When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:13-14)

Who Is Jesus?

After more than two years as disciples of Jesus, the twelve were examined by their Teacher to determine whether they had understood the ministry of the Son of God. Jesus had shown His power with numerous miracles. His teachings touched the hearts of the people and challenged the minds of the Jewish rulers. Jesus wanted to know what His disciples understood about Him. He asks them to say what people are saying about the man from Nazareth. The reply by the twelve reflects the attitude that many had of Jesus and what they were expecting in their Messiah.

The Jews believed when the Messiah came, some of the prophets would rise from the dead. They had a material view of the kingdom of God, believing that when the Lord’s Anointed came, He would conquer the Romans and restore the land to its former glory of ancient Israel. Before Jesus ascended to His Father after the resurrection, the disciples inquired if He would restore the kingdom to Israel. The manifestation of a bodily resurrection would accompany the signs of the Messiah. It is to this backdrop the disciples answered Jesus.

When asked what people were saying about Jesus, the disciples said the people thought of Jesus as the resurrected John whom Herod had killed. John the Baptist was beheaded at the whim of the daughter of Herodias. Even Herod thought at one time Jesus was John who had risen from the dead. According to the pattern of religious thought for the Messiah, many considered Jesus the risen Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets. What is remarkable is that Jesus showed His power as the Son of God, and the people were unsure. However, it was easier to believe in the resurrection of a prophet who died six hundred years earlier.

Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, and Peter proclaimed Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. They knew He was not a risen prophet. Their Teacher was in His early thirties, ate bread with them, walked on water, healed any disease, raised the dead, cast out demons, and taught heavenly lessons with authority. They knew who Jesus was because they had been with Him, seeing and hearing all He did. The world had a wrong view of Jesus because they could not see His divinity because of His humanity. They could only see a man from Nazareth. The irony was it seemed easier to believe Jesus was a resurrected Elijah rather than He who was the resurrection and life.

Humanity continues to face the question of who Jesus is. Many consider Him to be a good man and nothing else. Some reject Jesus as being divine. A few consider Him a prophet. The majority of the world refuses to see Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The world does not recognize the one identifying mark of God’s Son. Refusing to know Jesus as God’s Son has eternal consequences. Living without the knowledge of who Jesus is brings loss in eternity. The kingdom of God, the church of Christ, is built upon the foundation that Jesus is the Christ – the Chosen and Anointed One of God. Do you believe who Jesus is?