Tabor Baptist Church

• Do you ever speak about spiritual things when traveling on a journey?
• Jesus never confined spiritual things to the temple or synagogue
• He has healed a mean in Bethsaida and is heading northwards
• He asks them a question - who do men say that I am?
• He wants to know from the disciples what people believe about His identity
• Some say John the Baptist
• At this point he had died
• Herod was afraid that John the Baptist had risen from the dead
• That rumour had got round and some believed that Jesus was John the Baptist
• Some say Elijah
• Elijah was to come
• Another one was to come in the spirit and the power of Elijah - this would be the precursor of the Messiah
• Some are saying that Jesus is not the Messiah but has come as a fore runner to the Messiah
• Others say one of the prophets
• Just like one of the men from the Old Testament who heralded the Word of God
• Who taught the Jews the Word of God
• Jesus questions the disciples - who do you say I am?
• Peter makes the confession that Jesus is the Christ
• Matt 16:16 - "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"
• Up until this point the disciples had not confessed that Jesus was the Messiah
• They had understood His deity
• They had understood He was the Son of God - they made this confession when He walked on the waters
• They hadn't understood He was the Messiah
• The disciples had come with a lot of baggage
• They had been taught that:
• He would overthrow the enemies of Israel
• He would reign with the people of God over the nations
• He would be a political figure
• He would bring a time of unusual peace and prosperity to the nation
• Israel would become the foremost nation in the world
• This is how the disciples in their infancy understood the Messiah
• Here was Jesus teaching, preaching and performing miracles
• He wasn't getting rid of the romans or proclaiming great peace in the land
• For Peter to make this declaration he was going against all cultural understanding of who the Messiah was
• Having made this declaration Jesus strictly warns the disciples not to tell others about it (v30)
• This is still not the time to declare
• Mark knew that Jesus was the Christ (1:1)
• What is your view of Jesus Christ?
• How do you understand Him, His person, His identity?
• For some He is just a religious guru like Gandhi - just someone to follow
• For some you need to follow His life and His deeds, not so much His teachings but to following His morality
• For others it is one big hoax: twisted miracles of the disciples, nothing really in
• The Bible and history has answers to that line of thought
• Why would so many die for a hoax?
• For others they couldn't care less, His name is a swear word
• What do you think?
• Jesus turned to the disciples and said what do you think?

Brief overview of Great Confession and Great Blunder

Great Confession

• The church of God will be made upon this great confession
• This was a great confession
• The other disciples hadn't seen it
• The Messiah was the anointed one
• Jesus had the Spirit without measure
• He performed miracles by the power of God
• Isa 35 - He would open the eyes of the blind and open the ears of the deaf - Jesus was performing these miracles
• The disciples did not yet understand that Jesus was the promised Messiah
• The demons had already confessed that Jesus was the Son of God
• He commanded them to keep quiet
• When Jesus walked on water the disciples knew He was the Son of God
• He also commanded them to keep quiet
• Simon Peter said Jesus 'had the words of eternal life'
• They had seen He was the Son of God but they hadn't seen He was the promised Messiah
• Peter came to this confession
• It was not through logical deduction or powers of reasoning
• The revelation did not come in a vacuum - he had seen Jesus' teaching and miracles
• Matt 16:17 - it is nothing to do with you but the Father in Heaven
• Why not any of the other disciples?
• Peter was to become the main spokesman of the Church in Jerusalem
• It was God's grace to chose Peter
• Jesus had been ministering for two years
• There was nothing beautiful in His appearance
• He had no political clout
• He was poor and lived in other people's homes
• Peter understood it by revelation from the Father
• What about you and I?
• Do you need a revelation to understand who Jesus is this morning?
• We have the Scripture to see who He is
• We do need a revelation from the Holy Spirit to see who Jesus is
• 1 Cor 12:3 - "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit"
• We need to pray for others or for ourselves if you are not converted
• Unbelievers are dead in their trespasses and sins
• In order to become a Christian you must be made alive
• You need a spiritual life and resurrection power
• This is the work of the Holy Spirit

The work of the Holy Spirit

• He brings life, He brings power
• 1 Cor 2:14 - "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned"
• John 6:35 - "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
• Come to Me and I will satisfy you completely
• Believe in Me and you shall never thirst
• John 6:37 - "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out."
• Those who come to me the Father has already given to me
• All who have been given to the Lord Jesus will never be cast out
• John 6:44 - "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him"
• It is nothing to do with you or attending church, etc
• Salvation is of the Lord - it is a spiritual work
• John 6:63-65 - "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”"
• If you will come to Him and believe in Him you need the drawing power of the Father
• Some might say - 'I'll never become a Christian, maybe God will never draw me'
• Don't use this an an excuse
• The Bible says to you come and believe

The work of the Son

• Matt 11:25-27 - "At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”"
• Jesus gloried in the sovereignty of God
• God has hidden these things from the wise and the stuck up, but has revealed them to babes
• How much do we speak of our choice, How much do we speak of Christ's choice
• Matt 11:28-30 - "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
• Reconciling God's will and our responsibility
• We are not meant to understand this
• There are secret things that belong to the Lord God
• We must accept the two truths: God's sovereignty and man's responsibility
• We must believe them as they are taught in Scripture
• If anyone is wondering is god drawing me, God is calling you to come

• Peter and the apostles are convinced
• Are you convinced?

Great Blunder

• A great confession but a sad mistake
• Are we not like this?
• We have strengths and weakness
• At one minute doing the work of God and the next minute failing miserably
• We have a new nature but we also have an old nature
• We have see a lot of Peter in ourselves
• Jesus rebukes Peter very sternly
• Jesus knows that satan doesn't want Jesus to go to the cross
• Jesus knows the cross is the only way
• Jesus says He "must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (v31)
• Peter didn't want to see his Saviour suffering
• Sometimes we have good intentions for others
• We say to people pull out of this situation
• God may be saying 'prove My grace in this situation'
• Through the suffering you will know My help
• For Christ the way of suffering was imperative - the cross was the only way that we could ever be forgiven
• because of this Jesus had to use the sternest words possible - "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men"
• We must be vigilant
• When is all is going well, be careful
• Be careful that your thinking is biblical
• Be careful that what you say is line with the will of God

• Ultimately his passage is telling us: we need to understand who Jesus is and why He has come
• If you understand why He has come then you will be saved