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Who is Jesus?

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Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 16:13-17

 

“England and America are two countries separated

by the same language!”[1]

 

This quote, attributed to George Bernard Shaw, is not only humorous but also true. Numerous examples could be shown, but one will suffice. Let us consider the word ‘jumper’.

An American hearing the word ‘jumper’, would bring about a certain amount of panic and perhaps an emergency call to 9-1-1. You see in America, a jumper is someone who is about to leap from a building, probably in an attempt to end their life.

When a person in the UK hears the word jumper, there is no panic and no need to call for an ambulance. You see we know that a jumper is something to be worn, usually when it is a bit cold. The Americans would call this item of clothing a sweater.  

It is funny how people can use the same word and be talking about something completely different.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

It can be like that when people use the word ‘Jesus’. We may assume that we are talking about the same person, but that may not be the case.

You see the name Jesus, means different things to different people. To some the name is an expletive, to others the name represents a person who may or may not have existed, whilst others may claim allegiance to the name. But who is Jesus?

Jesus wanted to know who people thought he was, so he asked his disciples a question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Their response reveals a certain amount of confusion: “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Now this incident happened deep inside Gentile country, they were in the region of Caesarea Philippi, an area I have personally visited. Whilst there, our travel guide told us that the area had been a centre for Baal worship. We saw the caves of the Greek god Pan; and the remains of a temple built by Herod the Great to honour Augustus Caesar. It is no coincidence that that it was here, amid the worship of pagan gods, that Jesus chose to ask his disciples the question: ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’

Why did Jesus ask this question? Was he genuinely curious or was there a deeper reason? Was he about to teach his disciples something important? Jesus never asked a question without good reason. You see who Jesus is has eternal significance. The Bible says:

‘…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’

Romans 10:9,10

Paul here attaches certain conditions to being saved. He says that a person must confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord.

JESUS IS LORD

The word Lord is the Greek word kurios. This word means one literally having power or authority, but it also has another meaning, one which was adopted by Jesus’ followers after his resurrection. When they said Jesus is Lord, they were claiming something controversial, they were claiming that Jesus was God.

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

John 20:26-29

As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching the good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)   

Acts 10:36

It is this Jesus, who was both Lord and God, that Paul said you must ‘believe in your heart’ and it is this Jesus that God raised… from the dead.’

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

We cannot separate the person of Jesus from the acts of Jesus. A person denying either who He is or denying what He did, cannot be saved.

THE WRONG JESUS

The people had got it wrong about Jesus. He was not John the Baptist come back to life, nor was he Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.

These people may have felt they knew Jesus, they may have used his name, they may have even met him, but they did not know who he truly was. They were still stumbling around in the dark.

But what about his disciples? Who did they believe Jesus to be? It is no surprise that it is Simon Peter who jumps in to answer the question:

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Now we should expect that if Peter had got this wrong, a sharp rebuke would come his way. Peter had a habit of putting his foot in it and Jesus was not slow to correct him (remember the ‘Get thee behind me Satan’ comment). But on this occasion Peter got it right and he was commended by Jesus.

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT JESUS

I have used this quote before and no doubt I will use it again, but it is always worth repeating. The late Dr Walter Martin said: ‘When someone tells you they believe in Jesus you should ask them which one?’

He knew from experience, and from the testimony of Scripture that just because someone says they believe in Jesus, it does not mean that they truly know him. There are many who use the name ‘Jesus’ but that doesn’t mean anything. We need to dig deeper!

Next time I will begin a series of articles comparing the ‘Jesus’ of various cults and religions with the Jesus found within the pages of the Bible.

 

 

 

 


[1] 1942 September 5, The Christian Science Monitor, Section: Weekly Magazine Section, How Now, Mr. Shaw? by Mallory Browne, Start Page WM1, Quote Page WM7, Column 1, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest)

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