November 10, 2023

Today’s Reading: 

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 24:10-25:10, Matthew 16:13-28

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Who do you say that the Son of Man is? We’re still asking the same question.  We’re past the days where people haven’t heard the name Jesus.  Even today, He still gets a lot of press.  The thing is, when you listen, we all seem to be talking about someone different. Most of them aren’t real. 

There’s a good example of Jesus, who helps you be better until you don’t wanna be so bad anymore.  But most of the time he just ends up being the guy used to bash you over the head when you don’t do what someone else wants you to.  There’s bigoted Jesus who calls people sinners in a hate filled book that does nothing but set the scene for hate crimes in the name of a higher power.  Some just say he’s a myth, because how could a loving God let the world look like this? If I were God I’d do things differently, and even though I need help using the dishwasher sometimes, I’m still pretty sure I’m smarter than any deity that created us.

Have you noticed a common theme yet? Grab hold of a select part of the Law, ignore the Gospel completely, then weaponize religion.  It’s what the people wanted from Elijah, who they wanted to be a weapon against a world set against them.  It’s what they wanted from John the Baptist and Jeremiah, who were both ridiculed and hated by the world and the religious alike, not because they were wrong, but because they called everyone to seek mercy in the Lord who not only calls sin wrong, but loves sinners enough to forgive them.  

But who do you say the Son of Man is? This is ‘not a what does Jesus mean to you’ essay.  That’s where all of those other ones went wrong.  Not one is a confession of who God is, just speeches about how we’d use Him.  You can try to use the law, but you can only receive the gospel.  And if Jesus is something to use, not receive, he only ends up being what we wish he was.  Either to help us win, or to excuse us from having to listen to Him, it always ends up being law and no gospel.  Those are answers from flesh and blood.  They should sound ridiculous.  

This is not a chance to come up with your own answer.  Instead we’re given a common confession. Peter’s answer is not from flesh and blood, but from God. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.  We answer the same.  Because there’s mercy there for sinners. For us. It will stand. Even against the gates of hell. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Here stands the font before our eyes, Telling how God has received us. The_altar recalls Christ’s sacrifice And what His Supper here gives us. Here sound the Scriptures that proclaim Christ yesterday, today, the same, And evermore, our Redeemer (LSB 645:4).

– Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ’s words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.