Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
Tonight if you would start turning in your Bibles back to .
Tonight we will be finishing out the chapter covering verses 13-20, looking at the affirmation that He is in fact The Christ!
Which is something that should excite every believer all over the world.
Because if Jesus was not The Christ, or the Savior, the Messiah; all of this would be pointless.
All of Christianity would be pointless.
We would be no more than a social club or another false religion out there.
Which is exactly where churches who once were Christ followers are who have removed Christ for the sake of “fitting in” or for political correctness.
When Christ is removed, Christianity is removed and whatever it is ceases to be Christian.
Some become the “Church of (whoever their leader is).”
Some become the “People’s Church,” meaning that whatever suits the wants and desires of the congregation is what the church becomes.
Some become the “Snowflake Church,” meaning that whichever way the Political Correctness wind blows is the way they go.
Some will even become the “Social Justice” church, meaning that Jesus is replaced by whatever social justice cause they have taken up and they do anything to meet that agenda.
And finally some will even become what I would call the “Do Good” Church.
These are the ones who are deceived into thinking that all of their good deeds is what makes them Christian.
And if they do enough Good, then that is all is needed.
People get caught up in that and forget that they must put their faith in Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the One and Only Savior.
And Satan’s hand in this is that he acts as a facilitator.
Pushing people in every direction that leads them away from God and away from Jesus.
And the only effective way to combat this is to do what Paul says in 1 Corinthians.
Paul says . . .
1 Corinthians 1:22-
And what he is saying is we tell the whole story about Christ.
We tell of his perfect life.
We tell of his love, his mercy, his grace.
We tell of is sacrifice for all humanity.
And we also tell of his resurrection from the dead.
And not only that but we also tell of the fact that he is coming again in judgement of this world.
And we also tell that Jesus is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, the ONLY life and no one is going to make it apart from Jesus Christ.
And this is the message that the world doesn’t like.
Because it convicts the world of its sin.
It causes the world to make a choice.
And this whole concept of preaching about the Christ was established in Caesarea Philippi right here in our text for tonight.
So, if you have found in your Bibles, I’d invite you to stand with me as we read.
Matthew writes . . .
Scripture Focus
Matthew 16:
What Are They Saying About Me? (Vs 13-15)
So, yet again we see Jesus and the disciples moving about.
They were on the go and they were approaching Caesarea Philippi, Jesus poses a question to them.
And the question is who do the people say the Son of Man is?
And there is actually a lot to this question.
One of the things that is rarely talked about is Caesarea Philippi itself.
It, like most Roman cities of the time was a very pagan city.
However, it actually is more pagan, if that could be so than many others.
In fact, later on the region was renamed Caesarea Paneas after the false god Pan.
And when Herod the Great overtook the city, he actually set up a white marble temple in honor of Pan.
So, it was in itself a very wicked city.
And I bring that up because it actually plays into what Jesus is asking here.
Here they are overlooking this wicked city, full of false gods, and Jesus turns and asks his disciples, who do the people say the Son of Man is?
And notice he is referring to himself as “the Son of Man” or in more familiar terms, “the Son of God.”
So he is already referring to himself as the Messiah, but he is wanting to know #1 if the people are hearing what he is saying.
And, #2 if his disciples are hearing what he is saying.
So, he asks about what the people are saying, what their thoughts are about his identity.
And his disciples tell him . . .
Matthew 16:1
So, not too bad but the people still don’t get it.
They know that Jesus is important.
They know that Jesus is a representative of God.
But they are equating Jesus with one of the great prophets of times past.
Which, honestly is one thing that people still struggle with today.
One of the greatest scams of Islam is their belief in Jesus as a prophet and not the Messiah.
One of the greatest scams of secular humanism, which is the basis for all atheism and worldliness is the denial of Jesus as THE CHRIST.
Because it is okay to see Jesus as a “great man,” or as a “great prophet,” or a “great religious teacher,” but when we start referring to Jesus as “The Christ,” it crosses that line that we talked about earlier with Paul.
Because when we acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ we are acknowledging, Jesus’ words when he said . . .
And that is the crux of the entire argument.
There is no other way except through Jesus.
Which is why false religions and false churches are very subtle in their beliefs about Jesus.
They will tell you all kinds of things about Jesus, but where it all boils down is whether or not they believe and understand that Jesus is the Christ.
And that is why we have to be very, very careful because there is a lot of deception out there in the world.
Remember what John said . . . .
Don’t just take people at face value.
Test the spirits, to see if the Spirit is there.
If not, then leave.
You don’t want no part of that mess.
So, Jesus gauges their responses about the people, now he wants to know something else . . .
The Christ! (Vs 16-17)
Which in itself is a very valid question.
Because what point is it for them to be following Jesus if they don’t believe he is the Christ?
It is sort of a waste of time.
So, he poses the question to the, who do you say I am?
And for all the times Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, this was definitely not one of them.
And it is also a glimpse into the future and to just who this man called Peter is.
And he is the first to speak up . . .
One of the most important statements Peter ever made.
Because it affirmed what Peter really believed in his heart.
Even though he would fail Christ.
Even though he would fall and run away.
Deep down in his soul he knew the truth.
And every time he would mess up, that truth would eat at him until he repented.
And that is the way life is.
We make mistakes.
We mess up.
We fall down.
But every time the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, comes back to us.
And every time we can place our faith in that and the forgiving and reconciling power of Jesus Christ.
And that is what brings us hope.
Hope in everlasting life.
But it has to be engrained in our soul.
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