Matthew 16:13-14..Working

Matthew 16:13-14..Working

16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi,(Leaving Bethsaida.-(16:5) and traveling 25 miles North of the Sea of Galilee. A Roman city located near Mtn. Hermon, who’s worship was dedicated to the Pagan god “Pan”-Used as a backdrop for all that is pagan, idolatrous, worldly.) he asked his disciples, Who do people (Word on the street, blogglers, social-media, Twitter) say the Son of Man is? (A Messianic title for Jesus. That Jesus was speaking of the prevailing opinion as what the word on the street was concerning Himself.) 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; (A popular belief that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead.-{Matt.14:1-2} (Hard to fathom since they were contemporaries)  Similarities being both ministered warnings of judgment-(Matt. 3:7, 23:13-33)) others say Elijah (Similarities being that Elijah performed the same type of miracles. Or Elijah would return, ushering in the Messiah’s arrival.-{Mal. 4:5}) and still others, Jeremiah (Similarities being both were men of sorrows who were in conflict with their religious leaders.) or one of the prophets. (O.T. prophets. The popular consensus was that Jesus had prophetic qualities and abilities, even a worker of miracles, yet just another prophet among many prophets.)

Extended Sermon Notes

“Teaches rather than rely on other people’s opinion & beliefs, we need to decide for ourselves by going to God’s own Word” ⇒ We have to be careful because when our view of Jesus is shaped more by the people on the outside then it is by the bible were going to miss out on who Jesus is. Are you allowing others speak to you of who Jesus is through their experiences and not through the Word.

“Teaches when it comes to evangelism it’s good to know what people’s opinions, beliefs, and views are of Jesus.” ⇒ If were going to proclaim the truth of the Gospel and correct false teachings of Jesus we need to understand how people perceive Jesus…….(To be Continued)

“Teaches how Jesus often confronts us amid a world different religious beliefs, opinions, and philosophies.” ⇒ Jesus could have taken the disciples to a more spiritual place, like the synagogue or the Temple in Jerusalem. But He took the to the Pagan area of Caesarea Phillipe in order to see if they would confess Him while in a pagan area. It’s easy for us to profess Jesus while in church, singing worship songs and surrounded by other believers. It’s easy to say in the comfort of church, yes Jesus is Lord. But will you testify to Jesus in your Caesarea Philippi? It’s easy to declare Jesus in the church. But it’s going outside the church in the backdrop of a secular culture and worldly influence and still rise up and declare the true identity of who Jesus is.

“Even today, many will have high opinions of Jesus. That He was a good man, a great moral teacher, a miracle worker, a compassionate and caring person, etc. But that’s where it falls short. They don’t see him as Savior of the world. And they certainly don’t accept his claims to be the Son of God.” ⇒ If you would ask someone the same question today you will never find them saying something negative or rude about Jesus. In fact they usually speak highly of Him. They’ll say “I think He’s a pretty good dude. He started His own religion. He did some amazing things. I love the miracles He did when He walked on water and fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread.” They’ll say they believe He’s a real historical figure that lived. They’ll  even admit that He was innocent man and died a horrible death.” Many religions of the world give High Praise to Jesus, but they don’t give Him the Highest Praise. In the Quran Jesus is Virgin born, the great prophet of Allah. Great things are said about Jesus in the Quran, but not the greatest things. The Mormon Church proclaims Jesus as god (lower case), the firstborn spirit child of God the Father, but not the Eternal God. Throughout history everyone at some point had something to say about Jesus without recognizing Him as Lord & God. Pilate said of Jesus “I find no guilt in this “man”. That’s not offensive or mean, but he doesn’t say He’s Lord. Nopolan said “I know men, and Jesus was no mere man.” Nothing upsetting about that. actually it’s pretty cool. But he’s is expressing his faith in Jesus there? Dietero refereed to Jesus as the unsurpassed. Nothing offensive about that. But what is he saying unsurpassed to who? Men or to God. Stross the German rationalist said Jesus is the highest model of religion. Nothing harmful about that. But Jesus isn’t religion, He’s God! John Steward Mill called Jesus the guide of humanity. That’s nice, but it doesn’t’ say Savior. The French Atheist Reynan said “Jesus was the greatest among the sons of men.” That’s not offensive, but as an atheist that’s where he has to keep it. Theodore Parker a Transcendentalist minister of the Unitarian Church  said’ “Jesus is a youth with God in his heart”. What does that even mean? It doesn’t’ sound hurtful. but what is he saying? Robert Owens a Philanthropist and social reformer said “Jesus was the irreproachable One.” It’s sounds like it’s a complement, but it falls short of saying He’s Savior, Lord, and King. There’s nothing wrong with all of these titles, but they all fall short of who Jesus truly is. If not careful believing Christians can fall into the same short sightedness. We see Jesus’ teachings as good principals to apply to our lives so we can live a better life. (He is that, but He is so much more than that) We see Jesus as a good example for our kids. (He is that, but He’s more than that!)  We see Jesus a model of social justice the way He cared for the poor. (He did care for the poor, but He’s more than that!) We can see Jesus as a political figure who’s pro-justice, pro-life, pro-government. We see that when He said “Give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods’.” (He is that, but He’s more than that.)

More Notes & Applications 

Teaches how often the questions God is asking comes during our everyday life, where we live.

Calls for asking are you pursuing a life that’s helping you hear God’s questions. Or are you allowing the world to drown out the questions?

Warns if not careful we can regulate to Jesus something less than His true identity.

Warns anything short of declaring Jesus as God is really to reject Him.

Calls for gauging the company we keep, that were not associating with the wrong people who don’t truly believe in Jesus the way we do. (“Birds of a feather always flock together)

Caesarea Philippi was a Gentile city. This means Jesus and His disciples were no longer in Jewish territory but Gentile territory. in fact, Caesarea Philippi was a place where many different religions were practiced. There were numerous temples and shrines built for the worship of different pagan gods. This area was originally named “Panias” after the Greek mythological god “Pan”. In ancient Greek mythology Pan had the horns and hindquarters/legs of a goat. Pan was the god of nature, flocks, shepherds and sexuality. He was often depicted in pictures and statues as playing his winepipes. The worship of Pan began in rustic and rural areas, far from the populated city centers. He didn’t have any large temples built to worship him. Rather, worship centered in nature, often in caves or grottos. Back then, the headwaters of the Jordan River flowed out of a cave called Pan’s Cave and people would come and make sacrifices to Pan at a nearby temple.  After Rome came to power It was renamed Caesarea Philippi. Philip the Tetrarch, son of Herod the Great, renamed the area in tribute to his good friend Caesar Augustus and himself. That’s where you get the name Caesarea Philippi. Caesar being the “Caesarea”. And Philip being the “Philippi”. It was in this backdrop, with all types of pagan god’s that you could worship and any religion of your choice that Jesus asks His disciples, twelve ordinary men “Who do the people say that I am”?

As it was back then we find the same thing today. Opinions about Jesus then as now were all over the map. There was no consensuses, everyone had their own opinion. There will always be confusion and debate about Jesus.

In addition to the general consensus of people believing Jesus was a prophet. There were other more personal opinions that are recorded in the bible, that the disciples did not mention. As an example Jesus’ own brothers and sisters thought He was crazy and out of His mind.-(Mark 3:20-21) The religious leaders thought Jesus was controlled by the devil himself.-(Matt. 12:24) The hometown where Jesus lived and grew up thought He was too normal and average to be anyone else, but a carpenter’s son.-(Mark 6:1-3) Not much has changed since then. Today, you still get people with a diversity of opinions. Some believe Jesus was a crazy religious fanatic with a Messiah complex. Others believe Jesus was a normal and average person whose story got blown out of portion and now He has become a legend.

At first glance you would think Jesus is the most self-centered teacher in history. But Jesus’ question has nothing to do with pride or ego, but rather with who He is and how our understanding of who He is fits into God’s Saving plan.