Becoming the Person God Made You To Be

Matthew’s Gospel gives the church a portrait of Jesus by staying with one Gospel long enough to hear the story Matthew is trying to convey. Matthew 16 sets up part one of a two part moment, where Jesus turns to the disciples and asks the simple but complicated question, “Who am I?” Peter gets it right at first, even though Peter will get it very wrong soon after.

Jesus’ question opens up another question for discipleship: who is a person, really? The question is not only something to think about in vague terms. The question asks for actual words, for finite and specific language, because “you know what I mean” does not work when a soul is trying to tell the truth about itself. The question asks a person to consider not only the person that already exists, but the person God is calling that life to become.

Becoming the person God made a disciple to be is critically important, but it is not directionless. Discipleship takes intentionality. That intentionality helps a follower of Jesus tell the difference between what the world says is right and what Jesus is calling a life to become. Baptism gives a beautiful picture of that beginning. Baptism is a big choice, but it is not the end. It is a starting place on the path of discipleship.

Following Jesus is not simply about being good. Good is fine, but Jesus calls a life into something different from the world’s expectations. The world may try to teach goodness, but the world is not the best teacher. Following Jesus means being anchored in God, not in the world, and turning toward the example God gives in the person of Jesus.

The contrast between worldly safety and gospel courage takes shape in the story of Chiune Sugihara. The power of the world told him what was smart, strategic, and safe, but gospel courage called him to something genuinely good. His choice to write visas for vulnerable Jewish refugees put his family and life in jeopardy, yet that costly mercy saved thousands.

The path of discipleship keeps placing two choices before a person. One path may be safe and respectable. The other may be loving, grace filled, godly, Christ like, and even dangerous. The good news of the gospel does not always equal success and security as the world defines them, but it is exactly what the soul needs. God’s invitation is meant to get down in a disciple, to create real change, and to move that life closer and closer to the person God created it to be.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus’ question exposes personal identity Matthew 16 does not let the question “Who am I?” remain abstract. Christ’s identity presses on the identity of the disciple, because knowing Jesus rightly changes how a person understands the self. A life cannot hide behind vague impressions forever; discipleship asks for honest articulation before God. [29:07]
• 2. Becoming takes real intentionality The call to become the person God made a disciple to be is not automatic. Growth without direction easily becomes drift, and drift usually follows the world’s current. Intentionality gives discipleship its shape, helping a person choose again and again toward Christ. [30:24]
• 3. Baptism begins the path Baptism is a beautiful and serious starting place, but it is not the finish line. The baptized life still has to be lived, chosen, practiced, and surrendered over time. A beginning matters deeply because it sets the direction for the journey that follows. [31:25]
• 4. The world teaches an incomplete good The world can name certain things as right, smart, safe, or successful, but that does not make them godly. Jesus calls disciples into a life anchored in God rather than a life trained by the world’s expectations. The hardest choices often come when worldly goodness and Christlike goodness are not the same thing. [32:02]
• 5. Gospel courage chooses costly mercy The story of Sugihara shows that genuine goodness may require disobedience to the powers that claim authority. Courage is not recklessness; it is a soul responding to what love requires when vulnerable people stand at the gate. Gospel courage may look foolish or dangerous, but it can become the very thing that saves lives.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [28:04] - Matthew’s Portrait of Jesus
• [28:34] - Peter Gets It Right
• [29:07] - Jesus Asks, Who Am I?
• [29:32] - Naming Who a Person Is
• [30:24] - Becoming With Intentionality
• [31:25] - Baptism as a Starting Place
• [32:02] - Anchored in God, Not the World
• [32:52] - Sugihara’s Dangerous Mercy
• [35:43] - Two Paths Before Disciples
• [36:23] - Gospel Courage Over Security
• [37:51] - Discipleship in Community
• [38:56] - Let God’s Invitation Get Down In You

Bible Reading

Matthew 16:13-20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others 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-Jonah! 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 gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. [29:07]

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. [32:25]

Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. [31:25]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 16, what different answers do the disciples report when Jesus asks what people are saying about him, and how does Peter answer differently?
2. What are some of the specific words used to describe the two paths that can appear before a disciple—one shaped by the world and one shaped by Christ? [35:58]
3. According to Romans 12:2, what two opposite things are set beside each other: being conformed and being transformed?
4. What details stand out in the story of Chiune Sugihara about the cost of his decision and the people it helped? [34:01]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Why does that question press beyond correct information and into the deeper shape of a disciple’s life? [29:17]
2. A person may think often about who they are, yet still struggle to name it clearly. Why might putting identity into “finite specific language” matter in a life of discipleship? [29:51]
3. Baptism is a true beginning, but not the end. What does that suggest about the difference between making a faithful start and continuing in a faithful life? [31:25]
4. The world can call something smart, strategic, safe, and even good. How can a disciple recognize when the world’s version of good is not the same as Christlike goodness? [32:30]

Application questions

1. Jesus’ question invites a personal answer. If someone sat down this week and tried to describe who they are before God in clear words, what might be easy to say, and what might be hard to say? [29:54]
2. Becoming the person God created someone to be takes intentionality. What is one practice, habit, or choice that could help a life stop drifting and turn more intentionally toward Christ? [30:53]
3. Baptism is a starting place on the path of discipleship. Whether baptism happened long ago or not yet, what would it look like to treat this season as a real beginning with God instead of just another week? [31:35]
4. Following Jesus is not simply about being nice or respectable. Where is the pressure strongest right now to settle for what looks good on the outside instead of what is truly godly? [32:02]
5. There are moments when one path feels safe and the other feels loving, grace-filled, and costly. Can the group think of a real-life situation—at work, in family life, in friendship, or in public life—where that kind of choice shows up? [36:06]
6. Gospel courage often involves care for vulnerable people. Who is easy to overlook right now, and what might costly mercy look like in response to that person or group? [35:26]
7. Discipleship is not meant to be done alone. What kind of support, honesty, or accountability would help this group become a place where people can actually move closer to the person God created them to be? [39:33]