Who Do You Say That I Am?

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-17

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus asks his disciples two questions; who do the people say that I am? And, who do YOU say that I am?

Something strikes me as important in Jesus’ question. It seems People are more concerned with following the crowd than following Jesus.

Recently, it seems that people are quick to form their opinions with labels. Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, straight or gay, is how they identify themselves. Most people form their opinions with these labels. They hold these labels to a higher value than the teachings of our Christian faith. If we are Christians, and we have the Bible and the Magisterium as a guide, then many of these issues should be clear to us.

[pullquote] “Right is right even if no one is doing it, wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it.” St. Augustine of Hippo [/pullquote]

But are they?

Did your mom or grandmother ever say, “If all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you jump too?” Usually, this response comes after you have whined, “But, ALL my friends are doing it!”

When it comes to faith and morals, we can’t go along with prevailing public opinion. Wrong is always wrong, even if everyone agrees!

Let’s put all the man-made labels behind God. I am a Christian first, before I am a liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. I have a guide, Jesus, who leads me in the right path.

The modern world says many things about Jesus; you’ve heard them all. He was a good guy, he was a prophet, he was ahead of his times, he’s right up there with Moses, Mohammed, and Buddha. They say nothing about Jesus as God, the Lord, or our Savior.

But, who do you says that Jesus is? If he is your savior, your Lord and God, don’t you think his teachings should come first. They should trump the lemmings leading us to this culture of death?

Let’s make it a point to be Christians FIRST. And let’s see what the Bible has to say about issues, so that it can help us form a true Christian conscience. Then, we will understand the question, “who do you say that I am?”

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