Who Do You Say I Am?
Our lives are full of questions; spoken and unspoken, answered and unanswered. In Ecclesiastes 1:9 we read, ‘There’s nothing new under the sun’, and this is never so obvious as when we consider how people have always pondered questions - from the earliest of Bible times through to today. Jesus himself lived with such experience, just as we do.
Early on in the New Testament, we read about how Jesus was born as a baby in a manger. As he grew up he studied the word of God, taught His disciples to pray, healed many people, and told about things to come. In the midst of him becoming a man, we notice that His life was surrounded by questions around his parentage: what good could come from his hometown? Who exactly was He?
Not too long before he was crucified on the cross, Jesus communed with His disciples (Matthew 26:14-28) as they celebrated Passover together. This meal led to a lot of deep questions.
A little backstory…
Just prior to the Passover meal, Judas, who was one of the disciples, had agreed to be paid to hand Jesus over to be killed. From that point on, Judas then looked for an opportunity to betray Him (See Matthew 26:14-16).
So, as they sat around the table and ate together on this night, Jesus said, ‘“Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me”’ (Matthew 26:21) The disciples responded with sadness and, ‘...began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”’ (Matthew 26:22).
Can you imagine the scene? Suppose it was you, at a party in a room full of your closest friends, when one of your friends brings the mood down, and declares, ‘One of you lied to me!’
Can you envision the questions on everyone’s minds: the ones asked aloud and the ones that everyone would be thinking, but that no one would have the courage to ask? It would be such an awkward and disconcerting time.
A feeling of uneasiness would permeate the air, as each of your friends shifted from foot to foot, trying to avert their gaze to avoid facing anyone’s querying looks, ‘Is it you? How could you?’ Why would you?. Happiness and peace would quickly make way for self-consciousness and blame-laying.
You’d question the loyalty of your friends. You’d wonder why you never picked up on the betrayer before. You’d speculate about who else might end up being let down, which friendships would be lost, what would come of your friendship group. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture, does it?
Jesus and His disciples lived out that kind of moment… Talk about intense!
Yet, as we read on, we find that surprises lay in store…
“Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:23-28).
From this passage of scripture, we notice a couple of key things:
Jesus doesn’t ‘beat around the bush’ but directly identifies the betrayer, right there in front of everyone. He brings accountability to Judas.
He breaks the bread, takes the cup, and shares the bread and wine with ALL the disciples, including Judas, explaining its meaning - a symbol of the redemption found in Him.
Now, if I were Jesus, I might not have been so eager to share the feast with the person who I knew was about to betray me. I might have arranged a private dinner with the other 11 disciples, and conveniently ‘forgotten’ to send Judas his invite. You too? But not Jesus… He invited Judas knowing full well what was going to happen.
Not only that, but he didn’t hold back communion from him. In our human way of thinking, it might seem so easy for him to have used Judas’ admittance of guilt as a way out. Jesus could have said, “So, the rest of you… Those of you who haven’t been so disloyal and unfaithful… Come and eat and drink with Me”.
Again, that’s not who He is. Jesus, rather, is the opposite to this. In the midst of calling people to account, He is gracious, kind and loving.
Which brings me to an important question that Jesus had asked his disciples a few chapters earlier on, “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:13 and 15). Realising that Jesus is all-knowing, I can’t help but think that He knew this other moment would come and how this situation would allow the disciples to really reflect on who they understood Him to be.
Contemplate for a moment, the thoughts that would have sprung to the disciples’ minds, the memories that would have come flooding back of times when Jesus had shown them exactly who He was, the words they’d have used to describe Him to others. Here is what I picture we might hear from each of them:
Simon Peter might have told us, “Oh, Jesus… Wow, He’s the forgiving One. I asked Him once how many times I ought to forgive - I thought a few times might surely be enough. His response to me, “Seventy times seven”. Can you even imagine this?!” (See Matthew 18:22)
James the son of Zebedee may have said, “He was the One who showed me how to be a servant, rather than to be selfish and self-seeking” (See Matthew 4:8-9, Mark 10:35-45).
From John, we’d have heard, “The loving One is who Jesus is” (after all, John called himself, “The one Jesus loves” (John 13:23).
Andrew could have responded, ¨Jesus helped me get my priorities straight”. He taught me to fish for men, rather than merely for fish - while diligence in our work is important, seeing souls reached for Christ is the greater calling (Matthew 4:19).
Bartholomew’s perspective would have been that Jesus is the One who sees and knows us. Jesus had known all about him, even before He’d met him (John 1:47-48).
James’ writings show us that he might have told us that Jesus is the One who taught him how to be a man of integrity (See the book of James in the Bible).
To Jude (also known as Thaddeus), Jesus was the One who showed him that love trumps power or status (John 14:22 and 1 John 3:16).
Matthew’s (also known as Levi) experience of Jesus was as the One who loves the unlovable. Matthew was a hated tax collector, yet Jesus still chose him as one of his disciples and closest friends (Matthew 9:9-13, Mark 2:14-17 and Luke 5:27-31).
Philip would have reflected that Jesus is a legitimate miracle worker! One who could be trusted at His Word and who we can have faith in. Christ is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will. (See John 6:1-14, Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44 and Luke 9:12-17)
The One who is into relationship rather than religion, Simon the Zealot might have noted. Simon realised that Jesus desires genuine relationships and He gives people the freedom to choose for themselves if they want to serve, follow and live for Him (Romans 10:2).
The man we often refer to as, ‘Doubting Thomas’, with tears in his eyes may have told us that not only is Jesus the One who took away all his doubts, but also that He loved Him even whilst he was still struggling to believe (John 20:24-29, John 14:5-7).
And last, but not least (in Jesus’ eyes - for He gave Him the same love and opportunities that He gave to the remainder of the disciples), Judas.
If he were to be honest about it, Judas would have to have agreed that Jesus was the One who was endlessly merciful and kind, even when He knew He was about to be betrayed. He was a ‘second chance’ giver - Judas could have asked for forgiveness and been redeemed. Sadly, he chose not to.
As we can see, the question, ‘Who do we say He is?’ is incredibly significant.
To those amongst us who might feel like you don’t yet know who Jesus is, He invites you to simply ask Him, “Jesus, if you’re real, show me”. If you’re genuinely asking, He will respond in a way you can understand.
For those who have come to have an answer to this pivotal question, He gives us the opportunity to pause, reflect on, and thank Him: to bring our gratitude towards our King, our Saviour, our Friend.
If you’d like to do this in a simple, practical way, I’d encourage you to write in your journal each day, “Who do I say He is?” and then write a short answer as you consider who He has shown Himself to be to you that day. Think of it a little like a gratitude journal.
If you see a snippet of my journal this week, you could read…
‘Who do I say He is?’
The One who gives us favour with man (Proverbs 3:4) - today God helped me to get some paperwork sorted with an organisation which could have taken a lot longer to achieve and may not have been done so efficiently or easily. Thank you, God! What a blessing (and a relief!)!
The One who subsides my fears (1 Peter 5:7) - I was feeling anxious about an upcoming situation and He reminded me that He’s already gone before me and He will make my path straight.
My generous provider (Matthew 6:25-33, Philippians 4:19) - thank you God for yet again getting me some fabulous deals on Facebook Marketplace to help provide for my little boy.
The God who cares for us each so personally (Matthew 6:30). You know, Lord, that my Mum loves all things Scottish and this week you brought a Scottish devotional across my path that I could share with her. How special and beautiful for her!
If you too decide to journal, why not challenge yourself to pick just one thing and share below in the comments. As the saying goes, ‘A blessing shared is a blessing doubled’. How lovely it is to encourage one another with the ways in which Jesus has revealed Himself to each of us gorgeous girls!
Have a stunning week as you ponder, ‘Who do I say He is?’