“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Have you ever had your ear to the grapevine to catch the latest news? The grapevine-style of news gathering is full of speculation, has lots of ideas, lots of partial truths, lots of opinion, lots of gossip -- but is short on accuracy.
One day when Jesus was finally able to have a few private moments with His disciples, He asked them who people were saying He was. After hearing them talk a lot about the speculation of the crowd, He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
That was -- and is -- a chilling question.
It is always easier to have others do our work for us. It is much less of a risk to stand behind someone else’s opinion because when we find they were wrong, we can easily side-step over and stand behind someone else!
But, when Jesus turned and ask the question again, He wasn’t interested in what they had heard, but was interested in what they believed.
That same question stands across time . . . “Who do you say I am?”
Sure, we have heard what others have had to say -- some of us may have been hearing what others have had to say about Christ since our birth -- but others’ opinions do not matter. The question was not
“Who do others say I am?,” but, “Who do YOU say I am?”
Some say Jesus was a prophet -- a good man -- a good teacher -- a wise man -- a kook! But, it only matters who you say He is.
The brave disciple, Peter, as he often did for the others, stepped forward and said, “God’s Messiah.”
Will we be as brave? Having an opinion and sharing that opinion are two different things. Private knowledge of who Jesus is is useless -- even the demons believe. (James 2:18-20)
Confession and action on our belief -- a living faith -- is the key!
Matthew 3: 32: “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”
In Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, when the crowds had gathered, had been convicted in their hearts of their guilt of having put Christ to death, and were pleading with the disciples as to what they could do to begin making amends -- the same disciple, Peter, who had stepped forward earlier, offered this challenge to the crowds:
Acts 2:38: Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
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