Who is Jesus to You?

KEY VERSE: “Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” —Matthew 16:16

SELECTED SCRIPTURES: Hebrews 1:1-4; Matthew 16:13-23

THE EARLY DISCIPLES believed that Jesus was the Messiah and a very good man. Therefore, God would not allow any disaster to befall him. It seemed contradictory that Jesus had predicted death for himself.

When asked by Jesus, “Whom say ye that I am?” the Apostle Peter said, “Thou art the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the Living God!” (Matt. 16:15,16) Peter and the others thought, How could God allow any harm to come to him? They concluded that those things he had said must be figures of speech, such as when he said, You must eat my flesh and drink my blood. (John 6:53) When he said that the Son of Man would be crucified, they thought it was one of his peculiar sayings that they could not understand.

Hence they were quite perturbed and astonished when he was arrested and taken before the Jewish Sanhedrin. Instead of using his powers and his eloquence, he was “led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.”—Acts 8:32; Isa. 53:7

Later he was taken before Pilate. Anyone who knew Jesus expected him to speak in defense of himself “and he answered him to never a word.”—Matt. 27:14

The disciples were puzzled by these contrary events. But such a course on our Lord’s part was necessary in the Heavenly Father’s plan, not merely that the Lord Jesus must suffer and then enter into his glory, but necessary for the redemption price to be given for his disciples and all the world, and be placed in the hands of Divine justice.

We see by our Lord’s example that the followers of Jesus are not to be especially protected along fleshly lines; and, if in God’s wisdom it is for our good to bruise and shame us as in the example of our Master, we are to be of good courage. God will strengthen our hearts because we trust and have confidence in him. We also know that he is too wise to err and that there must be a good reason for the permission of trials. We know assuredly that Jesus said, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”—Matt. 10:25

Who is Jesus to us? He is our Redeemer or, as the Scriptures say, “In whom we have redemption through his blood,” (Eph. 1:5-7) and also “the propitiation for our sins.” (I John 2:2) He’s our Master or, as Jesus said, “One is your Master, even Christ.” (Matt. 23:8) He is the ideal we strive for because we are “to be conformed to the image of his Son.” (Rom. 8:29) He is our merciful High Priest, “We have a great high priest, … Jesus the Son of God.” (Heb. 4: 14,15) He is our King, “I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:6) said God, and in the Book of Revelation, he is described having “on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.” (Rev.19:16) He serves as our Advocate, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I John 2:1) and as our Head, “the head of every man is Christ.”—I Cor. 11:3

May we pass our trials as successfully as he did and be considered worthy of sharing his glory.

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