Who is Jesus to me?

20 January, 2011

Read Luke 9:18-27


Luke 9:20
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

It doesn't matter what others' view of who Jesus is. It matters what each of the disciples think of him. After ministering and being with them for a while, 24/7, eating, sleeping, sharing lives with them, are they clear about his identity or are they like the crowd speculating and not sure of him?

That was what Jesus wanted to know then and what he wants to know now - from us, those who have chosen to follow him.

"BUT what about YOU? WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?"

That is a penetrating question from Jesus to clarify where our true allegiance is.

Who a particular someone means to us is a personal question.

When you are in love with someone and really know someone at an intimate level, the last thing that will change your mind about that person is what the world thinks about him/her. The world cannot convince you otherwise of the person whom you have come to love. The world has its opinions but those are what you will dismiss as 'hearsays'. You will be eager to let the world knows the shallowness of those rumours and probably desire that they come to judgement about your love by interacting with him/her.

Who Jesus is to us is also a personal question.

Jesus does not care what others think of him - He asks what do you think of HIm?

Is He king? Is he Messiah? Is he all that you long for? Who is he to you?

If he is my most beloved, then nothing and no one can influence and change my decision to follow Him.

Jesus asks us to consider His worth in our lives before He gives us the call to take up the cross and follow him daily (Luke 9:23-26). The acknowledgement must come before the action.

It is impossible to have lifestyle allegiance before, or without the heart allegiance. This is the secret of all who have followed the Lord faithfully. They have first determined the worth of Jesus in their hearts before answering the call of discipleship. Their reward of staying true to Jesus till the end is their ability to ask Jesus the question back to him, "Who am I to you Lord?"

To each of them, Jesus' answer will be,"You are the disciple whom i love' (also a reference given to John the disciple).