Who Is Jesus? Part 3Sýnishorn

Identity Crisis

Do you have a friend or sibling who at one moment is your best friend and the next is public enemy numero uno? It may seem like this is exactly what’s happening between Jesus and Peter in this chapter. Let’s set the scene.

We’ve come to this point in Jesus’ ministry where His fame has spread into many different regions and cities. So Jesus does a little pulse check, asking His disciples for the word on the streets. Who do people say that I am? The group replies with some of the ideas they’ve heard: a reincarnated John the Baptist, or maybe Elijah the prophet, or perhaps one of the other famous prophets of old. 

Then Jesus makes it personal: 

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:15-16 NIV

“Messiah” is a title that means anointed or chosen one. So here, Peter rightly answers about Jesus’ identity, but just a few verses later reveals his attachment to his own definition of what these words really mean. See, Peter, like so many others, had hopes for who the Messiah would be and what he’d accomplish. And it probably was attached to the popular image of a conquering king who would free the Jewish people from Roman authority. But Jesus had something so much more in mind. And to accomplish it, He would have to die. Hearing this rocks Peter’s world. How could Jesus conquer anything if He was dead? “No, no, that’s impossible,” he corrects, “you aren’t going to be killed!”

Here’s what Jesus says: 

… “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Matthew 16:23 NIV

Dang. Peter gets called out! But why? What Jesus is saying is that Peter’s way of thinking was in opposition to where He was heading. And that’s a big deal. Peter was thinking small and selfishly, limited by what he wanted Jesus to be. 

How often do we get caught in the same mentality? How often do we end up cutting and pasting until we get this version of Jesus and His teachings that is so far from what He actually said and who He really is? This is not okay! And trusting a version of Jesus that is so much less than who He really is—it’s a let down. The real Jesus is more than enough; He’s sufficient in every way. He’s God with us. Let’s never try to put Him in our safe, little boxes or cram the King of the Universe into a self-serving package. Let’s let Jesus be King. Because when we see Him for who He really is, we start to see ourselves as we really are.