Who do you say that I am?
Matthew 16: 13-20
Jesus is
with his disciples and asks a most peculiar question:
“who do
people say that the Son of Man is?”. Jesus often refers to himself as ‘the son
of man’ so the question is ‘who am I?’.
When the
disciples say that some people say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets, Jesus is still more direct “But
who do YOU say that I am?”.
I don’t
think for a moment that Jesus is asking for his own benefit – he’s not having a
crisis of identity or confidence, he’s not wanting his disciples to say nice
things about him.
Jesus is
asking because he knows it’s a question the disciples need to think about ‘who
do you say that I am?’ or in other words ‘who am I to you?’. This is a vital
question to answer because the disciples’ answer to that question is going to
give direction to the whole of the rest of their lives.
Is this
John the Baptist, or Elijah, or another prophet? Is this someone come to give a
re-run of what God has already said through his prophets? Is this just another
messenger or teacher from God, one in a long line of such prophets, come to
help people re-discover God’s law? If so, they are right to follow, right to
listen, right even to try to put Jesus’ teaching into action in their lives.
But Jesus is about to go to Jerusalem, where he knows he will be killed. If he
is only a prophet, the disciples better get ready to run away, to disassociate
themselves from him, to save their lives by abandoning Jesus. If he is only a
prophet, he certainly isn’t worth following to the cross: they’d do better to
take his teachings with him back to Galilee.
Who do
you say that I am? asks Jesus. And Peter replies “You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God.”. Much, much more than a prophet then – the Christ, the
anointed, the One, not only the Son of Man, but the Son of God.
So what
about us? Who do you say that Jesus is?
How might
we go about answering that?
We might
rack our brains for some scripture; or a line of a hymn might help, or we might
have our own answer from the way in which we have encountered Jesus in our
lives so far.
I’d like
us to spend a few moments sharing with just one or two people around us our
answer to Jesus’ question:
“who do
you say that I am?”.
It can be
very simple, it can be very personal – I will only ask you to share your answer
if you want to. And don’t worry – there is no one right answer – and no wrong
answers either. If someone asked you to write on the side of a bus “Who is
Jesus?” what would you put?
And maybe
between us, in all our answers put together, like Peter, we will find an answer
that is not revealed just by flesh and blood, but by our father in heaven.
Who is
Jesus?
….. 5
minutes….
Would
anyone like to share what you think?
If not !
I could suggest: Lord, saviour, friend, king, God incarnate, brother…
Not a
simple question, or a theology exam, not a question that had a “right answer”
but it is a vital question, because what we say about Jesus will make a
difference to our lives.
If we say
he is
Lord..
guides our life
Saviour…
need have no fear
Friend…
never alone
King..
everything else relatively unimportant
God
incarnate… believe in a God of love who is with us & for us
Brother..
understands.
Just
think for a moment of who you say Jesus is – and what that means for your life
(not going to ask you to talk to anyone else about this – unless you’d like to
after the service!)...
Whatever
your answer when Jesus asks you ‘who do you say that I am’ – I pray it will
direct and uphold and enrich your life.
In the
name that is above every name… Jesus.
Amen.
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