In today’s gospel from Matthew 16, Jesus has a private conversation with his disciples and asks them what people have been saying about him. “Who do people say that I am?”, He asks. To appreciate why Jesus wanted to know this, we can refer to how Luke describes the same private conversation. Apparently, according to Luke chapter 9, Herod had been hearing stories about Jesus, about his incredible miracles and his controversial preachings. And in verse 8 and 9, Herod is perplexed, saying: “I thought I beheaded John already. Now, who, then, is this person I hear such things about?” And so, Herod must have started asking around about Jesus.
And that’s why, now, Jesus wants to know, what people are saying about Him.
Then Jesus shifts the conversation, and turns to His own disciples, and asks them, “What about you, who do YOU say I am?” This is when Peter boldly declares his belief that, “You, Jesus are the Messiah”. And Jesus happily bestows on Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And … the rest is history.
Fast forward to today, more than 2,000 years since that happened. I will bet that in our respective social and professional circles, practically every adult in our circles knows who this historical Jesus is. They may vary in the amount of details about Him, but his historical and biographical statistics are pretty well documented already, and its readily accessible on anyone’s smart phone.
For today’s reflection, may I invite you to go beyond the biographical facts about Jesus. And let me paraphrase this question of Jesus so that it will speak to you and I in our 21st century context.
WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? WHO AM I TO YOU?
Let’s say Jesus were to come to you during your quiet time, and He were to ask you a related question. As I said, His concern is no longer going to be about your knowledge of His biographical or historical identity. No. I don’t think so. Instead, I believe that if and when Jesus deals with each of us about His identity, His question will be much more personal. He will probably say to you and to me, “I know you know who I am. But my question to you now is: “who am I to you, Really. Who am I to you?” (repeat)
He will probably say, “I know you know that God the Father and I are one. Yes, I am God. But am I YOUR God?” “Yes, many people have already confirmed that I am the savior of the world. But am I YOUR Savior?” “People address me as “Lord and Master”, but am I YOUR Lord, and Master?” “People call me the Good Shepherd, but am I YOUR good shepherd?”
That’s something to think about, my dear friends, isn’t it? Jesus wants to know where He stands and what your relationship is with Him, not in the head, but in the heart, where it all matters.
And instead of Jesus asking, “Who do you SAY I am?” He’ll ask things like “What do people know about your relationship with Me?” Does your behavior, do your words, do your decisions and choices reflect the role I play in your life?
My friends, two things, I want us to take away from this, in order that we may walk along the pathway of hope.
“WHAT ROLE DO I PLAY IN YOUR LIFE?”
First, as the saying goes, “actions speak louder than words”, right? Has your life been impacted by the true and intimate knowledge of who Jesus is? And does it show in the way you relate to other people? Does it show in the way you make choices in life? Does it show in how you deal with adversities, uncertainties and disappointments? Does it show in how you respond to success and significant transitions in your life? My point here is that, if indeed you have come into a personal relationship with Jesus, your words, decisions and actions will speak volumes about who Jesus is to you.
Second, this is a very valuable thing to think about, my dear friends. Because Jesus doesn’t want to just be a historical footnote, or a piece of trivia in your life. Jesus desires a personal, intimate relationship with each one of us because He sees what you and I are going through, what we are dealing with today, and what could potentially happen to us for the rest of our lives and for the rest of eternity without Him.
Look at it this way.
Jesus desires an intimate, personal relationship with each one of us, meaning that we cannot only come to know of him in the head, but that our hearts and our lives will be converted because of our knowledge of Him and what He offers to us in this relationship. He invites all of us, saying “Come to Me.” “Believe in Me.” “Follow Me.” “Abide in Me.” I know what you’re going through. And I know where you are headed. “I am the Way.”
HOW INTIMATE DOES JESUS WANT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM TO BE?
I tell you. So intimate that we can’t live without Him. Like a branch that is connected to the vine. And when that level of intimacy happens, when we are connected to Him as a branch is to the vine, then He promises that we will bear much fruit. And all of this fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – all of these will be evidence about who Jesus is in our lives.
My dear friend, if you haven’t responded yet to the invitation of Jesus fully and completely, He waits patiently at the door of your heart, waiting for you to open your heart to let Him in. But once you do, once you do — once you decide that you want that kind of intimate personal relationship with the Good Shepherd, with the Lord of Lords, with the Way, the Truth and the Life, believe me, you will be filled with joy and receive peace beyond all understanding, and you will be a new person, as if you were born again, and it will no longer be you, but Christ who will live in you.
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