In February, when traveling in Israel, I visited the northern most part of the country, a rural region that lies at the foot of Mt. Hermon, a snow-capped peak. The headwaters of the Jordan River bubble up from the ground in beautiful springs. There are ruins of Greek and Roman temples to their god and it is a place for Christians to visit. Why? Mark’s Gospel tells us of an important moment there. "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16, NIV) His question hangs before each one of us! “Who do you say I am?”
For three years Jesus lived with those men, eating with them, walking together, doing life. They knew Him as a man from Capernaum, a laborer turned Teacher, but was there more? In that remote region, He asks them to reflect and the Spirit moved on them. Peter is the first to say it – “You are the Christ!”
Christ! We hear it too often as profanity,
spat out in a moment of frustration or anger. But it means ‘anointed One,’ (the Hebrew equivalent is Messiah). Peter’s
declaration is that Jesus is more than a Man; He is God’s Son, bringing God to
us. He did not just figure that out or toss it out as a possibility. He was
convinced by the evidence and the Holy Spirit that Jesus was the long-awaited
Savior of Israel. The carpenter they knew so well was more, much more. This declaration is the heart of our faith!
Who do you say that He is? Is He a good moral Teacher? Is He an unfortunate noble man who became a martyr? OR is He the Christ, the living God among us, who gave Himself to reconcile us to our Creator?
Not so very long after that pivotal day in Caesarea Philippi,
after the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, Peter was bringing the Good News to
Jerusalem. Arrested and brought before the ruling council. They asked him by
whose authority he was acting, he replied with boldness. "They had
Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power
or what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to
them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today
for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then
know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead,
that this man stands before you healed. He is ”‘the stone you builders
rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:7-12, NIV)
Michael Horton asks us to consider that we might drift towards a “Christ-less Christianity.” “Christless Christianity is internal rot. It tries to use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as a means to better oneself. It turns His church into little more than a platform for self-help seminars and self-affirming messages. At the heart of Christless Christianity is self-worship, dressed up in Bible verse pieces to make it appear spiritual.” If we read the Gospels like we read Aesop’s fables; good moral lessons but not as truth, we gut our faith. The true wonder of the Gospel is the message that God came to live among us, fully human yet fully divine, that He offered Himself a sacrifice to restore what sin had robbed from us, and that because He lives, we will live also.
So, Who do you say He is?
He is the Lord of Glory, the Savior of the World, the Hope of all who
seek Him. Let’s not slip into a religion
that replaces Jesus with some shadow of Himself, that reduces Him to a form or
ritual, a mere tradition reserved for Sundays and church buildings. Let us pursue
as Christ, the living God.
The word from the Word says that "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together. Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross." (Colossians 1:15-20, NLT) This is the Gospel!
(Video of this blog at this link)
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In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light my strength my song
This Cornerstone this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love what depths of peace
When fears are stilled when strivings cease
My Comforter my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Keith Getty | Stuart Townend © 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
CCLI License # 810055
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