The Lord’s Message: Questions that Jesus Asked: “Who Do You Say I Am?”

The Lord’s Message: Questions that Jesus Asked: “Who Do You Say I Am?”
Date:  November 23, 2025
Where:  Tilghman Methodist Church
Scripture Reference:  Mark 8:27-29

            Read Revelations 20:11-15.  This scene that John is telling us about is the final judgement.  God the Father is seated on His throne.  Jesus the Son of God is seated on the right-hand side of God the Father.  I believe that there will be one question asked by Jesus to each person, “Who do you say I am?”

            Let us pray.

            We are wrapping up our sermon series on the questions that Jesus asked and this morning we come to the question that will determine our destination in eternity.  That question is “Who do you say I am?”

            This question of “Who do we say that Jesus is?” will be asked of us numerous times in our lifetime.  There are various answers that we can give to this question.  Since, Jesus was born a boy, lived as a man, taught about the kingdom of God, healed many people, was crucified, died, buried, resurrected, and ascend into heaven to sit at the right-hand side of God, everyone has had to give an answer for this question. 

            I am firmly convinced that everybody believes something about God.  The Apostle Paul clearly states this in Romans 1:19-22.  The old argument that there could be a person that is living in a remote place that has never heard of God, so how can God pass judgement on them does not hold water.  So, if you were to ask the question of “Who is God?”, you would end up with quite a large list of answers. 

            When asked the question of “Who is God?”, some people have told me that they think God is a divine score keeper.  He keeps track of all the good deeds that they have done and all the sins that they have committed.  Then He balances them out on a scale and if you have done more good deeds than sins, you get to go to heaven.  So, they try to earn their salvation.  I asked them this question, “How many more good deeds do you need to do to tip the scale in your favor?”  They do not have any answer for that.  The Bible tells us just the opposite.  First off you can not do enough good deeds to cover over the sins that you have committed. In Romans 3:22b-23, the Bible says that we all have sinned. 

There are others who have given me this answer to the question of “Who is God?”, God is a distant observer.  God created the world and set it on its course, then sits back and observes what the outcome will be.  That is far from the idea that I know of God.  Throughout the Bible, God is always intervening in the lives of people.  Because of our sin, God forced us out of the Garden of Eden, but God continues to provide for us.  After being driven out of the Garden of Eden, Eve gives birth to a son who she named Cain.  In Hebrew, Cain means to bring forth.  Eve in Genesis 4:1b, says “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Even though Cain killed Abel, God provided for him by giving him a mark, so that no one would kill him.  You continue through the Bible to Noah.  God providing the means to save humanity.  God calling Abraham from a land that was worshiping idols to become the father of many nations.  God calling David, a shepherd boy to be king of Israel.  God working through a foreigner, a Moabite, Ruth to give birth to one in the lineage of His Son, Jesus.  In the New Testament, you see God working in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, all the disciples, Paul, a Jewish teacher named Nicodemus, a Samaritan woman at the well, a centurion named Cornelius, and many more people from Genesis to Revelation.  Even today, I firmly believe that through the work of God’s Holy Spirit, He is still at work in the world and everyone that will open their hearts and allow His Holy Spirit in. 

The third answer that I hear to the question, “Who is God?”, is that God is a stern judge.  God is ready to pounce on us as soon as we make a mistake.  The Bible tells us just the opposite that God is loving parent wanting to care for His children.    In Galatians 4:4-7, we are told that we are sons and daughters of God and heirs of his kingdom.  Even when we sin and fall short of God’s glory, through our faith in Jesus, our sins are remembered no more.  That is what our loving, everlasting Father does for us. 

People who are atheist tell me that there is no answer to the question of “Who is God?” because God does not exist from their viewpoint.

The fifth answer is that God is our friend.  If God is our friend, then we will want to spend time with Him.  We do that through our prayer, having a conversation with God, through reading the Bible and learning more about God, by living for God what He has told us and what we have learned, and by joining with others in giving thanks to Him by worshipping God. 

These are just some of the many answers to the questions, “Who is God?”  Now let us turn our attention to the answers that people give to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”  I would like to state unequivocally that in our day and age, because of the explosion of mass communication, I do not believe that there is a person alive who does not have an answer to Jesus’ question of “Who do you say I am?”   

Some answer this question by saying that Jesus was great man.  Orthodox Jews say that Jesus was a great prophet, rabbi, or teacher.  Jehovah Witnesses will tell you that Jesus is the first of God’s creation.  He is the exact representation of God, but He is not God and not part of a Trinity.   Muslims would tell you that Jesus was great prophet, He was born by a virgin, performed miracles, accompanied by His disciples, and rejected by the Jewish establishment.  But, they do not believe that He was crucified and therefore they do not believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  They do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  So, they do not believe in the Trinity and there is no atonement for sin through Jesus’ death on the cross. 

The event that Kathy read occurring in the Book of Mark, can also be found in the other Synoptic Gospels:  Matthew and Luke.  These three Gospels are label Synoptic Gospels because they all have similar perspectives and events about Jesus’ ministry. 

Please open your pew Bibles to page 1566.  In verse 27, Jesus is traveling with His disciples to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.  This area was lush and fertile with hilly mountains and beautiful scenery.  This area was also known for having many pagan temples dedicated to the worship of Greek and Roman gods.  As Jesus is walking past these idols, Jesus asked this question to His disciples, “Who do people say I am?”  The disciples reply, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah or one of the other prophets.”  Jesus then turns and looks at each one of them and says, “Who do you say I am?” 

In the Book of Mark, Peter responds with “You are the Christ.”  In Luke, he responds with “The Christ of God.”  In Matthew, Peter responds with, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  I like Matthew’s record of Peter’s confession the best.  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

If Jesus was to ask you that question, what would be your response?  What do you really believe about God?  What do you believe about Jesus?  How you answer these questions matters more than anything else in this world. 

There is one more piece to this than just answering these questions.  When and where we are asked to give our answer.  It is easy to answer these questions in church.  How about in a hospital or the doctor’s office when the doctor has told you that you have cancer? It is easy to answer this question at home, but how about at a funeral home with your loved one laying in a coffin or remains in an urn?  It is easy to answer this question when you are not kept up in the early hours of the morning worrying about life struggles.  Our confession really matters when life is difficult, not when it is easy.  When our faith is tested, that is when we, and God, know that our belief and confession is true. 

Before I conclude with God’s message to us this morning, there is one more piece of information that we need to deal with.  If I did not tell you, then I would not be helping to fulfill what God has called us all to do.  In Matthew 16:17-19, after Peter has made His confession about Jesus, Jesus tells Peter that He is going to build His church on Peter’s and believers’ confessions.  This is the very first time that Jesus uses the world church.  Jesus promises to build the church on the faith of Peter and other believers.  This is important.  The emphasis that Jesus placed on establishing the church, the body of Christ, should not be ignored.  Jesus is telling us that we will never get our theology right outside of the church.  If you based your faith on anything else in this world, your faith is false. 

We need the church, the community of faith, that Jesus established to deepen our walk with God.  Those that ignore the church, suffered to the whims and ways of the world.  It is through the church, that we have the Bible.  Jesus knows that we will not be able to confess our faith, clearly and accurately if we are connected to the body of Christ.  Without the church, we will not be able to identify false gospels and teachings.  It is in the body of Christ, the church, that sustains us through the storms of life.  I care about you, and you care about me.  Together, we nurture each other in the faith.

The church is not perfect because in all churches the members are sinners, saved by the grace of God.  It is Jesus’ plan for the world.  He established the church to share the gospel to this hurting and dying world.  It is through the church that people can find hope, healing, love, justice, mercy, and grace.  Jesus promised that the church would be so strong that not even the gates of Hades could destroy it.  Satan has no power over disciples of Jesus that stay connected to God and each other.  We need the church. I encourage anyone listening today to get connected with a church near you that preaches the Word of God from the Bible, lives the Word of God daily, and invites others to have a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

What we believe about God matters.  It is vital that we wrestle with Jesus’ question today, “Who do you say I am?”  The answer that we confess will show where and who our faith is in.  In Jesus or the world?  In Romans 10:9-10, Paul says that we need to believe in our heart and confess Jesus with our tongue. 

Tilghman Methodist Church, who is your Lord, Savior, and Friend?  Jesus!  Amen.