Who was that Man?

If you’re ever sitting at a party, bored out of your skull with nothing interesting coming up in conversation, there’s always one question which you could throw into the pot (and stir up all sorts of opinions and volatile passions). “What do you think of Julia Gillard?” or Tony Abbott, or any other political leader in this country. Depending on your company, you could discover all sorts of new things you never knew before about the person you were asking about. Sometimes you find out all sorts of things about the company you’re with too.

One of the questions which Jesus asked his disciples was what the general public thought of himself (Matthew 16:13). The responses were quite uniform in that most people thought he was a dead person who had come back again. Some said he was John the Baptist (who had recently been beheaded) while others thought he was Elijah or Jeremiah, both of whom had not been seen for hundreds of years. It is interesting that no one among the crowds thought of Jesus as the Promised Deliverer of all Humanity (aka the Messiah).

Simon Peter however (and the disciples) recognised his true identity and divine nature which is why they followed and worshipped Jesus. For if the good news is that Jesus really is God incarnate (who came to deliver us from the corruption of the fall and eternal damnation), then the bad news is that recognising the lordship of Christ involves total dedication. This is possibly one of the reasons why no one among the crowds could acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. Probably why people today (confronted with evidence of Jesus’ existence) still do not. Half heartedness is not an option, it is all or nothing.

As beings who are created for eternity, we can never find fulfilment in temporal existence. Only an Eternal Being can give hope and purpose to a people created for infinity. In the words of Jesus, “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.” (Matthew 16:24-25 NLT)