"And you, who do you say I am?"

Luke 9,18-24

“And you, who do you say that I am?” This is one of the most crucial and important moments in the life of Jesus. He asked this question to his disciples, just as he was getting ready to head toward Jerusalem, the cross. Up until this point in Luke’s gospel, Jesus had preached about his Father, described Love as the standard, healed the sick, and performed miracles. He was acting much like other prophets, holy persons, and teachers of the time. But now, this was to change.

Jesus knew that he was going to the cross. The Son of God, Jesus, would destroy death forever, unite all people once and for all to the Father with a new covenant of Love. And he wanted to know before he went to the cross, if there was anyone who had really understood his mission. Was his life a success or failure? If there was any realization, however incomplete, it meant that he had lit a flame in human hearts that nothing could ever put out. How Jesus’ heart must have sailed when Peter proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Messiah!” When Jesus heard this, he knew that he had not failed.

The disciples you see had grown up against a background of thought which expected from God a messiah that would be a conquering king who would lead to world domination. The people of Israel would no longer be oppressed and enslaved by others. But Jesus had to teach them that God’s anointed one, the Christ, had come, to die upon a cross. His way would not be of conquering domination, but the power of self-giving love. He had to take their ideas and expectations of God and of God’s purposes and turn them upside down. The disciples understood Jesus, now they had to learn what that discovery would mean.

Jesus began by asking what others were saying about him, and then suddenly he changes, and asks them, “Who do YOU say that I am?” You see, it is never enough to know what other people say about Jesus. It might be possible to pass an examination on what has been said and thought about Jesus, or to read every book about theology, or have diplomas and certificates and degrees, and still not be a Christian. Jesus must always be our own personal discovery. Something that happens in the mind as well as the heart. To everyone here, Jesus comes not asking, “Can you tell me what others have said and written about me?” but, “Who do you say that I am?” Christianity does not mean reciting a creed. It means knowing a person, the person of Jesus.

Jesus then said, “I must go to Jerusalem and die.” It is important to look at the times in Luke’s gospel when Jesus says “must.” “I must be in my Father’s house.” “I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom.” “Today, tomorrow and the next day, I must be on my way.” Over and over again, Jesus told his disciples that he must go to the cross.

The way of the cross, is the way of discipleship. Being a Christian is not about power, control and domination, being a disciple is about the giving of self in love.

“And you, who do YOU say that I am?” How you answer that question will determine whether you are a good student with correct answers for an examination question, or a disciple of Jesus Christ...a Christian.