Thomas J Parlette
“A Question of Identity”
Matt. 16: 13-20
8/23/26
In his 1936 lecture, “The Presentation of New Testament Texts,” the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer proposed an alternative strategy for how to read scripture. Instead of questioning the Bible from their standpoint, as many German Christians were doing at the time, Bonhoeffer challenged people to let the Bible question them. (1) Ninety years later, I’m amazed at how well this challenge holds up.
In this morning’s text from Matthew, we find Jesus questioning his disciples – “Who do people say that I am?”, and then a follow-up question, “Who do you say I am?”
This sets the stage for Peter to make his confession of faith – “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” One of the many names we use to describe who Jesus is. There are other names, of course.
Saint Thomas Aquinas called Jesus “the perfect mediator between God and humanity.”
Theologian Horace Bushnell named Jesus “the poor man’s philosopher, the first and only one that has appeared.”
Fidel Castro said Jesus is “a great revolutionary.”
George Bernard Shaw called him “a first-rate political economist.”
Johnny Cash said he was “the foundation of my life and my strength.”
Author and storyteller John Shea describes Jesus as “God’s challenge and invitation.”
And the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins says, “Jesus is our hero, a hero all the world wants.” (2)
So, who is Jesus? That is the question before us today.
Jesus questions his disciples in the beautiful town of Caesarea Philippi. The town is known for two things. It is home to a splendid summer palace for the Emperor and an enormous shrine carved into the side of a mountain that housed little statues to all the various Greek gods, including the Greek god Pan.
As Jesus and the disciples looked up at this shrine to all the different gods people worshipped, Jesus posed his question – “Who do people say that I am.” The disciples throw out a couple of possibilities they have heard – John the Baptist, Elijah, maybe Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Jesus nods his head, still gazing at the shrine of god – statues. “I see, I expected that – but who do you say I am?”
This throws the disciples for a loop, they aren’t sure what the right answer is. Finally, Simon Peter answered – “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
That’s the answer Jesus is looking for – “Right you are Simon, son of Jonah! And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Three ideas worth noting in Jesus’ answer:
First – Jesus tells Peter, “on this rock I will build my church…”
What does he mean by that? Since about the fourth century, the Catholic church has interpreted that verse as the foundation of the office of the Pope. It is here that Peter becomes the first pope, and the position has been passed down ever since. Protestants interpret this a little differently. We see the rock not so much as the person of Peter, but the confession of faith he makes. When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah the Son of the living God, that is what Jesus intends as the foundation of the church he will build – not one person, but the faith that is confessed.
Second idea worth noting – Jesus intends to build a church that not even the gates of Hades will be able to prevail against. In other words, Jesus will build a church that cannot be defeated by the powers of this world – not even the greatest enemy of humanity, death itself. It’s important to remember that Hades, as referred to here, is not the same as Hell. Hell is a place of punishment and torture, a place where sinners are condemned to an eternity apart from God. Hades is different. Hades is the place of the dead. Hades is not a place intended for punishment and judgment, it is simply the place where the dead go – the good and the bad, when they die, they all end up in Hades. So Jesus is promising that the church he will build will prevail against all challenges and difficulties – even the most fearful challenge of death itself.
And finally, the third idea worth noting – Jesus promises that he will give to the church, through Peter, the keys to the kingdom. These keys give the church the power to bind and to loose. To use some updated language, Jesus gives to the church the power and responsibility to interpret the Word of God.
So we started with a question about the identity of Jesus. Peter gives the answer Jesus is looking for. And now Jesus answers a question that hasn’t been asked. Who is the Church? What does it mean to be the Chruch? What is our identity?
First, we are formed by Jesus, to continue the work that he has started. What is this work – is it to conquer the world and make believers of all nations and races? That sounds good, that sounds like the right answer – but Jesus doesn’t ever do that. What Jesus does is exhibit the Kingdom of God. Jesus shows us with his daily living what the Kingdom of God is like – as opposed to the Kingdom of his day, the Roman Empire. Jesus models a Kingdom built on love, peace, justice, self-sacrifice and mercy. That is Jesus’ way. And Jesus will build his church to continue to teach this to the world.
Jesus also gives assurance that the church he builds will survive – it will prevail against all enemies – even the ultimate enemy of death. Sure, the form and structure of the church may change – but it will prevail, because Jesus, the Son of the living God, is the one who is building it. Not us, not the disciples, not his followers – but Jesus himself.
It is Jesus who gives the church the authority to teach in his name and interpret the kingdom of God to the world.
In the words of Mark Allan Powell, Matthew is convinced that “the church has the authority to declare God’s will not because it exhibits more insight or greater faithfulness to God than others but because Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has chosen to be present in the church and to exercise his authority on earth through this community.” (3)
The church has been given a daunting task – to interpret the will of God to the world. In this passage, the manner in which Jesus declares what is “binding” and what is “loosed” becomes a model for how the church is to practice its task. Scripture is not static; it must be reapplied to new situations. Just as Jesus applies the teachings of the Torah in fresh and creative ways, the church must be emboldened to interpret the teachings of Jesus in new and inspired ways. (4)
William Willimon tells the story about the time a student came to see him and asked him to explain to her the difference between Christianity and Judaism. She told Willimon that she was in love with man who was Jewish. They were both law students and they were thinking about getting married. How would they deal with the difficult differences.
Willimon jokingly told her that he had known people who married lawyers and everything worked out fine – which was not what she meant at all. She was worried about the differences in their faiths. So, they discussed rituals, festivals and theological beliefs. Then the student asked a fundamental question.
“When it comes down to it, what is the one thing that makes Christians, Christian?”
The answer was not pot luck dinners, gold crosses wore on the neck or scripture verses tattooed on your arms. Willimon said, “The thing that makes us who we are is who Jesus is. Jesus Christ IS Christianity.” (5)
So there really are two questions of identity before us this morning:
Who is Jesus? – Peter hits the nail on the head, “The Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”
And, who is the Church? We learn this answer from Jesus. We are the community built by Jesus himself so that Jesus’ teachings may continue in this world. And the forces of this world will never overcome it.
God doesn’t need us to conquer the world. God has already done that. Jesus came to show us that God needs us to tell the world what God has already done.
God has already conquered the powers of this world, through Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
And for that, May God be praised. Amen.
1. L. Gregory Jones, Christian Century, June 1st, 2004.
2. Alice Camille, U.S. Catholic, August, 2002.
3. Mark Allan Powell, Fortress Introduction to the Gospels, Minneapolis Augsburg Press, 1998, p 80.
4. Mitchell G. Reddish, Feasting on the Word, Year 1, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p 385.
5. William Willimon, “Who do you say that I am?” August 22nd, 1999, Duke Chapel Web Site, chapel.duke.edu.
