“Who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:16
Proper 16, Year A
The disciples left families, jobs, and homes to follow Jesus. When Jesus called, they responded immediately, without fully understanding who Jesus was, what God wanted from Jesus, or what following meant. The process of discerning who Jesus was, what Jesus would do, and their roles evolved over time. Experiences, like the healing of the Gentile woman’s daughter in last week’s Gospel (Matthew 21:21-28), events, like the feeding of the multitude read a few weeks back (Matthew 14:13-21), and conversations, like this one in today’s Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20), developed the disciples understanding.
While walking to the next location for their ministry, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13b) Jesus asked this question to facilitate the disciples’ discernment process. Jesus wanted them to discover who he was, and what God wanted from him to equip them for their ministry. The disciples responded by telling Jesus what they had heard:
“Some say your are John the Baptist, but others say Elijah, and still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:14)
Most people thought Jesus was a prophet returned from the dead. They believed he was the recently beheaded John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12) or the resurrected Jeremiah. Jeremiah died while exiled in Egypt nearly 600 years before Jesus was born. (Jeremiah 29:1-9) Some people claimed Jesus was Elijah. According to the Bible, Elijah never died. He was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind, in a fiery chariot pulled by horses of fire, in the presence of his successor, Elisha. (2 Kings 2:11) After this, Jesus asked a second question. To prompt the disciples’ understanding, Jesus asked, “but who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) Perpetually impetuous Peter responded for the disciples, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)
Peter identified the right title and gave an accurate description, but did not fully understand who Jesus was, or what God was calling Jesus to do, or what it meant to follow Jesus. In Gospel stories after this conversation, Peter vehemently objects to Jesus’ prediction of his suffering and death. Peter was so wrong, Jesus dismissed his objections, saying, “Get behind me Satan.” (Matthew 16:23) Peter denied knowing Jesus during Jesus’ trial and sentencing, not once, but three times. (Matthew 26:31-34, 69-75) Jesus identified Peter as the corner stone of the church you and I inherited. Jesus considered both Peter’s faith and doubts as foundational. Knowing who Jesus is, understanding what Jesus did, and living into the implications of these is a process. It is a life long process. A discovery process orchestrated by the Holy Spirit through experiences, events, and conversations.
We are not alone. Jesus journeyed through this process. Jesus relied on experiences, events, and conversations to clarify who he was and what God wanted from him. This is evident in the devil’s temptations at the start of Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 4) and at the end of his earthly ministry when Jesus cried out from the cross, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) In the same manner as we do, Jesus discovered or discerned who he was, and what he should do.
When I worked at St. John’s Hospital, I sometimes visited with patients, patients’ loved ones, and staff. As the Vice President of Mission, it was my job to supervise departments that provided pastoral care, and tracked and resolved patient complaints. This meant I only saw people when issues could not be resolved by frontline staff. On one such occasion, I was asked to visit a patient prior to the amputation of their leg. This patient had been treated for many years in the hospital’s outpatient dialysis, wound care, endocrinology, and cardiology care centers. The patient and their loved ones were angry. They were accusing the hospital and its providers of failing to do their jobs. I knocked on the door to the patient’s room, asked if I could come in, introduced myself, and pulled up a chair to sit next to the patient’s bed. I listened as the patient blamed each and every one of their providers for failing them. When the patient was done, I asked, “who else are you angry with?” The patient then proceeded to list the things they had done and failed to do that contributed to their declining health. The patient fell silent, closed their eyes, and cried. When they opened their eyes, I asked again, “who else are you angry with?” The patient whispered, “God, I am angry with God for punishing me by taking away my leg. God is supposed to love, forgive and heal. Taking my leg is not loving or merciful.” I replied, “maybe your understanding of who God is, is smaller than who God really is; maybe what you think God wants from you is more limited than what God is seeking from you.” The patient stopped crying and asked me questions: “Is God grieving the loss of my leg with me? Does God want me to forgive myself, take better care of myself, and encourage my family to attend to their diabetes?” I replied, “what do you think?” The patient nodded their head yes, and we parted company.
Discovering who Jesus is, discerning the significance of what Jesus did, and applying both to how we live, love, and serve is an ongoing process. Friends, keep your eyes, ears, and minds open. The Holy Spirit is using events, experiences, and conversations to expand, correct, and guide your understanding of who God is, what God is doing, and how you can love and serve the Lord.
