Who do men say that I am?
Matthew 16:13-20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
The account of Jesus posing this quiz to his disciples was recorded in 3 of the 4 gospels. Matthew 16, Mark 8:29 and Luke 9:18.
How interesting and important this must be. There are some life lessons we need to glean from this record.
It is interesting to note that Jesus was curious to know what people said about him.
1. Whether we like it or not people will always hold opinions about us. There is no hiding away or running from that reality. Human beings are experts in assessing, classifying and making judgements about you.
2. It is also interesting to know that there were multiple and varied responses from the disciples about people’s impression of Jesus. Some said he was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
They did not all come back with one verdict. Everybody gave an impression based on their experiences and stories they heard about Jesus. None was complete or accurate. If you dare ask a hundred people to give you their opinion about something, do not be surprised if they come back with hundred different responses.
People will always judge you based on their personal impression, opinion or experience. You have to realize no man has a complete picture of who you truly are.
3. Lastly Jesus asked the disciples. ‘Okay, you have been with me all these while and you have a part to play in my purpose here. Who do you say that I am? What is your own impression and understanding?’
Peter responded, thou art Christ, the son of the Living God. You are the chosen, you are the anointed one, you are the one sent to save the world from their sin. You are not here for the show neither are you here for the accolades, you are here to offer your life as the ultimate sacrifice, you were sent here on a mission and the whole of heaven is waiting on you to deliver on your task.
Jesus responded. Blessed are you Simon BarJona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you. You are not speaking our of human wisdom or experience, you are not speaking just out of head knowledge, you spoke based on Revelation knowledge from the one who sent me and who can perfectly describe me, God. And that’s the person to listen to.
We must learn a great lesson from this and quit getting bogged down by people’s impression of us. We can’t succeed doing this work by being attention-seekers and depending on man’s approval for everything. We need to focus not on what men think but on what God the ultimate judge thinks.
Jesus knew who he was. He had a good knowledge of his personality and He knew what God had to say about Him. He heard his father’s voice in Matthew 3:17 ‘ this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased ‘
He hears his father’s voice daily when he goes to commune with him. He needed that constant communication with the Father to stay focused.
If Jesus did, so do we.
It does not matter what men say about you, it matters what God got to say.
Do not focus on man’s opinion, Go for God’s verdict.
Man is not Man’s idea
Man is God’s idea
Man’s success is not Man’s idea of success
Man’s success is God’s idea of Man’s success.
( unknown author)
Laolu Oyeyemi