They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”They said, “Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.And they said, Some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
3 sermons cite this verse
… And he asks them this question. Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Here's the opinion. What are the opinions of people? And then Jesus looks at them and says, okay, now this is the moment where you have to answer for yourselves. And he asks them the question, but who do you say that I am? Every one of us has a Caesarea Philippi. Every one of us will have multiple Caesarea Philippis and where we have to give an answer. Now, sometimes that's gonna be a direct question and sometimes it's just gonna be, this is a situation where we have to say something. So I came across this. I thought it was pretty funny. Mother Miriam. Mother Miriam is this elderly nun. And she was telling the story about how before she was a nun, before she was a Catholic, she loved Jesus, she was a Christian, and she needed a job. And so she saw in want ads that there was a diner that was hiring waitresses and no experience required. …
Listen. Well, they replied, some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still other, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Well, now, what are they doing? They're taking a public opinion poll. And these disciples of Jesus would have been hearing from the crowds, and I'm sure this is right. They would have picked up these various theories. He's the reincarnation of these great prophets. He's like, John the Baptist, come back to life. All right. If today, in a more sophisticated way, we took a public opinion poll, say, who is Jesus? What do you say Jesus is? We get a lot of similar answers, a variety of other answers. Oh, he's a religious founder. Oh, he's a moral teacher. Oh, he's a mystic. Oh, he's a guru. Oh, he was a sage. Oh, he was this poor guy killed by the Romans. Public opinion would give you a range of impressions, right? So then Jesus turns to the 12. Okay. Yeah, that's what the people are saying. Who do you say I am? …
… Jesus said, who do people say the son of man is? And of course they replied, they, you know, some say John the Baptist. Some say Elijah. Still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. that's kind of where our culture is today, isn't it? You talk about the person of Jesus. Oh, Jesus was a good teacher. Jesus, I really follow, I like to follow his moral teachings. Jesus, I'm sure, had this special connection with God. We have to remember something, though. is what C.S. Lewis said, the great apologist. When someone says that Jesus was a good guy or a moral person or a prophet, they're advertising their lack of study because he did not give us that option. C.S. Lewis said, you must make your choice. Either this man was and is the son of God or else a madman or something worse. I've already said he's either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. So the good guy thing just doesn't really work. Again, the disciples, they've seen all of this, and Jesus is asking him this question, question A, then he uses it to pivot into question B. …