Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Matthew 16:13, NKJV

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

Setting the Scene

The term “Son of Man” was Jesus’ most frequent way of speaking about himself (thirty-two times in Matthew alone). There are two major Old Testament sources for this title: the books of Ezekiel and Daniel. In Ezekiel, God uses the term repeatedly to address his prophet. Jesus applied the term to himself as a thought-provoking way of pointing beyond the obvious. No one else ever addressed Jesus as the Son of Man, but on his lips the name has a way of hinting at the fact of Jesus’ choice to live among us as one of us. By becoming the Son of Man, Jesus made himself our Savior.

Jesus did not use questions in a quest for knowledge he didn’t have. His inquiries were informational for his audience. People considering Jesus’ questions always found that formulating a response would require them to discover something about themselves. Jesus was already aware of the various conclusions being reached by the crowds, but he wanted his disciples to take note of those conclusions and be able to answer them. He also wanted them to be aware that others would not have the same view they had of Jesus, but that the view mattered. Even today, what others say about Jesus tells us a lot more about them than it does about Christ. We must be willing to question those ideas about Jesus that don’t match the reality of who he is—the Son of God.

Getting Personal

What have been some of the views of Jesus that you have heard recently? How did you respond to those perspectives?

How would you summarize the main weakness of any description of Jesus that falls short of his true identity?

The problem with any view of Jesus other than that he is the Son of God is that it fails to take into account the scope of evidence about Jesus. Both negative and halfhearted descriptions of Jesus are always shattered by the reality of the person who steps from the pages of Scripture.

Talking to God

Answer the question Jesus poses in Matthew 16:13 before the Lord today, confessing your understanding of who Jesus really is. Ask God to give you opportunities for speaking this truth about him to others.