Gospeling Your Life ~ Matthew 16

 

Who do you say Jesus is?  (Matthew 16:13) That question is as important today as it was 2000 years ago.  I love that Jesus is wondering what the comments online where saying, wondering if he was trending on social media, curious about the chatter was in the parking lot after the worship service.  And the disciples are happy to share some of what they’ve heard.  I imagine James pulling out a pie chart.  “Well Jesus according to the latest survey data, 44.3 percent are thinking you are John the Baptist; 22.8 percent say Elijah; we have a few people saying Jeremiah and others just a prophet.  I think we need to bring in a consultant to help us with branding here and perhaps come up with a catchy theme song. Everyone loves music”.  Okay, maybe it didn’t happen that way, but still there are verses here that sound like church meetings we’ve all attended.  Then Peter, blessed Peter who like me loves to talk, says, “Jesus, thouest artest the Messiah-est.”  Peter gets it right, he passes the test, until he doesn’t.  In verse 21-23, the rock of the church (Peter) protests that Jesus would suffer and struggle.  Peter pulls out the job description of the Messiah (where the vision statement is to return the People of God to self-government for and by the people) and the only task is to overthrow the oppression of the Roman government.  Suffering is not in that job description, not even in the “other duties as assigned” catch-all. 

 

What does it mean to follow a suffering Messiah?  What does it mean that Jesus doesn’t sidestep the storms, stress, strain of life?  What does it mean that the One whose life is to inspire and infuse our life climbed a mountain of hurt and hate and harm that led to Calvery’s cross?  Not because God needed a transaction to forgive us, but to show us the way to transformation and resurrection (new life) will always involve death!!  Here we are about halfway through Matthew’s gospel, and I encourage you to pause, breathe, be with these questions today.  Not that we must pass a test (see above), but because this remains one of the central questions at the heart of our faith today.  Amen.