Who Do You Say Jesus is For You?

As an effective leader, it is important that you know and understand who you are and what you believe. What are your values? In whom do you place your faith? If you are clear about who you are and who you trust, then you can, without fear and with hope, lead with courage. 

Christ-centered leaders possess hope for a better future. They believe that God has created them and gifted them, not for themselves but for others. They can recognize and develop the potential of the people entrusted to them. And even when they have seasons of doubt, when they question themselves, their identity, and the people around them, they focus on the One who has called them to leadership.  

Courageous leaders know when to step out and to trust who God created them to be. They are vulnerable and trustworthy, as well as compassionate and dependable. And even when they have their doubts, they keep their focus as a leader.

Let’s look at a story that gives us a clue to the fundamental focus of Christ-centered leaders. 

For what it means to be a Christ-centered leader, read the blog Leadership and Faith. 

Read Luke 9:18-20

Once when Jesus was praying by himself, the disciples joined him, and he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.” He asked them, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ sent from God.” Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. 

Reflect on Luke 9

In the Gospel according to Luke, we see Jesus praying at particular points in his life and ministry. It was his pattern to engage in ministry and then retreat to a lonely place. It was his way of staying focused on the work God had for him to do. 

In this story, he has been off by himself praying. Then he approaches his followers and asks, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 

This story is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Matthew, the confession is “You are the Christ, Son of the living God.” In Mark, it is “You are the Messiah” or “the Christ.” In both Mark and Matthew, Jesus begins to talk of his death and has a conversation with Simon Peter which leads to Jesus rebuking him. 

The focus is different in Luke. In Luke, Jesus talks of his death, but there is no conversation and no rebuke. Luke is interested in alerting us to the importance of the confession. “Once while Jesus was praying by himself” is a clue to its importance. Neither Mark nor Matthew mentions prayer. 

Who Do You Say that I Am?

Jesus has been ministering in Galilee. The crowds have been following him as he has been helping people, teaching lessons, preaching sermons, healing people, and exorcising demons. He reaches the point where he asks, “What is the public opinion?” “What do people say?” Is he asking to discover how effective his ministry has been? What impression has he put across? How is he viewed in public? 

The disciples answer, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others…one of the ancient prophets…” The public opinion is, like John the Baptist, Elijah, an ancient prophet, Jesus is the forerunner of the Messiah, the Christ. The crowds who have followed Jesus, who have been benefactors of his ministry, do not think of him as the Messiah but as one getting everyone ready for the Messiah. 

So, Jesus then asks, “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter responds, “The Christ sent from God.” 

Respond: What does it mean to say, “Jesus is the Christ?”

We don’t know what Simon Peter meant when he made his confession, but we do know that when Jesus began to talk about his death, Simon Peter and the others did not relate to a suffering and dying Jesus to their concept of the Messiah. They took it as being a contradiction of who and what they understood the Messiah to be and do. If he is crucified, hanging on the cross with criminals, can he be the Messiah? 

How is he going to be like Moses and lead us out of the wilderness? How is he going to be like David and be our king? The images of the Messiah were many: a great teacher, a great prophet, a great king, great leader. We don’t know what Simon Peter meant, but Jesus knows that Simon Peter did not understand. So, Jesus tells Simon Peter and the others to be quiet about it. “He gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.” Why? 

The popular understanding of the day was that wherever the Messiah was there would be no misery. We see some of that thought today.  Have you ever heard or felt “When the Messiah comes, there will be no hungry people, there will be no homeless people, there will be no more violence, or war, or terrorism?”

Wherever there is misery, there is the Messiah

The thought of “When the Messiah comes…” is prevalent in our culture today. Think about it. What do you mean when you say, “Jesus is the Christ?”

Now, the truth is, wherever there is misery, there is the Messiah. See the difference? The disciples were having difficulty because they were looking for a political leader, someone who was going to restore power to them and the Jewish people. They were looking for someone who would overcome, if not destroy, their enemies.

Jesus is not the one who gets you out of difficulty. He is the one who sends you into difficulty. Wherever there is misery, there is the Messiah. To say that Jesus is the Christ is to follow him into the community and into the problems of the community.

Jesus is the Christ

For those at Christ Church, to say that Jesus is the Christ is to follow him into our neighborhoods in Charleston, the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia, and the world. Consider your context. To say Jesus is the Christ is to follow him into your neighborhoods, community, state and world.

The question is “Is Jesus the one you expect to get you out of trouble? Or is Jesus the one who sends you into places of trouble? 

What are you saying when you say, “Jesus is the Christ?”

Conflicting Values Today

We are facing a conflict of values in our culture today. So, let me be a little blunter with my understanding of what it means to say that Jesus is the Christ.

I can imagine that there were those in Jesus’ day who said, “Jesus can’t be the Messiah because he is not who the Messiah is supposed to be. I would rather have a Messiah who is going to defeat Rome and restore power to Israel.”

With the conflicting values of today, as a Jesus follower, you are being sent into a culture that says, “I want a god who gives me what I want and if I can’t get what I want here, I’ll go someplace else to get it.”

To get what we want, we have conflated following Jesus with nationalism. We have made our “rights” and our preferences our gods. And at the expense of our children, of those living in poverty, of those seeking clean water, of making sure we get all that is coming to us and making sure others aren’t getting what should be ours, we want a god who meets our values.

So, who do you say Jesus is?

It matters where you start. If you start with your political position, left or right, liberal or conservative, progressive or traditional, in my opinion, you are starting in the wrong place. Your political preferences are your preferences. But to start with those preferences is to discount and. distort Jesus as the Christ.

If you start with Jesus, then love of neighbor becomes a priority. Taking up your cross, Christian discipleship, following Jesus shapes your preferences and political position. Loving your neighbor is not a political position. But when you conflate loving your neighbor with loving only those who are close to you, it becomes a political position.

Now that I have started, let me go one more step. My intention is not to make anyone angry. My intention is to show what it means to say, “Jesus is the Christ.”

Just as in Jesus’ day, there are those who have misunderstood what it meant to say Jesus is the Christ. So, to drape the cross with the any flag and call it faith, preach and teach Jesus but bow to the political power of the day, turn the gospel into a weapon and call it patriotism, Jesus has not been understood as the Christ

The Cost of Following Jesus

The question is, who do you say Jesus is?

The cost of following Jesus is experienced in simple acts of service, care, and compassion as each situation presents itself. As a Jesus follower, you are not called to positions of power but to postures of service. Whether that be in your home, at work, in your community, or the political arena, loving others as you have been loved is the guiding value of your relationships. Loving your neighbor becomes who you are. Loving your enemy becomes a goal of faith and hope.

If you say Jesus is the Christ, you will follow him into and through the conflicting values of our culture and address the pain and misery of our day.

The people of our culture need us. They need people to love them as God in Christ has loved us. They need others to help them anchor themselves in faith and to trust those whom they follow. You were created to live and love at this time in history.

So, who do you say Jesus is?

Please read the blog Leadership and Faith.

Return

Give God thanks for the people you met today. Faith in God through Jesus is important to your leadership. How did you live out your faith? How did you encourage others to live their faith? Who is helping you grow in faith?  Ask God to give you the power to love others as God has loved you. What will you do differently tomorrow as a leader? Ask God to give you the faith to be the leader God has created you to be.