Who do YOU say that I am

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

-Matthew 16:13-16

 For many of us, our faith began with our family. We were taught who Jesus was. We went to church with our parents. If we were involved in a church early on we took part in religious education where an instructor helped to teach us the fundamentals of our faith.

Maybe we came to faith later in life, through a friend. Perhaps we were influenced by someone in our life that invited us to church or who spoke about Jesus in a way that intrigued us.

In the text from Matthew 16 Jesus is asking his disciples who people say that He is. I can imagine them chiming in, maybe even talking all at once. “John the Baptist…Elijah…Jeremiah….

Jesus' next question goes a bit deeper. “Who do YOU say that I am”

No matter how we began our walk of faith there comes a time when Jesus asks us that very question. We may grow up in the faith of our families. We may fall in to step with a faith filled friend who talks about Jesus like they spent the afternoon together in the park. We may have knowledge and understanding that have been passed down to us in religious classes or church small groups. We may have spent our lives listening to who the people around us say Jesus is. 

But Jesus wants to know what we say. Who do YOU say that He is?

Because there is a time when our faith needs to become our own.

Has Jesus become personal to you or is He still a character on the pages of a book that perplexes you?

Jesus didn’t really care what everyone thought. He wanted to know what those who followed Him thought. 

There comes a time when we take the foundational gifts of understanding that have been given to us, and we grow in our own personal relationship with Christ. This takes time and a willingness to listen. This happens in moments of deep prayer and surrendered hearts. 

Too many times we think we have a relationship with Christ, only to realize we are living by the faith of others; our parents faith, our friends faith. We have not sat in the pages of scripture prayerfully letting the words of Christ take personal residence deep within us.

Knowing someone is far more intimate than knowing “of” someone.

Who do YOU say He is? Have you taken the time to know Him personally?

Take time to get to know Jesus for yourself. Allow the pages of scripture to come alive as you hear Him speak His heart. Then invite Him into the pages of your life. Invite Him into your story.

Peters answer is powerful. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

 When we know Christ to be not just the Messiah, but our Messiah we live life differently. When We truly know in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of the living God, we see the world with different eyes.

Take some time today to discover if you are living a life with Jesus only based on the faith of others……or who you know Him to be.

And if you don’t know who He is for yourself……open up the words of the Gospel and take that journey of relationship with Him.

He wants you to know Him.

-Pastor Patti