Who Would You Say Jesus Is?
If Jesus were to ask His disciples today the two questions recorded in Matthew 16:13-16, what would the answers be? Nearly 2,000 years of history, culture, and traditions would greatly affect this conversation.
Jesus wanted to know: "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The disciples were no strangers to what people around them were saying. They promptly answered: "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." They had heard the rumors circulating among the people. Even Herod, who executed John, thought Jesus was John resurrected from the dead (Matthew 14:2). Others thought Jesus must be at least a prophet similar in greatness to Elijah or one of the others.
But Jesus was not content to find out merely what the general public thought; He next asked: "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus commends Peter for expressing this truth, which had become the foundation of Christianity.
Remarkably, in today's world, some say they are not sure that Jesus ever existed. Still others say He must be accepted "on faith," which apparently means without evidence and apart from sound reasoning. There is, however, more than sufficient proof for the life of Christ, His death on the cross for the sins of mankind, His burial, and His resurrection.
The miracles (which Jesus did) bore witness to all His claims. The people were so impressed they wanted to make Him a king (John 6:15). Wherever He went "into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the market places…and as many as touched Him were made well" (Mark 6:56). When the apostle John wrote His account of Jesus' life, he included various miracles so that the people would believe (John 20:30-31).
When Peter preached about Jesus on the day of Pentecost, he referred to "the miracles, wonders, and signs" the Lord did, which "you yourselves also know" (Acts 2:22). The multitude did not dispute Peter's reference to those miracles; no doubt many of them or one of their family members had been healed by Jesus.
The apostles did not live the remainder of their lives for Jesus and die a martyr's death for a myth. They did not give up their prestige and worldly goods to become the "offscouring of all things" (1 Cor. 4:13) for nothing. They had the hope of eternal life that the living, resurrected Christ promised them.
People in the first century were just as skeptical as we are. They would not have embraced a "new" religion just because they were bored. Christianity demands commitment from those who accept it. In those days it often meant being arrested and losing one's life. Christianity spread around the world because it is genuine and authentic.
Who do you say Jesus is?