Reflecting on Luke Luke 9:18-20
"But what about you? Who do you say I am?" (Luke 9:20)I like to put myself into the Jesus stories.
If Jesus asked me this question today, how would I answer it?
Notice that Jesus is specifically asking for a personal answer.
He knows that there are many opinions, and so do the disciples.
But what about you?
My ideas about Jesus have changed through the years.
I have been shaped by what others have said… for centuries.
My views are not just my parents, or my church’s?
My views are the accumulation of centuries of faith, experience and theology.
But my views are also my own experience of Jesus Himself.
I’ve not only been affected by others, but the Spirit of Jesus shapes me too.
In my personal experience, I am impacted by the humility and grace of Jesus.
His humble, gracious love is what defines Jesus to me.
Jesus is the human embodiment of God’s divine nature.
Not the abstract stuff – omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence.
But the glorious and good divine nature that God revealed to Moses:
“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
This is Who Jesus is to me: the God of love revealed as a human.
As such, He is the promised seed, the Messiah, the Son of God, Son of Man.
All of these labels are another way of saying: the God of love revealed as a human.
And as a result, He is my Saviour, saving me from the curse of lovelessness.
And my Lord, leading me into a restored life of humble, gracious love.
This is my answer, how I would answer Jesus today.
I cannot explain HOW Jesus is God with us, or HOW Jesus saves us.
Many have tried to explain it with abstract words and explanations.
“We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.” (Nicene Creed)
While I don’t deny any of this, it is not personal to me.
I can’t comprehend it, and it hurts my brain to try to figure it out.
When I see Jesus in the Jesus stories, I see a real person.
I am comforted by His gentle presence, His gracious welcome.
I am convicted in a good way by His gentle teaching and rebuke.
I am compelled to be better, inspired to want to live and love like Him.
The words from the Nicene Creed make Jesus feel distant from me.
The Jesus stories make Jesus feel close to me.
I hear Him talking to me, asking me personally, welcoming my honesty.
Is my perspective correct, are my ideas accurate?
I doubt it, but I also know that with Jesus that is OK.
None of the first disciples understood Jesus correctly.
They spent the rest of their lives trying to figure Jesus out.
It was not their correct views that saved them, but His loving grace.
The same is true for christians throughout the ages.
Our views and experiences are constantly evolving, and are never fully right.
The one constant throughout history is the God of love revealed in Jesus.
He is teaching me through personal experience to know Jesus better.
“I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:10-14)
If Jesus were to ask me today, I would tell Him what I know so far.
But I would also add, “I want to know You more!”
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me a personal encounter of God's love through Your gracious, humble presence. Thank You for saving me from abstract theology to personal experience. I don't claim that I am right, but I do claim that You are real. I want to know You more!
Who is Jesus? Like Thomas, I would say, my Lord and my God. And as a Christian by name, I need to be like Christ unto others. His Truth and Grace mark my journey with Him. His loving acts need to be my loving acts. My life must speak before my mouth speaks. As Christ was know for His love, I too need to be known for my love unto others. As Christ is my ‘hero’ to emulate, may I grow closer to Him as my Saviour so that I can be a living letter of Christ living in me.