Who is Jesus? (Matthew 16:13-28)
Every person on the planet has to answer that question at some point in their life. Jesus is the central figure of all of human history, Jesus is the one person of whom it is not possible to have no opinion of or to ignore forever.
Those around Jesus in the crowds and amongst the pharisees, even the disciples themselves were all trying to work Jesus out! A man claiming to be God’s Son, the promised Messiah? Could it be? And if you think about it for even a moment, I believe that the vast majority of us would have been the same quandary.
Jesus knows this, and so probingly He asks the disciples; “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13) The answer is diverse because the theories were diverse – no one really had a good handle of who Jesus was.
Some said Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead (Matthew 14:1-2), some thought Jesus was the fulfilment of an Old Testament prophecy (see Malachi 4:5) or maybe Jesus was in fact Jeremiah or one of the other prophets..?
All those responses were interesting but Jesus, getting right to the point then asks His disciples; “But who do you say that I am?” There’s no wriggle room here, they are on the spot…
All of us will face a moment just like this one at some point in our lives – “Who do you say that I am?”. In that moment there will be no referencing others, just the need to give an account for what we have believed about Jesus for ourselves.
I am certain there was a moment of silence before the disciples all felt a wave of relief wash over them as they heard Peter limbering up to speak first…
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” – Peter said to Jesus (Matthew 19:16)
Nailed it! Peter in a moment of revelation given to Him by God Himself (vs17) sees Jesus in splendid clarity. Jesus is the Messiah (the meaning of ‘Christ’), Jesus is the begotten Son of God. Truly God, truly man – what a mystery revealed. Peter didn’t just see Jesus in that moment, but Peter also believed what He saw about Jesus.
Who do you say Jesus is? You can delay your answer for a period of time. But in the end of the day, everyone of us will have to answer that question ourselves before Jesus.
So, what’s your answer?
I pray that you might have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that You may know Jesus fully (Ephesians 1:17) and I pray that you might have power to grasp the magnitude and magnificence of Jesus and His love for you. So that you like Peter would be filled with revelation knowledge of Jesus, and that as a result you might be filled to overflowing with the fullness of God in your life! (Ephesians 3:14-19)
Jesus is the Messiah, the only One worthy of all our worship and adoration. May you see those truths, may they transform you from the inside out, may they impact your life 24/7 and forevermore.
Lastly, if you already know Jesus as Messiah and Lord of your life, why don’t you choose three people in your life who wouldn’t yet answer Jesus as Peter did. Why not beginto pray for them. Start by praying the prayer I’ve prayed for you in the paragraph above. Pray that they would come to know and love Jesus. Then in addition to praying, invest in their lives relationally, and look then invite them to contexts that would help move them towards faith in Jesus.
Two words that matter 