Who do you say that I am?

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
ESV Matthew 16:13

A few years back O.S. Hawkins preached a sermon based on this question at a conference. The question captured my attention and I don’t think I’ll ever shake it. It was a question that Jesus asked of the disciples. It was the question of the day. And it is THE question of our day. Your answer to this question has eternal consequences.

Some months back I wrote of an encounter with a man passing out religious literature downtown. I agreed to take a look at his literature if he would entertain a question or two from me. Given the opportunity, I asked him who he thought Jesus was. He responded with several descriptive terms (sacrifice, prophet, sinless man) but all of them stopped short of declaring the deity of Christ. He didn’t get it. The fact that Jesus was Immanuel (God with us) escaped him.

The answers to the question were not different in the times of the Apostles either. Some folks were declaring that Elijah had risen; others declared that he (Jesus) must be Jeremiah; still others insisted that he must be John the Baptist. Notice that that all of these terms stop short of declaring the deity of Christ.

Of course, Jesus had an answer for the question. At every turn Jesus was announcing his deity in one way or the other. John 10:30 records Jesus boldly declaring that “I and the Father are one.” John also records Jesus saying “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” In the coming weeks, we’ll look at Jesus’ claims closer.

Presently though, notice that Peter got it right. Peter answered the question of his day: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter’s bold declaration identified Jesus as the Messiah; Savior. There’s no denial of deity in Peter’s testimony; only affirmation. Jesus was and is the Savior.

James Montgomery Boice summarizes this text beautifully: “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is the sinner’s Savior. Therefore, to repent of sin and believe on him is to pass from death to life and to find salvation. To reject him is to perish forever. This is good news. Believe it, and tell others too.”

How will you answer THE question of our day? If Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?” How would you answer?