When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." – Matthew 16: 13-17
Who do you say Jesus is?
The foundation of the Christian faith is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches and people indwelt with the spirit of God believe Christ is the Son of God. He was fully man and fully God. He is God. There was never a time he didn’t exist. He’s always existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is Creator. He is Savior. He is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, the Lamb who will return to deliver God’s wrath.
To an unbeliever, some of these things seem contradictory or just plain silly. How can Jesus have been human and deity? How can Jesus be the Son of God and God? What do these things mean? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – what is that about?
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Who do you say Jesus is?
As C.S. Lewis wrote in his wonderful book, Mere Christianity, Jesus was either Lord, liar, or lunatic. He wasn’t just a “wonderful teacher” or “great philosopher.” He claimed to be God:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Who do you say Jesus is?
This is how future president Barack Hussein Obama answered the question back in 2004 for an article series called “The God Factor”:
“Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he’s also a wonderful teacher. I think it’s important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.”
That’s all? What an understated, muted, and mealy-mouth response. No mention of the most important thing? If you’re a Christian and this is how you answer the question of who Jesus is, I question the state of your soul. Presumptuous and judgmental? Yes! But let’s back up. Must our president be a Christian? In my opinion, no. I’d vote for an atheist, as long as he’s socially conservative.
But I have BIG problems with someone who professes Christ and tries to appeal to Christians through “faith,” when his words and deeds indicate he is NOT a Christian. Jesus was “an historical figure.” BHO got that right. Jesus is, in a sense, “a bridge between God and man.” But what else is he? What is his most important attribute? That he was God in the flesh, for crying out loud.
Christ is more than an historical figure and bridge between God and man. If he were just a man, then the Bible is untrue. If Christ is not God made flesh and punished for sin in our place, if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, promising us that we’d also rise from the dead, we’re still dead in our sins and under God’s wrath. We have no Savior.
The death, burial, and ressurection of Christ is literal and figurative, symbolic and real, and a direct parallel to what happens and what will happen to us. To be born again in Christ means to die to our former selves, just as our physical bodies will one day cease to function. The “old man” gives way to the “new man.” Our old selves were buried with Christ, and through his sacrifice on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the dead, we are assured that we – those who claim Christ as their Savior – will be resurrected from the dead and reunited with the living God.
I don’t know about you, but I find that stunning. Unbelievable to some. But what an audacious claim.
BHO, why would you leave out Christ’s most important attribute – his deity? This is the very essence of our faith. Who wants to worship a wonderful teacher or historical figure? Becoming a Christian is a life-changing experience, a radical paradigm shift. I’d be ashamed of myself if I told someone Christ is a “wonderful teacher” and left it at that.
Who do you say Jesus is?
Bonus: BHO’s answers to other questions indicate (to me) that he’s either not a Christian or attended a church where he didn’t receive proper biblical teaching. Can you spot the strangeness? For instance, you’ll never guess how BHO answers, What is sin?
(Hat tip: Commenter George Craggs)
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