Discipleship involves listening to the Word of God. But discipleship is not only about listening to the Word of God. It also involves listening to the world.
I love the simplicity of today’s text. We could call this passage from Matthew: Discipleship 101. Here, Jesus offers His disciples a crash course on what it means to be a disciple and to follow Him in the world.
Jesus has taken His disciples to the northern parts of Galilee. At the foot of Mount Hermon, they are at one of the sources of the Jordan River. The Greeks had built a shrine to the pagan god Pan in this place. The Romans had built a temple in honor of the emperor. Now, Jesus brings His little band of followers to this place to explore the question, “How does a disciple walk in a pagan and political world?”
In this setting, so far from the beauty of Jerusalem’s temple, so far from the sacrifices and rituals of the priests, so far from the certainties of the religious authorities, Jesus asks His disciples two questions. These two questions are the two questions any disciple needs to answer when living in the world.
Jesus knows His disciples, then and now, are not always going to be able to follow His physical presence. We understand this better than the original disciples. What a blessing it must have been to have Jesus walking with you in this world. He could lead you precisely where you needed to go, and His words could clarify for you precisely what you needed to know. Jesus, however, knows He will soon be crucified and rise from the dead. He will ascend into Heaven and send His disciples to the ends of the earth. They will soon be traveling throughout the world without His physical, full bodily presence. How will they follow Him in a pagan and political world? Therefore, to answer that question, to offer future direction, Jesus asks His disciples two questions: Discipleship 101. They are two questions every disciple needs to know as they follow Jesus in a pagan political world.
The first question is, “Who do people say the Son of Man is” (Matthew 16:13)? Discipleship begins by listening. It is not just listening to God but also listening to the world around you.
We know discipleship begins by listening to God. By His Word the world was created and by His Word of forgiveness we are made His children and brought into His Kingdom. His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. Discipleship involves listening to the Word of God. But discipleship is not only about listening to the Word of God. It also involves listening to the world.
In discipleship, we are following Jesus, but we are following Jesus in the world. We do not close our ears to the world around us. We do not try to silence its voices. Instead, we listen, but we listen with discernment.
In discipleship, we are following Jesus, but we are following Jesus in the world. We do not close our ears to the world around us.
Often, we can listen to the world around us to hear what is wrong. That is, we listen with a focus on naming the world’s sin and proclaiming how far the world has fallen away from God. Jesus, however, asks a question which calls for us to engage in another kind of listening, a listening of discernment. “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Jesus asks us to listen to the world to hear what it thinks about Jesus.
For the disciples, their ability to answer this question demonstrates they were already engaged in such conversation. “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). The people the disciples were in conversation with understood the power of prophets. Some were aware of current events. They had heard of the death of John the Baptist, a powerful prophet, by the hand of King Herod and they thought perhaps God would vindicate his wrongful death by raising him to walk this earth again. Others were aware of the Scriptures. They knew of Elijah and Jeremiah and looked for God to work through prophets in this world.
The answers vary, but the good news is that the disciples had an answer. It was not something they made up. It was not something they assumed. They actually had been in conversation with people (“some say...”) where others spoke with them about who they thought Jesus was.
What about you? In your constellation of friends and family, who do people say Jesus is? Have you had conversations where His name has come up? Talk such as this can easily come off as judgmental. It is not. For disciples, these dialogues are discerning. We are laying the foundation for future discussions where we speak of our Lord.
The second question is more important. Jesus asks His disciples, “But who do you say that I am” (Matthew 16:15)? This question is important for two reasons.
First, this question is at the heart of our relationship with our Lord. God the Father has loved us into life and called us into being through the death and resurrection of His Son. Jesus Christ is our Savior and will come to be our Judge, justifying and rectifying all that has happened in our lives and in His world. This knowledge, this confession, is not something we have made ourselves. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 16:17). We awaken every day joined to our Savior and, no matter what sin has ensnared us or what suffering has befallen us, we can always say, “Jesus is my Lord.”
Second, this question is not only at the heart of our conversation with God, it is also at the heart of our conversation with the world. Notice how Jesus uses the adversative: “But who do you say that I am?” Who we say Jesus is will differ from the world, hence the importance of our confession. Our lives are where we continue the conversation, guided by the Spirit, confessing Jesus before others, and inviting them to experience God’s love in the world.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out our previous articles on Matthew 16:13-20.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Matthew 16:13-20.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Matthew 16:13-20.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
