Have you ever had a question for God? Perhaps you have found yourself asking, “Why God?!”
During our times of inquiry and doubt, we don't realize that God has a question for us that relates to our questioning of God:
“But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15 (NIV)
The way we answer this question from God will affect every aspect of our lives—how we relate to God, to others, and even how we think about ourselves. What do we believe about who Jesus is? Do we believe that He is Almighty God?
It could be because Jesus humbled Himself to come to us and live among us in a seemingly weak and lowly fashion that we may struggle with the "God Almighty" part. But let’s take a closer look at the amazing things Jesus accomplished while He was among us to put any doubts to rest.
Many times when we compare Jesus to us humans, the comparison is usually to fallible human beings. (Probably because none of us have ever met a perfect human before.)
We put the same attributes of our imperfect nature on Jesus. This one thing we must remember—Jesus never had an imperfect nature like we do. He lived in a human body just like we do, but it was uncorrupted. That is why this is spoken of Him:
“…And we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14b (NASB)
This statement testifies of the uniqueness of Jesus. In fact, this is why the gospels were written. They describe something that no one had ever encountered before—God clothed in a human body! When we read the gospels, we find example after example of miraculous events that could have never happened to an ordinary human being. There are even miracles that we take for granted:
“They got up, drove Him out of the town and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built in order to throw Him off the cliff. But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.” Luke 4:29-30 (NIV)
This angry mob was trying to kill Jesus, yet He walked away, completely uninjured! How could something like this even be possible? I have never witnessed anyone who was the object of an angry mob being able to walk away from it uninjured. This is a miracle. Just these verses alone are enough prove the deity of Jesus. No one could kill Him. He says so Himself:
No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what My Father commanded.” John 10:18 (NLT)
When we come to the understanding that no one has or ever had the power to kill Jesus, it draws us closer to the understanding of just who He was. Only God can have this kind of power.
When Jesus asked His question, Peter gave the correct answer, and as Christians, it should be ours also:
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Matthew 16:16 (NIV)
Peter acknowledged Jesus as God. When we call Jesus the Son of God, we also are recognizing that He is God. We all know that the offspring of anything is always of the same kind. As the son of a human can only be a human himself, so also is true of the Son of God. He is of the same kind as the Father. There is no other alternative. Jesus, the Son of God, is God. He is eternal with the Father—He always has been and will always be.
Also, when Jesus asked this question, He wasn’t just asking Peter. He was asking everyone who reads it. Every person who wants to follow Jesus must come to terms with this question and answer it truthfully within themselves.
Do you believe Jesus is God, or is He not? If He isn't, then following Him the way He desires will be very difficult.
Let’s look at a couple of the things that He has asked of those who want to follow Him:
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of Me. Matthew 10:37 (WEB)
If an ordinary person said this me, I would probably tell him to get lost. But since Jesus is God, I know that loving Him above anyone else helps me to love others in a better way, including my parents and children.
Here’s another example that only God could expect:
He (Jesus) said to another, “Follow me!” But he said, “Lord allow me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s kingdom.” Luke 9:59-60 (WEB)
What? Is Jesus more important than reverencing the dead? (If He is God, He certainly is.)
Let's dive into this verse. The fact is, this man’s father was not yet dead. Jewish culture believes in burying the dead as soon as possible after death. This means that this man was putting Jesus off... Maybe because he knew his father wouldn’t be too happy about him following Jesus. Even so, Jesus lets us know that nothing is more important than following Him.
As we read our Bible more and get to know Jesus, we find that even in casual conversations Jesus expected things of people that only God can expect!
So, this question from God is as relevant today as it was when it was asked nearly 2,000 years ago. It is a request to focus on who Jesus truly is. When we do this, our outlook dramatically changes. Instead of taking Jesus for granted, we realize that the One who created us actually wants an eternal relationship with us.
This will increase our love for Him and in turn help us to turn our doubts and fears into trust and love for our God - the one who created us, and rescued us.
Question:
How you would answer the question, “Who do you say that I am?"
How is your relationship with God today?