Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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.
Matthew 16:13-18
In the church at large, there are many ideas and strategies of how to grow the church, how to be faithful with the great commandment and the great commission in an increasingly post-Christian society. It is not in itself wrong for the church to think this way, to be strategic and well thought out in our engagements with one another and with the world as we strive to heed Jesus’ call to go and make disciples of all nations.
Where the danger comes in is when strategies and models of how we quote un-quote, “do church” interfere with the foundation of the very church we seek to build, which is faith in who Jesus is.
Who Jesus is, is the mission of the church. We are called to go into the world with the question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Just as when Jesus walked the earth, there are going to be people who do not truly understand who He is. In our world, some say he never existed, others say he was a good man, and others a teacher who lived and died 2000 years ago.
Those are common beliefs in the world, but Jesus doesn’t leave the question there, He wants to know what the disciples, those closest to Him, say about who He is. In a world of misunderstanding, Jesus asks those close to him, “Who do my disciples say that I am?” And the importance of how the church answers that question cannot be overstated.
Is Jesus an excellent teacher, leader, and strategist? Is he the greatest ‘influencer’ to ever have walked the earth? Is he compassionate and humble, loving and kind? Is Jesus the worker of incredible signs and miracles? He is all of these things and more, but on what foundation and by what confession is the kingdom of Christ built?
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The church is built on the faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, Anointed One whom God promised throughout the Old Testament, that God himself would come to the earth to shepherd his people and that He would be crushed for our iniquities in order that we might have forgiveness and eternal life in His name.
Flesh and blood, that is, our humanness with all its frailty and limitations, is not able to reveal this to us. Our humanness is able to grasp that Jesus is a good teacher or that he is humble, but it is the Father who reveals to us Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God. The church cannot rely solely on strategies and models, but those tools must be used as God’s people pray that our Father will reveal who his Son really is to those whom we are all called to minister.
It is on the rock that the church is built.