Throughout generations, people have tried to answer the question of who Jesus is. Although this question is very significant, the true question that every person must answer is not one that is broad or general, but personal. In conversation with His disciples, Jesus asked “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” This was the general question. What do people think when they hear the name of Jesus? What picture does society paint of Jesus? Over the centuries people have said many different things about Jesus. “Some say John the Baptist, and others Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Today many people say Jesus was a miracle worker, others say He was a teacher with great morals and values, and still others say that He was one of the great leaders of history. People had and will always have an opinion of who Jesus is, but the opinion of the people is not as significant as your personal belief. “Who do you say that I am?” This is a personal question.
To the believer Jesus is foundational. If the Christian faith were reduced to one name it would be Jesus Christ, which literally means God-Saves. Christianity is built on the belief that Jesus is who He claimed to be. That He is the Word that was with God and was God. That He is God and equal to the Father. That He is the long-awaited savior of the Old Testament, and in Him over 60 prophecies were fulfilled. Jesus is the foundation of the Christian life; everything is built on and centered around Him.
When we acknowledge the personal question of “Who is Jesus to you?” there are only really two options. He either is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all. Jesus is who He who claims to be, or He is not. To label Jesus as a great teacher or miracle worker is to neglect the more pressing question of “Who is Jesus to you?”
Jesus says of Himself, “I am the way the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. “Without the way, there is no going, without the truth, there is no knowing, and without the life, there is no living." (Thomas A Kempis) Christians do not settle for the broad question of who do people say Jesus is, but they make it personal by answering, “who do you say that I am. We fully embrace the personal, imitate question placed before all humanity and come to the conclusion that Jesus is our foundation. In him, we find the path to follow, the truth to uphold, and the life that is truly living.