THE GOOD CONFESSION

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"  And they said to him, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, but who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God."  And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:13-18).

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (John 11:25-27).

With this post I am merely sketching out a sermon, it will be a broad outline for my sermon.  If you would like to add to it, dear reader, you are welcome.

Getting the identity of Jesus of Nazareth right is essential to the Christian faith.  That is why the traditional prebaptismal confession, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God" is necessary for a valid baptism.  One isn't expected to have a mature faith at baptism, but one is expected to have a sufficient faith at baptism.  The truth of this confession is the foundation stone of the faith of God's people.

Though each member of God's family must personally possess this faith, I am not sure that many could defend it, let alone treasure it.  God has no grandchildren, only children.  Under normal circumstances, no one will make it into God's kingdom on the faith of a relative or loved one.  I know a family that is proud of the fact that a couple of its members are ministers of the gospel, but many of the family's members live like the devil; not like people who possess this faith.

One of the things that many orthodox Jews believe about Jesus is that he is a hoax, that he never really existed so their remarks about him and those who believe in Jesus are venomous.  Some things never change.  When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" they did not reply with all the venomous things that men had said about him, but only the more respectable things.  Jesus did not intend to be a "respectable" person, he intended to be a polarizing person.  Either his is who he says he is, or he is a liar, or something worse.  Though the evidence for the historical existence of Jesus is abundant, there are  those who fall into the same category as the Holocaust deniers and will never be convinced otherwise--they have a vested interest in keeping things the same.

The "Christ" is a rough Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term, "Messiah."  They both mean, "anointed one."  High Priests, Kings and Prophets were anointed in the Old Testament.  Jesus is the king of God's kingdom (Ephesians 1:20-23).  He is the perfect high priest (Hebrews 2:17-18).  He is a prophet in the sense that he was one like Moses (Acts 3:22).  Jesus was anointed with God's Spirit at his baptism in water (Matthew 3:13-17) similarly to a Christian's baptism.

Jesus is the Son of the living God.  Hebrews 1:1-3 gives us a clue as to what that means: In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom he also he created the world.  He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.  There is only one living God--all other gods are dead or bring death!  The living God is the only one who can bring life out of death!

We do not know what 2011 will bring, but whatever it brings, the confession is true.  It will bring strength in time of hardship and sorrow.  As Martha was grieving the loss of her brother, Lazarus, she confessed her faith in Christ.  Whatever happens in 2011, always hold fast to the good confession.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom