Whom do men say that I am?
May 23, 2019 (Bible Devotional)
And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? — Mark 8:27
His disciples
The twelve disciples of Jesus had the opportunity to travel with him for more than two years by now. They have seen most of his work. They have seen the miracles that he had performed. They have seen his manner of life. These were not only his students but also some of his closest friends on earth. They ate what he ate. They slept where he slept. They shared in his afflictions and his joys. They are the ones that are trained to take up the work of preaching the Gospel after his departures.
The disciples were not on the same spiritual level, but they all had the same expectation of Jesus. They biased their views to align with the popular teaching of the time. They wanted Jesus to become king and establish his kingdom to overthrow the Roman empire. That is what they expected from the Messiah. Jesus needed to open their minds to the scenes that awaited him. Over and over again, Jesus makes reference to the nature of his mission. And no he must tell them plainly, what will happen in his final days with them.
He asked
Even though Jesus knows all things, He asks his disciple of questions. Questions are the foundations of a conversation. Jesus wanted to express their own views of his nature and of his character. In so doing, the disciples themselves would have a chance to listen to their own thoughts spoken. He asked them a question, not to condemn them, but simply to get the conversation started around his mission.
Many time we think that when we come to Jesus we always are going to find answers. Even though Jesus can provide all that is necessary for the happiness of his children. He is more interested in a relationship with us. He will at times gives us the opportunity to converse with him. We shall have questions, and he will have questions for us as well. As we go back and forth with him, we may find that a conversation with him is worth more than the answers that we initially seek.
Who do men say that I am?
Jesus knew what is in mankind. He does not allow the opinions of the scribes to dictate his daily activities. Jesus takes order from his father. Jesus is about the father’s business. He does not hold the opinion of mankind. He rejects human tradition and customs that is against the written word. When he asked his disciple about what other men say of him, Jesus wanted the disciples to help the disciple formulate their own opinion about his nature.
Many a time we rely too much of what other people say. We are to come to the level where we can formulate our own opinion about life. We are to have our own opinions about faith. We are to have our own opinions about Jesus. Jesus does not want us to simply copy-paste other opinions. He wants us to have our own personal statement about who we believe him to be.
While we may counsel together, while we can learn from others, while we can share some common values, everyone is required to use the talents that God has given us. God has given us reasoning power and he wants us to make the best of it. We must refrain from to frame our worldview based on the opinion of others. Erring mankind is not always right. Jesus wants us to first to recognize what others say of him. And then we are to make our own judgment about him.
Others have said many things about Jesus. Some say that he is a great prophet. Some call him a son of David. Some say it was an impostor. Some say that He is Elijah. Some will go no further than to admit that He was a good man. And the list goes on. But the most important question to all of is the one that follows from Jesus himself to each one of us: “Who do you say that I am?”
