The Turning Point

People have all sorts of views of Jesus today, just as they did back then.

Some people say Jesus was a wise man. 

Others say Jesus was an influential leader. 

But Jesus won’t let us settle for a false idea of who he is. 

He won’t let us keep our ideas of him theoretical. 

He’s determined that we may see clearly, so that we may trust completely.

It’s very personal.

Jesus asks his disciples the same burning question.

“Who do you say I am?”

Of the disciples, Peter gets Jesus’ identity right.

But does he understand why Jesus came? 

This is a turning point for Peter. And it is a crucial moment for us.

How can God’s promised king set up his kingdom by dying on a cross?  

Does the message of the cross sound like good news to you?

There are two ways of looking at the cross.  

If we look at the cross from a human point of view, the cross looks very weak.  

Jesus is exposed, humiliated, and defeated.  

The cross seems to prove that Jesus had got it wrong.  

But if we look at the cross from God’s point of view, then we see God’s rescue mission. 

As Jesus dies on the Cross, he takes on himself the punishment we deserve for our sin. He dies in our place. And because he dies the death we deserve, we do not need to face God's judgment ourselves.

It’s as if God is saying, “because of the death of Jesus on the cross, the way is now open for people to approach me. Their sin has been paid for, fully, and finally and forever.”

This is not a weakness.  

There has never been a more powerful moment in history.

What about you?

Why do you think Jesus came?

Did his plan go wrong, when he died on the cross? Was it just a tragic waste of a young life? 

Or was it a rescue?