This could be the most important question that a man will ever face!
When is your wife’s birthday? No, not that one...
Here’s the story: Jesus “asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ ” (Matthew 16:13-15, ESV).
That’s it: “Who is Jesus?” That’s the most import question every individual soul must answer.
The “people” suggested that Jesus was a great teacher like John, Elijah, or Jeremiah.
Hogwash! Jesus can’t be just a great teacher! Logically, He can’t! He was and is a great teacher! But not JUST a great teacher!
The “great teacher” claimed to be God. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30, ESV). He also claimed to be the one-and-only Savior, the “way ... truth, and ... life” (John 14:6, ESV).
If His teaching was false, then He certainly was not a great teacher... He was a colossal fraud! A liar! Or worse, if He wasn’t a liar, if He really believed what He taught, then by default He must have been a complete lunatic!
C. S. Lewis eloquently made this argument in his classic, “Mere Christianity.” Josh McDowell further developed the same argument in his little, but life-changing book, “More than a Carpenter.” These great theologians both come to the same conclusion.
Jesus is liar, lunatic, or Lord...
You can’t ride the fence. This question demands a verdict! Who do you say He is?
When Jesus first asked this most important of questions, He was addressing His disciples. In response, “Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ ” (Matthew 16:16, ESV). Peter got it right!
Then, just a few verses down, we read, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man’ ” (Matthew 16:21-23, ESV).
So, let’s ask another question... If Jesus is God, if He is the Savior, if all that He said is true, then, why do we seek the “things of man”? Why are we half-way committed? Why do we serve other gods, like pleasure, possessions, and pride?
Think about it! Who do you say He is?