Who Do You Say He Is?

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“They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. “Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘God’s Messiah.’”-Luke 9:19-21

This is quite possibly one of the most intriguing interactions between Christ and His disciples. They had been called to follow Him and many of them chose to do so without question. They dropped their nets; left their businesses, left their families, and followed a man who promised great things.

They witnessed amazing miracles, healings, wise teaching, etc. They saw this rabbi do and teach things they had never before seen nor heard. In this moment, Christ put them on the spot. He challenged them to look within their heart and figure out who this teacher was to them.

Then, after several compared Jesus to other prophets, Peter boldly pronounced “You are the Messiah!”

This is huge! Up until this point, John the Baptist was the only one to actually see Christ as being more than a man. Peter says “You are the Messiah!” basically saying out loud that He is the One who was promised by Old Testament prophets to change the world and free God’s people.

The question He asked carries over today. Who do you say He is?

In order to fully worship God we need to be able to answer that very question. It is heavy. It outweighs every other question.

If you don’t know how to answer that question, then you can’t respond fully to questions of baptism, sin, communion, church, etc. Your understanding of Christ guides your answer to any other question that might be asked in regards to your faith.

Christ is our redeemer. He is our Savior. He is our Lord. He is the one who came to free us from our captivity. He is the one who made the ultimate sacrifice to bring us back into a right standing with our Creator.

HE IS THE MESSIAH!

Amen.

QUESTION: How do you answer the question?