Sermon preached by Rev. Wesley King on Sunday, August 23, 2026
“Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
That is such a perplexing statement to me and perhaps to most Christians because here is the man that we believe to be God incarnate. The man who came to earth, became flesh, was born, lived, suffered, and died in our own human flesh. Died and rose again. He performed these miracles, and he stood up to the empire. He gave an occupied and oppressed people hope for a future that is better than their present reality. Why would he not want to tell them who he was or why he was here on earth or what he had come to do? To preach good news to the poor, the recovery of sight to the blind, and to set the captives free. Why not tell them? Why do you think he would not want anybody to know who he was? Well, I know that we're not the first ones to ponder this question, and we're definitely won't be the last, but I want us to keep that question close to ourselves this morning, and I want us to practice this holy practice of questioning today. Many of us may have grown up in traditions where you weren't supposed to question, right? Questioning was a sign of doubt. But I'm here to tell you that questioning the text, trying to get into the mind of the author and the audience and trying to discern what Christ was telling them then and what he might be telling us now is a holy act. So I encourage you to question this morning or wonder, be curious about this text. And we may leave this place with more questions than when we walked in. But I also know that we will also leave filled with wonder at who God is. Would you pray with me?
God, you reveal your word in scripture. You reveal your word among us and within us as well. Be with us now as we seek revelation from this passage in Matthew and guide us into a deeper understanding. Amen. I've been thinking about this question all week that Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" as I've been preparing for this sermon. And I was driving through Canada earlier this week. And when I was driving and encountering all these people, I was wondering, "How might these folks answer that question if I were to ask them? How might the flight attendant answer the question, who do you say that I am?" Would she answer too that he was a nomad, a traveler, a wanderer, going wherever he was needed? How might the Jehovah's Witnesses who were set up in the Detroit airport answer that question? Would they say that he had existed originally as Michael the Archangel before becoming Jehovah's first creation, fully divine in purpose, but not equal in who God is in status or nature? That's who they believe Jesus to be. How would the border patrol worker answer that question? Would he recognize that Jesus was also a refugee, an immigrant child seeking asylum in a foreign land with his parents to escape this dangerous tyrant? Would the person reading their Bible in the Tim Hortons answer as Peter did that he was the Messiah, the son of the living God? What about all these folks that aren't involved in church? Who would they say that he is? A teacher, a prophet, a mystic, a man who was maybe misunderstood, or would they point out that he's a man whose name is invoked a lot but his teachings and actions are not?
Earlier in this chapter, Jesus is approached by the Pharisees and the Sadducees and they tell him to show them a sign from heaven and seemingly frustrated, he illustrates this short lesson for them and they miss it completely. This is the beginning of the chapter and I like how the Message version puts this response by Jesus. He says, "You have a saying that goes, red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. You find it easy to forecast the weather, but you can't read the signs of the times." Of course, this is a paraphrase, a retelling, but I think it helps us kind of see what Jesus was trying to do here. He was telling these religious leaders that they were missing the forest for the trees. Then he leaves them and he and his disciples cross the lake in the next section of this chapter. And when they get to the other side, they realize that they didn't bring any food. They don't have any bread with them. And Jesus says, "Speaking of bread, watch out and beware the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." And they, just like the religious leaders that they had just spoken to, miss the point completely. They think he's speaking literally about bread. And so he scolds them, reminding them that he multiplied bread and loaves of loaves of bread and fish just a few chapters earlier to feed the multitudes. And he says to them, "How could you miss that? I wasn't talking about bread. Beware the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." And they finally understand that he's not talking about bread. He's talking about the teachings of these religious leaders. And then we get to the passage for today, chapter 16:3. And it has me wondering if these prior events has Jesus questioning his purpose, questioning why he's there. If he's feeling frustrated or nervous that they're not getting it. And so he asks them, "Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?" And to me, it feels like he's about to say, "Hey, I'm about to leave y'all, and I need y'all to make sure that you're on the same page as me before I go." In fact, in the next passage of this chapter, he's foretelling his own death. So, it seems like he's really making sure that his disciples, like the religious leaders, are not missing the forest for the trees. And it makes me think about how many times have Christians, how many times has the church hurt people? How many times have we been so concerned with the letter of the law and reading the text that we hurt people? We miss the point entirely. We read the text, we sing the songs, we go to the camps, we get the t-shirts, but we still don't get it. In the church of my upbringing, I remember us having this heated debate about whether or not divorced men could be deacons. There's this verse in First Timothy that says, "A deacon shall be the husband of one wife." And we were having this debate about whether or not that was about divorce or polygamy. And Reverend Stacy Rector, who preached here just a few weeks ago, told me about an old man from the church that she grew up in who lost his wife recently, a partner of 50-some years. And because of that, because he was now a widower, he could not be a deacon in their church anymore. Because a verse in First Timothy says that a deacon shall be the husband of one wife. How many people has the church hurt? Have Christians hurt because we're so concerned with trying to live literally by these lessons from 30 AD, nearly 2,000 years ago. So then Jesus, likely frustrated and perhaps nervous that his three years of ministry has been for nothing, asked them, "Who do people say that I am?" One commentator put it this way. Jesus says, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" And the answers reflect the crowd's confusion. John the Baptist, they say, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And these aren't insulting guesses. After all, Matthew's audience is primarily Jewish. And these are really powerful Jewish figures, recognizable by any Jews of the time. But these answers fall short because the world recognized Jesus as special and powerful, but not divine. And so Jesus says, "But what about you? Who do you say that I am?" And Peter, whose spirit is being stirred in this moment, responds with clarity and with courage and says you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. I should note that the location of this story is equally important. Caesarea Philippi is no accident of geography as the location for this story. It was located at the foot of Mount Hermon in what is now northern Palestine. And this massive rock wall carved with niches for idols stood tall over this deep cave that many of that community believed to be the gate to Hades, the very threshold between the natural and supernatural world. So in this place that's known for dead idols, Peter speaks of this living God in a city where people worship gods made of stone. Peter speaks about the true rock, the one who will be the cornerstone of the church. And even more than that, so much of the language that we use such as son of God, son of man, savior of the world, he who forgives sins, all of this was a part of the Roman imperial theology. So when Peter says that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God, it is a direct challenge to the power of Rome and the empire. One commentator noted that Peter's confession wasn't whispered in a synagogue quietly. It was shouted spiritually speaking from enemy territory. Surrounded by all these altars to Caesar, Peter declares allegiance to the one true God. This is more than theology. This is the light confronting the darkness. This is the truth piercing this centuries of deception that these people were facing.
And when he says that, Jesus looks at him and calls him blessed because he finally gets it. Peter finally gets it. And I like to think in this moment that Jesus's nerves were calmed and he feels seen and he feels affirmed and he feels like he can actually do what he knows is coming next. So Jesus makes this powerful statement. On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. And again, this reference isn't random, right? These people in this community believe that they were literally standing next to the gate of Hades. And here is Jesus declaring victory over the powers of evil, over the power of death, over hatred, over oppression and occupation and tyranny. And so Jesus says to Peter, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." In other words, no more barriers between heaven and earth and earth and heaven. The New Century Version says, "Whatever you allow on earth, you allow in heaven. Whatever you don't allow on earth, you don't allow in heaven." This is a call back to me at least to the Lord's prayer and this reminder from Jesus that he has come to bring heaven to earth on earth as it is in heaven. He taught us to pray. And at the same time, it's this precursor to a little bit later in this book of Matthew in chapter 25 when he says that when you feed the hungry, you feed him. Or when you clothe the naked, you clothe him. When you set the captives free, you free him. It's this powerful moment, this beautiful, powerful message that Christ gives to his disciples. But then he tells them, "Don't tell anybody who I am." And I wonder why. Could it be because they were doing ministry under the thumb of this very dangerous empire that had slaughtered Jews, especially Jewish political leaders, and the cost of their ministry was very real and very dangerous? Could it be that he was already in hot water with the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees of that time, and he had to be careful and tread lightly around them for fear of betrayal or deceit or retribution? Or could it be that he was less interested in what people said with their words and more so he was interested in what they said with their actions?
Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith back in May said that Americans should be given permission to hate again. He said, "We are giving people permission to hate again. And I know that sounds a little harsh at first, but when we've seen this movement to eradicate hate in our culture, that's the worst thing we could do." He doubled down recently in a sermon going as far as to say that the cross teaches us how to hate. Failed gubernatorial candidate Monty Fritz distinctly said that he wanted a Christ first Tennessee. Christ first Tennessee. Then he explained that a Christ first Tennessee would include banning Islam and immigrants and outlawing same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ rights. The Crusades, the doctrine of discovery, the genocide of indigenous people, the boarding schools that we put them in later, those who supported the enslavement of human beings, those who supported segregation, the list goes on and on. All of these folks proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah and the son of the living God. Yet their actions,
their actions were anything but Christlike.
Will we as Christians speak with our words or will we speak with our actions? When will we quit using the name of Jesus as a social indicator of who's in and who's out? When will we as Christians stop witnessing with pious Facebook groups and pious Facebook posts and branding deals and start witnessing with our actions of love and mercy and forgiveness.
And maybe that's the point of this whole passage. Maybe Jesus wasn't looking for a perfect disciple and perfect answers and perfect theology. Maybe he was looking for people who were willing to keep showing up, keep trying, keep wondering, keep wrestling, keep trying to see the forest instead of the trees. Because here's the thing we cannot miss from this passage. The same man that Jesus said, "On you, I will build my church," is the same man who didn't have enough faith and sank into the water. The same man that Jesus said, "On you, I will build my church," is the same man that denied him three times. The same man that proclaimed, "You are the Messiah and the son of the living God," is the same man when pressure rose and the danger closed in, he said, "I don't know him." And I think Jesus knew that. I think Jesus knew that. Jesus knew Peter's courage and he knew his fear. Jesus knew Peter's clarity and his confusion. He knew his faith and his failures. And still he called him blessed,
which I think means Jesus calls us blessed, too. Not because we're perfect, not because we always get it right. Not because our actions always match our confessions, but because God's grace is bigger than our mistakes. God's love is greater than our failures. And God's calling is stronger than our fear. So when Jesus says, "Who do you say that I am?" He isn't looking for this flawless answer. He's looking for a faithful life. He's looking for people who will try, really try to live as if heaven is coming to earth. People who will feed the hungry and clothe the naked and welcome the stranger and free the captive and love your neighbor. People who will see these idols of empire and still proclaim that there is a living God. People who will refuse to let hatred and greed and power have the last word.
Because the good news of this passage, this is my favorite part of this entire sermon. The good news of this passage is not that Peter got it right. The good news of this passage is that Jesus stayed with him when he got it wrong.
And Jesus stays with us, too. So may we go from this place today, not striving for perfection, but striving for faithfulness. Not clinging to clarity or certainty, but clinging to Christ. Not fearing our questions, but trusting that God meets us in them. And may we live in this beautiful way that lets our actions speak louder than words. I really wanted to sing "Louder Than Words" from Tick, Tick... Boom, but I just couldn't put it together. Really quick. I would need two more people. If you know it, meet me after the service. But may we live in a way that our actions speak louder than words. So that when the world asks, "Who do you say that he is?" They will see our answer. They will see our answer in the way that we live and love.
Amen.