The Question That Changes Everything: Who Is Jesus?

Matthew’s scene in Caesarea Philippi begins with Jesus asking what sounds like a neighbor question: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” But Jesus is not checking approval ratings or wondering whether the Jesus brand is hitting. Jesus is leading the disciples from public opinion into a much harder place, the place where borrowed answers will not do.

The disciples can report the crowd just fine. Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, some say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Those are not bad answers, because those names carry weight. They are people who spoke for God, confronted power, challenged injustice, and called people back to fullness. Still, those answers stop short. The crowds can tell that Jesus is not the usual kind of person, but they have not quite figured out what the difference means.

The name of Jesus still lands differently in different lives. Some hear great teacher, prophet, revolutionary, Lord and Savior. Others hear judgment, exclusion, locked doors, and tables where they were told they did not belong. The church does not get to dismiss those wounds. The way Christians live shapes what people believe about the Jesus Christians proclaim. If Jesus is called love while people experience judgment, if Jesus is called welcome while doors are guarded, people will believe what they have actually encountered.

Jesus then turns the question toward the disciples: “Who do you say I am?” Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” That word living matters. Peter is not confessing a God who used to speak, used to act, surprised people two thousand years ago, and then put his feet up. The living God is still speaking, still healing, still challenging, still disrupting, still freeing, and still expanding grace.

That living God is hard to control. A God made in a person’s own image always seems to hate the same people that person hates, and that god is easy. The living God may reveal that something called faithfulness is really just tradition. Tradition can be beautiful, but tradition is supposed to help people follow Jesus. Jesus is not supposed to follow tradition.

Peter’s confession comes from watching Jesus touch the untouchable, feed the hungry, challenge religious authority, cross respectable boundaries, and make room for those told they did not belong. Confessing Jesus as Lord cannot stay a correct theological box. If Jesus is Lord, money, power, nationalism, comfort, and neighborly opinion cannot be Lord.

The gates of hell are not attacking the church, because gates do not attack anybody. Gates keep people trapped or locked out. Jesus gives keys to a church called to open doors, set people free, widen the table, and become an answer with its life. God is not finished with the church, the world, or any person still being changed by the living God.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus moves past borrowed answers. Jesus begins with what other people are saying, but the real question will not stay outside a person’s own soul. Family answers, church answers, denominational answers, and favorite theologian answers can only carry someone so far. Peter’s confession shows that discipleship has to become personal without becoming private, because the answer must take shape in a visible life. [47:06]
• 2. The living God still disrupts. Peter names Jesus as the Son of the living God, not the mascot of a settled religious system. A living God cannot be boxed up, systemized, or kept safely in the past. The living God keeps challenging what feels comfortable, especially when comfort has been mistaken for faithfulness. [48:47]
• 3. Tradition must serve Jesus. Tradition can be beautiful, rich, and deeply helpful, but it is not the highest order. When preserving tradition becomes more important than loving people, the church is off the rails. Faithful tradition points toward Jesus, but dead tradition expects Jesus to defend the way things have always been. [52:38]
• 4. Confession must change something. A confession that never changes anything is just words. If Jesus is Lord, then money, power, comfort, and public opinion lose their right to rule. The truth of the confession shows up in forgiveness, generosity, justice, and in who is allowed to pull up a chair at the table. [61:15]
• 5. Keys can open or lock doors. Jesus’ talk about keys places real responsibility on the church. The question is whether those keys are being used to add burdens or set people free. A church participating in the kingdom of God spends less energy protecting religious systems and more energy saying, “Come and see. There’s room for you here.” [58:30]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [38:43] - What Would the Neighbors Think?
• [40:35] - Jesus Is Not Polling Opinions
• [43:35] - Listening to Wounded Perceptions
• [46:45] - Who Do You Say I Am?
• [47:52] - The Son of the Living God
• [49:20] - The God Made in an Image
• [51:22] - When Tradition Becomes the Problem
• [53:28] - Peter Watches Jesus Live
• [56:09] - If Jesus Is Lord
• [56:51] - Gates Do Not Attack
• [58:30] - What Are the Keys Doing?
• [59:36] - Who Are People Because of Jesus?
• [61:55] - Who Is Crossroads Becoming?
• [65:44] - God Is Not Finished

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. [40:52] [46:45] [47:03] [48:04] [48:10] [57:05] [58:30]

Matthew 15:21-28
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. [55:17]

Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” [54:07]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 16, what answers do the disciples report from the crowds before Jesus asks them the more direct question?
2. What exact words does Peter use to answer Jesus, and what title for God stands out in his confession? [48:10]
3. In the passages leading up to Peter’s confession, what are some of the things Peter has seen Jesus do? [54:34]
4. In Matthew 16, what images does Jesus use when speaking about the church’s calling and responsibility: rock, gates, and keys? [58:30]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus begins with “Who do people say?” and then moves to “Who do you say?” What does that shift suggest about the difference between secondhand belief and real discipleship? [47:06]
2. Peter calls Jesus “the Son of the living God.” How does that shape the way a group understands God’s work now, not just in the past? [48:47]
3. Jesus speaks about gates and keys right after Peter’s confession. How might that connect right belief about Jesus with the church’s responsibility to open doors rather than guard them? [57:44]
4. Peter’s confession comes after watching Jesus cross boundaries, welcome outsiders, and make room for people others pushed aside. What does that suggest about the kind of Messiah Jesus is? [55:27]

Application questions

1. Jesus does not leave the question at public opinion. Where is there a temptation right now to lean on borrowed answers about Jesus instead of answering him honestly from the heart? [47:18]
2. The way Christians live shapes what people believe about Jesus. Has there been a time when someone likely experienced more judgment than love, or more exclusion than welcome, through a Christian’s words or actions? What would repentance or repair look like there? [46:11]
3. A living God is not easy to control. Where might comfort, habit, or certainty be keeping someone from hearing a fresh challenge from God? [51:22]
4. Tradition is meant to help people follow Jesus, not the other way around. Is there a tradition, preference, or “this is how it’s always been” instinct that may be getting in the way of loving people well? [52:38]
5. If Jesus is Lord, then money, power, nationalism, comfort, and other people’s opinions cannot be Lord. Which of those rivals most often competes for first place in everyday life? [56:13]
6. Keys can lock doors or open them. In ordinary life or in church life, what does it look like to use the keys in a way that sets people free, lightens burdens, and says, “There’s room for you here”? [58:45]
7. A confession that never changes anything is just words. What is one concrete change that would show Jesus’ lordship more clearly in the use of time, money, speech, forgiveness, or hospitality this week? [01:01:23]