Who is Jesus?

Luke 9

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”  They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.”  He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”

I have thought about this simple question for a long time. Years, in fact. Yes, it’s a simple question. Very simple. But I contend that the answer is not so simple. Not at all. At least, not for me.

It’s a very personal question, won’t you agree? Each of us might answer it in a different way. Just consider the answers given by the crowds: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the ancient prophets. These responses may seem strange to modern readers, but at the time, they were understandable, even if incorrect.

The question was very personal to me. You see, I was an “almost follower” of Jesus. Almost, because I hesitated. You can read about me in Luke 9. Jesus invited me to follow him, and I wanted to, I really did. But I had some family business to take care of first. It seemed important to me at the time, so I asked Jesus to allow me to go home, take care of my business, and return to follow him. But as you no doubt remember, Jesus said that following him meant that I couldn’t “look back” to my former life. 

So, my opportunity to follow Jesus was lost. But not completely lost. Instead of following Jesus as one of his disciples, you might say that I trailed him. You see, whenever he was in the vicinity, I went to hear him teach and watch him heal. It was wonderful! Even viewing from the fringes, I could tell that Jesus was special. And as he went on, I continued to regret my reluctance to follow him completely. But for whatever reason, I could still not bring myself to commit to him without looking back.

So, maybe you should take my observations with a grain of salt. 

Again: who is Jesus? Let’s begin with how he described himself. 

If you read scripture, you will notice that Jesus described himself in many ways. He called himself the “light of the world.” And the “Son of Man.” He was both the gate to the sheepfold as well as the Good Shepherd (John 10). I especially like how he called himself “the way, the truth and the life,” and “the Resurrection and the Life.” And why did he call himself the “bread” that comes down from heaven?” I believe that was because he wanted so much to feed people, to feed both their physical bodies as well as their inner spirits, to feed them with his very self.

Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator), a 6th-century encaustic icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai.

You might also observe how Jesus did not describe himself. Others called him “king” and “prince of peace” and “son of David,” but not Jesus. In fact, Jesus said that he came to serve and not be served. The Romans called Jesus (sarcastically) “the King of the Jews” and had this posted above him on his cross. But Jesus never thought of himself as royalty. Though in truth, he was!

Some of Jesus’ enemies even called him an agent of evil and said that he cast out demons by the power of Satan.

The Apostle John called Jesus the “Word” and quoted Jesus in the Book of Revelation as “the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” Isaiah, in his prophecy, called him “a man of sorrows.”

So, yes, it’s a simple question. And I have come to the conclusion that each one of us must answer that question at some point in our life. Yes, we might try to run and hide from it, as I did, but it keeps coming back. It keeps raising itself to be answered, not for all of humanity or for all of history, in some global way, but for each one of us, individually, each one face-to-face with Jesus. Not in the past or the future, but in the moment, in the “right now” of our lives.

There is no putting it off. We can try, as I did, but it won’t go away. “But who do you say that I am?” For me, that question is always present, always asking. In a way, confronting me, even haunting me.

And you know what? In the moment, as I try to answer, I realize that my answers will always be inadequate. Inadequate, yes, because I have found that my vocabulary can’t comprehend Jesus. Our human minds can’t wrap themselves around him and understand. We try and maybe from time to time we come close. But never fully, never completely. Never to his full depth and breadth.

And my answers will be different from yours. Jesus, you see, is personal. He teaches. He heals. He reconciles. He saves. He redeems. He rescues. He loves. He blesses. He watches over me, and he protects. He listens to me and he cries with me when I am hurt. Like he did for the multitudes on the hillside, he provides. He does and he is all of those things and more. More than I can see, more than I can discover. And you will see him through your own eyes, the eyes not only of your body, but also the eyes of your heart.

Some will never see him for who he is. I am sorry to say it. Read John 10 to see those who would not believe what he said, nor believe his miracles, what John called his “signs.” Their minds were closed to him.

So, again, who is Jesus? How do we define him? When Peter answered that Jesus was the Messiah, do you remember what Jesus said? “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”

Then perhaps, we will only be able to answer the question “But who do you say that I am?” as it is given to us by the Father, by God himself.

I still live in the regret that I did not accept the invitation of Jesus to follow him. And for the longest time I concluded that it was too late. I had missed my opportunity. Missed it forever. Because as you know, the time of Jesus here on earth has ended. You know the story, how he was crucified, raised from the dead, and then taken up into heaven.

It’s now years later. But in reflection, I have come to a new conclusion. I am no longer trying to define Jesus as I used to. It’s too hard! There are too many dimensions to him, allowing me to come even close to a rough sketch of all the things that Jesus was and is. Defining Jesus is one of those paradoxes that at the same time is too simple yet too complex. He is in so many ways beyond definition.

I am now attempting to define him in a new way, at least new to me. You see, my hunger to follow him, and to know him has only grown over the years. Perhaps part of this hunger stems from my decision long ago to pursue those “family business” commitments that I had made. Because in fact, the pursuit of those commitments led nowhere. There was no fulfillment, no satisfaction, no personal growth, no real depth. I had thought they were important. But they did not satisfy the hunger that I felt. 

And I still feel that hunger, that yearning for something more, something that my earlier pursuits did not satisfy. If anything, the hunger is now greater than ever.

So that’s how I now define Jesus, how I answer the question, “But who do you say that I am?” You must answer in your own way. But for me, I define Jesus as the answer to my hunger and longing. Hunger and longing for what? For meaning, for hope, for love, for truth, for forgiveness, for courage.  All of those things and much, much more. You see, I have learned that after looking elsewhere for these things, I did not find them. But in Jesus, they are freely given. To me, then, I define Jesus as all things that answer that hunger in me, the longing that I feel, the hunger that the world cannot satisfy. Can never satisfy.

We are told that on “that day” he will reappear, riding on the clouds. And more, we are told that every eye will see him. I look forward to that day. But now, I have discovered that for me, it’s not too late. Maybe I can’t “see” Jesus as I might have years ago when he invited me to follow him. But in a way, I feel that I can still “know” him, not so much by what he has said and done, but in the way he touches me, and even now, calls me to him, feeding all my hungers and yearnings.