Who is Jesus to you?

Last week we asked the question what does God think of us. But today, based on the Gospel story, we flip it and think about what we think of God.

Although this Gospel gives a great account of the authority Christ gave to Peter and the twelve apostles as the foundation of the Church, I want to focus on that question: Who do you say the Son of Man is?

The amazing thing is that God wants you to love Him, so he gives us absolute freedom, and here's the crazy part: Jesus will be as much or as little as you think He is.

So many people have different ideas of who Jesus is. The Gospel today shares just a few. I came up with some more.

To Pontius Pilate, He was an innocent victim sacrificed to the mob for starting such great unrest. To Caiaphas the high priest, He was blasphemer who made himself equal to God, the worst possible false Messiah who was leading the people astray. It was necessary that one should die instead of the whole people.

But to the woman at the well and to Nicodemus, He slowly became something more and more. And to John the Baptist, He was the lamb of God.

But to Herod Antipas, He was a crazy man, or John the Baptist come back from the dead to haunt him. To many in the crowds, He was a great miracle man, and probably nothing more.

But to those who listened well, He was a great teacher, one who spoke with a substantial authority different from the scribes. To Mary and Joseph, He was the one promised Messiah who would save the Lord's people from their sins.

But to Barabbas, he was a free ticket out of prison. And to the soldiers who scourged Him, He was just another pathetic Jew.

But to the centurion who oversaw the crucifixion, this man was truly a son of God. To even the demons who recognized Him, He was the Son of God. To the disciples, for whom Simon Peter speaks today, Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Many different opinions. Some very contradictory. So many of them want to put Him into a box so that He can be easily controlled, dealt with, and mostly just moved aside. This is no different from what people think of Jesus today. There are so many opposing answers to that question: "Who do you say the Son of Man is?"

The amazing thing is that until our end arrives, Jesus will be as much or as little as you think He is. After we die or He comes back as universal king, the Lord will not hide the truth, for He cannot deny Himself. He cannot lie about anything, especially his own identity. But until then, God gives us a dangerous freedom, just as Jesus gave to Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas and the soldiers and the crowds and the disciples: He lets us decide how we picture Him. And because He respects our freedom, often that means He does not show His power in our lives. If we push God out, He lets us. If we say, "okay God only this far," then He doesn't cross that line.

We show who God is to us by how we treat Him. If we treat our family like they aren't important to us except around holidays, or like someone we want to keep at arm's length (metaphorically - not a COVID reference!), or like intimate friends, then that is who they become to us. This goes for our friends and for all relationships, including Jesus.

What does my prayer life say about who God is to me?

What does my calendar say about who God is to me?

What do my bank statements and my bills say about who God is to me?

What do my hobbies say about who God is to me?