Studies in Identity - Jesus: The Identity of Jesus 04-07-24

Overview: Pastor Williams discusses the identity of Jesus and the perceptions people had of Him during His time. He mentions that some people believed Jesus to be John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets. He emphasizes the importance of repentance and the need for the church to preach this message. The similarities between John the Baptist and Jesus are highlighted, including their bold preaching of repentance and their criticism of religious leaders. Pastor Williams also mentions Elijah's ability to provide food, drawing a parallel between him and Jesus. This message delves into the different perceptions of Jesus and the importance of repentance in understanding His true identity. Transcription: Matthew chapter 16. We are continuing our study on identity. We just finished up a look on who is God. We looked at the several Old Testament names for God and what they reveal about God to us. So now we are shifting to the identity of Jesus. Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 and 14. It says, when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi. Now we need to understand a little bit about this region because it really makes the question that He is about to ask very pointed. Caesarea Philippi was previously named Penaeus because of the god Pan that was worshipped in this location. There was a main tributary to the Jordan River that flowed from a cave in this area and the worshipers of Pan would often throw the sacrifices to god into that cave. Now I want you to think about that for a second. These sacrifices that they would throw in would include animals and even people at times. They would throw into this cave out of which flowed water that trickled down into the Jordan River that was a main source of water for the people in the region. Now think about that. Dead and dying carcasses at the mouth of the river that you would drink and cook from. I found that quite disturbing. Y'all are looking at me like, so? Maybe y'all are drinking some water that I don't really want to drink. But in this cave, they would throw these sacrifices all in the name of their god. Pan was the god of victory because it was believed that he instilled panic into his enemies. And that's where we get the root for that word Panic is the god Pan. It was renamed Caesarea Philippi when Caesar Augustus gave the area to Herod the Great. And Herod's son Philip renamed it in honor of Caesar and himself to distinguish it from several other cities that had the name Caesarea. So it became Caesarea Philippi. It was a place of thriving and blatant idol worship of many gods and people. So think about that context. Now, they're not in the city of Caesarea Philippi, but it was believed that they were maybe on a hillside overlooking the city. That they were understanding the context in which the question came in v. 13. He asked His disciples saying, who do men say that I am? That I, the Son of Man, am? So they're overlooking this city that was known for its idol worship. Worshipped false gods. Worshipped people. Worshipped Caesar himself. Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And so they said, some say John the Baptist. Some, Elijah. And others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Now this section of Scripture will go on to say that Jesus will then ask His disciples, who do you say I am? And of course, Peter answers in v. 16, answered and said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And many of the sermons that I have preached and many of the sermons that I have heard preached on this section of Scripture focus on that. And yes, we should focus on Peter's response to this question, because then later Jesus says, upon that rock, the confession that you made, Peter, that's what I will build my church on. But I want to pause for just a moment and look at that first question. Who do men say I am? As we contemplate, as we consider, as we question who is Jesus, we must look into who do men say that He is. There's a list of people here. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah. And then a general statement. One of the prophets. I'm going to be honest, up until preparation for this sermon, I never paused for one moment and asked myself, why those men? Why did people think Jesus was one of them? He could have been a whole list of other people. But no, they were very specific. Some say John the Baptist. Some say Elijah. Some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. As we consider the identity of Jesus this morning, who do men say I am? I want to spend just a few moments understanding why people may think that Jesus was one of these people. The first name, John the Baptist. Why would people think Jesus was John the Baptist? Many of these people that were alive during this time would have known John the Baptist. They would have even listened to John the Baptist. They would have gone out into the wilderness and seen the crazy man wearing camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey as his meal. They would have heard him preach. So how can Jesus, who lived a little bit in the same time, be John the Baptist reincarnated? Because people got confused. People got lost. People did not understand who Jesus was, so they began to apply this false truth. But we can really see the similarities. Both of them boldly preached repentance. That was a main tenet of John the Baptist's message in Matthew 3, verses 1 and 2. It says, in those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Jesus in Matthew 4, just one chapter later, verse 17 says, from that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. So their messages were very similar. What was their message? Repent. Repent. Repent. Beloved, what's the message for the church today? What's the message for the world today? What's the message that they need to hear that will draw them? Repent! See, that's not a very popular topic today, is it? How dare you tell me I'm wrong? You don't really love me if you tell me I'm not right. You don't really care for me if you tell me that I'm wrong in my beliefs. Beloved, what the world needs is more John the Baptists to stand in the wilderness and proclaim, repent, repent, repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. We are closer today than we've ever been to Jesus stepping out on that cloud and calling us home. Time is drawing short, beloved. We need to proclaim, repent. Why? Because in repentance is found the freedom and the love and the forgiveness of Christ. Only in repentance can we be set free from our sins and made right with a holy God, so that when He steps out and He calls us home, we will be part of that going home. Beloved, we can let this lost and dying world die in their sins if we want to. But what Scripture says, if we as the church, if we as believers in Christ allow that to happen, their blood is on our hands. What do they need to hear? Repent. Repent. Repent. What does it mean to repent? Simply this, that you recognize your sin. Recognize the fact that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. That we have all fallen short of that perfection that is God's requirement. None of us are perfect. From the back wall, to the nursery, to the fellowship hall where Children's Church is going on. None of us are perfect. All of us are in need of repentance. Acknowledge our sin. Recognize it. Turn from sin and turn to God. Beloved, it's that simple. Acknowledge I am a sinner and I need a Savior. And I'm here to tell you this morning that Jesus is that Savior. Boldly preached repentance, but they also boldly preached against the religious leadership. John in Matthew 3, verse 7 says, but when He saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to His baptism, He said to them, brood of vipers, who warns you to flee from the wrath to come? That's a bold statement to the religious crowd of that day, isn't it? The religious leaders, the ones that everybody looked to. In fact, Jesus said, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees. And so they had a level of righteousness that was above and beyond the normal person. But John the Baptist looks at them and says, you brood of vipers. But it doesn't stop there. So He goes on to say in the James Williams translation here, show a life of repentance before you come and be baptized. What does that mean? I don't come to get a checklist done. That's what I do. No, no, no. Repentance happens here before any of this that takes place. Baptism, church membership, means anything. Repentance comes first. I'm not here to fill spiritual checklists. Maybe you came this morning to do just that. Well, Sunday morning church is just what I do. I just need to go. And I'm glad you're here, but I want you to hear me plainly right now. What the church needs more than anything is not people in the pews. It's repentance in the heart. That's what we need. Boldly preached against the religious leaders, Jesus in Matthew 11 and following, began to rebuke the cities which most of His mighty works have been done because they did not repent. They did not listen to Him. They did not take His miraculous signs and follow Him. And later, He would go on to call them, the religious leaders, a bunch of whitewashed tombs who outwardly look nice, but inwardly are dead. I'm here to tell you this morning that all across America, churches are filled with so-called preachers and religious leaders that are nothing more than whitewashed tombs. What the pulpit needs is for preachers and pastors to repent. To turn from their sin and turn to God. To lay down their sin of pride and arrogance and pick one up of humbleness and meekness and gentleness and self-control. Who do men say I am? John the Baptist. Boldly preached. Some say Elijah. Why would they confuse Jesus with Elijah? Because both provided food. Elijah in 2 Kings 4, verses 1-7, there was a widow woman who was down to nothing, and Elijah comes through and she makes a loaf of bread and gives him the last of it. Elijah says, go get some jars from your friends and your neighbors. So they gather all the jars. He says, begin to pour that oil into those jars. I don't know. I'm a little visual, so I look at this little woman and she's holding that jar up and a little bit in the bottom. She's going, well, I'll pour it into a different jar. This jar's holding it. This jar's enough. But no, she just starts pouring and pouring and pouring and pouring and pouring to the point she looks at her son and says, go get more jars. He goes, that's all of them. And Elijah says, go and sell the oil and your sons will live off of the proceeds. God not only provided enough for her, but enough for her sons to live off for their future as well. Elijah provided the food that they needed. Jesus in Matthew 14 and 15. Do y'all realize this? That Jesus fed a multitude twice. Not just once. We often talk about the 5,000 with the little boy with the bag lunch. That's Matthew 14. But in 15, He feeds 4,000 more. Multiplies the food. And in the 5,000, there were 12 baskets left over. More than enough of what they needed. The miracles that Jesus did of providing food, but beloved, they also provided life. Elijah in 2 Kings 4, there was a woman who ministered to Him in His travels. Went so far as to say, hey, this man of God comes through all the time. Let's build a room up here for Him to stay in. Put a bed, a table, and a little lamp that He can study it and provide for His need while He travels. And out of thankfulness, He says to her, what can we do for you? She said, He can't do anything. I live amongst my family. I'm good. I'm right where I need to be. Well, she didn't have a son. Elijah says, you're going to have a son. She said, don't lie to me. Alright, don't be jerking my chain now. Come on. I'm old. I can't even have a kid. So you're telling me I'm going to have a kid? A son? Yep, this time next year, you're going to be holding your son. Sure enough, she gives birth. The son grows. He's out in the field with his daddy one day. All of a sudden, gets a bad headache. My head falls over. Carries him, lays him on Elijah's bed. He dies. Long story short, Elijah comes, spends some time in that room laying his hands on the boy, praying, life restored. Jesus, Luke 7, 11-17, Jesus the widow's son from the dead. God gives dead things life. Beloved, you know what you and I were before Christ came into our lives? We were dead in our trespasses and sins. There was no life in us. All we wanted to do were sinful things. We didn't care about God. We didn't want the things of God. We didn't want to draw close to God. We had no life. But then one day, Jesus came on the scene. Now, I can't speak to you, but I can speak to myself. I was chasing after things that didn't matter. I was chasing after things that temporarily satisfied whatever itch I needed to scratch in that moment. But there was no lasting peace. There was no lasting joy. There was no joy that supersedes the situation that I found myself in. There was no peace that passes all understanding. There was no strength. There was no understanding. There was no true wisdom. There was none of that. Why? Because I was dead. But then a friend of mine came in. He said, hey, I want to go to church. I want you to go with me. Okay, I'll go. That's what good friends do, isn't it? Some of you maybe ended up in church because a friend looked at you one day and said, hey, I want you to go to church with me. So that's what I did. And then a faithful man of God stood behind the pulpit and laid out his sermon before me. And he made this statement at the end of it. It's better to walk down the aisle twice than to go to hell once. And I began to realize that I had walked an aisle and I had spoken some words to fulfill a spiritual checklist so that I'd get more playing time on the basketball team. I went through all the motions that I needed to go to for people to look at me and say, yeah, he did the right thing. Listen, I was even baptized. Oh yeah, check. I even came before the church to join the church. Check. I even went to Sunday school. Hell, that's an odd thing. Check. I went to it. And all the while, I would lay on that back pew during the service while the Word of God was being preached. And I would sleep. Why? Because I was dead. I didn't really want any of it. But then he preached, it's better to walk down that aisle twice than to go to hell once. And God spoke to me. And listen, it wasn't necessarily the words that I said. It wasn't the prayer that I repeated after that man who led me in a sinner's prayer of repentance. It was the condition of my heart that recognized that I was dead, but I wanted life. And what God did in me has brought life and life more abundant. That's what God does. Brings dead things to life. Some say John the Baptist. Some say Elijah very quickly. Some say Jeremiah. Why Jeremiah? Because both were devoted to the purpose. Jeremiah in chapter 1, verse 7 of his book says, You shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Now, the road wasn't easy for Jeremiah. Now, let's be honest. Our preachers and our pastors today live a pretty good life. We don't really face hurts and heartaches. I don't walk out of these doors thinking that I may go to prison for my faith, for preaching the Word. But Jeremiah lived in a time and preached in a time where the Word of God wasn't well received. Where physical hurt and harm could come to him. Listen, this is one area that I sometimes can feel like Jeremiah. He preached and the people didn't listen. Beloved, there's a warning that is proclaimed through the Word of God that someone may need to heed this morning. That you're sitting in that spot in this pew and the word repentance is coming out. Repentance for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent! Repent! Repent! And you're sitting there saying, well, I hope David hears that message. He really needs that. And all the while, that message is really for you. But Jeremiah preached. The people didn't listen, but he continued to preach because he was devoted to the purpose. Jesus in Matthew 4, verse 19 says, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. Why did Jesus come? I've shared this and you know this. The whole purpose that Jesus came was that the world through Him might be reconciled to God. He did the work of reconciliation. And He has now given to us the work and the Word of reconciliation. He is drawing all men unto Himself. It's not the will of the Father that any should perish, but that all come unto repentance. That's why Jesus came. That you and I as sinful men and women who our relationship with God has been broken and shattered and unrepairable on our own, He came that we could be restored to the Father. And He was devoted to that purpose to the point that He willingly chose to lay Himself down on the cross for you and for me. Devoted to the purpose. Devoted to the people. Jeremiah 8, verse 21 says, for the hurts of the daughter of My people, I am hurt. I am mourning. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet because he was heartbroken for the people that wouldn't listen to him. He cried. He mourned over their lostness and their sin and their unrepentant attitude. Now, beloved, I can't help but draw the conclusion that you and I need to be more like Jeremiah at times. That we need to be broken and mournful over our sins and the sins of our loved ones and the sins of our people. When's the last time you and I mourned over the sin of six months? When's the last time you and I cried out to God for a sinful loved one to the point of mourning? I just pray that you'll be with old Billy Bob there. He's just living in that sin and he's just not right with you. And bless God, if you don't get a hold of him right now. And it almost becomes a gossiping between you and God, right? Or worse, between you and your neighbor. Oh, did you hear all about old Billy Bob and what he's doing and living in that? But when's the last time we were broken to the point we wept over the sins of our loved ones? He was devoted to the people. Jesus, Luke 19, verses 40 and 41, "...Now as he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, if you had known, even you especially, in this your day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes." God says, "...Draw close to him while he may be found." Beloved, he's calling this morning. He's calling to someone. He's calling to you. He's saying, draw nigh, draw to Me through repentance, through recognition of your need for Him. Draw near while he may be found because this is He told Jeremiah, but now they are hidden from your eyes. There will come a time where God will stop calling. He will stop drawing. He will stop dealing with you. Will you draw near this morning? Draw near in faith. You see, Jesus and Jeremiah were both devoted to the people and to the purpose, concerned for their relationship with God. Called them to repentance. And lastly, He said, who do men say I am? Well, maybe one of the other prophets. They're very detailed, right? John the Baptist, a specific person. Elijah, a specific person. Jeremiah, a specific person. Then a generic term. Oh, one of the prophets. What were those people thinking? Well, he just taught good morals. He was a good moral teacher. He took what God said. You remember what the prophets did, right? Thus says the Lord. Thus says the Lord. Return to Me or pay the consequence. Repent or pay the consequence. Thus says the Lord. So here Jesus comes along. Well, He's one of the prophets. He's interpreting what God's speaking to the people. And He's trying to get us to live good lives. Taught good morals. Interpreted God's Word and then applied those things. But more than that, He not only taught good morals, He lived good morals. He led by example. He was somebody to emulate. So He wasn't this specific person. Maybe He's just a good moral teacher. This is where the Muslims will kind of fall. Oh, Jesus, He was a good moral teacher. He was a prophet. But Muhammad is the last and final and most important prophet. They acknowledge that Jesus was a good moral teacher. Here's the problem with all of these things. And we can see the similarities in all those things. And we can see how Jesus fulfilled all the roles of all those people. But here's the simple truth. And here's the truth that we will press in and dive into in the next couple of weeks. Was Jesus in the lines of John the Baptist? Absolutely. Was Jesus in the lines of Elijah? Absolutely. Was He kind of like Jeremiah? 100%. Was He in the form of one of the other prophets? 100%. Jesus fulfilled all of those things. But He was more. And if we stop short and think, oh yes, He was a good moral teacher. If we stop short and say, yeah, He was just one of these other guys. He picked up on their message and just continued that message. Then we stop short. Yes, He fit in the lines of all these people. Why? Because all of these people were preparing the world for the Christ to come. And what we see Peter say in this instance is where we have to be. Peter says, you are Christ, the Son of the living God. And I've made the statement, and you need to understand that, that Jesus Christ, Christ is not His last name. Christ is the title of who He is. Christ is what He came to do to set the sinner free from their sin. He came to set us free from our bondage. Now the Jews thought it would be a military leader. But what we need to spiritually understand is we are in no more bondage than we've ever been than when we were in bondage to sin. Why? Because we are slaves to sin. We can't help do it. We can't fight that in our own strength and in our own power and our own understanding. We can't fight that with laws and rules and checklists. There's only one way for us to fight that, and that's on our knees humbled before a holy God that said, I can't do it on my own. You have to do it. And Jesus says it's already done. It's already done. All you have to do is accept it. He's not just a man. He's not just a moral teacher. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Who is Jesus to you? Who is He to you? That's really what matters. Who is He to you? Here's the calling place before you this morning. Repent. Repent. First of all, for salvation from sin. Be cleansed from all unrighteousness. Repentance is not just for someone who's never put their faith and trust in Christ. Repentance is even for us who are believers in Christ where we fail and fall short daily, where we fail to lift up our loved ones in prayer, where we fail to acknowledge the sin in our own life. We have to deal with the log in our eye before we can ever instruct someone how to deal with the speck in theirs. So repentance is even for the church. So what's the calling for a believer this morning? Repent. Turn from your sin and turn to God. And forgiveness is available. Let's stand together. This altar is open. I'd love to pray with you, pray for you in any way that I can. Will you come to Jesus this morning? Will you get so close to Him and so involved in Him that He gets all over you? So that when we leave here in just a few moments, when we go into the restaurants, when we go into our homes, when we get around to other people, they will be able to tell that you've been with Jesus. As our musicians play, this altar is open. You come as the Lord leads. I'll be down front. Again, I'd just love to pray with you, pray for you. You come.