Who Do You Say I Am?

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 21 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10(NLT)

by Alexandra Copeland

In Matthew 16, we are treated to an up close view of a private conference that Jesus Christ had with his disciples. We know that he walked and talked with them often, and that they were supremely privileged to have a ring-side seat of his ministry, teachings, and many healings and miracles. The thing that makes the record in Matthew 16 stand out is that the conversation taking place is one concerning himself. It was in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, and it is believed that the crowds might have been a little less there than they were in other places. Perhaps this afforded Jesus Christ more time to converse with his beloved disciples. 

In Matthew 16:13(NLT), Jesus asked them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” One of the things that we notice in his question is that he referred to himself as ‘the Son of Man’. We can see from reading the gospels, and also knowing a little bit about the culture during the time when Jesus walked the earth, that titles were a very big thing. It was customary to distinguish men by their highest title as a way denoting honor and societal rank. 

As men go, there is none higher, nobler, more powerful and loving than Christ! Philippians 2:20(NLT) tells us “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 21 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” There is no other name like the name of Jesus Christ. He is a King full of glory, majesty and honor, yet he humbled himself to such a degree as to refer to himself as the Son of Man.

In asking this question of the disciples, Jesus Christ was not referring to what the Pharisees or Sadducees might have thought of him. They sought to accuse him and defame his name on every hand. Jesus was referring to the heartbeat of common folk; those with whom he came to save, heal, and deliver. He wanted to know if they indeed owned him as the Son of God, the Messiah, whose coming had been foretold by the prophets. 

We should be intrigued by this question if for no other reason than that of it being one in which he surely knew the answer. The Holy Spirit revealed to Jesus Christ the thoughts of many, so we should in no wise think that this information would have been withheld from him. There was none like Jesus, and of course news spread about quickly of all that he was doing. It was the subject of many conversations. So like those of our time, opinions varied widely regarding our Lord and Savior. Some people were convinced of his identity, and others were engaged in mindless chatter and gossip about it. 

In Matthew 16:14(NLT), the disciples replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” People had preconceived notions about what the Messiah would do, and what he would look like. It is not too farfetched to assume that they expected him to be nowhere near the humble person that Jesus Christ was; nor did they expect him to keep the company he kept. Many could not reconcile him with the majesty, and often arrogance, of a King. This is something that our blessed Lord understood, because he knew perfectly the frivolity of the human mind and the hardness of the human heart. 

Getting down to the meat of the matter, Jesus Christ followed up with the most important question of the two in Matthew 15:15 (NLT). He asked, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered this question and did so by revelation from the Holy Spirit. In verse 16, Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus Christ had done many works, but he had not yet revealed his identity to the disciples up until this point. He was greatly pleased and said to Peter in Matthew 16:17(NLT), “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”

There is no price high enough to quantify the value of supernaturally receiving information that is revealed by none other than the Creator of the Universe, the One True God. The Holy Spirit communicates to the saved souls of humanity, and if we have pushed aside all the other voices of this world and zoned in to God with a focus, earnestness, and eagerness that refuses to be denied, God will honor us with His voice. 

Heavenly Father is not in the habit of random selection. He’s an on-purpose God and everything that He does has a reason. He revealed the identity of Jesus Christ to Peter, but Peter was not a random subject. He, Peter, had destiny on his side. At the time when he answered the question that Jesus asked, Peter could not have fathomed the road ahead. He couldn’t know the persecution or the jubilation that was in his future, but Jesus Christ knew, and had handpicked the disciples to carry forth the gospel after his ascension. 

It was an awesome spiritual milestone that Peter reached, one that demonstrated that he was not a clueless bystander. He was soaking in the treasure of Christ, and his answer proved it. 

“Who do you say I am?” is a question that we, like Peter, should be able to answer today with even greater spiritual authority and resolve. Not just with lip service. Our words regarding Christ should be seasoned with an undeniable witness, one that negates the need for bottomless explanations, and allows the hearers to ascertain in as few words as possible, our unfailing love for the Master. 

Our lives are hidden in Christ. He is in every breath that we take. We are not random bystanders. We have been handpicked to carry God's message of love and hope to the world. We have a responsibility to answer the question, "who do you say I am?", by the witness of the life that we live every day. So let us resolve to exemplify his love in greater ways, and to allow the Spirit to work through us. We will find that doing so will help others to know him as we do.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.