Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
Luke 9:18-20

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Luke 9:7-9, 18-20

Introduction

Every year around Good Friday, most the of the major new magazines carry a story about Jesus, often attempting to answer the question, “Who Is Jesus?” Ever since the carpenter from Nazareth broke onto the public scene about 2000 years ago, people have been asking this same question. In fact, some of you probably asked the same question or are asking this question. Some of you have assumed the answer. Some of you might even be afraid to ask the question, fearing that the answer will destroy your faith in Christ. Well, do not fear. It’s a question that Jesus Himself asks His disciples. And I believe it’s one that you need to ponder and consider.

In Luke 9:7-9 and 18-20, we find different answers to this question. But like all questions and answers, often times they are built on assumptions. And the same is true when Herod and others pose their answers. I think you’ll find that their answers are essentially similar to much of today’s answers to the question of “Who Is Jesus?” And my hope is that you not only agree with Peter’s answer, but that you believe it to be the very key to the joy of your life. So let’s look as the first answer in verse 7.

John the Baptist II (vv. 7, 9, 19)

Verse 7 reads: “Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead.” The first answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” then is essentially, John the Baptist II. But why would Herod and others think Jesus was the second coming of John the Baptist? In order to answer this question, we obviously need to have an idea who John the Baptist was and what happened to Him. We know according to Luke 3:3 that John was “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” In other words, He was declaring that a new age was coming, when God was ready to forgive sins. He was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.”

Also, regarding John’s story, we know that it was Herod who had ordered John’s execution according to Mark 6:14-29. Herod had put John into prison because he had preached against Herod’s unlawful marriage to his deceased brother’s wife, Herodias. Mark comments in verses 19-20: “And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.” There was something about John and his message that made Herod afraid, confused, and yet happy. And given the fact that John’s message to the people was always the repentance of sins and the forgiveness of sins in the One who was to come, Herod must have heard glimmers of the Gospel message from John, something that not only piqued his interest, but made him afraid (perhaps because of the message of judgment for those who did not repent) and yet happy (perhaps the message of hope for those who believed and repented of their sins).

So when we return back to Herod’s question regarding Jesus in Luke 9:9 when he asks, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” it’s no wonder that Herod was perplexed according to verse 7. Herod had been perplexed by listening to John while he was in prison. And now that this Jesus was not only preaching a similar message to John, but backing it up with miracles, it makes sense that Herod could have thought Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead.

Thus, Herod’s question, “Who is this?” and the possible idea that some were positing John’s resurrection, was so intriguing to him that “he sought to see him.” Herod was genuinely interested in Jesus. He was mesmerized by his teaching. He was interested in the signs and wonders. But he would never believe. You could say that Herod was the interested participant. Herod liked to listen to John and believed Jesus was another John, but he was nothing more than a continuation of John’s ministry. He was amused by them. He liked John’s stories and teachings so he probably thought that Jesus could continue what John had started. And since Herodias had forced his hand in killing John, who perhaps was nothing more to Herod than either a spiritual security blanket or a glorified court jester, perhaps he felt as though Jesus could simply take over where John had left off.

Herod and the people had assumed that Jesus was John the Baptist II. And my friends, this is no different than some people’s view of Jesus today. Some in the world and sadly even in the church today like Jesus’ message. They believe he is a good man with good moral teaching. They believe that there are some truths that he teaches that actually have merit. Also, like those who enjoy horror movies and roller-coasters because they believe a good scare is good for the soul every once in a while, the Herods of the world do not even mind the message of judgment and repentance every once in a while. And so they follow, and listen, and might even participate in certain events, but they still do not believe.

May you not see Jesus through Herod’s eyes as nothing more than John the Baptist II. It is possible to go to church, enjoy hearing about Jesus, feel as though He offers something of value to you, desire Christian moralism for yourself or your family, even feel afraid of God’s wrath and judgment and sorry for sin and still not truly believe that Jesus is the Christ. Like Herod, you can enjoy having Jesus there for your beck and call when you feel like you need Him, but the moment he becomes inconvenient to you or oversteps His bounds and actually leads you to decide between Him or anything else, that’s when He becomes a bit too much. When Herod was forced to choose, John and his message or lose his reputation before the party guests, he chose his reputation. Herod’s ultimate answer to “Who Is This?” is that Jesus is nice as the Entertainer, Security Blanket, Feel Good Person, the Miracle Worker, the Answerman, the Moral Teacher equivalent, but that’s it and no more. If Herod really knew who John the Baptist was and what his message was all about, he would have sought out Jesus in the same way that the bleeding woman did or the leper did. But instead, he keeps Jesus at an armed distance, interested, amused, but unconvinced. Is this your answer as well?

Elijah II (vv. 8, 19)

Perhaps you don’t see Jesus as John the Baptist, but maybe, like the crowds, you might view Jesus as Elijah II as Luke records in verses 8 and 19. Now why would they see Jesus as Elijah? By mentioning Elijah, the people are referring to the prophet that Malachi 3 mentions as the prophet who will bring in a new age to come. In other words, in Jesus, the crowds recognized that this man was a prophetic man. He was obviously someone special. He was also someone who sounded familiar, much like the prophets of old like Elijah. And also like Elijah, he is preaching about the future. And though they respected Jesus, and though they definitely believed He was a special man sent by God, they still could not determine who he really was. They were interested in Jesus, they were mesmerized by his obvious spiritual gifts, but they couldn’t follow him, much like the crowds and Herod who viewed John the Baptist this way.

You see, he could have been accepted if he was Elijah the Second. The Pharisees might have embraced him if he accepted being a special man sent by God. If Jesus would have only been satisfied with being a spiritual man, a miracle man, people would be able to watch him and listen to him and be inspired by him, but that wouldn’t mean they would need to follow him. And certainly that wouldn’t mean that they would need to trust him and obey him. If he were merely a prophet of old, like Elijah, Jesus could carry on the traditions that they all knew and loved (at least in the way Israel had always viewed prophets, regardless of what the prophets thought).

The crowds wanted their John the Baptists and Elijahs, at least in their own eyes, reminding themselves of religion based on their own merit rather than a faith that is dependent solely on God. And my friends, who is this Jesus to you? Is He John the Baptist or Elijah? Is he a reminder of your father or mother’s faith, simply a tradition to follow? Is he one who gives you ‘spirituality’ for difficult times? Is he and his message a message comfortable to follow as long as he doesn’t actually ask you to trust him during difficult times? Who is this Jesus?

Jesus the Christ (v. 20)

Jesus knows what the crowd thinks, but he asks his disciples and Luke records Peter’s response in verse 20: “Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” For those of you who might have always thought ‘Christ’ was Jesus’ last name, let me say that ‘Christ’ was not His last name, but rather, His office or title. It literally means, “Anointed One” or “Messiah” and so when he was called, ‘the Christ,’ there was no ambiguity at all as to who Jesus was. Jesus was not some miracle worker, or earthly king, or spiritual guru, or moral teacher, or story teller, or entertainer. He was the King of Kings. He was God’s Anointed One to bring His justice and salvation into the world. He was the One who reigned over all and commanded all of heaven and earth. All the Gospels point to the fact that this title is intended to remind the world that Jesus is God the Son, Savior, and Lord of All. And one need only look at the different people who wrestled with Jesus not as John the Baptist or Elijah which Jesus never claimed to be, but rather to wrestle with Jesus as He claimed to be, as the Christ.

The group that wrestled with Jesus as the Christ were the Jewish leaders. Mark presents the events before the crucifixion with Jesus standing on trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leadership council: “Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need?” 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death.” (Mark 15:61-64)

They knew that Jesus did not settle for anything less than he claimed to be. Jesus wasn’t trying to be prophet, or some earthly Jewish king, or even an angel from God.

They knew exactly what He was claiming to be. He was claiming to be God Himself and so they punished him for such a claim. Their view of Jesus led them to condemn Him to death. That was what was at stake when Jesus claims to be Christ. People either love Him because He is Christ or despise Him because He claims to be Christ and this is no different today. People don’t mind Jesus the religious teacher or moralist. Because Jesus as moral teacher allows for me and you to attribute even a bit of our salvation to our works, our church attendance, our prayers, our good works to the poor. But to believe in Jesus as the Christ means that He is God, that He acts apart from us our works, and that He saves those who could never save themselves. Charles Spurgeon rightly tells us the terrible danger of depending on Jesus as nothing more than a moral teacher rather than as the Christ:

There is an inherent blasphemy in seeking to add to what Christ Jesus in His dying moments declared to be finished, or to improve that in which the Lord Jehovah finds perfect satisfaction. Trembling sinner, away with your tools. Fall on your knees in humble supplication. Accept the Lord Jesus to be the altar of your atonement, and rest in Him alone. (Charles Spurgeon, Morning by Morning (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2001), 204.)

The Sanhedrin knew why they were condemning Jesus to death. It wasn’t because He claimed to be a prophet of God. It wasn’t because He was a moral teacher. It was because He was the God who claimed to save sinners and to forgive sins.

Roman governor Pontius Pilate also wrestled with Jesus as the Christ. John records: “So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (John 18:33-38)

Like the Sanhedrin, Pilate wanted some answers and wanted to know what Jesus thought Himself to be. Pilate was used to various crackpots claiming to be some sort of king trying to topple Caesar. But Jesus’ answer to Pilate, that his kingdom is not of this world, confused him. Jesus’ answer is an answer that leaves no middle ground. He doesn’t tell Pilate that Jesus is whatever Pilate wants him to be. He doesn’t allow Pilate to see Jesus as an inspirational leader. Instead, he tells Pilate that his identity is anchored to THE TRUTH, and this truth is what he told his followers in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” You see, Jesus leaves no wiggle room for Pilate or for you and me. Jesus claims to be God the Son, God in the flesh according to John 1:14, and the only means by which we can ever know who God is. He will not allow anyone to view Him as a good teacher, or a moral man, or a spiritual man, or an angel, or a healer. He will not allow us to see Him ‘like a god’ as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons believe. He is either God the Son or He is a liar or lunatic as C. S. Lewis writes.

The third person who encounters Jesus as the Christ was the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. She was sexually immoral, a person of ill-repute, and in every way an outcast in her village. After Jesus’ incisive conversation with her, she responds to Jesus in John 4:25-26, 28: “The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”…So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” Once again, Jesus leaves no doubt as to who He is. He does not settle for anything less than being the Christ. And the Samaritan woman knew this as well. But unlike the Sanhedrin and Pilate, she actually believes He is the Christ. And so, John concludes the story in verses 39-42: “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

My friends, you and I and the world are confronted by Jesus. The Sanhedrin gnashed their teeth and were in a frenzy with anger because Jesus claimed to be God Himself. And for such a claim, they led him to endure the worst punishment imaginable, crucifixion. Pilate, trying to give himself and Jesus an out wanted Jesus to claim to be nothing more than a spiritual rabble-rouser, and yet, Jesus pinned His identity on THE truth, the truth that He is who He claimed to be, God the Son. And for such a claim, Pilate “washed his hands” of Jesus’ execution. But this woman of no significance, in fact, a ‘sinful’ woman who did not fit the mold of one who ‘deserved’ God’s grace, recognized Jesus for who He was. And she also realized that once she believed in Him, she could no longer live the way she used to live. Everything in her life, from her own desire and delight, would change, must change because she knew that Jesus was indeed the Savior of the world.

Conclusion

And that is the reality of seeing Jesus not as John the Baptist II, or Elijah II, but as Peter and the Samaritan woman saw Jesus, as the Christ. If you say He is the Christ, then the way you know you believe in Him is when you see transformation in your life. You actually want to read God’s Word, pray, evangelize, fight anger and self-pity, extend grace to others (though there still is a fight for joy), etc. not because that’s what is expected for you as a Christian to do. That perspective is no better than seeing Jesus as John the Baptist. The Pharisees wanted to see Jesus in such a light, but He will not have that from us. No, we actually want to obey Him because He has loved us. You find yourself, like the Samaritan woman, and Peter, and all of the disciples, as new creations (2 Cor 5:17). You actually begin to delight in knowing Him, in following Him, in obeying Him. Jesus says essentially this in John 14:21: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” We do not obey Jesus from nothing. No, because He has loved us first (Romans 5:8: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”), and because we are enthralled by such love, we WANT to obey Him. We want to LOVE Him. And as this happens, He continues to love us and reveal Himself to us more and more. I see this in marriage. The more I do things selfishly thinking that watching Yankee games when I want to without consideration for Shua will bring me more pleasure, the more I find more tension in my marriage, the less ultimate joy there is in my marriage. Self-centeredness, a life where God is secondary to our will and desires, might seem like it actually would feel good, but ultimately there is a loneliness in that SELF-centeredness that cannot be withstood by mere will. No, God made us for fellowship with Him, and as we pursue Him, and trust Him, and believe Him, and call Him Savior, the more we will be loved by Him, and the more joy we will experience not just in our relationship with Him but with others as well. And so John writes: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) Trusting in Him, being in love with Him, is the only way we can ever have real and lasting and delightful fellowship with one another.

My friends, everyone wants joy, but are you willing to trust in Him? If you have no desire to pursue Him, no delight at all, perhaps you see Jesus as nothing more than John the Baptist II or Elijah II? Do you only see Him as an icon, god-like, a moral teacher, a magic-man, a lucky charm that you rub when you’re in trouble, a tradition of your parents that you’re following, a spiritual guru no different than the Dalai Lama or Gandhi or Mohammed? Is He someone you bring out of the closet every Sunday, and put Him back when you’ve left church? Do you go back to your ‘real life’? Or is Jesus the Christ? Is He the God of the universe who created you, who loved you when you did not love Him, who lived a perfect life for you so that you could be righteous before a holy and just God, who died for you so that your sins would be borne by Him, who rose from the dead to prove who He claimed to be, and who reigns forever preparing a place for you eternally to welcome you Home, therefore you live decidedly different each day? Do you actually want to fight for joy and the fight of faith? Is this you? The one who see Jesus as the Christ actually wants to be changed and transformed. But who do you say that Jesus is? He will not allow you to see Him as John or Elijah? Will you see Him as the Christ?

Let me close with a quote from Scottish theologian from Edinburgh James Stewart. He makes clear why we can only see Him as the Christ:

He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men, yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming, yet he was so genial and winsome and approachable that the children loved to play with him, and the little ones nestled in his arms. His presence at the innocent gaiety of a village wedding was like the presence of sunshine.

No one was half so compassionate to sinners, yet no one ever spoke such red hot scorching words about sin. A bruised reed he would not break, his whole life was love, yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees how they ever expected to escape the damnation of hell. He was a dreamer of dreams and a seer of visions, yet for sheer stark realism He has all of our stark realists soundly beaten. He was a servant of all, washing the disciples feet, yet masterfully He strode into the temple, and the hucksters and moneychangers fell over one another to get away from the mad rush and the fire they saw blazing in His eyes.

He saved others, yet at the last Himself He did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confronts us in the gospels. The mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.

Will you see Him as the Christ?