Test: “Who do men say that I am?” (Mark 8:27).
If someone were to ask you, “Who is this One called Jesus?” What would you say? How would you describe Jesus? What would you say that would convince one that you truly know Him?
There are times when we are questioned about something and we do not really know the answer, but we go right ahead and say whatever comes to our mind. We may say something that is true or we might just make up something that sounds good.
As Christians, followers of Jesus, we should be able to tell who Jesus is, what He means to us, why He came, and what He has done for us. Also, just by observation, people should know we are different because of our actions, our words, our way of life, and the radiant reflection of love that shines from our face.
The disciples were fortunate to have been with Jesus during His ministry. They heard Him teach and they were privileged to see Him minister to multitudes of people. The heard Him as He taught from Old Testament Scripture.
At this point in time, according to our Scripture reading, Jesus and the disciples were traveling to the town and villages of Caesarea Philippi. While they were traveling along the road, Jesus posed a question to the disciples: “Who do men say that I am?” (v.27)
Jesus asked this question about six months before the Crucifixion occurred. He knew His mission. He knew what lay down the road. He knew about the pain and agony He would encounter. He knew about the torture of the Cross. He was at the point in His ministry where it was time to teach and prepare the disciples about his impending death.
Did men really know who Jesus was? What were their thoughts concerning His identity? He already knew men’s thoughts because He knew their heart, but this was a good lead-in question to the question He would ask His disciples.
Were men saying that He was just the son of Mary and Joseph who happened to be born in a stable in Bethlehem? Did they just label Him as the son of a carpenter? Did men consider Him to be just another man like all other men? Did they believe He was different? They had seen Him and heard of His works, but did they really know Him?
The disciples answered Jesus’ question: “Who do men say that I am?” with these words: “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets” (v.28). These are not bad responses in that people at least placed Jesus in a category higher than the average man.
John the Baptist was a unique individual and respected by the people who went out into the wilderness to listen to his unusual message. “John’s clothes were made of camel hair and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4). He was different, but he had something to offer the people. Perhaps some who went to hear him went out of curiosity, but nevertheless they went.
John was not preaching to win the praise of the people for himself, but he was concerned about the people and wanted them to praise God. He not only preached God’s Word, but John practiced what he preached. In addition to this, he was the first true prophet for some 400 years. He preached a powerful message of truth similar to Elijah. Unlike Jesus, John had no special powers.
When the people compared Jesus to being John the Baptist or Elijah, they were saying that His ways and His message followed a similar path. In other words, they were elevating Jesus to a level higher than the ordinary man. In essence their thinking and their remarks about who Jesus was were acceptable for the time being.
People thought highly of Jesus although they came short of really knowing Him. They could see that Jesus was different just as they knew John was different. There were no negative comments made about Jesus.
John’s message was one of repentance. John said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). Jesus started His ministry with the same message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). The messages were the same. John set the stage for Jesus to carry out His mission of salvation for mankind.
After Jesus heard who others thought He was, He asked His disciples this question: “But who do you say that I am?” (v.29). It is nice to ask other people what they think, but it is also important for us to really know what we think and where we stand on a particular issue.
The disciples were hand-picked by Jesus to be players on His team. These disciples were ordinary men doing worldly work. Simon Peter, James and John (sons of Zebedee), Andrew, and Philip were all fishermen. Matthew was a tax collector. Bartholomew, Thomas (the twin), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus (Judas son of James), Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot all had unrecorded occupations.
These are the people who were close to Jesus and should have known the most about Him. “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” (Matthew 10:1).
Jesus had a plan and a work for the disciples. He spoke openly to them. He gave them insight others did not have. He kept no secrets from them. There might have been times His words went over their heads because they did not understand. Nevertheless, the disciples were critical in God’s plan for the redemption of mankind.
These disciples were with Jesus when He preached the Sermon on the Mount to the multitudes of people. They saw the cleansing of the leper, the healing of the centurion’s servant, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, the healing of the two demon-possessed men, the healing of the paralytic, the little girl restored to life, the healing of the woman who had a bleeding issue for twelve years, the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand, the miracle of Jesus walking upon the water as well as other miraculous works.
Could there be any question in their mind as to who Jesus was? Jesus wanted to be sure, although He already knew, but He wanted to hear it from their mouth. Did they believe that He was really the Messiah or were they like most of the other people who were waiting for a military type of king who would liberate them from Roman rule? So, Jesus asked them the question: “Who do you say that I am?” (v.29)
Without hesitation, Peter, the spokesman for the group, said, “You are the Christ” (v. 29). They believed in their heart that Jesus was the Messiah the one God had promised and the one they long awaited. The only issue might have been that they thought Jesus was going to be their earthly king. At this time, they did not know the rest of God’s plan. They not only knew about Jesus, but they had an intimate and cherished relationship with them.
You and I can know many things about Jesus because we have the record in God’s Word. We can know all the things he did for other people and we can know what others have thought and do think about Him. It is of utmost importance that we know Him personally. How do we do this?
We must accept Him as our Messiah and be committed to Him. We must have repented of our sins and asked Him to come into our heart through faith and help us lead a life of righteousness. We must accept Him and believe His words: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Jesus spoke directly to the disciples who could see Him and hear Him. They could see His face and they could look into his eyes. Their hearts were upbeat. They wanted to spread the Word. They wanted other people to have what they had, but “Jesus strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him” (v. 30).
Have you ever though why Jesus warned the disciples to tell no one about Him? To the Jew, “Messiah” meant an earthly king of Israel, but greater than the average kings of the earth. Jesus really is the Messiah, but He is the heavenly Son of God. At the time Jesus warned the disciples not to tell anyone, neither the disciples nor the people knew what lay ahead for Jesus.
People would not understand Jesus the Christ or Jesus the Messiah until after the Crucifixion and the Resurrection occurred. “Messiah is the Hebrew word while Christ is the Greek word.”
After the Resurrection, people would be more apt to accept Jesus the Christ as Jesus the Messiah. This is why Jesus did not want the disciples to say anything about Him at this time.
Jesus next step was to educate the disciples concerning His death and His resurrection. “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (v.31).
Can you imagine how hard that must have been for the disciples? After ministering with Jesus for three to three and one-half years and then hear Him say He must be killed must have been devastating to the disciples.
Jesus did not beat-around-the-bush nor did he look for soft words when he delivered this message to the disciples. He gave them the message straight-out. Peter, the spokesman, couldn’t handle what Jesus said, so he took Jesus aside and rebuked or reprimanded Him.
Peter was thinking about Peter instead of what God had in mind. He was thinking worldly instead of heavenly. He was thinking selfishly instead of keeping an open mind and listening to what Jesus was saying.
You and I do the same thing. When that wee small voice of the Holy Spirit speaks to us we do not always listen. We may hear the message to do or not to do something, but because we are selfish and we tend to do what we want to do, we end up suffering instead of being joyful.
We always pay the price for disobedience in one way or another. Peter wanted Jesus to be king, but not the kind of suffering king Isaiah talked about in the 53rd chapter of his book.
Just because we are Christians does not mean that we will have an easy life or that everything will occur as we think. There are going to be times when we don’t understand why things are happening to us or to our loved ones. We are going to go through deep waters and the sea of life is going to be rough.
We are going to come upon detours when we least expect them. We are going to run into mountains which will seem impossible to go over, go around, or dig through. This is where our faith in Almighty God comes into play.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened….” (Matthew 11:28). When we feel we are loaded down with trouble, or we are being oppressed, or we are at the end of our rope and searching for help, we hear the still voice saying, “Come to Me.”
Our relationship with Jesus gives life purpose and meaning. We find purpose for the everyday events and we become more productive in the fields ready for harvest.
Jesus said to the disciples, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it” (v. 33, 34). These are mighty powerful words.
A prisoner who was about to be executed under Roman law was required to carry his cross to the place of execution. This was an indication that the prisoner was submitting to Roman law. When Jesus told His disciples that if they wanted to follow Him, they would have to deny themselves and take up their cross, He was indicating that they are to submit to Him fully.
Jesus was not talking about pain as He was about to suffer, but He was saying that following Him would not always be easy. There would be difficult times because the devil would be pulling in the opposite direction.
There would be times when we would want to make our own decisions about what we wanted to do. There would be times we would want to take life into our own hands. There would be times the ways of the world would look better and easier than His ways. There would be times of making the wrong turn and veering off the straight and narrow road.
Jesus said that if we would just give up our life and live for Him, He would guide us each step of the way. The devil would not be able to steal our soul. Our destination would be secure. Our eternal home would be with Him in His kingdom. Worldly power and worldly possessions are only temporary and cannot be taken out of the world. No worldly possession is worth losing your soul.
If we are not willing to commit to Jesus now, we will not have the opportunity to share in His glory later on. Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).
Conclusion:
Who is He? Who do others say He is? Who do we say Jesus is? Jesus is our Lord and our Savior. He took the sins of the world and put them at the foot of the Cross. He suffered agonizing pain and shed His blood for each one of us because of His unconditional love.
He said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:13).
I want to close with these words:
Story: “The Unique Christ”
His birth was contrary to the laws of life. His death was contrary to the laws of death.
He had no cornfields or fisheries but He could spread a table for five thousand and have bread and fish to spare. He walked on no beautiful carpets or velvet rugs, but He walked on the waters of the Sea of Galilee and they supported Him.
Three years He preached His Gospel. He wrote no book, built no church house, had no monetary backing. But after two thousand years, He is the one central character of human history, the Pivot around which the events of the ages revolve, and the only Regenerator of the human race.
Was it merely the Son of Joseph and Mary, who crossed the world’s horizon two thousand years ago? What it merely human blood that was spilled at Calvary’s hill for the redemption of sinners? What thinking man can keep from exclaiming: “My Lord and My God!”
-----------------------Watchman-Examiner
Amen.
