Who do you say that I am? | Matthew 16:13-20, John 10:30-33 | TJ Torgerson
Why is the question of Jesus’ identity important? What makes the question of "Who is Jesus" more important than the question "who was George Washington"? The question of George Washington’s identity is important as a matter of historical significance. Is the matter of Jesus’ identity also only a matter of historical significance?
The reason the question of Jesus’ identity is more important than the question of George Washington’s identity is because of the significance of the viable options.
If the question, “who was George Washington?” was on a multiple-choice test next to the question of who was Jesus, there would be much different available options. For fun, I asked ChatGPT to create 2 multiple-choice questions. My prompt was, “create a multiple-choice question about the identity of George Washington.” And “Create a multiple-choice question about the identity of Jesus.” Below are the results:
Which of the following statements accurately describes the identity of George Washington?
A) He was the third President of the United States.
B) He was a prominent figure in the American Revolutionary War and served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
C) He was a renowned inventor and scientist, credited with inventing the lightning rod.
D) He was a prolific author, known for his contributions to American literature during the 18th century.
Correct Answer: B) He was a prominent figure in the American Revolutionary War and served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
Which of the following statements accurately describes the identity of Jesus?
A) He was a Greek philosopher known for his teachings on ethics and virtue.
B) He was a Roman emperor who ruled during the 1st century AD.
C) He was a Jewish religious leader who is central to Christianity, believed by Christians to be the Son of God and the savior of humanity.
D) He was an Egyptian pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Correct Answer: C) He was a Jewish religious leader who is central to Christianity, believed by Christians to be the Son of God and the savior of humanity.
ChatGPT recognizes that one of the options for Jesus’ identity is the claim to being “the Son of God and the savior of humanity.” The possibility of viable answers is what makes this question important.
But this leads to the next question, why is the question of Jesus’ identity more important than the question of Thor’s identity? I gave ChatGPT a similar prompt to create a question regarding Thor, but had to revise it to avoid Chris Hemsworth being an option. The prompt was, “Write a multiple-choice question regarding the identity of Thor that does not account for comic books.”
Which of the following statements accurately describes the identity of Thor in Norse mythology?
A) He is the ruler of the Greek pantheon, known for his lightning bolt weapon.
B) He is a Roman god associated with war and agriculture.
C) He is the Norse god of thunder, strength, and protection, depicted wielding the hammer Mjolnir.
D) He is a Celtic deity revered for his connection to the natural world and forests.
Correct Answer: C) He is the Norse god of thunder, strength, and protection, depicted wielding the hammer Mjolnir.
Both Thor and Jesus have options that would have religious and theological significance. So why is the question of Jesus’ identity more important than the question of Thor’s identity? The answer to that can be seen in the next ChatGPT prompt. “Write a multiple-choice question about selecting which of the following was a historical living person make 1 option Jesus and another option Thor.”
Which of the following figures is recognized as a historical living person rather than a mythological or legendary character?
A) Jesus
B) Thor
C) King Arthur
D) Hercules
Correct Answer: A) Jesus
It is almost universally agreed upon that Jesus was a real person who walked the earth. We can point to a historical figure and say that was Jesus; we can’t do the same with Thor. That makes the question of Jesus more significant than the question of Thor.
Jesus was a historical person who made claims to divinity. That is significant! The question of Jesus’ identity is an important question. More than that, it is a question that has been important for a long time. It was important enough for Jesus himself to ask the question of His disciples.
Matthew 16:13–16 (NET)
When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This interaction was near the end of Jesus’ ministry. Soon after this, he will be crucified, and he gathers his disciples to find out what the word on the street is. The answers they provide are similar to answers we might get if we were to ask random people on the street.
• Some people believe He was a prophet,
• some people believe He was a good man,
• Some think of Him as a great teacher and preacher
After hearing this, Jesus changes the topic a little and asks them— But what about you— what do you say? It is always interesting to think about all the things other people think and say about Jesus, but what about you? To which Peter gives the famous reply, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God!” He was saying Jesus you are the true savior, the true king, you are, in fact, the son of the living God! Peter probably did not fully understand what he was saying. He likely did not fully grasp the magnitude of the statement. This perhaps is seen in the days and moments ahead. Nevertheless, even though Peter did not understand the words coming out of his mouth, Jesus knew. In fact, Jesus said in response to this
Matthew 16:17 (NET)
And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!
Jesus said- You are right! I am the son of the Living God, and it was my father— the living God that has revealed that to you! It seems in this interaction Jesus was pointing to his divinity, and this is not the only place he does this. Check out this story in John
John 10:30–33 (NET)
The Father and I are one.” The Jewish leaders picked up rocks again to stone him to death. Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” The Jewish leaders replied, “We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God.”
His opponents understood what Jesus was saying about himself and wanted to kill him for it. In their view, he A MERE MAN CLAIMED TO BE GOD!
This is why the question of Jesus identity is so important. — If he never claimed to be anything special, anything different than anyone else, then the question of who is Jesus would matter as much as the question, “Who is George Washington?”
But Jesus said, “Peter you are right, I am the son of the Living God!”
Jesus said, “I and the father are one!”
It is statements like this that make it more important to know who he is. These statements introduce an earth-shattering possibility. More than that, not only is a world-changing option introduced, it also limits other possibilities.
A prophet would not say these things about himself unless it were true. A good man or a good teacher would not say these things about himself if they were not true. Which means that the question of Jesus’ divinity needs to be addressed before we can say he was a prophet or a good teacher.
Because Jesus said he was the son of the living God and that he and the father were one. The multiple-choice test now looks like this.
Who is Jesus?
A. God
B. Liar
C. Crazy person
This is, of course, the famous Lord, Liar, Lunatic argument that was made famous by C.S. Lewis. This is what Lewis said on the matter.
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (Mere Christianity, 55-56)
If Jesus was a crazy person or a liar, then he can be ignored without much thought. But if he was neither lying nor delusional, then that means he was telling the truth. And if he was telling the truth doesn’t that change things? If he truly is Lord of all- if he truly is one with the father— If he truly is God shouldn’t that change things?
Doesn’t it give us another question to deal with? How will we respond to Jesus? The way I see it there are only 3 options.
How will you respond to Jesus?
A. Ignorant— He is God, but we don’t know/ we haven’t heard.
B. Arrogant— He is God, but we don’t care.
C. Obedient— He is God — My God -My king -My Lord
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