Luke 9:18-22 (NIV)
18Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples
were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds
say I am?”
19They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and
still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
20“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter
answered, “The Christ of God.”
21Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22And he said, “The
Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests
and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised
to life.”
John 20:10-18; 30-31 (NIV)
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the
tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two
angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the
other at the foot.
13They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have
taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don't know where they
have put him.”
14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not
realize that it was Jesus.
15“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are
looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir,
if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will
get him.”
16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out
in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the
Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my
Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the
Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.
__________________________________________________________________
“Who do the crowds say I am?”
It was a fair question. Jesus had sent out the twelve disciples
to preach the gospel and make themselves known as His followers.
When they returned He
wanted to know the people’s reactions.
“Who do the crowds say I am?”
Different people had different views.
None were correct.
Jesus then turned to the disciples and the question became personal and riveting:
“Who do you say I am?”
It was Peter who answered boldly: “You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.”
Peter knew.
Now they all knew.
But then what happened?
Jesus continued to teach and preach.
He continued to challenge the corrupt and closed-minded religious authorities.
He continued to prove one way or another that He was the Son of God.
Now, if we were writing a novel and wanted a happy ending
for Jesus, we would have the crowds respond to Him with love
and loyalty. We would have the religious
authorities recognize their mistakes and submit themselves to Him. We would
wrap it all up in 300 pages and the TV movie would resolve all the conflict
in two hours—less commercials.
But this isn’t a novel or a screenplay.
This is a real story.
This real story deals with a world where evil isn’t
shunted aside so easily.
Happy endings are not always guaranteed.
As Jesus continued to teach and preach some followed—many didn’t.
Some of those who didn’t, made arrangements to get
rid of Jesus. He was causing too many headaches. He was considered
an evil, blaspheming threat
to their status quo. And so they conspired to have their way. Jesus was
arrested, tried and murdered.
Most of those who claimed to know who He was, deserted Him.
Doubt, confusion and fear clouded their perceptions.
On that first Good Friday, Jesus seemed a long way from
being the Son of God. The only label that stuck was given
to Him sarcastically by Pilate—a
sneering sign reading “King of the Jews.”
On that first Good Friday, who Jesus was seemed very much up in the air.
Perhaps Peter had been wrong.
Friday’s ending wasn’t at all happy.
But, thankfully, the story didn’t end on that Good Friday. That Good
Friday was followed by Sunday—and on Sunday Jesus was raised from
the dead. Jesus was raised from the dead because of His obedience to all
that God
had asked of Him.
Jesus was raised from the dead because His mission was complete.
He was raised from the dead to show God’s triumph
over death.
He was raised from the dead to show God’s triumph
over all that had caused His death.
In the Resurrection the emphasis isn’t on Peter witnessing
to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.
It isn’t the other disciples or the crowds witnessing to the fact
that Jesus is the Son of God.
In the Resurrection, the emphasis is on the Lord God Almighty—Creator
of the universe proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God.
It is God who witnesses to us, once and for all, how very, very special Jesus
is.
It is the great affirmation—the great affirmation of Jesus’ divinity.
Affirmations are important.
Think of a time when you knew a particular fact. But after
a while—after
speaking to others or hearing other viewpoints, you began to question what
you knew. You knew the truth but a sliver of doubt wedged its way into
you mind.
Then you had someone come and affirm what you knew to be fact.
Affirmations are important.
They keep us on the right path when words of doubt and confusion seek to detour
us.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the great affirmation that Jesus is the
Son of God.
It’s the great affirmation of His authority—of His teachings—of
His mission.
It’s the great affirmation of Jesus revealing to us God’s character—what
God is truly like.
It’s the great affirmation of Jesus’ continued presence and power—for
Jesus didn’t remain in the tomb. He rose and is alive even now and
forevermore.
We, as Christians, need that affirmation.
We live lives which are not always easy.
We don’t always feel blessed or close to God.
We are surrounded by those who don’t know or understand
Jesus Christ.
We are surrounded by opinions that can make faith seem silly or irrelevant.
When people are asked today “Who is Jesus?” many
different answers are expressed.
Some say Jesus was a great teacher of morality and ethics—but that’s
all.
Some say Jesus was a great philosopher—perhaps the greatest mind in the
history of the world—but that’s all.
Some say Jesus was a messenger from God, like other messengers—but that’s
all.
Some say Jesus was a great man—but that’s all.
But—that isn’t all!
That cannot be all!
C. S. Lewis, the Christian author and Oxford University professor, presented
an argument against such perspectives.
Lewis said that Jesus is either who He claimed to be—the Son of God—or
Jesus was a madman.
There’s no middle ground.
Jesus claimed to be divine.
He claimed to be God—not a teacher—not a philosopher—not
a messenger.
If Jesus wasn’t God then Jesus suffered from severe
delusions of grandeur.
Nowadays we try to get that kind of person professional
help and counselling. We don’t listen to them and say
that, despite their roaring insanity, they really are a great
teacher or philosopher.
Lewis says we can’t have it both ways.
There is no middle ground.
And so what should be our response?
How do we take the fact that God came to die for us?
How do we deal with the truth that all our ultimate needs find their fulfillment
through faith in Jesus Christ?
How do we respond to Jesus being the Son of God?
How do we affirm the great affirmation?
First, we need to celebrate!
We celebrate that we have an awesome God!
We celebrate the astounding gift God has given us!
Can there be any greater reason to celebrate?
That, in part, is what worship is about.
Each and every Sunday Service is a celebration of the resurrection
of our Lord—a mini Easter. That’s why Christian worship isn’t on
the traditional Sabbath of Saturday but on Sunday—the day the Lord
was raised from the dead.
Celebrations are joyous events.
There is fellowship, singing and laughter.
Of course, not all worship is filled with happiness and mirth. There are times
when we need to be quiet and sombre and reflective. In worship we deal with
life in all its complexity and colouring.
But at the base of all worship—underlying it all—there must be
celebration. It’s the celebration of knowing Christ rose victorious
from the dead.
It’s the celebration of knowing that His Spirit remains with us.
We can also affirm the great affirmation of the resurrection by seeking to
grow and mature in our faith.
A little boy constantly fell out of bed. No matter what his parents did, the
boy couldn't sleep without rolling on to the floor. An uncle came to visit
and in the middle of the night the usual thump and cry was heard. In the morning
the uncle teased the boy and asked him why he fell out so often.
The little fellow thought for a moment and then said, "I don't know, unless
it’s because I stay too close to the place where I get in."
When we make a commitment of faith to Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, we just get over the edge. God has so much more
to teach us—so many more ways
to relate to us—so many more opportunities and challenges to place
before us.
We’re going to spend our time on this earth anyway.
How much better our time will be if we use it to grow in
our faith and relationship with God?
Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott wrote the:
RULES FOR BEING HUMAN (Adapted)
“ You will receive a body.
You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
You will learn lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called life.
Growth is a process of trial, error and experimentation.
The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the
experiments that ultimately "work."
Lessons are repeated until they are learned.
A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it.
When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
Learning does not end.
There is no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons.
If you're alive, there are still lessons to be learned.
What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need.
You decide what to do with them.
The choice is yours.”
How special our lives are when we make those choices affirming that Jesus
is the Son of God, raised from the dead;
that Jesus is Saviour and Lord;
that Jesus is Friend and Guide.
It makes all the difference in the world!
(1533)
©
The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian Church, Ajax, ON,
Canada
