Who Do You Say

“And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29 ESV)

You are going to determine who you think Jesus is. Some of us will disregard him as just a good moral teacher, we will say he is an activist. Some of us will see him as a prophet, we will say that he spoke for God and even was willing to die for his words — maybe it is even a death that brings you a bit closer to God. Some of us will say that he never existed and we need not even mention his name today.

All of these are wrong.

Some of us will see Jesus as “the Christ,” the anointed, the Messiah. The promised One who would redeem God’s people, who would petition for the sinners and would cover their disobedience once for all. We will say that Jesus is King, reigning over all.

This is the confession that defines our faith. We see this Christ pointed to and revealed in all of Scripture and we know his name when Jesus enters the scene. “You are the Christ” means that he is the Savior, the redeemer, the unstoppable sovereign. At this confession everything shifts — we are no longer under lesser schemes for life, we belong to the anointed One. Our sins are forgiven, we are empowered for living and given resolve by the finality of his Word.

Confess this today. Let this confession invade all corners, every square inch of your heart and world. Live upon this rock.