On This Rock

1. “Who Do You Say I Am?”

A pastor was giving a children's sermon one Sunday and began in this way: "Kids, what is small and gray and furry and climbs oak trees?'' No response, so the pastor tried again: "Oh, come on, kids. It's small and furry, with a bushy tail, eats acorns, and climbs oak trees." Finally, one little boy raised his hand. "Yes, Billy, do you know?" And Billy said, "Well, I was gonna say 'a squirrel' but I suppose the answer is Jesus.” We have all experienced situations where we give answers without thinking about the question. Or on the other hand, we overthink the question suspecting that it is a trick question. 

Jesus traveled with his disciples to Caesarea Philippi. This is no coincidence. Caesarea Philippi was a city full of pagan shrines and a center for emperor worship. It also has a river that flows from an underground spring in a cave. It was believed that this was one of the openings, one of the gates to Hades, the underworld. It is against this backdrop that Jesus asked his question, Peter made his confession, and Jesus his statement that on this rock He will build his church. 

Jesus had been with the disciples for quite some time now. They were with him long enough to watch him heal the sick. Long enough to watch him feed the 5,000. Long enough to see him walk on water, argue with the Pharisees, and teach the parables. The time had come to do a reality check, to see if the disciples, or anyone else, had figured out who He was. So Jesus asked them, "Who do people say that I am?" What do you hear on the streets? What are the people saying about me, about my identity, or my purpose, or the source of my authority?

Remember that the Jews were eagerly awaiting the coming of the Messiah, the Christ. They believed that God would send his anointed king to free Israel and bring about justice and peace to the world. Nobody had a clear idea of what all this would look like in reality, on the ground. So, in response to Jesus’ question, the disciples reported the popular views of the people — John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. The people were confused about Jesus. They held Him in high esteem. They ranked him with the great prophets. He spoke about God and he seemed like a prophet. So, they guessed and listed their religious heroes. They lacked the understanding and perception to see Him as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. 

But then Jesus made the question more specific. "But who do you say that I am?" Jesus did not want to hear what other people believed. He was not interested in public rhetoric or popular opinion, nor is he today. Jesus always wants to know what we think, what we feel, and what we believe about Him. I can imagine that the disciples fell silent. No one dared to say what he thought about Jesus. It was easier speaking for someone else. It was safer reporting what other people believed. 

But not Peter. In that moment, it all came together for him. The Holy Spirit opened his eyes, mind, and heart. He recognized who Jesus is: "You are it! You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

2. Who Do We Say Jesus Is?

Today, Jesus is asking us the same question, “Who do we say Jesus is?” There is a problem. When we are asked to profess our faith, we declare the religious statements that we have heard in the church over a lifetime or learned in Sunday School, rarely stopping to think about their meaning. When we are asked to say what we believe, we repeat what our parents believe, or explain what we think our church believes, or we report what popular culture says we're supposed to believe. What we are essentially doing is answering the first question of Jesus: "Who do people say that I am?" 

However, that is not what Jesus is asking us. His question is, “But what about you? Who do you (that is we) say I am?” Lent is a time for us to pause and think about this question. What do we truly, really, honestly believe with our hearts, with our whole beings? Who do we say Jesus is?

Do we say that He is the Christ? Do we know what that means? It means that He is God’s promised, anointed One, the One who came to fulfill God’s plan and execute His mission to save the world. He brought God’s kingdom into this world and He will establish and fulfill that kingdom when He returns.

Do we say that He is Savior? What does it mean? That means that Jesus and Jesus alone can save us from eternal death and give us eternal life. On the cross, He dealt with our sins and therefore we are forgiven. Our good deeds, our church ministries, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, none of these can save us and earn us forgiveness.

Do we say that Jesus is the Son of the Living God? What does it mean? It means that Jesus is God. He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Anyone who has seen and encountered Jesus has seen and encountered God the Father. It means that Jesus is God, the great I AM, and that we should worship Him as such, as the living God.

Do we say that He is Creator? Do we know what that means? It means He is the Creator of the whole universe and everything in it. He is the Beginning and the End, the Alfa and the Omega. He is the Creator of our enemies as well as our friends. He is the Creator of people of different religions, people of different colors and different cultures. He is the Creator of the people you love … and the people you hate. He is the Creator of all things in heaven and on earth. And He holds everything and everyone together in his hands. 

Do we say that Jesus is Lord? What does it mean? It means that He is Lord of the universe and Lord, Ruler, and King of our lives. That makes us his servants. If He is the Lord, then we are his slaves. This also means that everything, absolutely everything we have belongs to Him since slaves cannot own anything. We are only stewards of the things that He gave us, the things we think we own. It belongs to Him and we are to use and manage it for His sake and His glory. Further, it means that whatever Jesus as Lord tells us to do, we must do it. To disobey Him has serious consequences. 

So, who do we say Jesus is? Please, don't just say he is the Christ, Lord and Savior, God and Creator, without thinking about it and what it means. May we all say with honest and true conviction, wholeheartedly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

3. We Are Stones in the Building of Christ

When Peter made his bold confession Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church.” On this rock — this rock is the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Christ Himself is the foundation and bedrock on which He builds His church. Peter is this rock in the sense that with him and his confession the church began. Yes, Peter did play a foundational role in the beginning of the church but he is not the foundation. Jesus Christ is the Rock, the Foundation, of the church. Every time and everywhere when people believe and confess Jesus as the Christ, there his church is being built. When we confess Jesus as Lord and Savior we become stones in the building of Christ. We become the building blocks with which He is building His Church.

And the gates of Hades, that is death, will not overcome it. His church, this community He is building will not die, cannot die. Jesus overcame death in his resurrection and He will lead his church to victory. Therefore, we should not fear or be anxious. As I said before, we should not look toward human powers to defend, save, or preserve the church. The church does not need saving. It is in safe hands. Jesus Christ is the Head and Lord of the church. He is the Owner, Foundation, and Protector of His church. It will not go under. It will prevail. No government, no ruler, no authority, whether human, worldly, physical or spiritual can destroy or overcome the church. Many have tried throughout history and they have consistently failed. We must fix our eyes on our Lord and do what He called and sent us to do. What is He calling us to do?

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” — These are not the keys to death or eternal life. Only Christ holds those (Rev 1:18) and only God will make the final judgment. These are the keys of the kingdom, that is, the stewardship of the kingdom. In the Bible, “keys” stand for authority and stewardship (Isa. 22:22; Luke 11:52). We are stewards, caretakers, of his kingdom in this world.

These keys, this stewardship, is the proclamation of the gospel. We are called and sent to proclaim to all peoples the good news of God’s kingdom that has come in Jesus Christ. We use these keys to open the doors of faith. When people hear and believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, they enter the kingdom. If they don’t believe and reject the gospel, then the doors of the kingdom are closed to them. 

These keys are also the authority we have to oversee and build up the church. This involves the teaching and application of God’s Word in the church. Based on this authority, we should encourage one another to obey our Lord’s teachings; encourage and help one another to live the kingdom life. And when we disobey Him we should admonish one another. As a church, we have the responsibility and the authority to oversee the behavior of those who claim to be followers of Jesus. In Matthew 18:18 these keys are used for church discipline. Church discipline is essential to call people to repentance, to restore and build them up.

We are the stones in the building of Christ. He has been building His Church throughout human history. Each generation of Christians added their stones of faith to this building. Faithful people of every age have stood up and professed Jesus as their Savior and Lord, and then they, too, became stones upon which the church is built. Peter. John. Paul. Augustine. Martin Luther. John Calvin. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Mother Teresa. John Edwards. Billy Graham. It was not easy for them … nor is it easy for us.

Brothers and Sisters, the time has come for each of us to stand up and be counted. Vague expressions of faith are no longer good enough. Lukewarm is no longer appropriate. Sincere confessions of faith are what our Lord asks of us because the world needs to see bold, authentic witnesses once again. And not just the world, but our fellow church members, our children, our colleagues at work, and our weary friends and neighbors who wonder where the hope is in this world.

We are the stones with which Jesus is building his Church and his Kingdom in this world. We represent God’s kingdom in this world. Our confessions of Jesus as the Christ, our proclamation of his gospel, and our living out the kingdom life, this is how we represent God’s kingdom in this world. These are the keys of the kingdom of heaven. These are the stones that build his church.

This morning, you hold in your hands your contribution to building his church. It is a small stone when compared to the mighty rocks that built the Church throughout history, but yours is every bit as important as theirs. I have said it before and say it again, “You are heroes in God’s Story.”

For all the times we have failed to speak boldly about our faith in Jesus Christ … for all the times we have denied knowing him … for all the times we have withheld the possessions that we know belong to him — today we say we are sorry. And we lay our stones at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, and we dare to be called his disciples. We are the church of Christ! No power on earth can destroy the Church. 

So, let us confess our faith boldly. We believe in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Lord and Savior, our Healer, Sanctifier, and Coming King.