A Question Requiring an Answer
Scripture Reading: Mark 8:27-31
Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Peter’s confession is a major marker in the spiritual development of the disciples. Laying aside for the moment that Peter gets off track and rebukes Jesus, this was a big deal. While Peter was the one speaking, he wasn’t speaking only for himself. He was saying what they all had come to believe: Jesus is the Messiah. All that is wrapped up in that title is wrapped up in Jesus.
Jesus wanted the disciples to come to this belief and all of the miracles and teaching He had done up to that point was leading them in this direction. To slightly modify what John wrote at the end of his gospel and apply it to this moment, Jesus did and said all these things so that they might believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they might have life in His name. (See John 20:31).
Faith in Christ is necessary for salvation. In this context, there is another reason why this faith was important. Very soon Jesus was going to be rejected and killed. If the disciples based their belief about Jesus on what the popular culture thought, or on what those in power had concluded, their faith would crumble under the weight of what was coming.
Faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation, it is also necessary for survival when things go sideways. In the disciples' experience, Jesus wasn’t going to look very Messianic when he was arrested, tried, brutalized, and crucified. From hindsight, we can see why this was all necessary. For them, at that moment, it was all tragic and confusing. They would have to rely on their core, fundamental convictions about who Jesus was to get them from Friday to Sunday.
Life isn’t always going to look like what we might think it will be based on the conclusions and assumptions we make because of our beliefs about God and who Jesus is. There will be times when the only handrail you have to keep yourself upright is that you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That belief may be contradicted by the opinions of the world. There may be people who seek to destroy that belief, even to the point of using violence to do so.
It is in those moments that being able to answer the question of Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” with “You are the Christ, the Son of God,” may be the only thing that keeps you upright and moving forward on the right path.
Amen