Moral Teacher, Wonder-worker, Or Prophet?

But who do you say I am?   Luke 9:20

Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” (Luke 9:18). He wasn’t doing market research. The point of the question was to see if the disciples understood their own culture.

The disciples explained three popular views of Jesus: “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead” (Luke 9:19). John was a great moral teacher, Elijah was a worker of miracles, and the prophets stood in the presence of God to bring his Word to his people.

Many people today put Jesus in one of these three categories. The world’s view of Jesus hasn’t changed much, and disciples today still confess their faith against the background of a culture that sees Jesus as a great moral teacher, a man endued with supernatural power, or a prophet through whom God speaks.

Then Jesus asked a second question: “Who do you say I am?” Having established the prevailing view of the culture, Jesus wanted to know if the disciples thought he fit into any of these three categories.

Peter stepped forward and said the one thing his culture was not prepared to hear: “You are the Messiah sent from God!” (Luke 9:20). Peter was convinced that Jesus was the one the whole Old Testament had been pointing to.

As Peter watched Jesus and listened to him, he became persuaded that Jesus could not be slotted into the neat categories of moral teacher, wonder-worker, or prophet. The prophets all pointed to someone who was to come, but Jesus did not point to anybody else; he was the one the prophets had pointed to.

This was a great breakthrough in Peter’s understanding. Jesus said, “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 16:17). If you see Jesus not as just another great teacher or prophet or miracle-worker but as the unique Son of God, you’re blessed, because God has revealed this to you.

For further reading, see Luke 9