The Most Important Question - Simon Peter

[Jesus] asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”

Matthew 16:15-17

The late Robert W. Funk, an American New Testament scholar, founded the infamous Jesus Seminar in 1985. Its sole purpose was to skeptically evaluate Jesus’ purported words and deeds as they are recorded in the four Gospels. In other words, the Jesus Seminar tackled the question of Jesus’ true identity.

The apostle Peter didn’t need to hear the opinions of others—skeptical or believing—to know who Jesus was because God had already shown him.

The disciples had heard rumors and conjectures about their Master, and they weren’t afraid to tell him that some thought he was John the Baptist resurrected, while others thought he was Elijah or another prophet returned to earth. But one day, Jesus asked them the question that would shape their lives for all eternity: “Who do you say I am?”

There was probably a moment of uncomfortable silence as the disciples wracked their brains to figure out how to answer Jesus. It’s also not surprising that Peter, the one most willing to say what the others only thought, finally spoke up. Out of his mouth came the most blessed declaration of all time: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

All twelve apostles were part of a culture and a people who had waited centuries for their promised Deliverer. Peter, a simple fisherman with no formal training or education, knew that Jesus was that man . . . and much, much more.

Peter correctly answered the most important question ever asked.

Who do you say Jesus is?

How you answer the question of who Jesus is will shape your entire being. It’s not just the question of the historic Jesus who lived two thousand years ago and gave his followers some great teachings. It’s the question of whether you know that Jesus is your Messiah and the Son of the living God.