Who do you say I am?
Readings: Mark 8. 27-38
Up until now the Mark’s Gospel, his biography of Jesus, has been characterised by crowds pressing in to hear Jesus, by parables and miracles. We’re seeing the power of Jesus and the draw of Jesus. But now he’s reached as far north as he will go. Caesarea Phillippi is in the territory of the tribe of Dan, the northernmost tribe, go much further and you’re leaving the historic bounds of Israel. And so it is here that Jesus physically turns around. But this incident at Caesarea Philippi is a turning point in more than just the physical sense, it’s the turning point of the Gospel; narratively, in the lives of the disciples, and in our own lives.
Until now Mark has been emphasising the success of Jesus’ mission; his growing popularity, the great crowds following him from place to place, the teaching, the miracles, the power. And as he’s been describing these things if you pay attention as you read you’ll spot that they’re criss-crossing over the sea of Galilee, also known as lake Gennesaret or the Sea of Tiberias. So we’ve been watching him and his disciples wandering about from place to place.
But from this point, the narrative changes. As he turns around at the farthest point you can go from Jerusalem without leaving the historic boundaries of Israel, he’ll begin heading there. As he speaks of his crucifixion in today’s passage, it’s from now on that he is headed determinedly towards it, towards Jerusalem where he will be arrested, tried and executed. And from now on what we’ll see is increasing opposition from the religious leaders, we’ve already had a taste in the first half, but now it’ll ramp up, challenges to who he is, where his authority comes from, why he’s saying and doing these things.
Now, a lot of this is a narrative style chosen by Mark. All of these events happened, but he’s arranging things, and omitting things, to help get his point across. We know for example that as an observant Jew Jesus would have been at Jerusalem every year for the great pilgrim festivals. We have that confirmed by John’s Gospel. But Mark skips over those earlier visits, he wants us to see that as Jesus turns towards Jerusalem for this final time, that he is heading there determinedly, that he knows what it means, knows what awaits and still he sets his face like flint towards that city, towards his crucifixion. Even in the face of growing opposition and challenge he continues, presses on towards the goal.
Why? Because this is why he has come. He has come to die our death, to take upon himself our sins and plunge them down into death, into the hell they deserve. So that in exchange we can share in his risen life, know his healing and strengthening as we come to him in repentance, turning from our sins.
Just as the Son of God leaves the glory of heaven to become a man, to be born as Jesus, he does not hesitate but choses to do so, so now his resolve hasn’t wavered, he’s here to complete the work he has come to do. Won’t rest until you and I can know that our sins are no more, that they no longer remain on our record, that they have been dealt with, we have been forgiven and we can know the healing, the life and the love of God. And here, at Caesarea Philippi, even as his disciples object to his mission, try to talk him out of it, he turns, and heads south, heads towards the death that we deserve.
Caesarea Philippi also marks a turning point for the 12. Here at last they are let in on the mission of Jesus, are at last informed of what Jesus’ endgame is. It must have been quite the shock. They might have been expecting Jesus to head to Jerusalem at some point, but as a liberator, as a conqueror, headed to glory, not as a sacrifice, not headed to shame and death. So it’s little wonder that Peter objects. This isn’t what they thought they’d signed up for, isn’t where they thought things were headed. They get that he’s the long promised Messiah, the Saviour, but they have very different ideas about what that means. Their perspective is too small. They want a liberator to deal with the Romans, the restoration of the nation of Israel, the conquering of the forces of Rome. But Jesus perspective is so much bigger. He has come to liberate us from sin, to bring in the Kingdom of God, to conquer the forces of evil and death.
And as Peter objects to Jesus vision of the Messiah, Jesus rebukes him in the strongest terms. ‘Get behind me Satan’. And the words Jesus uses here mirror those he uses in the wilderness during the temptations at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. It’s like the tempter has reared his head again, trying to talk Jesus off course. But as well as a rebuke it’s an important reminder. It’s not just get out of my way, but fall in behind me. Peter’s place isn’t to dictate who Jesus is or what his mission should be. It’s to fall in behind him, to follow him.
And we can do this in our own lives in all sorts of ways, decide our way would be better than Jesus’. That he’s got this or that wrong about being a disciple. That our thoughts and ideas are better than what he has given us. And to us when we do that he says the same ‘get behind me’. We’re followers, not leaders, Jesus truly knows what is best, and so we are to trust and follow.
And so what does it mean to follow this sort of Messiah? Not a conquering but a crucified Saviour. It means suffering, it means challenge, it means sacrifice. If we’re following a man who was crucified, why should our path avoid suffering or sacrifice. As we follow him, the way takes us through those places, but we do not go alone, Jesus goes with us. And we know that the endpoint, as it was for him, isn’t suffering, death and defeat, we will not be left there, but rather lifted up with him into glory and life and freedom.
But finally this is the turning point in our own lives, the hinge on which our lives turn. Because all of us sooner or later must answer this question ‘who do you say that I am?’ Jesus asks it of us all. And our response matters.
CS Lewis characterised our response to Jesus as choosing between 3 options; lunatic, liar or Lord. He says that the one thing we cannot say is that he’s a great moral teacher; ‘let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” Instead we must choose between the three. He’s either a lunatic, he’s just mad, the stuff he comes out with, there’s just too much about him being God, about the future, about his glory, about his relationship with the Father. He’s nuts. Or, worse than that’s he’s a liar, he’s deliberately deceiving us, in which case we really can’t claim any moral authority to his words. Or he really is the Lord of Heaven and earth. And he really has come, not with good advice on how to live better, but as Saviour to deliver us from sin and death and hell. And if he is Lord that means something doesn’t it.
It’s no coincidence that Jesus has chosen to ask this question at Caesarea Philippi. It’s a centre of Pagan worship, there’s a temple to Pan there. There’s also a great Temple to Caesar, to the Emperor here. And in this city which proclaims loudly ‘Caesar is Lord’ here we have the confession that Jesus is Lord. You see our allegiance to Jesus cuts across everything else, our family ties, our national ties, our politics, our race, our sexuality and our class. If we decide that our answer to ‘who do you say I am’ is that Jesus is Saviour and Lord, then everything else falls down at his feet, everything else submits to him.
So, who do you say Jesus is? As we stand at Caesarea Philippi with the 12 we find that not only is this question the turning point of our lives, how we answer this will decide everything going forwards. Will we accept him as Saviour? Follow him as Messiah? Submit to him as Lord? Knowing that going after him brings suffering, sacrifice and even death. But that ultimately we shall be with him knowing life and light and peace. Or will we take the easy road, the way that never challenges, never asks. The way which will ultimately lead to death.
Amen.