“The Sixty-Four Million Dollar Question”
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Elpis Christian Church
August 21, 2011
Do you remember it? It was called “The Sixty-Four Dollar Question,” and it was wildly popular. Listen to how one researcher describes its origin:
“It had its roots in the CBS radio quiz show, Take It or Leave It, which ran from April 21, 1940, to July 27, 1947, hosted first by Bob Hawk (1940-41) and then by Phil Baker(1941-47). In 1947, the series switched to NBC, hosted at various times by Baker, Garry Moore (1947-49), Eddie Cantor (1949-50) and Jack Paar (beginning June 11, 1950. On September 10, 1950, Take It or Leave It changed its title to The $64 Question. Paar continued as host, followed by Baker (March 1951-December 1951) and Paar (back on December 1951). The series continued on NBC Radio until June 1, 1952.
On both Take It or Leave It and The $64 Question, contestants were asked questions devised by the series' writer-researcher Edith Oliver. She attempted to make each question slightly more difficult than the preceding one. After answering a question correctly, the contestant had the choice to "take" the prize for that question or "leave it" in favor of a chance at the next question. The first question was worth one dollar, and the value doubled for each successive question, up to the seventh and final question, worth 64 United States dollars.
During the 1940s, "That's the $64 question" became a common catch phrase for a particularly difficult question or problem. In addition to the common phrase, "Take it or leave it," the show also popularized another phrase, widely spoken in the 1940s as a taunt but now mostly forgotten (except in Warner Brothers cartoons). Chanted in unison by the entire audience when someone chose to risk their winnings by going for the $64 prize, it was vocalized with a rising inflection: "You'll be sorrr-REEEE.”
One final, humorous comment: the researcher adds wryly, “then they had the game show $64000 question and I guess with inflation it is now (the) 64 million dollar question.”
Well today – whether you call it the sixty-four; sixty-four thousand; or sixty-four million dollar question – let’s just leave it as this: it is the most important question you can ask in life. It’s found on the lips of Jesus of Nazareth. And I just read it a minute ago.
“What about you? Who do YOU say I am?”
Our world is filled with questions, many which seem to be unanswerable. But this one, this one burning issue, continues to surface. Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Or, if asked from a Christian faith perspective, who IS Jesus today?
Now there are some, many in fact, who might take this preacher to task today. They would be quick to say, “That’s not a burning question at all – not for me!” Atheist or agnostic, they would simply say “I don’t know – and frankly, I don’t care – I’ve got plenty of other fish to fry.”
Well fair enough. But as for me – I can’t think of a more important question. I ask it every day, in one form or another. Who is this Lord of mine? What does he think about me? What does he want of me? What does he offer me? What does he want me to offer others in his name? On and on, the questions go on. And they all come back to the issue of my declaration of faith in this mysterious fellow named Jesus.
So often I am brought back in my mind to the comment that atheist turned Christian C.S. Lewis made about how there is one thing about Jesus, you can’t very well be neutral about him. Given all he said and reportedly did, and the impact it has had on our world you are ultimately forced to do one thing or another. You either have to decide he was a raving lunatic – or you have to fall on your knees and confess him Lord and Savior. But a wishy-washy attitude of he was simply a great teacher – well, that just didn’t sit well with Professor Lewis. He thought – as I do – that Jesus’ life deserves a more committed attitude from us than that. And so – our scripture brings us to the question Peter and the disciples and millions more have faced – “Who Is Jesus?” And how we answer that will change how we live every waking moment of our lives.
Now some have chosen to answer this way: “Jesus, oh, he’s my savior…uh, pass the catsup, please.” What do I mean by that? Well, just that for some they have decided to adhere to the intellectual belief that
1. the Bible and it’s claims are true (though they don’t read it and don’t know it very well.)
2. Jesus is, in fact, the Savior of mankind and anyone who says they believe in him gets a ticket out of hell and a pass to heaven, so – who would turn that down, right?
3. that having made that decision about their eternal resting place they can pretty much forget all about it and get on with the really important stuff like lunch, so, “please pass the catsup.”
But for many more of us – for people like you and me – that’s not enough is it? We want to know what difference it makes, not just for the future, but for today –this affirmation of Jesus as Lord and Savior. And it is for us that I think this scripture is particularly important. Because you see, it reminds us that living as a Christian impacts all of our decisions, day in and day out. Or it should. Our faith is not supposed to be neatly put into a little compartment that we just pull out on Sunday morning or at Christmas time. It is to be our very life’s breath. It is to inspire us, inform us, invigorate us, and send us out to DO something important for God. That’s why I think it’s the “sixty-four million dollar” question. And I think you believe that too – otherwise you wouldn’t get out of bed on Sunday morning and put on your best clothes and drag your children here when they would rather be watching cartoons or eating their cocoa puffs. We get it. We get that following Jesus, and learning every day how to be more like him, as best we can, is the burning question of our lives. We get that prayer isn’t just for those who have secluded themselves on some holy mountain top – it’s for you and me – it’s the pipeline to talk to the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. We get that opening our Bible regularly and trying to understand at least a little of what it has to say is really important. We get that Jesus didn’t just die for us – he lived for us – and he wants us to live for him as well. And living for him might call us into a wild, new, adventure when we least expect it. Because Jesus didn’t just live a long time ago – he lives today – in some strange, mystical, but powerful way.
“Who do you say that I am?” is not a question asked and answered two-thousand years ago – only to be forgotten. It is THE question for all humanity to ask and answer even now.
And how you answer it makes a difference in what you do at home; how you raise your children; what decisions you make at work; what you will and will not do to make money; what you will do with your money once you have some; whom you will spend your life with; what books you will read or not read; what movies you will let your children watch or not watch; what you will do when you see that beggar on the street; whom you will vote for and why; how you will speak; how you will listen; whether or not you will love those who think or look differently than you do; and whether or not you will love others in real, tangible ways - even those who hate you with a passion. These are the issues – and a thousand more – that are impacted by your answer to Jesus’ question “Who do you say I am?”
For me the answer to Jesus is simply “You are my Lord and my savior, my God, whom I will follow every day of my life.” And that means I can’t decide I know it all; I can’t decide I’ve read the Bible enough; I can’t decide I will never change my mind again – I have to decide instead that as I listen and hear the still, small, voice of God guiding me – I will do my best to follow and do what he tells me to do. You may answer Jesus’ question differently –but I pray you answer it daily.
And by the way – just as an aside, when you get stuck in this process – I think another question is a good one to ask as well – it’ll get you moving again. It’s the follow up question to “Who do you say that I am?” It’s “What would Jesus do?”
One other thing about that game show - it had to go off the air because it turned out to be rigged. That’s the way the world is. It so often appears to be one thing and turns out to be something far uglier and false - but not so with Jesus. He’s real; he’s authentic; he can be trusted. And there isn’t a single question you might have that he isn’t willing to hear and answer for you. The answer might not always come in the form you want or expect – but I believe, one day, it will come.
This next week, ask the “sixty-four million dollar” question. Ask yourself who Jesus is. And ask how you can grow closer in your walk with him. It’ll be worth a whole lot more than money. It’ll make all the difference in the world. The world is full of questions. And we have the answer to the most important one of all. Isn’t that great?
