Or if you take your Bibles and
turn with me to Matthew chapter 16. Matthew. Chapter 16. Be looking at. Versus one down through verse. Seventeen. I won't take the time
to read the whole thing. The title of the message is Who
is Jesus? Who is Jesus? Lord, the situation here is that
the Pharisees had come and Sadducees came to Jesus, tempting, desired
him that he they would that he would show them a sign from heaven. Our Lord here warns against the
doctrine of the scribe, of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And
he says to his disciples after they had asked this question,
he tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which
we know in verse 12 is the doctrine of the Pharisees, the doctrine
of the Pharisees. The doctrine of these religious
rulers was that they would demand a sign from heaven. They would demand from Jesus
a sign from heaven so that they would believe. They said they
came to him asking, desiring of him a sign from heaven. There had just recently in these
passages of Scripture been two instances which the Lord showed
a great miracle. He fed 4,000 men with seven loaves
and a few fishes, and before that He fed 5,000 with five loaves. And the disciples had taken up
several baskets, and this is not The only thing that the Lord
did as far as miracles, he showed miracles by healing the sick,
raising the dead. And yet they still desired more
proof. They desired more proof. This
is also the demand of the evil generation in which we live. Always seeking more proof. always desiring more proof and
signs and wonders. Men are always demanding miracles,
some physical evidence that Jesus is the son of God. Beware such
doctrine. Beware such men. In our day,
so-called Christians are scurrying around trying to get evidence
that the word of God is infallible. Men are trying to dig up historical
ruins to prove the authority of the Word of God. They spend
their days considering arguments of men
by philosophy and apologetic study. And in all these efforts,
they are trying to prove what has already been proven. Beware
of such men who try to prove what already has been proven.
An evil, Jesus tells these men that desire to sign, he says
in verse four, a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after sign. And there shall no sign be given
unto it, but that which is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Believer in Christ, beware of
the doctrine of religion that seeks miracles, signs, proof
or evidence. of what God has already revealed
in His Word. This is the only sign that men
need. This is the only sign of the
truth and authority of Jesus Christ and the Word of God is
the empty tomb. The sign of the prophet Jonah.
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale.
Even so, must the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth? This is the sign. Jesus, who
is greater than Jonah and Solomon, has come. And the signs that
prove God's Word Jesus' deity and authority is that he was
crucified, died, buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures. What other proof do men need
than what God has given? I was looking at this and the
apostle tells us that there were, I know, 120 in that upper room. when the Lord Jesus Christ was
there and the Apostle Paul tells us above 500 saw him after he
had risen from the dead, that's more than we're there for the
signing of the Declaration of Independence. What more proof do we need? What
more evidence do we need? No man will ever believe on Jesus
Christ because of our great ability to speak, because of our great
witness of proofs. Nobody's going to believe because
you have such great skill that you can answer every question
they have. If you answer every question
a man has and the Holy Spirit does not reveal the Lord Jesus
Christ to that man, he will not believe. Salvation does not come
by our great ability to answer hard questions. No man will ever
believe because of our great knowledge of vain philosophy. And even if we could do great
miracles, no man would believe because of our miracles. You
know, miracles, they can give false faith, can't they? You
remember the Lord Jesus Christ, he did wonders and miracles. And the scripture says in John
chapter 2, verse 23 through 25, it says, Many believed on him,
but Jesus did not commit himself unto them. These men were not
true believers. They believed the miracles, but
they didn't believe the person. Jesus knows who his people are
and who will believe. Beware the doctrine of this religious
age that is ever learning and never coming to the knowledge
of the truth. Beware them. Salvation of sinners comes not
by what you see or what you know, but rather whom you know. Whom? Paul said, I know whom
I have believed. I know whom? Not what? Who? Salvation is in a person. It's not in a deed, it's not
in a miracle, it's not in a sign or a wonder. Salvation is in
a person. And that person is Jesus Christ. And so after this warning of
the Lord, the gifts concerning these the eleven of the Pharisees,
their doctrine, he asked them a question. Look at this in verse
13. And when Jesus came into the
coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Jesus was not asking
for information, was he? He knew what men thought of them,
but he used this as a tool, a teaching tool, to draw out the minds of
his disciples. Who do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? And He did this so that they
might be comforted in that they knew whom they had believed. Jesus would comfort His people
by confirming this. We know whom we have believed. Disciples, they gave an answer.
They answered and said, some say John the Baptist, some say
Elias, some say Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Isn't that what
people say when you ask them, what do men say that Jesus is? What do you what do you think
Jesus is? Who do you think Jesus is? Some say this. Some say that. Some say another. These are all conjectures, aren't
they? These were guesses. How could Jesus be John the Baptist?
That's impossible. No one else could be John the
Baptist but John the Baptist. No one else could be Elijah but
Elijah. No one else could be Jeremiah but Jeremiah. And yet
they would rather believe that they were risen from the dead
and manifest themselves in another person than to believe on the
Son of God, to believe that Jesus is the Christ. These are conjectures
of men that have no basis in truth. Today, we have many conjectures. I'll tell you this, I don't want
a conjecture. I don't want to guess. Who Jesus
is. I want to know. I want to know. Who he is. Truly, these prophets
spoke of Jesus, they were types of Jesus, but there was only
one Jesus Christ. And no man will ever know the
person, character and work of Christ by guessing. We know this, that everyone who
knows Jesus Christ is not by accident. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's not by chance, not by your good education. The only way to know Jesus Christ
is that the Father revealed it. Look at verse 17. Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. If you know who
Jesus Christ is, it is by revelation. It is by a miracle of God's grace.
John in 1 John 5.20 says, And we know that the Son of God is
come and hath given us understanding. Given us understanding. So then,
Jesus now will display the error of the many clamoring voices. He will silence the voices of
guesses and conjectures by the Holy Spirit through His Apostle
Peter. The Lord Jesus asked this question,
Whom do ye say that I am? It's one thing to ask what do
other people say about Jesus. It's altogether different to
be introspective, to look within and see what whom do you personally
say. that Jesus is. This is a very
personal question. There is no more important question.
A lot of questions, aren't there? People ask a lot of questions.
But what question is more important than this? Is there any other
question more important than this? Jesus asking, whom do ye
say that I am? It is this question that is personal
to each of us and eternal life and death will be the result
of its answer. Soon and very soon, we will all
face the judgment of God. This is a sure thing. I as a kid, I was I went through
the cemetery doing stuff for school and I was reading epitaphs. And the saying on the gravestone
and one of the sayings was very, very poignant. I have never forgot
it. It says, I, too, was once like you and you, too, shall
soon be like me. Is that not so? That man that was lying in the
ground, he was dead and he was once young like you. He was once
living like you. He once had a family like you.
He once had a life like you. He once had a job, a career. He had all these things. He had
money, possessions. And now then he recognizes this,
that all men are moving toward the grave. All men are moving
toward judgment. All flesh is grass. How often do you think of grass
other than you have to cut it? What do you think about it? Nothing. All flesh is grass and the glory
of man is a flower. In other words, the beauty, the
best that men have to offer is like that weed that grows out
of the grass. It looks like a flower. It fades away. Your beauty will
fade away. Your glory will fade away, all
flesh is grass. But the word of the Lord endureth
forever. We are born dying and soon will
pass away like grass, our beauty will fade and soon no one will
ever know we were here but God. Did you know that man that I
just read his epitaph? Do you know anything about him?
I didn't know a thing about him. Soon and very soon, You and I
will be just a forgotten piece of grass, and no one will know
we're here. Why is it that we value the opinions
of men so much when we're all headed toward judgment? What
good is that? And listen very carefully to
this. However you leave this life is how you'll end up for
eternity in the next. There is no changing. Go to Revelation
22. Read this very carefully. Revelation 22 and verse 11. After everything's done. After
death is put away, after everything's been accomplished, heaven is
established and Hell beneath is established. Listen to what
the scripture says. He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still. He that is filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that is righteous, let him
be righteous still, and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I come quickly and
my reward is with me to give every man according to his as
his work shall be. We, by nature, are unjust. We, by nature, are filthy. David said, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my
mother conceive me. When you were just in the womb
of your mother, you were full of iniquity, full of sin. We were born dead in sins. And so then, all we do by nature
is sin. There is none righteous, no,
not one. None. You are not righteous by
nature. I am not righteous by nature. I was not born righteous, and
there is nothing I can do in my nature that is righteous.
What about if I do my best? What if I start and start doing
good? Well, here's the problem with
that. There is none that do it good.
No, not one. You're not righteous and you
can't do good to be righteous. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. What hope is that? If we're born
in sin, if we die in sin, and we're unjust, we're unholy, and
we die in this, we're going to be unholy and unjust for eternity. Is there any way that we can
be righteous? Is there any way for us to have
a hope? Yes. There's only one. There's only one. And that is
to know who Jesus is. If you don't know who He is,
You have no hope. But everyone who knows him. Has
a good hope, good hope, a good assurance. Everyone that knows
what Peter knew, who say that I am, Peter answered, thou art
the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus is the only Christ. What does that mean to you? What
is that saying to you that he is the Christ? Does that have
any meaning to your heart? Christ. The word Christ is the
office of Jesus. It's the office that he feels
that he holds. This means that he was the promised
savior of God, that he must fulfill all the law and the prophets.
Do you realize that if Jesus failed in one prophecy, that
He is not the Christ? In order to be the Christ, He
must pass through every prophecy. He must fulfill every type and
picture and shadow of the Old Testament Scriptures. He must. He must be born of a virgin.
Why? The seed of the woman shall crush
the head of the serpent. The prophecy demands it. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son. This is prophecy in the Old Testament. And to deny the virgin birth
of Christ is to deny He is Christ. Well, I believe Jesus is the
Christ, but I don't believe that virgin birth stuff. You don't
know who He is. You don't believe He's the Christ.
You don't believe the Word of God. To believe that Jesus is
the Christ, we must know that He is the only faithful High
Priest and Mediator between God and men. Psalm 110, verse 4 says, Thou
art a priest, forever after the order of Melchizedek, which means
he has no beginning and he has no end. His priesthood is forever
an eternal priesthood. What is a priest? A priest is
someone that stands between you and God. He's someone that offers
the sacrifices to God that you can't offer. He was chosen of
God. And he was to offer sacrifices
for sin to God. That's what Jesus Christ was
prophesied to do. And to deny that He is the only
mediator between God and men is to deny that He is the Christ. I believe Jesus is the Christ,
but I think there are more ways to God. Well, you don't believe
He's Christ. To deny that is to deny His Christhood. Friends, Jesus was a representative
man. A representative man. And as such, He came into this
world to provide righteousness that we could not provide. He
came to obey the law of God that you and I have failed to obey. Great love for God. He, through
His faithfulness and obedience, obtained the righteousness of
God. The righteousness of God. By
His own obedience. And the scripture says in Isaiah
42, the Lord is well pleased for His righteousness sake. Behold, Jesus the Christ. He's all the righteousness of
God. Jesus merited the righteousness
of God and He gives it. He gives it to everyone who believes. Scripture says that the righteousness
of God without the law is clear, manifest. By the law and the
prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by the faith
of Jesus Christ. Unto all and upon all them that
believe. That trust that He is the Christ,
the Son of God. That righteousness is given to
all who believe on Him. To believe on Jesus Christ. To know that He is the Christ
is to know that He offered the only acceptable sacrifice for
sins. That He, by His one offering,
has forever satisfied the justice of God. This is what it means for him
to be the Christ, that by his one offering, he has perfected
forever them that God has sanctified. I like this. The scripture says
that when he had by his one offering, this man, by his one offering,
he sat down. Those priests never sat down
in the temple. They always were working. Always
were doing. Always were trying. Always were
doing their best. Never sat down. The Lord Jesus,
after His one offering for sin, He sat down. He's finished. The work is accomplished. Sinners, God will never accept
your poor offerings for sin. No amount of works could ever
atone for one sin. But without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. And to deny that Jesus righteousness
and blood is all our salvation, to deny that is to deny he is
Christ. The religious world says that
Jesus is the Christ, but man's got to have a part. Man's got
to have something to do with this. No. To add one thing to the person
and work of Christ, to add one thing you gotta do, to add one thing to His person
and work is to deny that He is the Christ. It's blasphemy. And those who
will put one work to Him deny His perfect salvation. We who
know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we who believe,
like Peter, who is he? Whom do you say that I, the Son
of Man, am? Who do you say that I am? I confess
with Peter, thou art the Christ. You fulfilled all Scripture.
You are the prophesied Messiah. You are the high priest. You
are the mediator, the only mediator. You have fulfilled the law and
the prophets. You've made my righteousness.
You've accomplished my redemption. You are the Son of the living
God. You are God manifest in the flesh. I believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God. Behold, Jesus is the Christ. And I tell you, He has saved
His people from their sins. He has. And right now, He is calling
His people to believe on Him. And I know this, everyone, everyone,
He calls, will believe. And we who believe, notice this,
verse 17, blessed art thou. You believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Jesus pronounces on you His blessing. You are blessed. Why? Why are
you blessed who believe? Because flesh and blood did not
reveal it to you. It wasn't my great argument.
It wasn't preaching. It wasn't my ability. It wasn't
someone else's ability. It wasn't your ability. Blessed
art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed this to thee, but my Father which is in heaven. You believe because God revealed
it to you. Soon and very soon we shall face
God. And I have this confidence. I
have this hope and this assurance that I believe Jesus is the Christ,
the son of the living God. And I know because I believe. I will forever be with him. Faith is a evidence of God's
salvation. It's not the cause. It's the
evidence. I believe whom say that I am.
I know who you are. You are the Christ, the son of
the living God. I know you. Do you know him? To know him is to know life. To not know Him is death. May God add the blessings to
this, His Word.