Old Llantrisant Hill
Introduction
- Looking at v18-26
- Many people are talking about Coronavirus
- Lots of panic buying
- The government are advising us to take precautions
- Are people considering the greater questions of life?
- The greater questions of life
- Examples
- Who is Jesus Christ? - Saviour and Lord
- So many titles for Jesus Christ
- How did people understand Jesus in the 1st Century?
- Initially as a son of Joseph and Mary
- As He performed miracles, peoples opinions changed
- v19 - John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah and one of the Old Testament prophets
- Yet none are saying the Messiah
- Jesus asks His disciples
- Peter sees that He is the Christ (v20)
- Yet the people did not see Jesus as their Messiah
- Do we see Jesus as the Son of God?
- What does this really mean for us?
- Overview
- Who is He?
- What does it mean for you?
Who is He?
- The Gospels are written so you should answer the question 'who is Jesus?'
- The central question raised by Jesus' ministry and miracles
- Herod the Tetrarch had his opinion - Luke 9:9
- The people thought He was a prophet - Luke
- Jesus had withdrawn to pray in Caesera Philippi
- Greater detail in Matthew and Mark's gospel - example
- Many of the disciples had turned back - John 6:66
- Jesus turns to His disciples and ask them 'who do you say that I am?'
- Peter states Jesus is the Christ - but what did they understand by this?
- John 1:41 - Andrew had said they had found the Messiah - explanation
- Luke 5:10-11 – Surely He was already their Lord
- Luke 8:26 - They heard the demoniac cry out that Jesus was Lord
- How did Peter (and the disciples) come to this conclusion?
- Logical deduction?
- A spiritual revelation from God - the illumination of the Holy Spirit
- cf. 1 Cor 2:14
- cf. 1 Cor 12:3
- They are still not understanding everything about the Messiah
- Jesus teaches them further - v22
- The disciples could not understand this
- Peter rebukes Jesus, who responds "Get behind Me satan"
- What do you understand?
- That 'you' is emphatic
- Who do you say that Christ is?
- We don't need a full understanding
- Our deeper understanding will develop as our Christian walk continues
- It was not the time for the disciples to reveal these things
- He was emphatic that the Son of Man must suffer many things
- The disciples did not understand this
- Sin is so terrible
- It murdered the Son of God
- It must be paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ
- Example of Hymn
- Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself for us
- Jesus rose the third day victorious over death, sin and hell
- He is the Son of Man
What does it mean for you?
- We have a choice
- Are we going to continue to live for our personal gain?
- Are we going to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him
- Jesus is calling us to deny ourselves
- For Him to take Lordship over our lives
- To die to self
- Self-sacrifice
- The path of holiness and humility
- A Christian follows Him
- v24 - If you try to preserve your life/live for yourself, you will lose your life
- If you give up your life to follow Him, you will gain everything
- v25 - repeated with a different emphasis
- Believe on the Lord and you shall be saved
- v26 - At the heavenly judgment - those who have denied and are ashamed of Him, He will deny them before the Father
- What is your identity?
- Is it bound up with Jesus Christ?
- 'Good' people are a dead end
- The only one we should follow is Jesus Christ
Closing Remarks