Day 250: Matthew 16; Mark 8:11-9:1; Luke 9:18-27

In a pluralistic society like ours there are bound to be lots of differing opinions about who Jesus is. Some will say he was a great moral teacher who met an unfortunate end. Others may say he was a deluded psycho who led a cult of misfits. Some will put him in the same category as Buddha or Muhammad...a founder of a religious practice and one of many ways to find God.

What people think about him is extremely important to Jesus...

     When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
     They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 
     “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
     Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
     Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. (Matthew 16:13-20)

This is the thing that separates a Christ-follower from everyone else. It's not the way we live our life, though Jesus does have a lot of expectations in this area. It's not the fact that we go to "church" on Sunday, though Jesus fully expects us to be a part of the Church, his body. The thing that makes us different is who we say Jesus is. If he is "...the Messiah, the Son of the living God..." then all the other stuff follows. If Jesus is who he said was then there is no other way to God. The text says he THE Messiah, THE Son of the living God.

Who do you say that Jesus is?