Sermons
THOU ART THE CHRIST OF GOD
Series: The Glory of ChristTHOU ART THE CHRIST OF GOD
Pt.8 - “The Glory Of Christ”
Sermon Outline By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / March 15, 2015
In this series of sermon on the glory of Christ we are working our way through the gospels.
During His earthly ministry, there was a sense in which Jesus was quite ORDINARY.
In a passage that we sometimes overlook, Isaiah the prophet announced God’s intention for Jesus (Isa.53:2-3)
He grew up before Him like a tender shot, And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him,
nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Isa.53:2-3 is echoed in Heb.2:17 - - this ordinariness of Jesus was at the heart of God’s plan.
He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faith-
ful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Yet the GLORY of Christ could not be contained.
As one progresses through the gospel accounts (individually and collectively) His glory is revealed.
Even though Jesus emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form
of a bondservant, in the likeness of man (Philp.2:7), His glory shines through!
Slowly but surely others around Him begin to see that 4 Jesus is not completely ordinary.
He’s a man, but He is more than just a man.
He is not just another prophet in a long line of prophets like Elijah or Jeremiah or John the Baptizer.
JESUS IS EXCEPTIONAL.
He is the Son of Man … He is The Christ/The Messiah … He is the Son of the living God.
} Open your New Testament to Matthew 16:13-20 |
Our sermon this morning tells of another event in the life of Jesus - - one that takes place in Caesarea Philippi.
In the New Testament we read of two cities named Caesarea.
Caesarea (Maritima) was a very large city in Judea and was a major harbor on the seacoast of the Mediterranean.
It was built by Herod the Great to honor of Augustus Caesar and was It was the military and political headquarters
for the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate. It was also the home to Cornelius as note in Acts 10.
Caesarea Philippi was a much smaller town. It was located in the north central section of Galilee, not far from
Mount Hermon. It was built by Philip, the son of Herod the Great and half-brother of Herod Antipas.
It’s name was meant to honor both Philip and Tiberius Caesar.
?
R.C. Sproul suggests that this trip taken by Jesus most likely occurred in the last year of His ministry.
During this time “Jesus’ popularity with the crowds had dwindled, and even some of His disciples had deserted Him.
Many were frustrated by Jesus’ steadfast refusal to adapt His ministry to the style of (a) conquering King…”
In essence, He was not the kind of Messiah they had envisioned.
The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had developed a strong antipathy and hostility toward Him.
Herod Antipas had become suspicious of Jesus’ possible political aspirations.
In his book, New Testament Times, Merrill Tenney writes:
“The synoptics convey the impression that Jesus tried to stay out of Herod’s territory:
John indicates that He remained away from Jerusalem until the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn.7:1-2).
One may conclude that the entire summer of the last year was a period of great uncertainty in which the popular
opinion was fluctuating, favor was diminishing, and the shadow of the cross was deepening over Jesus’ consciousness.”
Yet, unlike many political leaders throughout the years, Jesus was not driven by popularity.
In Jn.4:34, Jesus declared, “My meat/food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work.”
Lk.9:18 notes that 4 While there in Caesarea Philippi, “Jesus was praying alone…”
Nothing about the ministry of Jesus was driven by “the polls”. His directive wasn’t charted by the whims of the people.
The story that unfolds in Caesarea Philippi becomes a turning point (a watershed event) for Jesus and His disciples.
Here, in a climate of uncertainty concerning Jesus on the part of many, Jesus schools His disciples with an important lesson.
? He did so by asking a simple question of His disciples: WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS? ?
This question contained within it a strong hint as to the right answer.
In speaking of Himself as “the Son of Man” Jesus was not referring to His humanity.
In this case, He was reaching back into the Old Testament to borrow from the prophecy of Daniel (Dan.7:13-14).
Daniel told of one like a son of man who was given authority & glory and a kingdom that would never be destroyed.
The disciple(s) initially responded by saying,
“Some say (You) are John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Then, Jesus probed a bit deeper by asking 4 “BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?”
As was often the case, the apostle Peter (who was not the least bit shy), spoke up.
vs.16 states, “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God’.”
Peter passed the test with flyers colors. His answer was perfect.
In that moment, Peter SAW JESUS CLEARLY at a time when others seemed trapped in a fog of uncertainty.
Peter declared that Jesus was God’s Anointed One … that Jesus was THE MESSIAH.
This is a beloved (and familiar) “golden text” for all Christians.
If we were quizzed as to what comes next (R.C. Sproul notes that he frequently does this with His students),
we would likely respond by saying … Jesus follows up on Peter’s declaration by saying (vs.18)
7
You are Peter, upon this ROCK I will build My church; And the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
ö Yet wedged in between verse 16 & verse 18 is a key statement that we might easily overlook. ö
vs.174 Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh & blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Here we find another occasion when the glory of Christ is revealed!
This was a God-given revelation to Simon Peter.
To be clear about this - - while Peter announces his answer with certainty and clarity, He still has a lot of learning to do.
} Read from Mt.16:21-23 |
From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things
from the elders and chief priest and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.
And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him saying,
‘God forbid it, Lord!’ This shall never happen to You.
But (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me;
For you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s’.
It was one thing to affirm that Jesus was The Messiah.
But it was to take more revelations from God & Christ to fully grasp the manner in which Jesus would be Messiah.
------------------------------
On a more personal note, isn’t it wonderfully encouraging to see how Jesus dealt with Peter?.
One minute Jesus dubs Peter as a “rock” and the next minute he calls him “Satan”.
Yet, in spite of his weakness and lack of understanding Jesus did not excommunicate or disfellowship Peter.
Jesus knows full well our human condition.
A few chapters earlier (Mt.14:22-33), Jesus had watched Peter briefly walk on the water
before he began sink - - when he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused instead on the wind and the waves.
? Peter’s love for Jesus was admirable, to say the least. ?
And Jesus knew that … and He was tenacious about not giving up on Peter.
A few chapters later (Mt.26:33) Peter would boast,
“Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”
Luke’s gospel reveals that Jesus foresaw another peril that Peter would soon face and warned him (Lk.22:31):
“Simon, Simon, behold Satan had demanded permission to sift you like wheat…
but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail;
and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
The story of Peter (and us) is captured in Song #525 / He Knows Just What I Need.
We’ll sing that song at the close of this morning’s worship.
While not directly stated as such, this side-story is also a REVELATION OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST.
We can be sure that Jesus is patient and longsuffering with us … just as His was with Peter
and the other apostles and disciples that we encounter in the pages of Scripture.
Peter writes in 2Pet.3:9 that “God is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish…”
What a truly amazing Messiah and Savior we see in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Even though He emptied Himself and did not count equality with God as something to be clung to (Philp.2:6),
His GLORY could neither be contained nor hidden.
“What a mighty God we serve…angels bow before Him, heaven and earth adore Him, what a mighty God we serve.”
