What Would Jesus Do? - Week One: "Who Do You Say That I Am?"

 

What Would Jesus Do? Reclaiming a Christ-centered Faith 

This series will help us rediscover what it means to follow Jesus—not the Jesus we’ve created in our image, but the Jesus revealed in Scripture. 

But first, a bit of history about the whole What Would Jesus Do? Thing.  

In 1896, Charles Sheldon published a book entitled In His Steps, a fictionalized account of what happened in a traditional, well-to-do church congregation when they were challenged to ask the question, "What Would Jesus Do?" in every aspect of their lives: business, relationships, politics, money, purpose, etc.  

The essential idea behind this book was to challenge Christians to begin living differently.  Instead of just giving lip service to their faith in Jesus, would they be willing to actually follow him and do their best to live as Jesus did?  

This book emerged following the Industrial Revolution in American history.  This would be a time of great turmoil.  Rapid industrialization and advances in technology resulted in mental health issues, concern over health and infectious diseases, high unemployment, and addiction.  The disparity between rich and poor was noticeably widening.  Women struggled to be treated equally.  Racial minority groups were experiencing deep discrimination, immigration was a hot topic, and there was strife between immigrants and so-called native born people in many parts of the country.  

Sound familiar?  

The Social Gospel movement emerged as a way to address the crisis of the moment.  It was a movement among progressive Christians to do everything they could to cure society's ills through social programs, support groups, and more.  

This little book, written by Sheldon in the late 1890s, captured the early days of that movement, urging Christians to do what Jesus would do to address the troubling issues of the day.  

The Social Gospel movement would reappear in different forms over the course of the 20th century.  Civil rights movement- MLK was heavily influenced by the Social Gospel.  

In the 1990s, the whole WWJD idea became a thing among evangelical Christians.  There were t-shirts, bracelets, hats, bumper stickers, you name it.  

But that faded, too.  And I think it did because that's what happens to fads, and also what happens when the whole idea of asking what Jesus would do gets misguided and becomes a way to be identified more than a way to live.  

Turns out, following Jesus is a lot harder than it sounds.  

This series aims to reclaim a Christ-centered faith by focusing on that question, What Would Jesus Do?   

Today we're going to begin with a simple idea that will be the thread through this entire sermon, and the most relevant way to kick off this series.  

IF YOU SAY THAT YOU WANT TO FOLLOW JESUS, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE FOLLOWING

Matthew 16:13-20

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 

• The setting for this scene is very important: “The Gates of Hell.” A place filled with temples to gods and goddesses, and even Caesar Augustus. 
• Jesus wants to hear what “the street” is saying about him.  

14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

• The disciples say: John the Baptist, Elijah - all messengers for the Messiah. 

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[a] the Son of the living God.” 

• Peter blurts out something profound that becomes a confession.  

Peter's confession served as a model for converts to Christianity in the apostolic and early church period.  Converts' entry into the church was predicated on their ability to confess Christ.  They spoke of Christ's sovereignty over all aspects of life. 

17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. 

• Jesus indicates that what Peter revealed was a gift—not taken lightly.  

The text reveals that as a gift this is an awesome responsibility to live into.  

18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[b] and on this rock[c] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was[d] the Messiah.[e]

• Peter's confession became the way converts in the apostolic and early Christian era were invited to join.  But what did Peter know about Jesus? 

(Saw Jesus heal the sick, welcome outcasts, bring comfort to the grieving, peace to those with troubled minds, fed the hungry, gave hope to those who were hopeless, loved his enemies, forgave those who were accused... Heard all of his teachings... left everything to follow him)

• Later confessions shifted to reciting the right creeds and obeying the church hierarchy, rather than WWJD?

Some Thoughts On Knowing and Following Jesus 

• Knowing and following Jesus begins with an encounter, not ideology. (Everyone has an opinion)

We can say all of the right things, but is calling ourselves a Christian truly changing our lives?  It's not the same as an encounter with, or a realization of, Jesus, or what following his example means to us.  

• Getting Jesus’ proper titles right isn’t the same as being a disciple.  

In our own time, the church might do well to spend less time insisting that others acknowledge Jesus with the right language, and more time living into his example of spending himself recklessly for the world he loves, and trusting God to vindicate such obedience in God's own time.    - Lance Pape 

• We don’t invite Jesus onto our side; we surrender ourselves to his Kingdom.

This is where so many Christians get this wrong.  Rather than practicing exegesis, they practice eisegesis.  They impose their will on the text rather than the other way around.  They don't spend the time figuring out who they say they follow.  

So what do we do with this?  

In our own time of turmoil, this couldn't be more relevant. 

The only way is to make following Jesus a way of living our lives every day in every way.  By asking ourselves What Would Jesus Do? and then determining to follow the Jesus we see in Scripture.  

If it's uncomfortable... If it causes us to see the world with more loving eyes... If it shakes up our own ideas, opinions, or deeply held beliefs... If it makes us kinder, more loving, compassionate, less judgemental, and more willing to give of ourselves and what we have... we might be asking the right Jesus that question.  

 

IF YOU SAY THAT YOU WANT TO FOLLOW JESUS, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE FOLLOWING.