Matthew 16:13-20 on August 23rd, 2026
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
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Who Do You Say That I Am?
Questions in the Bible are some of my favorites. And I do believe that our Jim's Women's Group has been using some of those questions in the Bible as the basis for their discussions each month. But behind each question is a story, a story of emotions and wonder and yearning to know. And to me, the questions are really interesting because of the ways in which we would answer them, the ways in which God would have us answer them, and then the ways in which God does answer.
Some questions are asked out of fear, some are asked out of loss, some are asked out of innocence, others out of self-preservation, some are asked rhetorically. But a question draws us in way more than a mere statement. Am I my brother's keeper? Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? What are human beings that you are mindful of them? Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
In some ways, the questions, no matter who is asking, hit us in the gut, especially when we ask them of ourselves. And the question we have today, though, this one is biggie. Who do you say that I am?
The Many Names of Jesus
Of course, there are a lot of ways to answer that question, and most of them are appropriate and true. Lord of lords, King of kings, mighty God, Emmanuel, the great I am, Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, Alpha, Omega, beginning, and in, Savior, Redeemer, Messiah. But is a title, a factor or name? Is that all Jesus is going for?
Of all those names that I mentioned, they all fit. They all work for who Jesus is, but I am not so sure that Jesus was doing this for his own benefit. Nor was he quizzing the disciples to see if they had the right factual answer. Another way of asking this question from Jesus' perspective is, who am I to you? Why are you following me? Why are you giving up things for me? Why did you leave everything and come with me?
A Risky Question and Answer
It is a risky question indeed, but it's an even riskier answer. Because the answer, how we answer the question, defines who we are willing to be. It doesn't change Jesus. Jesus is who Jesus is, no matter what it is that we answer. But the way that we answer the question, it says a lot more about who we are and who we are willing to be.
Take Peter's response, for example. He replies by saying, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This is a statement of faith, of revelation in Peter's life, and yet Jesus' Messiahship is something that Peter struggled with. I think of those other stories about Peter that you know. One of the most famous is when he thrice denies that he even knows Jesus. And even immediately following our story for today, which we'll get to next week, Jesus turns to Peter and calls him Satan.
So despite Peter's confession here, the rest of his life wasn't smooth sailing or without doubt questioning or falling away. Peter had to grow into his confession for the rest of his life through all of his troubles and lack of faith moments.
Peter's Gift of Identity
And yet one thing that is often overlooked in this passage is that Jesus identifies Peter. Jesus identifies Peter. Peter is the rock, foundational for what the church to come. And in this exchange, Peter receives two gifts. First, the gift of God that revealed to him who Jesus is. And second, a gift of having an identity given by Jesus.
And maybe you've had to wrestle with that question, who do you say that Jesus is? It is something that is good for us to do from time to time. And over my years and my journey, I've done this too. And at different moments, Jesus has been different things.
Jesus Through the Years
In high school, Jesus was the nice God, you know, as opposed to that mean God of the Old Testament. And as I grew up, that shifted as things tend to do and one experiences more. Jesus has been the close-knit friend, the abstract savior, the guy whom God killed, and even an apocalyptic prophet announcing the end of the world as we know it.
And now, who was Jesus for me? Jesus is the one who shows me what God is like. He is the embodiment of God's goodness and love, a love that knows no bounds. And Jesus has taught me that I don't have to be perfect. I don't have to do more and more and more to be enough. Because we are really bad at determining what enough is.
Instead, Jesus opens me up to others, reminding me that God's table is bigger than the tables we create. He confronted religious systems that kept people down or out, and he crosses the lines and walls and boundaries that we draw today. He shows me a God who welcomes us, loves us, and calls us to share that love with others.
Jesus Ahead and With Us
And while Jesus is with me, He is also ahead of me in oh, so many ways. I see that He's been in hospital rooms long before I arrive. And communities of people who do amazing things in generosity in the life of this church. I have seen Jesus enough to trust that wherever He is leading me, there is more love, more life, more healing, more welcome, more possibility than there would be if I was simply doing this on my own.
And because Jesus is risen, I trust that the bad things do not get the last word. Death does not get the last word. God does love wins. And to use a question from Romans to emphasize that point, who will separate us from the love of Christ? Because of Jesus, I am convinced that nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God.
Our Identity in God's Love
And as I grow, and as I go through all of the various experiences that life has to offer, I know that even this perspective will change. Grow, evolve, and I who deepen and has to fake this something that is alive. But despite my images of and relationship with Jesus, the constant in it has always been who I was and God's eyes because of Jesus. No matter where I was or who I will be on my faith journey up or down in and around, because of Jesus, God has identified me as child. As God's own, as beloved.
Baptism, some water along with God's word, shows this to be true for me and for all the baptized. You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. And the good news that we have is that Jesus defines who we are. Our answers on who Jesus is will shift over time and change, depending on our world, our lives, our mood. But the promise of God, seen in Jesus Christ as a God's answer about us will never change. We are God's forever.
Jesus state his life on it. And now he lives to uphold that promise. You are God's own. Your identity is in God's love, no matter what. So who is Jesus for you? That answer may change. It may grow, it may deepen. But one thing will not change. Because of Jesus, you are God's beloved child. Now and forever. Amen.