What Does It Really Mean to Confess Jesus?

5th Sunday after Pentecost, 7/14/19
Luke 9:18-24


What Does It Really Mean to Confess Jesus?
I. It means to embrace his person and work.
II. It means to live for him alone.


I read an article in the Christian Currier the other day which listed nine false ideas about Jesus Christ. Some of the nine were ones I had heard before. But a few of them were surprises. Permit me to share a few of them with you.

One: Jesus never existed. Believe it or not, there have been some historians down through the centuries who have actually tried to defend this ridiculous idea.

Two: Jesus was a spirit-being. That’s actually an ancient heresy. This false idea states that Jesus was God who only appeared for a while on earth as a man. That would put a damper on our Christmas observance, wouldn’t it?

Three: Jesus was an angel, specifically, the archangel, Michael. Again, that’s rather ridiculous, given what the Bible states about how Jesus is far above the angels.

And then there’s the most common one, number four: Jesus was one great prophet among many. That’s the false idea promoted by other world religions outside of Christianity.

But none of this should surprise us. It’s no different from the days when Jesus walked on this earth. From the time of his birth until after his resurrection and ascension into heaven, there were all sorts of false ideas about him floating around.

Have you ever met someone who professed to be a Christian and yet holds to some false ideas about who Jesus is and what he came to do? I’m guessing you have, more times than you can count.

But let’s make this personal. Have you ever struggled with confessing Jesus exactly as he is and for what he has done for you? I know I have. How about you?

So, what does it really mean to confess Jesus? Let’s keep that question front and center this morning as we hear Jesus ask his disciples almost that very same question, and then take to heart the answers given.

Part I.

When you meet someone for the first time, what are some of the questions you typically ask that person, in order to be polite, but also to get to know them? Well, you probably ask them their name. You want to know who they are. You might also ask them what they do. Maybe she tells you that she’s a stay-at-home mom or that she works in marketing. He might tell you that he’s a financial planner. You might also ask them where they’re from. Not that it really matters, but knowing that might make it easier to keep the conversation going, especially if you’re from the same area.

Jesus wasn’t meeting his disciples for the first time when this event in Luke 9 took place. But he does ask them a question. But it was about himself, not them. He was trying to engage his disciples in a conversation; in fact, an eternally critical conversation. “Who do the crowds say I am?” He heard the common false ideas, one of which is similar to the fourth false idea I listed earlier. “They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.’” Actually, these false ideas weren’t outlandish. With each one there is some information from the Old Testament to support it. But all of them miss the mark, widely so.

And so Jesus asked, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” And it was Peter who answered for the Twelve and said, “The Christ of God.” That might sound like an odd confession to us, but it was spot on. By confessing Jesus as “the Christ,” Peter was stating that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the One who was anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the Savior of the world. By confessing that Jesus was “of God,” he was stating the Jesus is the eternal Son of God. Really confessing Jesus means to confess that Jesus is true God and nothing less.

But there were plenty of people who were looking for Jesus to be the promised Messiah. The problem was they wanted him to do things for them that Jesus never came to this earth to do. Some wanted him to be an earthly ruler. Others wanted him to be a bread king. Still others were hoping he would drive out the hated Romans.

But notice what Jesus states next. “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” That doesn’t surprise us. We’re happy to confess those very things in the creeds that we speak each Sunday. But that’s not what his followers wanted him to do. In fact, the Gospel writer Mark’s account of this event includes the information that Peter rebuked Jesus for saying such a thing.

But that’s the truth. That’s what Jesus came to do. And by God’s grace, we not only know it’s true that Jesus came to suffer, die and rise again, we believe that it was absolutely necessary for him to do so to win our forgiveness and eternal life. It does no one any good to confess that Jesus is their Savior, but deny that, even in part, he is true God. It does no one any good to confess Jesus as their Savior, but downplay that he had to suffer, die and actually rise from the dead for them. But sadly, there are “Christians” today who make those very confessions.

So, what does it really mean to confess Jesus? It means to embrace his person and his work.

We’re not here this morning to bemoan what others confess about Jesus. The only solution we have to that problem is to do everything we can to proclaim the truth about Jesus.

We’re here this morning to make sure we know what it really means to confess Jesus—to embrace his person and work. He is true God, who came to suffer, die and rise again. Is that your confession of Jesus?

I pray that it is! But do you realize what that means, practically speaking? It means we can leave our guilt at the foot of the cross. It means that we can place all our doubts about our lives into the hands of Jesus who is God and who rose from the dead. It means that we never have to wonder if we’re good enough for God or if he loves us. It means there’s no place for us to think that, somehow, we’re better than anyone else. It means that we never question what Jesus is doing in our lives or what he isn’t doing. You see, if you’re like I am, I easily confess Jesus, but, in reality, I have a hard time embracing him. My faith is weak. My guilt and doubts overwhelm me. How about you?

So what’s the solution? Go to Jesus! Don’t take his person and his work for granted. See who he is each day for you and want he has done and will do eternally for you. He does it all! You do none of it! Confessing that means really confessing Jesus. Embrace him!

Part II.

We use words to confess Jesus. But I’m sure you’re aware that words aren’t all that matter. In fact, our world is full of talk that doesn’t matter. It’s just noise or a lot of hot air or words that state promises that are never meant to be honored.

Likewise, Christian talk—our confession of Christ—is cheap if our daily lives don’t match our words. Jesus addressed that very issue in the closing portion of our sermon text. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

In short, Jesus states that confessing him means living for him alone, and he breaks that down into three short, but critical, aspects of daily living. First, deny yourself. Deny in your life and in yourself whatever opposes Jesus and living for him. That’s a monumental task. Are you up to it?

Two, take up your cross. In this context, your cross is whatever you suffer in life because of your connection to Christ. Your cross is not your arthritis. Your cross is the ridicule you face from the world for standing firm on the truths of God’s word. Are you up to it?

Third, follow Jesus. That doesn’t sound so difficult, does it? Not at first. But it does when you realize Jesus isn’t asking you to live your life with one foot in his kingdom and one in the kingdom of this sinful world. He’s not asking you to follow him at a distance or only when you don’t have something better to do. He wants you behind him all the time: 24-7-365. Are you up to it?

Is any Christian? What does it really mean to confess Jesus? It means to live for him alone.

Recently there have been news reports of people being discovered as double agents. It astounds me that anyone could ever think they could pull that off. I have too much trouble just living one life, let alone another.

But I’m pretty good at it when it comes to my Christianity, and I’ll bet you would admit the same thing. We so easily let our conversation slide into the world’s. We have no problems at times talking and acting as if we had never met Jesus in his word. Worse yet, we find it easy to do what the world is doing, rather than what Jesus tells us to do. And if your efforts to follow Jesus outwardly is easy, do you struggle inwardly? Are there habits and desires and thoughts that you hope no one ever knows? But Jesus does. And yet he has still made you one of his followers. He redeemed you and made you his own. He didn’t do that because you’re so wonderful, but because you desperately needed him to do it for you if you were ever going to escape the punishment of hell. In this section of his word, Jesus isn’t acting like a drill sergeant barking orders at raw recruits. He’s the loving Savior whose words are full of care and concern for people he loves so much that he died for them.

So, what’s your response to that loving Savior? Really confess him! Embrace his person and work, and then live for him alone. May the power of the risen Jesus accomplish it in your life! Amen.