Who do You Say I Am?
While some try to avoid this question, and others try to tiptoe closer, this is Jesus' question that we all must answer. Not who your parents, spouse, priests, pastors, teachers, or friends say Jesus is, but who you say He is. It is a question that must be answered at the level of a personal encounter with Jesus. He wants us to be clear about his identity and the more we discover who he is, the more we place him at the center of our lives, we make him our Lord and personal savior and thus have a deep relationship with him.
Who is Jesus to you, and what difference does he make in your life? Many in Israel recognized Jesus as a mighty man of God, even comparing him to the greatest of the prophets. Peter, always ready to respond each time Jesus spoke, professed that "You are the Christ." No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Through the "eyes of faith," Peter discovered who Jesus really was. Peter recognized that Jesus was much more than a great teacher, prophet, and miracle worker. Peter was the first apostle to publicly declare that Jesus was the Anointed One, consecrated by the Father and sent into the world to redeem a fallen human race enslaved to sin and separated from eternal life with God (Luke 9:20, Acts 2:14-36). The word "Christ" in Greek is a translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah" - both words literally mean the Anointed One.
Jesus begins to explain the mission he was sent to fulfill. Why did Jesus command his disciples to be silent about his identity as the anointed Son of God? After all, they were appointed to proclaim the good news to everyone. This he was to do through suffering, dying and his resurrection which Peter could not understand and comprehend which made Jesus rebuke him and called him Satan. Jesus knew that they still did not fully understand his mission and how he would fulfill it. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early church father, explains the reason for this silence:
There were things that had not yet been fulfilled and that should also be included in their preaching on him. They must also proclaim the cross, the passion, and death in the flesh. They must preach the resurrection of the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which they bear witness that Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. It completely abolished death and eliminated destruction. He stole hell and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy. He took away the sin of the world, opened the doors above to the inhabitants of the earth, and united earth with heaven. These things proved that he was, as I said, truly God. Therefore, he ordered them to guard the mystery with a timely silence until the entire plan of the dispensation was brought to a proper conclusion (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)
God's Anointed Son must suffer and die to atone for our sins. Jesus told his disciples that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order for God's work of redemption to be accomplished. How shocked the disciples were when they heard this word especially Peter. Jesus was to fulfil what Isaiah had prophesied in his servant songs of which today we read the third servant song in the first reading. Like Peter, we sometimes, do not think as God thinks and do not align our will to his. How different God's thoughts and ways are from our thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55: 8). It was through humiliation, suffering and death on the cross that Jesus broke the powers of sin and death and won for us eternal life and freedom from the slavery of sin and the oppression of our enemy, Satan, the father of lies and the deceiver of humanity.
We also share the mission and victory of Jesus Christ. Jesus says that "whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it." If we want to participate in the victory of the Lord Jesus, then we must also take up our cross and follow where He leads us. What is the "cross" that you and I must take each day? When my will intersects (does not align) with God's will, then his must be done. To know Jesus Christ is to know the power of his victory on the cross where he defeated sin and conquered death through his resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the gifts and strength we need to live as sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to personally know the Lord Jesus as our Redeemer, and the power to live the gospel faithfully, and the courage to witness to others the joy, truth, and freedom of the gospel. Who do you say Jesus is?
Let us Pray
Lord Jesus, I believe and profess that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Take my life, my will and all that I have, so that I can be completely yours now and forever. Amen
Stay blessed
No comments:
Post a Comment