The Messianic Secret

 Matthew 16:13-20   August, 27, 2023

 

Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God.

Then Jesus sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone he was the Messiah.

 

In the Jewish faith, the Messiah is a person that was promised by

the prophets. He would be a future king of the Jewish people.

He would be in the line of David. It was believed he would be

a great charismatic leader that would be familiar with Jewish law.

There was no specific time when the Messiah would come,

it was believed that the Messiah would come when the people

needed it the most (when things were going so bad) 

or when they deserved it the most (when genuine goodness rule the world.)

The Messiah is the one that would rule the people and deliver them

from the injustice of the world.

 

Jewish people today are still waiting for the Messiah.

And Christians believe that the Messiah came to us in Jesus Christ.

 

So when Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

At first the disciples give him the scoop on the street: “Some say

John the Baptist, some say Elijah, a prophet.”

But then - and I think this is what he really wants to know -

Jesus asks them who do they think he is.

 

And Peter comes up with the right answer.

This is not something that happens all the time in the gospels.

Peter and the rest of the disciples are kind of goofy when it comes down to it.

But Peter got it right this time.

He says “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.”

And Jesus confirms it.  Telling Jesus that Peter, the Rock

and his confession will be the basis of Jesus church on earth.

Seems like a good revelation that everyone would want

to be spread far and near, especially maybe, Jesus.

But then Immediately, Jesus tells the disciples

not to tell anyone that he’s the Messiah.

 

Among bible people this is called the “Messianic Secret”

It shows up mostly in Mark’s Gospel,

but it also shows up a few times in Matthew and Luke, like it does here.

And John is, as usual, a whole other story.

And there’s few theories about why Jesus wants the disciples

to keep this Messianic secret,

but bible people don’t have one solid answer.

 

Some people say that it’s because Jesus is afraid that the

authorities would have him killed if they knew he was the Messiah.

But that’s kind of boring.

And there are also a lot of issues with that theory.

But the one that I’m going with today is this:

Jesus does not want the disciples to claim Jesus’ authority

before they see fully how he lives his life, and how he dies.

 

Jesus does not want the disciples to show off and claim Jesus

and tell people that they represent the Messiah,

before they fully see and understand how the Messiah lives

and how the Messiah dies in service to the world.

 

And this is very insightful of Jesus.

Because the church has very often done this.

Lots of people say “Jesus is the Messiah,

I’m an authority in the church of Jesus,

so therefore whatever I say and think is from Jesus.”

With no attempt or intention to act like Jesus does.

This has resulted in a lot of messes.

Some would say most of the messes of the modern era.

 

And some of these messes stem from the use of this

piece of scripture right here that we’re reading today, ironically.

 

After Peter confesses Jesus is the Messiah,

Jesus says: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock

I will build my church, and the gates of

Hades will not prevail against it.”

The Church has taken this very piece of Scripture

and has used it to claim absolute authority of the church

and the men who have held the office that Peter held,

the office of the bishop of Rome (which is the Pope).

 

Now today, Pope Francis, is very kind and seems very intent on

following Jesus example as best he can, which is refreshing.

Because that has not always been the case with the leader

of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic church, whose history we share, 

has a pretty embarrassing history of their leaders 

using their authority to justify some seriously horrifying things, 

the Crusades and the Inquisition are just two very big examples,

but there are multiple others that have been facilitated, 

aided, and abetted by claiming the absolute infallible authority 

of the earthly church claiming the authority of Jesus.

 

And Catholic Popes don’t have exclusive rights 

to bad behavior by claiming the authority of Jesus. 

Protestants have been just as guilty of taking advantage 

of their positions, and using the authority of Christ for their own ends.

 

Jesus knew all of his disciples very well and he knew we would

easily claim our authority in the disciple we follow,

but we would not so easily follow in Jesus’s footsteps.

 

Throughout time, God has been kind of a fuzzy character

to the human race.

God has been labeled with a lot of different characteristics over time.

God has been seen as a wonderful creator, slow to 

anger and abounding in steadfast love, but more often God has been seen as a destroyer –  

angry and vengeful, a God of war.

A God who kills and destroys who wants human and animal sacrifice,

who is jealous and vengeful.

 

God has been an excuse to  defend slavery and white supremacy.

God is credited with wanting the obscene wealth of religious leaders.

God has been used to justify the second class citizenship of women.

God has been just to justify wars and destruction,

to defend condemning people, scaring, and threatening people.

God has been used to justify sexual and physical abuse.

God has been used to justify about everything.

God is so grand, so divine, so unknowable, that we can

tell people that God is whatever we want God to be.

 

We know that God created us in God’s image,

But I think that we also try to create God in our image.

We make God into whoever we need God to be to justify our

hates and likes and wants fears and desires and greed.

And that, I think, is why God sent us Jesus.

  

Jesus is very clear. Jesus isn’t fuzzy at all.

Jesus is human, living and breathing and existing on this earth with all of us.

 

We can clearly see Jesus in the stories we have shared for centuries

Eating with outcasts, sharing, welcoming children, healing,

caring for others, crying for friends, keeping company with shepherds and

prostitutes and sinners, feeding the hungry, giving good news to the poor,

demanding justice for others, caring, and freeing.

Restoring humanity and bringing new life.

 

We have seen Jesus,

Not dropping bombs or making threats, or keeping everything for himself.

But speaking the truth, sharing, giving.

We have seen him, not coercing and intimidating,

but serving and empowering.

 

And if anyone wants to claim Christ’s authority –

we always have to return to Jesus not just who he is,

but how he was and how he lived and died.

 

We have to remember that God didn’t just send A messiah.

God sent us Jesus to be the Messiah.

Jesus brings that fuzzy picture of God back into focus.

It changes the God who could be anything we want

into a solid, living, breathing, human life, who is a clear reflection of God.

Right down to his own death for the salvation of the world.

 

Jesus is how God wants to be seen and understood.

God is not all these other things that we want to make God out to be.

God is this. Jesus on the cross.

Giving himself to us until the end.

 

Jesus came to us to show us how God loves us

and how much God loves this world.

Unconditionally and without end.

 

So who do we say that Jesus is?

Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God.

And that is who we serve.

But let’s not tell other people that.

Let’s show them by the way we live our lives.