My dear friends, in today’s gospel, Jesus puts forward a very important question to each one of us about himself and our relationship with him. He started the question by making enquiries about his status before the people. Jesus could not miss that opportunity to know what people think about him. He knew he had made a wonderful impression among the people and wanted his close allies to testify to that. And after praying before them, he put the question to them: Who do people say I am?
The Testimony About Jesus
The testimony about Jesus is amazing. The disciples responded by letting him know what the people were thinking about him. He was rated with good and holy people like John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the ancient prophets. They felt that way and voiced it out because they have noticed his holiness. They have also noticed his goodness to people, too. No wonder the Scripture says: ‘he went about doing good’ (Acts 10:38). His righteousness was very evident to the people that they bore eloquent testimony about him. He must have made a wonderful impression in their lives so that they expressed it before his disciples. That is not surprising, because even today we can still see the evidence of his goodness in our lives. His faithfulness is always assured. He has not left us as orphans (John 14:18), just as he has promised. He is always there and faithful to us even in our unfaithfulness.
The Answer of the Disciples
The testimony of the disciples of Jesus about their Master could be that of the crowd. It could be what people must have noticed, heard, or been taught about him. They spread it among themselves but may not have witnessed him closely like his disciples had. We can hear good stories about people without having encountered them in life. This does not mean that the answers of the disciples about Jesus were false, no! But Jesus would have preferred an answer that is more personal, real, ‘a lived experience.’ He would have preferred a personal shared experience of himself among the people. And that was the reason he turned to his close disciples and asked them what they think about him.
The disciples wondered at the question. There was dead silence. They could not answer the question immediately until Peter, prompted by the Holy Spirit, responded to him: ‘You are the Christ of God’ (Luke 9:21). The answer was not even his personal view but was given to him from above to authenticate the person of Christ. Otherwise, the disciples may had given different answers and opinions about Jesus, but the Holy Spirit intervened at the right time to avoid giving a wrong attribute to the Son of Man. But that raises a question of what the disciples could have answered individually about what they think about their master. In the same way, if the question is put to us today, what will be our response? Would we give an answer like what the people think about Jesus to be John the Baptist or Elijah or one of the prophets? Or are we going to give a personal, convincing, and life encountering answer about Jesus?
Is Jesus the Lord of your life?
The above is an important question. We must answer it individually. If Jesus is not the Lord of your life, then you are far from him. We can always say Jesus is good and faithful; he is our Savior but if he is not the Lord of your personal life in whom you live, move, and have your being, then you are not a close disciple. He wants us to have an encountering and living experience of him every moment and be his close friend and disciple. He wants us to love, trust and worship him always. Otherwise, we cannot say he is our Lord and Savior. I will conclude by putting the same question of Jesus to you: ‘Who do you say I am?’
