"Who Do You Say That I Am?

August Newsletter

It is the defining question of human existence, posed by Jesus to His disciples along the dusty roads of Caesarea Philippi: "But who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15).

Pastor Vincent Putnam- Jesus did not ask this because He suffered an identity crisis, nor was He conducting a first-century opinion poll. He brought His followers to a crossroads where polite speculation had to end. Up to that point, the crowds viewed Jesus as a noble figure, a resurrected John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets returned. Today, the world offers similar half-answers: a great moral teacher, a social revolutionary, or a spiritual guide.

But none of those answers save. The question Jesus asked the Apostles is the exact same question every single one of us must answer today.

Where do we look to find the answer?

We do not look inward to our own fleeting emotions, human intuition, or cultural trends. Left to our own devices, our human reason can only produce idols made in our own image. Instead, we look exclusively to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. God does not leave us guessing in the dark about who He is; He reveals Himself to us in the Incarnate Word, delivered through the Holy Scriptures.

When Simon Peter steps forward in Matthew 16:16, his answer is bold, clear, and unyielding: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Notice how Jesus responds to Peter’s declaration: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (v. 17). Peter did not figure this out through clever logic or sharp intellect. God the Father pulled back the veil and revealed the truth to him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus then declares: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (v. 18).

As Confessional Lutherans, we understand that the "rock" on which God builds His church is our confession of Christ. Yet this confession is not a mere intellectual formula or static doctrine. It was a confession that Peter carried and shared in thought, word, and deed throughout his life as he bore witness to the Savior. In the very same way, it is a confession that all believers are called to carry and share in thought, word, and deed today.

This is central to Jesus’ statement. The way God has designed for His Church to be built requires His believers to actively carry and proclaim the Gospel. Christ builds His Church not in a vacuum, but through the living witness of His redeemed people as they speak His Word, love their neighbors, and live out their faith in their daily vocations.

Because the Church rests upon Christ and this God-revealed confession, her ultimate victory is absolute. Jesus promises that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Gates are defensive structures, not offensive weapons. It is not the Church that is cowering behind locked doors in fear; it is the kingdom of Satan whose gates are being shattered as believers carry and share the Gospel into a dark world.

To this Church, built upon Christ’s confession, Jesus bestows the Keys of the Kingdom, the authority to forgive the sins of the penitent and retain the sins of the impenitent in His name.

When you sit in the pew this Sunday and hear the pastor declare Absolution, or when you step out into the world to serve your neighbor, remember who you are. Look to Jesus Christ (revealed in Word and Sacrament) rest secure on the Rock that hell itself can never shake, and boldly carry that confession wherever God has called you.