Who is Jesus?
This is the sermon I preached today at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The gospel was Matthew 16:13-20. Caesarea Philippi is beautiful. It is lush and green with a spring that is a source for the Jordan River. Situated at the foot of Mt. Hermon, which is the only place in the land where you will find snow, in which my then young children played. It is not by accident that Jesus and his disciples find themselves there. Pastors Eric Fistler and Robb McCoy describe the scene: Caesarea Philippi, [is] home to all sorts of crazy, pagan, awful stuff…our world, …our country, …our community, [can make us] feel overwhelmed and disgusted. Even at those times, our job as a church is to confess Christ… whether it is popular or not…our confession…is that he is the Christ, the anointed savior, son of the living God. (Pulpitfiction.com) Martin Luther's view of the situation is this: Jesus takes occasion to reveal himself to the apostles. He shows what Christ really is, how we shal...