WHO IS JESUS

LESSON 26

2/4/05

YOU’RE THOUGHTS: Who is Jesus to you?

Why is Jesus still the most well know teacher of all?

MY THOUGHTS: It is remarkable the many ways that God can get our attention. If I recall in 2 Sam.12: 1-13 David was brought to his knees in confession by a short story told by the prophet Nathan. God knew what was needed to penetrate David’s heart and cause him to repent of the terrible sins he committed. In this lesson I would like to start by showing you in our theme scripture how Jesus did the same thing with His Disciples accept He didn’t use a story like Nathan He used a Question to spark their attention. Then I want to point out how the verses following elaborates deeper on what Jesus was trying to get the Disciples and of course us to understand and to practice.

Many times in scripture Jesus had to get away from the crowds to pray. In verse 18 we see one of those times. We can imagine Jesus sitting or kneeling deep in prayer and the Disciples doing the same, although I believe some of them were probably staring at Jesus in anticipation on what would come next, I know I probably would be doing that. It must have been scary but certainly a privilege to be there. Then with out warning He lifts up His head and looks at the Disciples with compassionate eyes and asks them “Who do the crowd thing I am?” They responded in verse 19 by saying that “some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others say one of the prophets of long ago that has come back to life.” I believe this was a setup question which leads to the next question which really caught the disciple’s attention.

In verse 20 Jesus asks them, “but what about you. Who do you say I am?” What is the primary difference between the first question Jesus asked and the second question? Jesus wanted it to be clear that there are two ways we can interpret who Jesus is. Is He known only on the surface as a loving and knowledgeable teacher that knows God very well, or is He known in a sincere personal way which comes from deep in the mans heart who not only knows God but is God incarnated.. I don’t know where the other Disciples hearts were when this attention getter question was asked but we do see in the second part of verse 20 that Peter, as always spurt out the answer from his heart, “The Christ of God.”

Jesus got the Disciples where he wanted them. In the next six verses Jesus brings home what needs to be done to put a seal on what a true relationship with Jesus Christ really is. The commitment that Jesus had to God the father was expressed to His audience when he predicted that He would suffer and be rejected, which will lead to his death and on the third day be raised to life. He called Himself the Son of Man, which I’m not sure at this point if the Disciples understood who he was talking about.

Then in verses 23 to 26 Jesus made it clear on whom He was talking about and what was expected from the Disciples and what is expected from us. We need to understand that this commitment is not all about us it is all about Jesus. Jesus is the center of all that we do. He should be in our minds, our hearts and of course in our lives constantly. When we deny our selves that doesn’t mean give up on whom you are or entertain negative thoughts about yourself. What Jesus is saying is that we can not do anything with out Him but we can do everything with Him. We are here because God put us here not because we decided to exist. If God is responsible for our existence then it is clearly evident that He is responsible for what kind of life we lead. Deny your self, don’t think you can do it your self let God do it through you. Many devoted Godly man and woman became that way because they got to the point in their lives where they were completely broken down and had no strength to go on and this opened them up to Gods intervention. If your not a believer you will become one if you stop thinking you know all the answers to life or that you are strong enough to handle things yourself and try God who knows all things and is all mighty. Give Him a chance, deny yourself and except Jesus Christ as your savior and you will know Jesus with your heart like Peter when he answered, The Christ of God. If you make the commitment that was taught in this lesson please check out the Salvation link we have setup and feel free to e-mail us with the great news. God Bless and Amen.

Scripture Ref: Matt. 1:21-23, John 10:9, John 10: 30, John 14:6, Being Humble... John 1:27, Luke 9:23

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