A Call To Start Thinking About Jesus (Mark 8:27-29)

This Topic will contain Three Parts.

• A Call To Start Thinking About Jesus (Mark 8:27-29)
• Rethinking Jesus: Aligning Your View with the Biblical Witness (Mark 8:30-33)
• The Example Of History (The Creeds and Christian History)

“Who do you say that I am?” (Jesus of Nazareth)

Introduction

We all have a set of beliefs. Thoughts we hold on to that shape how we perceive life and live in this world. What we truly believe has a direct impact on how we live. There is however one question that stands above them all. Your answer to this question and the response that follows thereafter affects not only how you live, but what happens to you after you die. This question is “What do I believe to be true about Jesus?”. Or to put it differently “Who do I say Jesus is?”.

Mark 8:27-33¹

27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Who Do People Say I Am? (Mark 8:27-28)

As Jesus and his disciples are ministering in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks them a question. “Who do people say that I am” (8:27) is a wonderful question for the Christian who seeks to share his faith with others to ask. Christians would do well to be aware of what different people believe to be true about Jesus, as this will create a guide on how to approach them with the gospel and the “real Jesus”². In answering this question we see that the disciples are aware of what the people are saying about Jesus. We also see that everybody thought that there was something special about this man. Nobody said “he is just another Rabbi (teacher)”. We see a similar trend today. The responses from the world outside of Christianity regarding the identity of Jesus ranges from a first century Rabbi, to a prophet from God, to being the saviour but being a created being.³ We see that even other religions need to do something with this Jesus of Nazareth. He is not to be ignored.

Who Do You Say I Am? (Mark 8:29)

Jesus, being at the centre of Christianity, the One to whom all Scripture points⁴, the greatest influence on the modern world⁵ and if Christianity is true (which I believe it is) the only one who can give you eternal and abundant life is definitely worth thinking about. After asking the disciples about others he turns the question towards them. “Who do you say that I am?” is probably the most important question a person can ask himself. What you believe about Jesus matters. And it affects how you live in your day to day. I fear that this example of Jesus’ resurrection is over simplified, but it gets the point across. Either you believe that he rose from the dead, which means that you should believe that who he claimed to be, what he promised he would do, and what he taught is true. This leads to you having to choose whether you follow him or not (which has immense implications to how you live). Or you do not believe that he rose from the grave, in which case nothing changes for you. The third option is that you aren’t sure and you are still exploring the possibility thereof. Those who wrestle in this sphere are probably those who best see how major the impact of this belief is.

A Call To Think About Jesus

I have recently found that there is a problem arising in the world. People are okay to continue life without thinking about or focussing on the person and work of Christ. This is true even of the church. I believe the church is in such a bad state because we have forgotten to keep Jesus at the centre of our faith, teaching, and works. We are so busy thinking about social issues, mental issue, and our busy lives that we have forgotten who our Life is (Col 3:4). Whether you are a Christian or not, I urge all to go and think deeply about who Jesus is. To the non-Christian, It is because of the remarkable relevance and major impact of this central figure of the Christian faith that I call you to go and formulate your thoughts on what you believe to be true about Jesus. To the Christian, it is because the person of Jesus is at the centre of all we believe and do, and because we are nothing without Jesus that I call you to go and think about who this God-Man is and what he has done and said. I call both groups to wrestle with what they believe to be true about Jesus. Ask difficult Questions. What Do I Believe? Why do I Believe it? Who is Jesus? How does he affect my life? How does what I believe about him affect my life?

If any struggles or questions come up as you wrestle with what you believe about Jesus feel free to click here and ask your questions. Pursuit of God as a ministry is here to help you wrestle through your faith. We are here to serve you as you seek, savour, and share Jesus. The next post will look at re-evaluating our beliefs and aligning them with what Scripture teaches.

1. All Scriptures are quoted from the ESV unless indicated otherwise. ↩︎
2. Note that this is not why Jesus is asking this question. Jesus asks this question as a means of starting a conversation with his disciples. ↩︎
3. Many Atheists simply see Jesus as a ancient teacher and moralist. Islam portrays Jesus as a prophet of Allah, and the Jehovah’s witnesses amongst a few other fringe so called “Christian movements” see Jesus as being the first created being and not as God in the Flesh (which is Arianism, a heresy that was discussed and resolved by the church in 325 A.D). ↩︎
4. See two downloadable articles from Dr. Peppler and Dr. Smith on the Christocentric Principle for more info on this. ↩︎
5. See “Person of Interest” by J. Warner Wallace ↩︎