“Who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15
If Jesus asked us this question right now, what would be your answer?
These are just some basic answers that might touch on who Jesus was in history and they would be correct. He was all of these things.
You might even mention the miracles He performed as a way to describe Him with answers like the following.
Again, all of these are true, but they are more about what He did then who He was.
So, what if we went deeper and thought about His nature? What if we considered what He said about Himself?
Now we are getting into the heart of His question. Just as the disciples did so long ago when He asked them this question, we must move beyond what most of the world would say about Him based on what they could see on the outside. Peter gets to the heart of the matter when he responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Holy Spirit leads him to the deeper truth and Jesus hears those words, boldly spoken, and tells Peter that he will be the Rock upon which the Church will be built. Peter got it right.
What about you? Are you getting it right? Are you confident you know who Jesus is? There are so many versions of him out there depending on who you talk to. People have always wanted to make Jesus into the person they want him to be. They want him to agree with their positions on any number of political issues, social trends, or even personal choices. And they may even be able to find a bible verse to support their point. But Jesus wants you to move beyond these things and recognize that He is God. He is your God, who created you out of love and for love and all the rest is there to lead you to that understanding.
Every lesson He taught and every miracle He performed showed us a bit more of who He was. And yes, He was alive in our history, but He exists outside of our time and space. He desires for you to really get to know Him. To dive into scripture and hear from His own word who He is. He wants you to lean into your faith and see Him through the eyes of the Church he established upon Peter, our first Pope, that is here to help us understand the truths when things seem confusing. And He wants you to meet Him in the Sacraments where He is physically present and pouring out His Spirit upon you.
Let Him be your friend, your shepherd, your food, your savior, and your God.
Reflection Questions: Take some time and write out all the answers you can think of to the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Then pray over your answers and see what truths come from those answers about who you think Jesus is. Ask the Lord to show you where you’re getting it right and where you may need to rethink things. Take some time to dive into Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to learn more.
Prayer: Jesus, You ask me this question and I want to be like Peter and recognize You are my God. But with that realization comes the reality of the changes that may bring about in my life. If You are really my God, then there are still some areas of my life that need Your touch. Please come to me today and help me heal and change what needs to be more aligned with the Truth of You. Amen.