Who do people say that the Son of Man is?
Who do you say that I am?
One of the bigger mistakes people make in reading Scripture is that they read it as a spectator…as a novel…or like a fictional story…Scripture becomes nothing more than a collection of stories and events that took place thousands of years ago…with very little application for us today.
To read the Bible as a mere spectator is to miss the truths God is wanting us to discover because when you seriously read Scripture you realize that the stories in the Bible are our own story.
You are Abraham…Sarah…Moses…Deborah…Jeremiah…Ruth…the disciples, as the narrative of these people unfolds you are in the story…we should not simply watch the reactions of what others say and do.
It’s been suggested that Jesus asked 305 questions…now I don’t know who has time to research all those…obviously someone who has very little to do…the only relevance I can see goes back to my opening statement regarding merely reading Scripture as a spectator.
What we should be asking ourselves is how we would respond and what would be our reaction to those 305 questions Jesus asked.
Jesus didn’t ask questions for His sake but for the sake of those being asked… goes back to the idea that when you read Scripture you are the person who is at the center of the story…the person who has to make a decision or answer the question.
Jesus was unafraid to issue challenging questions to His followers and those listening…regardless of the number of questions He asked…He never asked a question because He needed to know the answer…He already knew the answer …the question was for the person to think about their response before answering.
When you study the topic of ‘Questions Jesus Asked’ a couple of things become obvious.
FIRST…something that is significant is that Jesus never asked ‘when’ questions…now…you will find the word ‘when’ in 11 of His questions but never was ‘when’ the emphasis of the question.
SECONDLY…Jesus didn’t ask questions that could simply be answered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ …they went beyond the superficial…they were questions that required the person to honestly think before responding.
In Scripture it’s obvious Jesus understood the value of probing questions… countless times He asked questions that challenged the person to evaluate their life…possibly changing their entire life’s priorities [Matt. 19:16, 21].
a man came up to Jesus and asked…what good thing must I do to get eternal life? Jesus answered…go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor.
NOW that is a life changing response…go and sell all your possessions and give them to the poor…what would be your reaction to Jesus if that were you?
BUT…all the while at times asking questions that seemed a bit foolish.
Jesus asked the paralyzed man — Do you want to get well? [John 5:6]
Jesus asked the blind man — What do you want Me to do for you? [Luke 18]
Do you know what those two questions have in common? …besides being a bit foolish…they center around someone in need…in asking those questions Jesus is revealing two attributes about Himself.
FIRST…Jesus wants His followers to have the same compassion He had with these men…one needed to hear the plan of salvation…the other two… the paralyzed man and the blind man…needed healing.
They needed someone who would help them…these stories draw attention to the people who are constantly around us…our response should be with the same compassion that Jesus responded with.
SECONDLY…Just for a moment I want to divert from the topic of ‘questions Jesus asked’ to the second attribute of Jesus.
That Jesus cares about the problems we face in life …that statement carries a lot of misconception…ever heard the phrase ‘Jesus is the answer’?
There’s a difference between Jesus caring about my problems and Jesus is the answer…my immediate response to Jesus is the answer is…What’s the question?
‘Jesus is the answer’ is a phrase thrown around a lot by Christians…BUT… really …is that true?…on the surface that sounds so genuine…BUT
When I’m in debt and need money— is Jesus the answer?
When I’m facing a hardship and need a solution— is Jesus the answer?
When I’m hungry and need something to eat— is Jesus the answer?
When I’m sick and need healing—is Jesus the answer?
When I’m homeless and need a place to stay—is Jesus the answer?
Here’s what I see…too many times people really don’t want Jesus…they just want what Jesus can do for them…they want Jesus to do something.
The mistake that’s made is there’s a difference between Jesus meeting our needs and Jesus meeting our desires…Jesus didn’t come into the world to meet our desires.
BUT…Hold it…I know my Bible and I know what Psalm 37:4 says regarding God giving me my desires:
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Sounds pretty definite to me…BUT…that verse goes along with so many others that are misapplied promises of God…one I mention frequently…Rom 8:28:
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God
That is a statement regarding how God ultimately works everything that occurs in the world to His glory…not necessarily for your good.
Looking at the surrounding verses in Psalm 37 [3, 5] they clearly refer to those desires that are in harmony with the desire of God…not your desires that spring from selfish impulses.
Jesus didn’t come into the world to meet our desires…He came to change them …that was the very issue in the feeding of the 5000 [John 6:26] …people came only to have their desires met.
you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the (bread) and had your fill
All they wanted was their selfish desires satisfied…somewhere along the way we’ve adopted the idea that whatever the situation…whatever our desire… whatever the problem…Jesus is the answer…Jesus is not God’s solution to all of your desires.
Christianity is not about having God change reality…it’s about changing our response to it.
Many times we can’t change the circumstances of life that make up our reality …we cannot control other people…we cannot control situations…the only question is “how am I going to respond to life’s problems?”
Here’s the KEY…price of admission…TWO THINGS:
FIRST…the difference between a happy person and a miserable person is how they choose to respond to the trials, difficulties, and suffering in this world.
God’s ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of His Son…that is the goal of a Christian…everything else in life…including trials… difficulty and suffering are a part of that process.
Go back to the feeding of the 5000…Scripture says everyone was filled…Oh happy days…but the next morning they’re hungry again…so what’s the lesson?
Just like with the feeding of the 5000 when the baskets of food were passed out, they were never empty.
Jesus has a basket for us…a basket that meets our needs…one today… another one tomorrow…and the next day and the day after…one basket per day …just enough to meet your personal needs… BUT…not necessarily everything you think you need.
SECOND thing regarding Jesus…He is the answer!
Jesus is the answer to our problem with sin.
Jesus is the answer to our separation from God.
Jesus is the answer to guilt and condemnation.
Jesus is the answer to fear and worry.
Jesus is the answer to sickness and disease.
Jesus is the answer of how to obtain eternal life.
In all these things Jesus wants to be an active participant in helping resolve them …BUT …He will only do it if we allow Him to.
He will not force anything on us…and He will certainly not just give it to us because He loves us…rather He extends an invitation…and will only be obliging if we allow Him to be.
THIRDLY…getting back to the topic of the ‘Questions Jesus asked’ …Jesus had a habit and was skilled at answering questions…by asking a question… someone has compiled a list of 29 questions Jesus asked in response to someone asking Him a question.
Because He was a controversial figure, He dealt with questions from listeners …His disciples…even His opponents…they often challenged Him in hopes that He would misspeak.
Example is in Mark 11 [27:33] Jesus is asked by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, by what authority are you doing these things?”
On the surface that seems like a simple enough question…just answer it… BUT…Jesus responds with a question to their question that exposes a flaw in their thinking…one that requires them to answer before He gives His reply.
Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”
Being unable to come up with an answer to their advantage…they replied with “We do not know.” Jesus responds with:
Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
When you look at Jesus’ response…some people were able to accept His answers while others were left perplexed…Jesus had the skill to respond to questions that would ordinarily be impossible for anyone else to answer.
Jesus had the divine knowledge to know what was in the minds and hearts of others [John 2:23-25] so He could answer them in ways that ended their argument and made them look foolish [Luke 5:21-26 / Matt. 9:3-8].
One day Jesus and His disciples were in the region of Caesarea Philippi…He knows people have been talking about Him…saying various things about Him… but not saying them directly to Him…the disadvantages of being a single pastor.
He initiates a conversation with His disciples to hear from them what people have been saying about Him because they won’t say it directly to Him.
In Matthew 16 Jesus asks two questions…one was a general question and the second one was more of a direct question.
The FIRST question was ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’
There are two titles given to Jesus…one is the ‘Son of God’ that implies His deity and the second is His title ‘Son of Man’ that implies His humanity.
Jesus was 100% God and 100% man…referred to as the hypostatic union…He is both divine and human…two natures in one person.
Based on the miracles Jesus had been performing, people were talking and speculating about this man who was clearly more than a simple carpenter or untaught rabbi from Nazareth.
This was the issue that baffled the Jews: [John 7:15]
(They) were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’
So Jesus takes His disciples away from the crowds and asked them a general question…who do people say I am?
There was a range of answers that were swirling around in the minds of the Jews at that time…some said that He was John the Baptist…others were saying that He was Elijah…obviously all were wrong.
Even today…there would be a wide range of answers to that question.
…some may only know Jesus by name…as a swear word
…some may only know Jesus as an historical peasant Jew.
…some may only know of Jesus as a good man…or a good teacher
…if you’re Hindu Jesus is just one of millions of Gods
…if you’re Muslim Jesus was just a prophet…He is not God
…if you’re a Buddhist Jesus was a wise and holy man but not divine
…if you’re a Mormon Jesus was the firstborn spirit-child of God
…if you’re Jehovah’s Witness Jesus is Michael the archangel
…if you’re an atheist you’d say He didn’t exist at all.
It was then that maybe Jesus was tired of hearing all the responses from His disciples about who people thought He was…so He moves on to the second question…the first question was the set-up for the second question.
Jesus asks the SECOND question…‘Who do you say that I am?’ [Matt. 16:15]…that is the one question that Jesus will personally ask of every person who has ever lived.
It’s been suggested that the heart of the Gospel is redemption…and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the Cross…but it has also been suggested that the heart of the Gospel is an invitation to be in a life-giving relationship with God.
An invitation to follow Jesus is the most incredible opportunity any of us will ever have.
As a pastor I can challenge people to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior…but the push back comes when I challenge people to live a life of holiness…to truly live out the faith that Jesus is inviting us into…because that invitation comes at a substantial cost and that’s the rub.
That’s the issue…to truly live out the faith that Jesus is inviting us into means a change in my lifestyle…I’m OK with accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior…BUT now you’re infringing on my personal freedom.
That’s the intent in… Who do you say that I am…it challenges us to evaluate our life’s priorities.
One of the bigger mistakes people make in reading Scripture is that they read it as a spectator.
Jesus didn’t ask questions that could simply be answered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ …they went beyond the superficial…they were questions that required the person to honestly think before responding.
In Scripture Jesus understood the value of probing questions…He asked questions that challenged the person to evaluate their life…possibility changing their entire life’s priorities [Matt. 19:16, 21].
Probably the most probing question Jesus asks in all of scripture…a question that will determine where you spend eternity…and how you live out the rest of your life…that will be determined by how you answer that question.