Who Do You Say I Am?

Peter’s Confession of Christ

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

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

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

Who do people say the Son of Man is?

We are bombarded today with opinions. Everywhere we turn, especially in media, we continually hear what other people think about pretty much everything. Even the news, which is supposed to be offering unbiased information, is full of opinion and propaganda. (But that’s just my opinion.) If you pay attention, you will hear a lot about what people think about Jesus, and who He is. There are continually references to Jesus in all sorts of media, from sitcoms to documentaries and everything in between, it fascinates me how Jesus always seems to come up. The question is, do we let what other people say about Jesus influence who we think He is?

The reason Jesus comes up so often, even among people who claim not to believe in Him, is that all of history is His story. He is continually there, convicting by His Spirit, loving by His Spirit and through His servants, reminding through creation that there is a God, so that man is without excuse. Of course He comes up in conversation and media, because He is always present and presenting Himself as the answer and the way to change.

The problem is, that He is misrepresented so much of the time, that there is a lot of confusion around who He really is, and what He’s really like. Not to digress, but I don’t believe for one second that Jesus would have burned a copy of the Quran after putting the book on trial. Not when the commandment He gave is to love. It can be confusing for people who are searching for truth about Jesus, no matter which side they are on.

That’s what happened in Jesus time. He asked His disciples what people were saying about Him. He wasn’t trying to puff Himself up or hear the latest gossip, but He was making a point to His followers. If you try to base what you believe on public opinion, you will never come to a solid foundation. You will be blown here and there by every wind of doctrine. (Ephesians 4:14) The public didn’t know Jesus, so they didn’t know what to make of Him. He preached repentance, so He must be John the Baptist come back to life. No, no, look at the signs and wonders He performed! He must be Elijah! Well, He preaches with such authority, He must be a prophet... They had never taken the time to get to KNOW Jesus, so they could only base their opinion on what they knew ABOUT Jesus. 

Then Jesus asked His disciples a key question. “Who do you say I am?”

But what about you?

I believe Jesus asks us regularly, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” The reason He asks us, is because it is important to re-evaluate what you believe once in a while. Have you been swayed by public opinion? Are you believing something that is contrary to the nature of God? Did the pastor in Florida cause you to have a crisis of belief? Other people’s actions, sermons, comments, opinions, attitudes, etc. can all affect how we see other people. 

There have been many times in my life, when my belief about someone has changed, because of someone else. I will befriend a person, and think they are super nice, and trustworthy. All it takes is another person to come along and say, “Oh man, did you hear about that person? They are so dishonest! And mean! Let me tell you what they did!” My view of the first person has become colored. All of a sudden, there is some doubt in my heart about whether that person really is nice and trustworthy. Really, I should be doubtful about the one gossiping. The only way this doesn’t affect your opinion of your friend, creating doubts, is if you KNOW the friend really well. And if it does create doubts, and you are close to the friend, you can always ask them for the truth.

Do you see now, why it is so important to be in a relationship with Christ, and not in a religion? The closer you are to a person, the more you will see the truth about them. That’s why the ones closest to us see the worst and the best of us. When you are close to a person and spend a lot of time with them, you can’t keep hiding who you really are. That’s good news for us. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you will know about Him, because He delights to reveal the deep mysteries of God to us.

Simon (Peter) was able to answer with the truth about Jesus. He declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The reason He could answer with the truth is because he knew Jesus. He had heard what Jesus said about Himself, which was confirmed by the way Jesus lived His life. He had spent enough time with Jesus to know what was true.

Revealed by the Father

There is more to this passage. In a way, I saved the best for last! After Peter’s confession, the passage goes on.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

I love how Jesus affirms to Peter, that his confession, “...was not revealed to you by man...”, was not based on public opinion. I can hear the underlying “Well done!” in Jesus’ statement. The even more encouraging part is that Jesus says it was revealed by His Father in heaven. We don’t have to depend on public opinion or our own powers of deduction, because the Father will reveal who Jesus is. Jesus said in the book of John that Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth. (John 16:13) James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” As in any healthy relationship, the more you pursue the other person, the more they will respond in kind. It’s the reason we were made- to know God. His desire is for relationship.

When we receive the revelation of who Jesus really is, we will have a new identity. (Yay!!) That’s why Jesus gave Simon a new name. “And I tell you that you are Peter...” We will begin to see ourselves as Jesus sees us. As with Peter, we will have to walk it out, but we will grow and grow into who God intended us to be as we go deeper in our relationship with Jesus. 

The gates of hell will not overcome it!

The final statement I want to discuss, is Jesus declaration, “...and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Now, I don’t want to get into some deep theological discussion about whether the church was built on Peter, because that’s not the life or death issue here. I believe that the rock Jesus was referring to, is the revelation of who He is. The Bride of Christ, His church, will be built on the revelation of who Jesus really is. He said He will return for a Bride without spot or  wrinkle. He will make us ready, and the only way that will happen, is for us to allow ourselves to be transformed into the image of Christ. 

Have you ever noticed that people who hang out together a lot start to speak the same way, and have some of the same mannerisms? I believe that the way we become more like Jesus is to spend more time with Him. Instead of letting public opinion change how we see His church, and who He is, we should spend enough time with Him, that we are transformed, and we radiate the truth like light. Instead of being conformed to the ways of the world, we will be transformed by Him! Then people will be influenced by what is true. When the body of Christ comes into our true identity, the world will take notice, and long for what we have. There is a hunger in the world that only Jesus can satisfy, but we won’t draw people to Him by burning books or picking fights. We draw people to Him by loving Him and walking like Jesus walked- only doing and saying what the Father does. Everything we do has to be for Him. That’s what the gates of hell won’t overcome. They can’t. It’s impossible.

God bless you as you seek to know Him more!

Man! I LOVE JESUS!!! :o)