Absolutely Alive: Know who Jesus is - 30 July 2024

Isn’t life a journey of growing increasingly in our understanding of God, and ourselves, as we move towards eternity? “Your true identity is as a child of God”, said Henri Nouwen, which, for me, enhances why an encounter with Jesus can never leave us the same; we have connected with our Saviour, our True Way, our Eternity, which puts us on an adventure of astounding proportions as we grow to know him better. And, most important, is to see him for who he is. It was like that for Peter.

From the time that Peter responded to Jesus’ call of, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”, (Matthew 4:19, ESV) life for the fisherman changed significantly. As he followed his heart, his faith grew as he saw Jesus at work teaching multitudes, compassionately and miraculously feeding them; healing their diseases; casting out demons; raising the dead – and his eyes widened at Jesus’ refusal to be trapped by the Pharisees, in their unbelief and pride, into providing a miracle to prove that he’d come from God.

Peter had also been at the receiving end of Jesus’ warning to the disciples to “be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod” (Mark 8:15) which none of them had understood at first. Peter clearly perceived Jesus’ fervour that they understand his parables which showed graphically their ever-increasing sin and hardness of heart towards God, played out in their hypocrisy and hunger for power, and why he was opposed to them.

He’d seen how Jesus knew his disciples’ minds and in wanting them “to hunger and thirst for righteousness”, (Matthew 5:6,ESV) had challenged their faith and understanding. “Why are you discussing about not having any bread? Don’t you know or understand yet? Are your minds so dull? You have eyes – can’t you see? You have ears – can’t you hear?” (Mark 8:17-18)

Undoubtedly, Peter saw how frustrating it was for Jesus to know that he alone stood for truth and the ‘Authorities’, who had no true dedication to God, were distracting the people from finding God in his mercy, experiencing his love, and his true worship.

Perhaps, for Peter, the moment of truth of who Jesus truly was dawned through a miracle in Bethsaida “where some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him.” (Mark 8:22) He saw how Jesus, “after spitting on the man’s eyes … placed his hands on him and asked him, “Can you see anything?” When the man responded he could “see people but they look like trees walking around”, Jesus then put his hands on the man’s eyes a second time. (Mark 8:23-24) Mark reports, “Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” (Mark 8:25, ESV) In his wisdom, Jesus could do all things, even in stages; he was doing the same in Peter.

The man who had once fallen “on his knees before Jesus and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful man!’”(Luke 5:8) now knew in his heart: Jesus, “You are the Messiah.”

Do we know who Jesus is?

Where are we in our walk with Jesus? Jesus still asks each one of us today: “What about you… Who do you say I am?”

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You call us to follow you and make the way to the Father clear. Open my eyes and my heart that I may truly know who you are. Amen