During His earthly ministry, there were various opinions among the people about who, exactly, Jesus was. A prophet. A miracle-worker. A rabbi. A nuisance.

So one day, He asked His disciples: But who do you say that I am? Peter—never one to be at a loss for words—replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

Peter’s answer was correct, though he didn’t yet understand what it all meant, and what Christ had come to do. Indeed, he turned right around and got into such a fierce argument with Jesus about His mission, that Jesus ended up calling him Satan (Matthew 16:21-23).

Like the blind man Jesus had to heal twice, because at first people looked like walking trees to him (Mark 8:22-25); Peter’s eyes were opened, but he didn’t yet see the truth for what it really was.

The blind man was bound to admit that he still needed more focus and clarity. But spiritually, Peter couldn’t even see what it was he couldn’t see.

That same lack of focus and clarity is apparent in the Church today. You can hear it from our pulpits. You can read it in our popular literature. You can even wear it as a fashion trend. Like Peter, we know enough to say that Jesus is the Christ, and the Son of God; but we don’t really grasp who He is; and what we need from Him.

Let’s forget about the unbelieving world claiming that Jesus was the leader of a mushroom cult, or a mass delusion among some Jewish peasants, or a fiction created by the Roman Empire to control the masses. We all know those are fringe ideas and unserious.

Christ confronts His Church, and demands to know from us: But who do you say that I am? We’ve had two thousand years to get this right. So how do our preaching and teaching, our books, and our lives, answer this question?

Twenty-some-odd years ago, the fad was wearing those WWJD bracelets; which of course stood for, What would Jesus do? The assumption there is that Christ came primarily to be a moral example to us.

Now, don’t mishear me. Scripture does sometimes hold up Christ as an example to follow. For example: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant … (Philippians 2:5-7). Or this: For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps (1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬).

Even Jesus said: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher (Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭40‬). So He certainly did expect His followers to act like His followers.

But is that why He came? If all we needed were a good example, God could’ve just sent Mr. Rogers.

Incidentally, it is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to make us more like Jesus. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says that we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. We don’t become more like Christ by introspection and good intentions. You might as well try and fly by visualizing it. You become more like Jesus by His Spirit which abides in you.

Closely related to this is those who see Jesus primarily as a teacher of morality. On the one hand, you have the so-called Red Letter Christians, who elevate the ethical commands of Christ. On the other hand, you have supposedly evangelical pulpits every Sunday where Christ is proclaimed as a dispenser of sanctified life hacks, a life coach, the unlocker of a fulfilling life.

Here’s where both approaches fail: They turn Jesus into another Moses. One is a dour prophet of the Social Gospel. The other is Ned Flanders in a sweater vest. But they are still preaching Law. And, as St. Paul warns: if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law (Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬). Commandments, even when they’re reframed as good advice, cannot save us.

If all we needed were a teacher, all we would need is Moses and the Prophets. But God sent Jesus. And while He did teach, that’s not the primary thing He came to do.

Of course, Jesus was also miracle-worker. He went around healing every disease and every affliction among the people; so that they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them (Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬-‭24‬). He calmed storms, walked on water, multiplied loaves and fishes, even raised the dead.

But these, you understand, were only signs of the Kingdom of Heaven breaking in. They were a foreshadowing of God’s ultimate plan to make death work backwards, and everything sad come untrue.

If all we needed was a wonder-worker, Jesus would’ve set the world aright that way. But those miracles were the signs, not the substance, of His Kingdom.

Another kind of answer we see and hear is Jesus as Culture Warrior. That’s who the Jews hoped the Christ would be. But God didn’t send us a politician or a general.

He sent us a Savior.

He sent us Good News.

News is something new to us. It disrupts what we thought we knew. Good examples, teachers, politicians, even miracles are not new.

What we needed was Someone who would bear the curse of God’s Law we have broken, to save us from wrath. And, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Indeed, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God (Romans 5:8-9).

What we needed was someone to earn eternal life for us by offering God, in our place, the perfect righteousness we never could. And Christ came to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15), and all the Law and the Prophets.

What we needed was someone to raise us from death to life—first spiritually, then physically. And even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved (Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬). And Christ declares to us: I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live (John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬).

This is Good News. Yes, Jesus set us a good example. But we fail to live up to it every day. Yes, He gave us good teaching, but Love God and love your neighbor, is good advice. Not Good News. Simply being told to do it doesn’t empower you to do it. If you imagine that you have loved God with all your heart; all your soul; all your strength; and all your mind—and that is the standard—even for a moment, you are either delusional, or you haven’t thought it through. Good teaching will not save you.

Grabbing hold by faith to the grace of God in Christ—to His life, death, and resurrection; to His perfect righteousness, holiness, and wisdom—that alone saves you.

And that’s really all the church has to offer the world. The world is already full of good examples, gifted teachers, and savvy politicians. If Christ is just one more of those, we have no Good News for the world.

Even if we are the good examples—so what? Then why preach Christ at all?

But if we have a Kingdom where sins are forgiven and Death is undone and Satan is crushed underfoot—that is Good News.

Jesus confronts His Church and demands to know: But who do you say that I am? Every sermon preached, every Bible study, the direction of our lives—every one of these is our answer to that question.

What are we telling ourselves? What are we telling the world?

Do we have any Good News?