Who You Say I AM?

WHO You Say I AM?

John 1:1-51

Matthew 16:13-17 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”

New International Version

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 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.

Jesus asked a LOT of questions in his years walking this earth. By one estimate, he asks a total of 307 questions that are recorded in the Gospels. What makes that number truly surprising is how few questions he answered. We only have 8 recorded answers that Jesus gave. It would seem the questions Jesus asked were far more important to him than the answers he gave.

Since questions were important to Jesus, I want to dive a little deeper into what these questions Jesus asked were and what they mean for us.

Questions > Answers

Have you ever thought that if Jesus was physically right beside you then you would get answers to those questions you’ve been longing for? You’d think if the creator of the universe, the person who literally knows it ALL, was standing beside you, he could give you that answer you’ve been searching for.

But that’s not what we see in the Gospels. Don’t get me wrong, people tried to ask him questions all the time, but he rarely answered them and instead responded with a question of his own.

Think about that for a minute. Jesus, God in flesh, often, asked questions and avoided giving answers.

I don’t know about you, but this is not how I operate. My initial reaction is to give an answer. After all, I was asked the question, therefore, I must be the expert. At least that’s what the prideful part of me says. And that’s probably most of us. When asked a question, we give an answer. Why? Because we think answers are more important than questions.

But Jesus didn’t do that. And shocker… Maybe Jesus knows something we don’t. Maybe he’s on to something. You see, I think Jesus knows that those answers we seek won’t give us what we hope. So instead, he gives us questions- which cause us to think, to dissect our lives, and to see what’s ultimately important.

When I think about the people that made the biggest impact on my life, it’s not the person that gave me a lecture about what I should be doing. Rather, it’s the person that helped me reflect on my life and set it on a better course. How’d they do that? Lots of questions.

That’s exactly what Jesus does. When we look at the questions Jesus asked, what we see is he is helping the people he’s interacting with evaluate their lives and set a better course.

Answers are overrated. We think we need them, but in many cases, they don’t give us what we’d hoped. Questions are greater than answers.

So, let’s look at the questions Jesus asked.

Questions Jesus Asked

With over 300 questions asked by Jesus, there’s no way we can get through them all in one blog post. So what I want to do is look at the broader categories of questions Jesus asked and see what we can learn from them.

Below is not an exhaustive list. I will focus on a few of the broad categories of questions, rather than cataloging each question Jesus asked. There are some categories of questions Jesus asked that I excluded due to space- such as Jesus’ trial, on the cross, and the resurrection although Jesus asked a TON of questions in those times. I tried to focus on categories of questions that have the most impact on our faith today.

A. Questions Of Identity

“Who do people say I am? Who do you say I am?” – Jesus (Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20; Matthew 16:13-15)

What an interesting question for Jesus to ask. Now I don’t think Jesus is curious about what people think about him. He already knows their thoughts and knows what others say about him. Jesus is after something else.

Jesus is using this question of identity to point his followers to where their identity lies. These questions Jesus asked were directed at helping his followers see who he really was and the implications that held for them.

On rare occasions he would answer:

Matthew 21

New International Version

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

2. Jesus withholds telling them the Answers

Again, rather than just telling them who he was and what to believe, Jesus used a question to help them truly understand who he was. When we are told a fact, it’s not really ours. When we must stop and process to arrive at a conclusion, it becomes part of who we are. That’s what Jesus is doing. He’s causing his followers to pause and contemplate who he really is.

Who Do You Say I Am?

Who Am I?

I. Christ’s Names Prove He Is God’s Son

A. He is the Word (John 1:1–3, 14).

Just as our words reveal our mind and heart, so Christ reveals the mind and heart of God to men. “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, NKJV). A word is composed of letters; and Christ is the Alpha and Omega (first and last letters of the Gk. alphabet; Rev. 22:13) who spells out God’s love to us. In Genesis 1, God created everything through His Word; and Col. 1:16 and 2 Peter 3:5 indicate that this Word was Christ. While God can be known in part through nature and history, He is known in full through His Son (Heb. 1:1–2). Christ as the Word brings grace and truth (1:14 and 17); but if men do not receive Him, this same Word will come in wrath and judgment (Rev. 19:13). The Bible is the written Word of God, and Christ is the living, incarnate Word of God.

B. He is the Light (1:4–13).

God’s first creative act in Gen. 1 was producing light, for life comes from light. Jesus is the true light, that is, the original light from which all light has its source. In John’s Gospel, you find a conflict between light (God, eternal life) and darkness (Satan, eternal death). This is indicated in 1:5—“And the light shines [present tense] in the darkness, and the darkness has not been able to put it out or lay hold of it” (literal translation). Note 3:19–21, 8:12, and 12:46. Second Corinthians 4:3–6 pictures salvation as the entrance of light into the dark heart of the sinner (see also Gen. 1:1–3).

C. He is the Son of God (1:15–18, 30–34, 49).

It was this claim that aroused the Jews to persecute Christ (10:30–36). Note the seven persons in John’s Gospel who called Christ the Son of God: John the Baptist (1:34); Nathanael (1:49); Peter (6:69); the healed blind man (9:35–38); Martha (11:27); Thomas (20:28); and the Apostle John (20:30–31). The sinner who will not believe that Jesus is God’s Son cannot be saved (8:24).

D. He is the Christ (1:19–28, 35–42).

“Christ” means the Messiah, the Anointed One. The Jews were expecting their Messiah to appear, and this is why they questioned John. Even the Samaritans were looking for Him (4:25, 42). Any Jew who said that Jesus was the Christ was thrown out of the synagogue (9:22).

E. He is the Lamb of God (1:29, 35–36).

John’s announcement is the answer to Isaac’s question, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7). The Passover lamb in Ex. 12 and the sacrificial lamb in Isa. 53 point to Christ. There were many lambs slain in Old Testament history, but Christ is the Lamb of God, the unique one. The blood of lambs slain in the tabernacle or temple merely covered sin (Heb. 10:1–4), but Christ’s blood takes away sin. The lambs offered in the Old Testament days were for Israel alone, but Christ died for the sins of the whole world.

F. He is the King of Israel (1:43–49).

Israel’s people were tired of Roman rule and wanted a king. Because Christ fed them, they wanted to make Him King (6:15), but He left the crowd. He offered Himself as their King (recorded in 12:12–19) but the chief priests said, “We have no king but Caesar!” (19:15)

G. He is the Son of Man (1:50–51).

This title comes from Dan. 7:13–14, and every Jew knew it described God. (Note the Jews’ question in John 12:34.) Christ alludes in 1:51 to “Jacob’s ladder” in Gen. 28:10–17. Christ is “God’s ladder” between earth and heaven, revealing God to men and taking men to God.

3. Questions of Invitation

Early in the Gospels, Jesus was busy recruiting his disciples and inviting them to follow him. Interestingly, a common question of invitation Jesus asked was, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38)

Jesus asked a question that got to their hearts. Is your current way of living really getting you what you want? No? Then follow me and I will give you what you are truly after.

4. Questions Of Intent

When asked a question Jesus would sometimes respond with another question. These follow up questions helped reveal what was truly on their heart (Matthew 7:3-4; Luke 5:22, Matthew 9:4).

This is in essence what the parable of the Good Samaritan is (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus was asked a question of what is needed for eternal life. Instead of answering, Jesus tells this incredible story and ends with this question: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

I’ve written about the story of the Good Samaritan here: Who Is My Neighbor?

5. Questions of Healing and Compassion

Jesus often asked questions that had seemingly obvious answers.

Here are some:

*Do you see anything? (Mark 8:23) – Said to a blind man.

*Do you see this woman? (Luke 7:44) – Said to a woman right beside him.

*Is there no one to condemn you? (John 8:10) – Said to a woman after everyone left.

*Does the Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not? (Luke 14:3) – Said to the religious leaders.

*And my favorite that Jesus asked a paralyzed man: Do you want to get well? (John 5:6)

Do you know what all these questions have in common? They center around someone in need.

6. Questions Of Life and Faith

Many of the questions Jesus asked centered around life and faith. These questions were aimed at causing a person to pause and reflect on what’s important- to take a step back and see the bigger picture. Jesus asked these questions to help us see what we so often focus on isn’t what’s most important. These questions reveal that we are often focused on the wrong thing. Don’t miss this… I don’t think we are always focused on a bad thing… Just a less important thing. We get distracted so easily by something less important. But Jesus doesn’t want us to lose sight of what’s most important.

These questions Jesus asked help us see what we have made most important and correct the priorities in our life.

7. Questions Of Love

I choose to end with these questions because I think they are the most incredible questions Jesus asked. He lays his heart on the line in moments of incredible vulnerability and shows his humanity.

It’s in these questions, Jesus asks his disciples if they truly love him. If they want to be with him.

So, When Jesus ask Who Am I? It’s for us to think and weigh the cost of what it means to recognize him.

Jesus said that he is the

Matthew 26:63-64 :

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[e]

WHO You Say I AM?

Let us Pray