The greatest question any of us will ever be asked is “Who is Jesus?” It’s a question that has to be settled by every individual: male or female, young or old, rich or poor. It’s a question you cannot avoid or put off because it holds eternity in its hand. It’s the question Jesus asked His disciples in Luke 9:18-20 and He asks it of all humanity: Who do you say that I am?

Peter answers the question correctly when he says, “You are the Christ, the Son of God, the promised Messiah.” Peter’s answer is not just a matter of reasoning…it’s a matter of FAITH. Matthew tells us in his gospel that it was God the Father who revealed Jesus’ identity to Peter (Matt. 16:17). 

The reality is that no one comes to Jesus by reason alone. It is only when the Spirit of God reveals Jesus’ identity to us that we can be persuaded to believe that He is the Christ. Sure we can study what Jesus said and what Jesus did, but it is only the gracious work of God’s Spirit working in our lives that changes our minds and hearts.

When Jesus asks His disciples, “who do you say that I am?”, He’s getting to the heart of what they believe. And it’s a question every one of us must answer personally.

What you think about Jesus is everything! You can accept Him or reject Him but you cannot ignore or dismiss Him. As C.S. Lewis said…

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic…or else He would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

C.S. Lewis

This question is so important because it is IMPOSSIBLE to be wrong about Jesus and right with God!