But Who Do You Say That I Am?

In Matthew 16: 13-18, we have Jesus reminding us that the time is urgent. In this way, St. Matthew and St. Luke are capturing the urgency of Christ as prophet. Sometimes, the challenge of Jesus is not in what he says, but in that he dares to tell us that our time to decide what to do with him is limited.

The tendency for all of us, no matter what we believe, is to take what we like from Jesus, and leave the rest. It’s understandable. Jesus’s humor, his oddity, his warmth, his biting criticism of the religious leaders in his culture, it has invited scores of people to make Jesus into whatever folks need him to be.

But as he invites us to read the signs of the times, to see beyond His miracles of feeding to the spiritual meaning, he then asks us the fundamental question we’ll never stop asking, even if we sit here knowing the answer: “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 15)

Look at v. 13. It certainly appears that Jesus knows about our tendency toward him we mentioned earlier. He wants to know what folks are saying about him. But notice the love for us from Jesus, even in this: he wants to know what we think, even if it’s incomplete or wrong. I want you to know that I am a teacher, when I am not here with you, if you didn’t know. We teachers do this all the time: We ask a question, in order to take the students’ thoughts, and refine them down to the truth or the fact that we want. Jesus the supreme Teacher, does this same thing. His apostles, these first disciples, they are just students. Indeed, like us, they have to be students before they are sent (the root of “apostle”) anywhere to preach Jesus to anyone else.

But Jesus also knows that the process of learning about Him is different than learning anything else from any other teacher. He knows that God will be with us. We call Him “God with us” or “God is with us” because he himself is God! This is a great mystery, and to it we shall return.

But look at what He tells Peter after Peter answers his question in v. 15: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (v. 17) The point is this: to get the answer to this crucial spiritual question right is a gift of God. Faith is a gift of God. What Peter knows about Jesus here is a gift from God the Father.

We don’t have any human power to arrive at faith, or to know the things of faith. St. John will say in his Gospel, chapter 1, verse 12: “But to all who received him”—received Jesus—“who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…” John goes on to explain that it’s not physical, like we’re used to. Born of God, in faith.

St. Paul says it to the Ephesians in his letter this way: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. And it is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” (2:8-9) St. James tells us that every good gift comes from the Father, in his letter. And there’s no greater gift than faith, except to be with Christ in Heaven! Therefore, anyone who tries to put St. Paul and St. James against each other is fighting against God.

Indeed, right after St. Paul tells us we’re drowning in grace, he says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Let me tell you how many meritorious works you can do outside God’s grace: Jack, and squat. If you want to know why St. James was so mad, just think: if we’re walking in the Spirit, in the grace of God, we should know better!

Anyway, let’s get back to our text, and think about what happened to Peter after he answered correctly. He answered in faith, and then he was commissioned by Jesus to be the “rock” for all of us. Jesus changed His name, and then commissioned him. Guess what, Peter? You get to hold up the whole Church! Sounds great! Maybe he needs a funny hat!

But let me tell you what Peter is without Christ, without his faith in Christ: jack, and squat. If you ever see the Bishop of Rome wearing red, understand what it means: the first 8 or 9 passed on the ministry of Christ with their blood. And we know Peter without Christ is nothing, because Peter and Christ left us Peter’s denial to read any time. There’s a huge lesson there, too: You could be the worst sinner you know, and “spiritual father/mother to Christians” might still be in your job description!

Let’s land this plane: if that little faith you nurture seems like a little match that could go out any time, realize that the little light is God’s gift. Be set alight again at the Cross of Christ. Let His love be the fire that lights you!

Whatever good you do isn’t yours, anyway! “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20) Amen.