Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] March 3, 2024 “What Kind of Messiah” Matthew 16: 13-20 – Common English Bible As Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Human One (Son of Man) is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” 15 He asked Peter, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, [the Messiah], the Son of the living God.” 17 Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. 18 I tell you that you are Peter.[b] And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. 19 I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ. Who are you? It’s not as easy a question to answer as you might think, is it? Most of the time we are really asking one another, what do you do for a living. We tell how we make money to pay for a place to live, food to eat, and provide for our families. I usually answer the question “who am I” with “I’m a pastor.” Unless I’m on an airplane and want some downtime, or at a party and I don’t want to spend the rest of the evening debating some religious question. And then, after I answer, I wait. Unless I’m in some sort of church setting, there is almost always a reaction of some sort, an instant judgment – “oh how nice” or a kind of questioning reaction. And if I sense fear rising, I quickly jump in, “but not that kind.” Lawyers and few other professionals might understand. But increasingly, when people hear that I’m a pastor, they ask, what does that mean? Of course, I also hear a lot, what do you actually do for more than one hour a week? “I go to a lot of meetings.” Who are you? Can you finish the sentence: I am a person who… Try it sometime today or this week. I am a person who… I took some time this week to ask the question. I am a person who needs to see the ocean at least once a week or I start to feel like something is off in my soul. I am a person who enjoys sharing what I see on the other side of a camera lens. I am a person who struggles and feels shame about my weight. I am a person who marvels at my husband’s willingness to follow me and pick everything to move to a new city. Twice. I am a person who tries to listen but often fails. Or I try to be understanding while at the same time finding it difficult not to be exasperated by people I just can’t understand! I am a person who… Or, how would you answer, “people say that I am…” That can be frustrating because sometimes people may judge your intentions. Maybe even question your competence. But maybe they just don’t understand how many things you’re trying to juggle in life right now just to stay sane and so they'll say you're impatient, or that you don’t have enough time for them… Or maybe you hear people saying, she’s great to work with, he really goes above and beyond, they are so patient – how can they be so patient? If only you knew..! Jesus asked his disciples, who do people say that I am. Who do people say the Human One, or more familiar, the Son of Man, is? And he hears: some say you are a truth-teller and a life-changer like John, or a visionary like Elijah, or one who both condemns the lack of justice for widows and orphans and strangers and yet gives hope like Jeremiah and prophets do. They’re all good answers. But Peter, who do you say that I am? Was that an easy question for Peter to answer or was it really hard? Was he put on the spot at that moment and expected to answer what must have surely still been a mystery. Who is this guy for whom I gave up my job in order to make money for my family? For some vague promise about fishing for people. Did he impulsively blurt out his answer? My money’s on that. Or did he thoughtfully consider it and reply, it’s making sense now: “You’re the Christ, you’re the Messiah we have long waited for.” Jesus confirmed this is true. And then he ordered all who were standing around listening – glad that Jesus put Peter on the spot and not them – don’t tell anyone. In between this confirmation that Peter is right and telling them to keep quiet are some very confusing declarations about Peter being a rock upon which his church will be built, something about gates and keys, and this weird phrase about fastening and loosening… The likelihood that Jesus actually said such a thing is less than miniscule. Jesus wasn’t out there building a church, he wasn’t starting a new religion. He was gathering a community of followers, yes, but “church” wasn’t a word until later. When Matthew wrote his gospel, he was looking back to explain Peter’s early role in the church. Why him? But Peter was dead when Matthew wrote this, crucified on an upside down cross in the year 64. Matthew was written about 20 to 25 years later. But enough about that. So, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am.” And then he asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am.” Again, he replied that Jesus was the Messiah and Jesus told Peter he was right. And then immediately, like two minutes later, Peter got it completely wrong. I mean, so wrong that Jesus called him Satan. Here’s what happened: Jesus then made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders – the elders, chief priests, and legal experts. That he had to be killed and then be raised up alive on the third day. Peter took hold of Jesus and began scolding him. He tried to correct Jesus: “God forbid, Lord! This can’t happen to you.” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a stone that could make me stumble, for you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.” Ouch! Peter had this soaring revelation, he climbed to the pinnacle of understanding the great mystery of who this person named Jesus really was. Jesus was a person who was able to heal people. Jesus was a person who made a violent storm calm down. Jesus was a person who needed to take a break and be alone. Jesus was a person who grew frustrated and at times angry at his disciple’s continued inability to see the whole picture. And did you notice, Jesus had just minutes before called Peter his rock, and now he calls Peter a stone, a stumbling stone. A very quick demotion. But here’s the problem: Peter didn’t understand what kind of messiah Jesus really was. Frankly, not many of us do either. What do you think a messiah is? I’ll be honest, sometimes I’m uncomfortable with this messiah language, because I too get what that means wrong. But upon further examination, I’m in. Here’s why: Think about the ways we use the word in popular culture. She has a messiah complex, meaning a big ego, or we say, he’s going to be our messiah – He will be our vengeance. He will vindicate us and crush our enemies and restore us to power – spoken by an alarming number of American Christians right now. I just don’t understand. And what would Jesus say about that? Wouldn’t it be similar to his reaction to Peter’s complete misunderstanding of Jesus? Yes, I am the Messiah, but not that kind. Specifically, not the kind who would act with any kind of retribution or so-called vindication. That’s what people hoped for and wanted from a messiah who would restore the throne of King David. With violence to take up arms and throw off the yoke of Rome – a very understandable desire. But before Matthew wrote his gospel, it had already been proven not to work. In the year 70, Rome put down, crushed, an attempted revolt – known as the first Jewish-Roman war – and completely and utterly destroyed the Temple. Matthew wrote about Jesus little more than 10 years later, leaving that knowledge out of the narrative, but reflecting what Jesus was trying to teach. He is a different kind of Messiah, not the kind the prosperity gospel preaches. Not the kind that damns “those” people to hell. And definitely not one who advocates violence and retribution. What kind is he? Immediately after his rebuke of Peter’s rebuke, Jesus gathered his disciples around. Listen up: “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them, but all who lose their lives because of me will find them. Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives?” What did he say? Take up your cross to serve one another, not to hold it over others and certainly not to use it as a weapon. What kind of Messiah would say such a thing? Not someone with a messiah complex. Not someone promising revenge. Because blessed are the people who are hopeless, blessed are the people who grieve, blessed are the people who are humble, pure in heart, peacemakers, and thirst for righteousness. Not those who are self-righteous, but who hunger for a world in which the poor are fed, the captives are set free, and the oppressed are liberated. That’s the kind of messiah who will actually save the world and the kind of messiah I want to follow. By each of us taking up our own cross. A joint effort, a partnership, something we do together, each of us embracing who we really are. Who are you, really? Not what you do for a living. How do you finish the statement, “I am a person who… I am a person who tries to follow Jesus and his teachings in order to realize heaven on earth, the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, where no one race is superior, no one gender is supreme, no one way of loving is all that is permitted, and no one religion has power over all the others. The cross is not power over, it is power with. Or better yet, power on the under-side – lifting people up. Take up your cross. And we will no doubt fail as often as we succeed, but Jesus will never give up on us. Take heart from blessed Peter who will fail miserably. He didn’t just deny Jesus three times. On the night Jesus is betrayed in the garden, when the soldiers came to take him away, Peter took a sword and cut off the ear of a Roman soldier. Which Jesus then restored. That’s not what my followers do. And yet still, in the end, Peter was the rock on which the church of Jesus was built. Who are you?
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