Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

In Matthew 16 Jesus asked His disciples a very simple question: "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" A simple question, yet one with profound implications.

You see, Jesus wasn't looking for a Sunday school answer. A simple church answer. He was looking for something so much more. Something much deeper. So WHY did Jesus ask that question?

Because it MATTERS. It matters who Jesus is. It matters Jesus is who He says He is. And it matters who we say He is.

Because Jesus wasn't just claiming to be who this world claims Him to be. He wasn't claiming to be a religious leader. A good man. A prophet. He was claiming to be SO MUCH MORE!

He was claiming to be the Messiah! The Redeemer! The Savior of the world! The One who could take away your sin! The One who could give you new & eternal life! He was claiming to be God.

And that changed everything, including Peter's response. Because who Jesus was & who He claimed to be, Peter's response mattered all the more. And because Peter believed who Jesus said He was, it had HUGE life implications.

Taking a look at the calling of the disciples in Matthew 4, you see they literally dropped everything when Jesus said "follow me." They literally dropped what was in their hands, quit their jobs & left their livelihood & everything they had ever known behind. Just like that.

Why? Because it MATTERED. Because Jesus MATTERED.

So what about you? Who do you say Jesus is? Who do you claim Him to be? Who do you claim Jesus to be by the way you live? The way you behave & words you speak?

Whether you realize it or not, you tell this world who you think Jesus is by the way you live. By your actions & the words you speak.

Peter's response to Jesus was, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Is this the answer your life gives? It matters.

JV