll see if we can sing them in from the vestibule out there. Wonderful words of life.

Sing them over again to me. Wonderful words of life.

Speaker 2Thank you, Florine. Welcome and I'm glad you're here. Sing them over again to me. Wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see.

Wonderful words of life. Words of life and beauty. Teach me faith and beauty. Beautiful words, words wonderful words wonderful words of life beautiful words wonderful words wonderful words of life Christ, the blessed one, to all wonderful words of life. Prometh this to the loving call, wonderful words of life.

Words though freely given, wooing us to heaven. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Sweetly echo the gospel call, wonderful words of life. Offer pardon and peace to all wonderful words of life.

Jesus only savior sanctify us forever. Beautiful Amen.

Speaker 1Amen. How about blessed assurance? Hymn number five seventy two.

Speaker 2Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Thing meant salvation purchased of God, born of his spirit, washed in his blood. This is my story. This is my song, praising my savior all the day long.

This is my story. This is my song. Praising my savior all the day long. Perfect submission, perfect delight. Visions of rapture now pursed on my side.

Angels descending, bring from above. Echoes of mercy, whispers of love. This is my story. This is my song praising my savior all the day long. This is my story.

This is my song praising my savior all the day long. Perfect submission, all is at rest. I and my savior am happy and blessed watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love. This is my story. This is my song, praising my savior all the day long.

This is my story. This is my song praising my savior all the day long

Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements this morning. Let's see what they are. If you would like to, you can communicate with these little cards in front of you.

We we didn't have those for a couple of years. They're back in front of the chair in front of you. There should be a little card. If you'd like to communicate with the church, you can do it that way or hey, you can stop us afterwards and talk as long as you want to. We'll we'll be here But if you have a prayer request or you wanna connect or you just wanna communicate something, that's a good way to do it.

You can drop it in the offering plate when it goes by. Connect hour is what we call the time between services. We have a 09:00 and 11:00. The 09:00 is the music is kind of an Americana band playing a mix of hymns and stuff. And then this one is more traditional with piano.

We have a our what would you call? Pianist? No. We have have our gypsy pianist filling in for Judy right now, but we usually do, hymns in this service. Connect hour happens to keep the services together so we don't become two different churches.

Free food and a chance to connect down the hall. Monday nights at first b is happening. Carl is being the deliverer of the message, but there's meal, music, and a message every Monday night, 06:00 down the hall in the fellowship hall. Carl Clemmer will be bringing a message from Philippians two. So good.

So meal music and a message tomorrow night at six, and that's last week. This is coming up. Rummage sale is happening on October 1. Saturday, October 1 from eight to two. Nancy Toracciano has asked and she will be the administrator and the leader of any volunteers she might get.

Friday and Saturday, she's going to receive the donations on Friday. Set the sanctuary or fellowship hall. Set the fellowship hall up as a little store and then on Saturday, she'll be in here. If you would and you have some things to donate, nice, clean items, you can bring em in. Volunteers will be needed for Friday and Saturday.

You can talk to Nancy. That's her number. 699-9789. Sisters Saved by Grace is a Bible study that's happening on Thursday evenings. That's a tight knit little group and they're not an inward facing group.

They are always ready to have others join. So if you would like to join the Sisters Saved by Grace so a lot to And And Deb so so Buckingham has been teaching the lessons that you're invited to that if you'd like. If you have any technical abilities whatsoever and you feel led to be in the most That's the most difficult position in this church. Lead pastor is one thing, but being the guy in the sound booth, my goodness. Blake does a great job with it, and he'd be glad to train you to do that or to be able to fill in from time to time.

If you would like to do it, let us know. And Awana is back. So I started to mention this with Monday nights. We have Awanas happening on Monday nights. Starts 05:45, six right here.

We'll spread out in this room. Starting tomorrow, we'll put the Awana game circle down on the floor. And this will be the place to be. Monday evenings at six, Monday nights at first b is happening down there, and Awana starts off in this room and then spreads out over the rest of the church. Glad to have it back.

It has taken a lot of volunteers to get it rolling, but that starts tomorrow night. Pray for Thursday nights, I got a lot of these. This is the fall. This is when things start back up. So Thursdays, it is a Jackson Hole Community High School Ministry.

Our youth group and the youth group from Tribe and probably several other churches will be meeting together, kind of a community alliance of high school youth meeting at Tribe Ministry Center. That's across from Mad River, across from Whole Grocer, across Broadway there. If you need directions on how to get there, we'll get them to you. But Tribe Ministry Center is where it's gonna be on Thursdays at six. If you need more information, let me know.

Precept. Jane is facilitating a precept Bible study on Isaiah. I wandered through the other morning and I said, oh, y'all are just starting Isaiah. And one of them closed the book and said, nope. We just finished it.

I said, you did not either. There's a lot in Isaiah, and they just started this September. So it was last week that started. 9AM in the fellowship hall. Bring your colored pencils.

It'll be a fun inductive Bible study. And I think that's it. Did I forget anything else? So do y'all know Anders Olson? Y'all know Kevin and Olson?

Anders is his son who's grown up in this church. He and his wife, Brooke, are attempting and going for it. They're in a deputation phase of raising funds to go and be missionaries to to the youth. The j zone youth ministry is what they're getting started. So would you just be praying for Anders and for Brooke as they get rolling?

Youth ministry these days it's always been hard, but youth ministry these days are is very, very difficult. So would you have given the prayer support that they need for that? Anybody else? Anything else? Alright.

Would you stand with us, and we're gonna keep on keep on singing.

Speaker 2I know whom I have believed. I know not why God's wondrous grace to me he hath made known nor why unworthy Christ in love redeems me for his own. But I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against the day. I know not how this saving faith to me, he did impart nor how believing in his word brought peace within my heart. But I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day.

I know not how the spirit moves convincing men of sin revealing Jesus through the word broaden. But I know whom I have believed and then persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. I know not when my lord may come at night or noonday fair nor if I walk the veil with him or meet him in the air. But I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that

Speaker 1day. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Lord, that you reveal yourself to us. As we follow you, we come to be closer and closer to you.

We don't have to know it all, but lord, put our trust in you. Amen. May we long for it as the deer panteth for the water.

Speaker 2The waters so my soul longeth after thee. You alone are my heart. Desire and I long to worship thee. You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone, May my spirit you alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You're my friend, and you are my brother even though you are a king.

I love you more than any other so much more than anything. You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone, may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship beyond the last. I want you more than gold or silver only you can satisfy this fire.

You alone are the real joy giver and the apple of my eye. You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone, my spirit.

Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I'm gonna invite the ushers to come forward. And would you pray with me this offer to our prayer? Lord, thank you.

Thank you God for the beauty of the day, for the beauty of this assembly, for people gathered in your name, Lord. I thank you that you are here in our midst. Lord, I pray that you would reflect your love for the world off of us. Your willing servants, Lord. May we be humble and obedient and carry the message of the gospel forward in every action.

But Lord, able to defend the peace and the joy and hope that is in us. In Jesus' name, Lord, I pray that we would be living and moving and having our being, that we would be, Lord, on mission every day, all the time. Would you show us your way, Lord, and allow us the strength by your spirit to walk it out. Amen. Jesus

Speaker 3was a master of communicating love and personal acceptance. He did so when he blessed and held little children. But another time, his sensitivity to touch them was even more graphic. This was when Jesus met a grown man's need for meaningful touch. A man who was barred by law from ever touching anyone again.

To touch a leper was unthinkable. Vanishing lepers from society, people would get within a stone's throw of them, and they would throw stones at them if they came their way. With their open sores and dirty lineages, lepers were the last persons anyone would want to touch. Yet the first thing Christ did for this man was touch him. Even before Jesus spoke to him, he reached out his hand and touched him.

Can you imagine what that scene must have looked like? Think how this man must have longed for someone to touch him, not throw stones at him to drive him away. Jesus could have healed him first and then touched him. But recognizing this man had a greater need, Jesus stretched out his hand even before he spoke words of physical and spiritual healing.

Speaker 1Amen. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Crystal and Florine. This morning, I've admitted to the first service I was more nervous than normal. I'm a little nervous all the time, but I was more nervous than normal this morning.

We are going through this study that we've been in for ten years virtually. I had a seminary professor that said, never do a sermon series more than five sermons long. And we've been doing this for ten years. Actually, though, what we've been doing is chronologically going through. When I first got here scared to death and very nervous, I thought, what are we gonna do but study the life of Jesus?

So we studied the life of Jesus in the book of John. I know that that's a later book written, but I studied Jesus in John. And then we used Acts, and we went through all of Acts. And since then, we've been going in this chronological study where we went through all of the epistles, all the way up through Revelation, then and we're going back and picking up the synoptic gospels. We've been doing it in the harmony of the gospels approach.

So today, we'll cover a section from Luke nine and Mark eight and Matthew 16. It's all the same story told by the three different gospel writers. But I want you to concentrate on a personal thing right here. This is an open question. This is, but you, who do you say that I am?

I wanna emphasize that it's y'all. When Jesus asked the question, he said, but y'all, it's emphatic. Y'all, these are his disciples who are walking with him. Y'all, who do y'all say that I am? Now, we know Peter stepped up and it was an individual that answered the question, then he started speaking individually to Peter there.

But who do y'all pronounce Jesus to be? In the world, with your words and with your life, who are you saying that Jesus is? That's the overwhelming thrust of this message, I hope. Matthew sixteen twenty seven to 35. Mark eight twenty seven.

That's not right. Somewhere in there. I was thinking Mark I've got Mark twice. I knew that didn't look right this morning. I've got Mark up there twice.

Matthew's quite a bit longer, and Luke is the shortest. We're gonna start off here with Mark. Now Jesus went out along with his disciples. When we left him last, he was at Bethsaida Julius just on the northern shore of the Sea Of Galilee just across the River Jordan. And Jesus went out along with the disciples to the village of Caesarea Philippi.

So he has walked about 25 miles north to Caesarea Philippi. There are all kinds of geological formations around there. The city was fairly recently revived. Matthew, I think, says exactly the same thing. Now, when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, Philip the tetrarch, one of the Herods of the New Testament, had rebuilt this city that was known by the Greeks as Panaeus.

Panaeus is a place that was dedicated to the worship of the God pan in Greek society. Philip kinda rebuilt the city and renamed it Caesarea after the Caesar Tiberius, the emperor, but he also named it after himself since he's a Herod. He could do that. Caesarea Philippi, not to be confused with Caesarea Maritime. When Jesus came into this region, it's a spiritually charged place.

There are geo like I said, geological formations all about. And as they're walking, Jesus begins a conversation with his disciples. Mark says, and on the way, he questioned his disciples saying to them it's interesting that the rabbi is asking the questions. Do you think he doesn't know the answer? Who do people say that I am?

Do people say that I am? Mark says it that way. Matthew says, who do people say that the son of man is? Now, the son of man is Jesus' favorite self designation. He calls himself that quite a bit.

It might surprise some of you. Don't know. But he does not often, hardly ever call himself Messiah. Hardly ever does he call himself the Christ. Or not often does he call himself by other names.

This is the most common. 80 something times he calls himself son of man. Who do people say that the son of man is? Who do people say that I am in Luke? It happened that while he was praying alone.

So apparently, he'd been walking, peripatetic teaching, and praying. His disciples were with him, Luke says, and he questioned them saying, who do people say that I am? And they told him saying, well, John the Baptist. If you think back to about three weeks ago, Herod Antipas had heard that Jesus was doing all these miracles and that his disciples were doing all these miracles. And he got to be a little afraid because he had had John the Baptist killed, and he was worried that John the Baptist had been resurrected and was super powerful.

So that's some of the people, maybe Herod Antipas is in that group, and others might have been. Some say John the Baptist and others say Elijah. The Pharisees especially, but others too, expected that before the conquering Messiah would come, that someone would come in the spirit of Elijah or Elijah would be revived. Now, Jesus kind of pointed out that John the Baptist was that spirit of Elijah guy. You know, that's not what the whole populace believed, but some others would say Elijah.

There was an expectation for Elijah revivas, that Elijah would revive and that he would be a forerunner of the Messiah. Others say one of the prophets, Mark says. One of the prophets. Now, Matthew gets more specific with one of the prophets. Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah.

And still others say Jeremiah. Oh, to examine the ministry of Jeremiah. God had given him a message, and he went out and faithfully proclaimed the message, and he was pilloried for it. He was thrown in a pit. He was beaten up.

He was dragged through the mud metaphorically. They threw the message in the river. They burned the message up. They didn't listen the message and he received all kind of opposition. It's no wonder that Jeremiah, the crying prophet, some people would think that Jesus was Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.

Luke says, John the Baptist and Elijah, one of the prophets of old has arisen. There's no doubt something is different about Jesus. And his disciples said that people recognize that fact, but they were hitting all around it but not really getting close. I'm gonna go ahead and admit it. So the reason I'm more nervous is because somebody left last week and they said, I'm bringing a seminary president with me next week.

And I went, oh, I wish I didn't know that. I will wrestle with wanting to look smart all week long. And I know that he didn't want that. I didn't want to mention it in this service, but I'm sitting up here and my heart is pounding through my chest. This is the point of this service.

Who do y'all say that I am? This is where he gets he's putting a sharp point on this. I know everybody else what they think. And y'all know what everybody else thinks. But y'all, the ones who've been following me for two and a half years.

Y'all, who do y'all say that I am? It's emphatic. It's more emphatic in Matthew. And Peter answered and said, the Christ of God. Like, boom.

Right there. Yeah. Yeah. Bible drill. Peter, you win.

Yeah. Mark says, and he continued questioning them. He's asking them a series of questions and he says, who do you say? Actually, it's who do y'all say that I am? It's an open question for everybody that follows him to answer.

And Peter answered and said to him, you are the Christ, Christ of God in Luke. You are the Christ, anointed one. Usually, Greek way of translate messiah. Jesus spoke Aramaic typically. So you're the Christ, the anointed one.

Who do y'all say that I am? Peter answered and said, the Christ of God. But he warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone. So Luke is the shortest right here. He says, Peter confesses that he is the Christ of God and then he says, don't tell anybody.

That does that sound weird to you? It feels like to us, we're supposed once we know Jesus, tell everybody. Well, we've got the great commission. We've got the cross. We've got all kinds of stuff that they had not seen yet.

They still even though Peter had it right that he was the Christ of God, that's a charged term. The pharisees were looking for messiah, hopeful that he would conquer Rome. Sadducees more upset about it because they were in a pretty good position under Rome for themselves. He warned his disciples and instructed, don't tell anybody. And Mark says the same thing.

He warned them, tell no one about him. Now they're in a Gentile area, Caesarea Philippi. All these geological formations. There's even a place that's this deep cave that they called the Gates Of Hell. It's still we had a guy between services that sent me pictures that he took last week while he was in Israel of this formation known as the Gates Of Hell.

He warned them though, tell no one about him. This is a Gentile area. It's not likely that the Pharisees or the Sadducees were in close proximity. It's not likely that there were a whole lot of Jewish folks in the proximity. If you think back to John chapter six, just recently after the feeding of the 5,000, it said that there was a segment of that group that Jesus recognized.

They said, this is the prophet. This is the one that Moses told us about. And Jesus recognized that they were going to, by force, make him their king. And it says he walked away from that. He walked away from worldly power.

He warned him to tell no one about him. That seems odd to us in a marketing society. If you've got a good message, why wouldn't you get it out there? He said to them, But who do y'all is y'all selves a word? Who do y'all yourselves?

It's an intensifier. Right? Who is it that y'all say that I am? This is important, and it's an open question. Simon Peter.

Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. That's the most ample version of it that we've gotten. You are the Christ, the anointed one, the son of not just God, but the living God. He's active and he's working and you are the anointed one, anointed by him to do a special task. You're it.

And Jesus said to him, blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah. That's his old name. Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah. Blessed are you. Why?

Because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. You've gotten this because the father is drawing you. You've gotten this because you're paying attention in humility, as proud as Peter was. And we see as impetuous as he was, he's the first one to answer the question. You're the Christ, son of the living God.

Blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. But my father who's in heaven, you're paying attention to God. And you got it right. It goes on from there. And Matthew's the only one that tells us this portion.

And I also say to you individually that you are Peter. That's his new name, Simon Bar Jonah. Peter, rock. And upon this rock, will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. God and the devil are not equal powers.

Amen. God is almighty. The devil is a created being. In this cosmic battle, it's not good and evil yin yang. God is almighty, and the gates of Hades will not overpower what God is doing.

Jesus the Christ is saying this, and upon this rock now right here, y'all walked into a Baptist church this morning. You hear my accent, and you think he's immediately gonna start right here saying why this is not the Catholic version of this. I've heard the sermon a thousand times, and it's always a defense based on this is feminine, and this is masculine, and this is that, and that's the other. He says, I'll give you. This is individual.

But certainly he's representative. Right? Just because of that confession. Maybe it's the confession of Christ. Think about Peter and Jesus.

He had an open question for everybody, and the guy who answered it was Peter. And his response to the guy who answered the questions, I'm gonna build my church. The gates of Hades will not overpower. I'll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. You can open that gate for someone else.

But this is the gospel message. Right? I'll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Now there is Catholic doctrine has built Peter's the first pope. Everything comes down from there. All of the hierarchy of the structure starts at this place. It happened several hundred years after the fact that anybody claimed that. But then we, Protestants in general, have opposed that rendering with our own opposition force.

Right? And the two opposing forces battle, battle, battle till the argument gets completely stale. It's an impasse. The red team and the blue team are opposed to each other. They're designed to oppose each other.

Anything you say, I'm gonna say the opposite. Think about Peter. You're the Christ. I'm the living God. I know everything, but I know that.

Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah. You got that right. It comes from God. In humility, you have believed it. There's another place where Peter falls on his face before him and says, back away from me.

I'm a thoroughly sinful man. He recognized his need. He recognized Jesus' lordship. It's good. It's personal.

Then we get to where everybody else has already gotten to. He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that he was the Christ. Why? Why not? Why not go out and make sons?

Why not go out and march? Why not go out and proclaim? They didn't know who he was yet. I mean, Peter had that part right, but he hadn't been to the cross. He didn't understand what he's about to tell him, which we'll get to that in a minute.

When he sent them out two by two, he sent his disciples out and went them out to the village. He says, don't even go into the Gentile area. You all not ready for that yet. There would come a time where he says, go into every tribe, tongue, and nation for sure, but they weren't ready for it. He's been training them.

The Canaanite woman, healing that Canaanite woman's daughter and teaching his disciples that this message really is for everybody. Feeding the 4,000 in Decapolis over here on the other side of the Sea Of Galilee, this message really is for everybody. He warned them and instructed them not to tell anyone saying this, the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and raised on the third day. Now Jesus walking away from those people who were seeking to make him king, who thought he was the prophet that they were expecting, wanting to raise him up on their shoulders and taking him into victorious battle. Jesus walked away from that.

And when he recognized in Peter's confession, he starts this. Luke just tells us what Jesus started teaching. Mark says, and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and by the chief priests and by the scribes and be killed and after three days rise from the dead. And he was stating the matter plainly. Like, yes, you're right.

He's the Christ. There's not any doubt about that. But Christ as a term had so much political charge to it. So much was already imbued because of the expectations. Even his disciples were still arguing over who's gonna be the greatest in the kingdom.

Who gets to sit on the left? Who gets to sit on the right? They still didn't get it. And he's speaking plainly. It's not in parables.

This is not for people seeing they will not see, hearing they will not understand. He's saying it flatly. Matthew. From that time, Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary day in the Greek. It must happen.

There were steps that Jesus had not yet taken to fulfill the anointed one's role. He was it, but it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. He was stating the matter plainly, Mark says, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Okay. Rabbi disciple, the disciples rebuking the master here.

Right after that disciple told him who he was, you're the Christ, son of the living God. But turning around and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. For you're not setting your mind on God's purposes but on man's. Your understanding of this is still clouded. I just said I must do this.

It's got to happen in order to fulfill all righteousness like he told John the Baptist. It's got to happen. And you're not setting your mind on God's purposes but on man's. Remember last week where we talked about Jesus in the boat with the disciples and they forgot bread, and they were like, oh, he's already fed 5,000 over here. He's already fed 4,000 over there.

13 guys in a boat. Come on. And Jesus says, beware of the leaven of the pharisees and the sadducees. Beware of the legalists. Also, beware of the libertines.

Beware of the isms. Beware of the sides. Beware of the sides of the argument. If you are reading scripture for proof texts, stop it. Stop it.

Get behind me, Satan. You're stumbling block to me for you're not setting your mind on God's purposes but on men's. That's Matthew. There was a research survey done just in the last few weeks by LifeWay. And I don't usually get into those.

I read them, but I don't usually get into them. Lately, asking just questions that orthodox Christian belief. What is Jesus? Who is Jesus? Who do you proclaim me to be?

More than half of people who call themselves evangelical Christians say that he's a created being. More than half. More than half deny the doctrine of original sin. Way more than half actually. The the traditionally held truths of who Jesus is have eroded to the fact that people who call themselves Christians don't even know what they are, but they know where they stand on all of the political situations.

They know which team they're on, whether it's a red team or the blue team. They know which team they're on. Jesus is asking who he is. And honestly, if you're answering the question and you don't know who he is, don't answer the other questions or don't tell them who you are. That seems to me to be I'm I'm adding a little bit there.

I admit it. But he they don't have a full understanding of who he is. And there's an aspect of Jesus saying, you need to understand this fully before you start proclaiming. You need to understand who I am because I'm not on that side, and I'm not on that side. I'm the answer for both sides.

He summoned the crowd together with his disciples. This is in the Gentile area. And he said to them, if anyone wants to come after me if anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself. There are some things that you just feel to the very nth of your being, all the way down, that you're convinced of. He's saying, you have to deny that.

You have to deny that part of yourself and take up your cross and follow me. Lord, I don't know how I feel about that situation. Follow me. Pay attention to me. Then Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself.

Take up his cross and follow me. Boy, Jesus' path was the Via Dolorosa, the painful path. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. When he was crying over Jerusalem, he looked down and said, oh, if only you had known the time of your visitation, but you have none of it. In recovery, like addiction and recovery, there's an emphasis placed on today.

This is from Luke. It says, and he was saying to them all, if anyone wants to come after me, he's gotta deny himself. You don't try to turn Jesus into who you want him to be. You allow him by his word and by his spirit to transform you into the person he wants you to be. This is take up his cross daily.

Every day. We are susceptible to fall away. And in the passage where Peter says, you're the Christ, son of the living God, the next paragraph, Jesus says, get behind me, Satan, Because we are just that apt to go off when we rebuke God for what it is that he's trying to do. Through redemptive suffering in some cases. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels.

The good news of the gospel is you can be set free. You can be set free from all of the world's endeavors. You can be set free from worldliness and sin, and you can walk forward in the good news, hope, joy, mercy, love, grace of the gospel. Living our lives after that is the way to save them. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, this is the one who will save it. It has to be all about Jesus. It has to be. Clear understanding of who he is, not who we want him to be is important. I'm stopping right there.

It's in the middle of a paragraph. I almost never do that. But I want this to rest until next week, and I will pick it up next week. It's going to go into, you know, whoever's ashamed of me. And I think that that has been used to bludgeon us for so long to get us to make some bold statement.

But I think wrestling through, Lord, what is your way? I thought I had it figured out. Will you show me what you want me to do? And he will. Will you help me to see the next step?

Will you help me to live out this life, Lord? And the answer is yes. Lord God Almighty, would you help us to know who it is that you are? Would you show us your way, Lord, and give us the strength to walk in it? If our struggle is ego and looking smart, if our struggle is wanting to always be right rather than be righteous, God, may we learn a lesson from you.

From Philippians, from Philippians two particularly. There's consolation in love. There's hope. There's comfort in the love of God. And so would you, Lord, allow us unity in the body of Christ?

Would you allow us to stop arguing our point just to be right? But would you allow us to sharpen iron and to understand better and better who you are from your word. Would you transform us, Lord? Show us your way. Make us different from the world around us.

May we stand out, Lord, in humility, God. I pray that you'd transform us. Amen. Would you stand with me? And the altar is always open.

I don't know that this is a message that I just bring them all down. But the altar is always open. And if if God is moving in your heart, I I pray that you just allow him to do that. That any preconceived notions or any decisions you flat set made that are not of God, that he'd start pulling those things away. We're gonna sing my Jesus, I love thee.

Speaker 2For the all the follies of sin I resign my gracious redeemer, my savior, art thou. If ever I love thee, my Jesus for wearing the thorns on thy brow if ever I love thee my Jesus with the glittering crown on my brow. If ever I love thee, The

Speaker 1re revelation of who Jesus is to his disciples is always an interesting thing. In John 14, he's speaking to Philip and says, don't you don't you know me, Philip? I've been with you so long. This is the upper room discourse. Right?

Even after I've been among you for such a long time, anyone who's seen me has seen the father. How can you say, show us the father? Did you not see him? Do you not see him in me? Believe me when I say that I am in the father and the father's in me.

Or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I've been doing. May we be about Jesus's business, really. When he is steadfastly going forward towards the cross, he is also walking away from a whole lot of unnecessary stuff. God, would you help us not to fall into the pitfalls of either side?

Would you help us to walk it out, Lord? Would you show us the opportunities for transforming lives? Would you show us opportunities for having our life transformed? Would you show us, Lord, how we may be of assistance to the advance of the good news of Jesus Christ? In Jesus' name.

Amen. Amen.

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Christian Identity Deny Yourself Peter'S Confession Take Up Your Cross Who Is Jesus

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