“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered and
said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’”
Jesus was on the road with His disciples and had just asked
them who other men said that Jesus was.
They responded that some thought He was John the Baptist, some Elijah,
and others thought He was one of the prophets.
Then Jesus made it very personal.
‘Who do YOU say that I am?’
Have you ever met anyone in the world that does not know the
name of Jesus? Everybody knows about
Him. Amazing, is it not? But most people in the world know of Jesus as
something other than the Christ. We hear
so often that Jesus was a great teacher.
I have heard my Hindu and Buddhist friends say as much. The Muslim community says Jesus was a
prophet. These groups hold Jesus in an
elevated but limited status. It is like
a high opinion, but short of the truth.
Jesus is still the most controversial person to have ever
walked the earth. Just ask anyone you
know and even some folks you do not know.
They may say something complimentary about Him, but most of the time it
is inaccurate. You cannot be right with
Jesus until you are right with who He is.
Further, you also need to know what He did. “Now the time has come when Jesus is going to
reveal to the disciples His true identity. Up to now, He has not declared
Himself to His disciples His true mission.”
(Chuck Smith)
The miracles and words of Jesus, as well as the testimony of
the demons and the blundering arguments of the Pharisees, correspond with Old
Testament scripture that Jesus was the Messiah (Hebrew word for ‘anointed one’). Still, Jesus had not yet clearly confessed
this to His disciples. Before He
confessed, He first asked them this key question. He sought their confession of who they
thought He was. Peter confessed that
Jesus was the Christ (Greek word for ‘anointed one’). “To be a Christian indeed, is, sincerely to
believe that Jesus is the Christ, and to act accordingly; and that he is so,
plainly appears by his wondrous works. Is
the record of those things designed only for an amusement, or to furnish us
with matter for discourse? No, certainly these things are written, “that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31); and this discourse which Christ
had with his disciples, will assist us in making the necessary reflections upon
the miracles of Christ, and a right use of them.” (Matthew Henry)
I cannot think of a more important question in this
lifetime. The answer to this question will
determine whether you have eternal life with God, or eternity in hell. The answer must be acted upon in this
lifetime. When we die, we will know
without a doubt who Jesus is. I
speculate that once we pass through this life, Jesus will ask this question in
the past tense. ‘Who did you say
that I am?’ Jesus said “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men,
him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will
also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)
It is prudent to point out that the demons believed and
confessed Jesus as ‘the son of the most high God.’ (See Mark 5:7) James points out for us: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons
believe – and tremble!” (James
2:19) So what is the difference? The demons knew who Jesus was, but they did
not call Him their Messiah, their anointed one, their King.
Once we know who Jesus is, once we realize His claims, we
must do something with that realization.
We either choose Him as our Savior, or we reject His gift of eternal
salvation. Friend, it is as simple as
that.
Is Jesus a good teacher, a prophet, or the Christ your
King? Do not wait until it is too
late. There is nothing more important in
this life than your response to this question:
Who do you say that Jesus is?
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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