Who do you say?

“‘But what about you?’ He asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’” Matthew 16:15
This question is a significant one, both for the disciples and one which we must each answer today. Jesus was at Caesarea Philippi, a place in the north of Israel where people had been going for centuries to get closer to nature and whatever god inspired them. It was a place where there were shrines to many gods. So Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). They give three answers: John the Baptist (c.f. Mark 6:14), Elijah, or Jeremiah or another prophet. Jesus then gives them the opportunity: “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Peter is the first to respond: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16).
If you ask people today who Jesus was, you might get answers like, ‘He was a good teacher,’ or ‘He was a prophet.’ But the Bible clearly presents that Jesus said He was God. Now, if He was not God, there are two options. Either He thought He was, but He was not – which makes Him a lunatic. Or, He knew He was not, but said He was – which makes Him a liar. If He is either of these, then He is not a prophet and not a good teacher. This leaves only the third: that He really was God. We can’t look to Him merely as an example to us. Jesus was not merely a prophet, or a good teacher. We need to come to the point where we too, like Peter, declare, “He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.”