Rabbi Schneider — On This Rock (07/03/2017)
Shalom and God bless you, beloved ones. My name's Rabbi Schneider. Welcome today to this very important edition of I'm now in a Holy Land series. I'll be taking you into the land of Israel, and we'll be focusing today on a place Caesarea Philippi is an ancient Greek city. All that's left today of it, however, are it's been preserved as an archaeological site.
You see, one of the most important revelations contained in the New Testament took place in Caesarea Philippi as Jesus was ministering there. I'm praying right now for you, that as you tune in through this edition of Discovering the Jewish Jesus, Father God is gonna touch your heart with revelation, and that you're gonna be supernaturally changed through his Word. God bless you, beloved one.
God bless you and Shalom, my friends. Thank you for joining me in our Israel series. I'm here today in Caesarea Philippi in the land of Aratz Israel. I'm going now to one of my favorite portions in God's Word, Matthew, chapter 16, where we find one of the most anyone can ever ask.
Jesus said to Peter, who do you say that I am? Let's pick up in the Word of God. I'm beginning now Matthew, chapter 16: Now when Yeshua came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is?
And they said, Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Now I'm gonna want to just put some emphasis here.
Jesus said, Who do the people say that I am? I want to ask you a question right now. Who do you say that Jesus is? Now I know that the vast majority of you that are watching right now would say, well I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
I believe that Jesus died for my sins on the cross. But let me challenge you with a strong statement. Many of you that would say I believe that Jesus is God's Son, when you get into a conversation with someone that's not a Christian, someone from another religion, and they don't believe in Jesus, you're reluctant to tell them that Jesus is the words, many Christian people today, they believe that the highest standard of moral excellence that one can have is the standard of tolerance.
They basically have a concept, well I'm a Christian. But you if that works for you, that's fine. I'm not gonna judge you. But I want you to know when Jesus asked them, Who do you say that I am? The answer that they needed to respond was, You are the Son of God and no man comes to the Father but by Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. And he Father but through me.
And so let's say for example that you're, you're, you feel you're a Christian right now, and you get into a conversation with someone from another religion. And you respect their point of view but you respect it in such a way that you're actually saying to them, you know what, if that's good for you, I'm not gonna make any waves.
If that's good for you, I'm not gonna challenge you. I'm a Christian, but if you're something else, you know, if that, if that's what you are, that's fine. But I want you to know, if that's what your a Christian in the Biblical sense of the word, because Jesus said, Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.
Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man cometh to the Father but through me. So this is an important question. Who do you say that I am? Many of you that are watching, you're too tolerant of other people's faith. I'm not talking about other movements within Christianity. I'm talking about people that don't believe that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus is the only way to God.
Listen, if you are truly a Christian by the definition of the word, you have to be willing to say to people, Jesus is the only way to God because that's who Jesus said that he is.
You see, many of us have heard of a, of a very famous author, and this author said that Jesus either is who he said he was, he's a liar, or a lunatic. Liar, lunatic, or Lord, he can't be anything else.
See there's, I'm for example, I'm Jewish. And many Jewish people say, well I believe that Jesus is a prophet, but I don't believe that he's the Messiah. But you know that really isn't a plausible position, because the only record that we have, beloved ones, of who Jesus is, is the New Testament. And we have a few different sources that say a few minor things about him.
For example, the ancient Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote to us that there was a person that lived, Yeshua of Nazareth. He was accused of being a sorcerer. He did miraculous things. We have a historical record by the Jewish historian, Josephus, that there was a man that lived by the name of Yeshua of Nazareth, 2,000 years ago approximately, that he said he was the Messiah, that he, that he was a, that he was accused of being a sorcerer.
And that this is, this is, but we don't have the actual words of Jesus any place but in the New Testament. So the Jesus that's the historical Jesus, beloved, the only historical Jesus there is, is the Jesus that's revealed to us in the New Testament. And Jesus said that he was the Son of God, that he was the Messiah.
He said before Abraham was, I AM, okay. And so to say as some he was a prophet, but just one of many, that's not really a logical answer because the only way we know who he is, is by what the New Testament records as to what he said he the record of the other apostles concerning who he said he is.
And so once again, if we say he's just a prophet, it's not a logical answer. He's either who he said he was, which is the Messiah the Son of God. Or he was a lunatic. He thought he was somebody that he wasn't.
Crazy, like so many people in our mental institutions today; we've got many people that think they're Jesus. They're in our mental institutions. Or he was a liar. He was claiming to be somebody that he knew that he wasn't, you know, deceiving people. So as C.S. Lewis said, he was either a liar, the lunatic, or the Lord; liar, lunatic or Lord.
So Jesus said, who do you say that I am? You can't just say that Jesus is good for you, but that you're not putting a demand on other people to receive him, because Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.
Jesus said, He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. What do they believe? The Bible says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Okay, in other words, why did God raise Jesus from the dead? One of the reasons that God rose Jesus from the dead, beloved, is to confirm that Jesus is who he said he is. He is the only substitute for sin says there is no name under heaven but the name of Jesus by which men can be saved.
So I want to ask you a question. Have you really been walking in who Jesus said he is, the only name under heaven, the only person that can actually save man, the only one that has the authority and the ability to forgive men's sins?
So next time you're in a conversation with people that doesn't believe in Jesus, don't just wash your hands and say, well you know, good for you. If that's what works for you, if that's what makes you happy, I'm not gonna judge you.
No, if you really believe that Jesus is who he said he is, you've got to preach the Jesus said, preach the Gospel to all the creation. And he that believes will be saved. Believes what? That he's the our sins, and that there's no other name under heaven, as the Scripture says.