Who is Jesus to you? That question is one we will all be held accountable to answer. However, our answer is not just an intellectual one, but one that also needs to be reflected in who we are and how we live our lives. 

In last Sunday’s Gospel reading from Matthew (16:13-20), Jesus asks the disciples who they thought He was. Only Peter’s response is recorded, but it must have been rather startling for the other Apostles. “Simon Peter said in reply, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’” (Matt 16:16) In these ten short words, Peter summarizes the most important aspects of Jesus: His anointing and His Sonship. Only three types of men were anointed in ancient times: priests, prophets, and kings. Jesus is all of these. He is THE Anointed, the one everyone is waiting for (and whom they expect earthly deliverance from Roman occupation). The second part of Peter’s statement is the one that truly no human could have ever known without Divine revelation.

Jesus had been traveling with these men for the better part of three years. After this exchange, Jesus prepared the Apostles for His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. The only way these men could be able to get through this time is by understanding who Jesus is. Most of them will run away. And Peter, who so confidently provides the correct answer, ends up denying that he knows anything about Jesus. This question Jesus asks is to gauge the depth of their faith. 

Jesus acknowledges Peter’s answer as Divinely inspired. However, the only way Peter could have received this is by his close association with Jesus. He had spent years traveling with Jesus, hearing His word, and learning from it. In the beginning of the tenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Peter is part of the group that is sent out by Jesus to preach and to heal. It’s almost a bit like an apprenticeship, where after observing Jesus, the Apostles are sent to neighboring towns to carry out what they saw Jesus do and what they heard Him say. It’s a bit of practice while the teacher is still around and before they spend the rest of their lives doing exactly this. 

How do we answer the question of who Jesus is? Do we demonstrate by word and deed who Jesus is? Do we order our lives around having a relationship with Him by daily prayers? Do we dive deeply by reading and meditating scripture? Do we pattern our actions after Jesus by being the loving servant to others?

In today’s landscape, many look at Jesus as a nice guy and boil down His teachings to be more of an intellectual theory than a call for action. The culture in Jesus’ day was very different from our own and Jesus’ actions were very radical, like talking to women, or correcting the Pharisees. The spread of Christianity changed society. While it didn’t happen overnight, the influence the Church had over the centuries reflects the person of Jesus. 

Each member within the Church needs to acknowledge Jesus the same way Peter did: by professing Jesus as Priest, Prophet, and King as well as His Divinity  in both word and deed. We pray for guidance to do God’s will in order for the Church to better reflect Jesus.