Two weeks ago I wrote a piece called "Recognition." It talked about our ability to recognize who Jesus is with our hearts as we go about our lives, always busy and always focused on everything, except this Lord who laid his life down for us. In that piece, it talked about those during Christ's time on earth, who seemed to have an instant recognition of Jesus as the Christ without a miracles as proof.
Once again in the passage of Luke for today we are dealing with recognition. Many times Jesus asked his disciples questions, but here in Luke 9: 7-27 we hear probably the most important question that Jesus ever asks of his disciples or of any of us: "Who do you say that I am?"
So often when we are with people who are non-believers, or with those who are seekers but have not found the truth, or with those who have a thin veil of faith, or with those who attend a church but are clearly more involved in the ritual without the substance of knowing Christ in their heart, we want to ask them this question: "Do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God?" Their answers may vary but often it is a "yes" with all sorts of "but's…" because they want to qualify their interpretation of Jesus as a great teacher, or a wonderful rabbi, or an extraordinary philosopher, or a profound thinker, or a great man, or a powerful religious person etc. None of which describes who He truly was or is.
In stating this, I can hear those out there, many who are either in liberal and culturally adaptive churches who would disagree and argue with me. They would see nothing wrong in allowing anyone to believe however they wish to interpret Jesus. In their estimation, I would be some sort of poor, pathetic non-intellectual, who cannot see Jesus with objectivity or "diversity" because I accept what Jesus said of himself: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51 " I and the Father are one." John 10:30
So here really is the mandate, as I see it, in our thinking. The key question to pose to anyone- to the devout or to the those lacking any faith-- is not simply " do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God" but rather the more personal and introspective, right to the heart of that matter question that Jesus asked of his own twelve followers: "Who do YOU say I am?" Then before answering it, let it settle in your heart and soul. It is that important. It is not a survey question. It is THE question.
It calls to mind what C.S. Lewis stated so well in his book Mere Christianity: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Jesus did not open the door to diverse interpretation of himself. He said "I am who I said I am." With the question posed to us in our faith, "who do you say I am," there has to be an answer that is at the heart of truth and at the very bottom line of our soul. If we cannot answer as directly and without hesitation as Peter did, then we need to re-examine where we are in the Christian faith.
Laurie Erdman
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