The Gospel of Mark 8:27-30

 

Brian Hirvela

8/3/24

“And Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He was asking His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” And He continued asking them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” And He warned them to tell no one about Him.”

Jesus took His disciples with Him and went to the villages of Caesarea Phillipi and as they were walking Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” This question could even be asked, “Who do you say that Jesus is?

The disciples said that the people thought he was John the Baptist, for Herod had thought Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead to haunt him. Or Elijah as foretold by the prophets and taught by the teachers that Elijah would return and announce the coming of the Messiah.

Jesus proclaimed that John the Baptist was this Elijah (Mt 11:14) who was “a witness, to bear witness about the Light, so that all might believe through him.” (Jn 1:7) And when confronted by the priests stated, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,”

Or one of the prophets, as Moses foretold “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; you shall listen to him.” (Deut 18:15) But the teachers taught that “it is the promise of a succession of prophets, that should for many ages be kept up in Israel. Besides the priests and Levites, their ordinary ministers, whose office it was to teach the Israelites God’s law, they should have prophets, extraordinary ministers, to reprove them for their faults, remind them of their duty, and foretell things to come, judgments for warning and deliverances for their comfort.” (M. Henry)

But who do you say that Jesus is? Is He some Geni who does your will at your command? Is He your boyfriend? Is He a verbal slur to profane in your heated moments or excitement? Is He the object of your hate or the comforter to satiate your justification of sin?

Jehovah’s Witnesses say that Jesus is Michael, the Archangel. He was the first creation of God. He came to Earth as a man, died on a stake, and rose from the grave invisibly as a spirit. Jesus then returned invisibly to Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1914 to head up the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

Mormons teach that Jesus is the spirit brother of Satan. He was once a human being like you and I, but through good works, he evolved spiritually to become a god. However, Jesus is just one god amongst a pantheon of gods, all of whom were once human and evolved to become gods themselves. Jesus was born to Mary through physical incest when his father god had sexual relations with her. Mormons teach that the blood and cross of Christ are foolish and cannot fully atone for our sins.

Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy say that Jesus was only a man, and that Christ is a Divine idea.   Furthermore, Jesus never did any supernatural miracles; he simply showed people their mental illusions of sin, evil, illness, and disease. Christian Science says that Jesus did not die, and his resurrection was only in a spiritual sense.

Sun Myung Moon (the Korean messiah) claims that Jesus was a man who failed his divine mission and he, Rev. Moon, is the second coming of Christ to unite the world under the banner of the Unification Church.

The Bahai say that Jesus is only one of nine great world manifestations; he is not a unique path to salvation and all religions are the same. Unitarians believe that Jesus was a good man who was mistakenly deified by his followers.

Freemasonry teaches that Jesus was only a moral teacher. He was no better than Buddha, Confucius, Moses, or Mohammed. They deny that Jesus was the light of the world and claim that Freemasonry is the true light of humanity.

Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard claim that Jesus is a false dream. Spiritists say that Jesus is an advanced medium in the 6th sphere of astrological projection. Unity teaches that Jesus is a man who perfected a divine idea. Rosicrucians claim that Jesus is a manifestation of cosmic consciousness.

Maharishi and Transcendental Meditation say that Jesus was an enlightened guru who never suffered or died for anyone.

But Jesus asked His disciples “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter responded, “You are the Christ.” Peter and the disciples were operating under the “notion that the Messiah must be a temporal Prince, appearing in external pomp and power, which the figure Christ made, would not comport with.” (M. Henry)

So how did Peter know this about Jesus? Matthew expounds more in this moment. “Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus responds, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

This is how you come to know who Jesus is, by the testimony of the Spirit of God and the scriptures. Jesus is the proclaimed Messiah, the fulfillment of the promise of Yahweh to crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15) and bring an end to sin and death. He is the promised hope for salvation to all who believe. He is God, the second person of the Trinity. (John 17:1,21) He is the one who Justifies, for His death and resurrection were the sacrifice of sacrifices and atoned for man’s sin once and for all time.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God, fully divine and fully human. He is the unique and sole mediator between God and humanity, as revealed in Scripture. Jesus is the way, no other way can save you, Jesus is the truth, and no lie can save you, Jesus is the life, all other ways bring death, He is Life and imparts eternal life to all who believe.

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; having a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself, and being clothed with a garment dipped in blood, His name is also called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty. And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

 And Jesus warned His disciples “to tell no one about Him.” “So that he reserved the publication of himself to be the Son of God, until such time when (as the apostle said, Rom. 1:4) he was declared so with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead.” (M. Poole.)

Jesus came to save sinners. Sinners suppress the truth and hide in their darkness because they love darkness. They are unbelieving, vile, foolish, rebellious, haters of God who have adopted the ideologies of this world and the doctrines of men. They have become slaves to their sexual desires, perverting the flesh and mind, and rebelling against the created order of God. They are doomed to condemnation and will be judged by Jesus and sent to Hell where they will burn for eternity in the lake of fire.

However, God so loved His creation, mankind, that He sent His Son Jesus, who can forgive you of your sins and redeem you because He has the authority and power. Jesus brings eternal life to all who repent and believe. For Jesus bore all our sins; He bore all the sins of all who believe in Him. Jesus was born and lived a perfect life of obedience to God as a man. Jesus was condemned to be executed and die in the sinner's place. He suffered the totality of God's wrath upon Himself on the Cross, which every sinner deserves, so that those who believe in Jesus may have peace with God.

Jesus rose from the dead, conquering death, and lives, and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and He is in your midst with us offering you salvation, repent, and believe Jesus.