How we answer important questions in life makes a huge difference in how we live and what we do. But there is one question that is the most important of all. In the list of life’s important questions, we might ask: “where did we come from?”, or “why are we here?”, or “where are we going?”But important as those questions may be, there is one question that has eternal consequences. In the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus asking His disciples this question: Who do you say that I am?”Now giving the right answer is important, but giving the right answer requires the right understanding and brings with it a specific set of expectations that require changes in our lifestyle.At this point in Jesus’ ministry, the disciples have been with Him for two, maybe three, years and they have been growing in their understanding of who Jesus really is. They have seen him do great and powerful things beyond imagination: cast out demons, heal the sick, feed the multitudes, calm the wind and waves, and even raise the dead. All of these things pointed to the fact that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, the King that they had been waiting centuries for. But now what they need to understand is that He is not kind of King they had imagined— that is, what they had been taught.Before Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, He asked them about what others were saying (Mark 8:27-30). The apostles reported what others were saying: He is John the baptism resurrected, or the prophet Elijah, or some other prophet. They didn’t report what some of the Pharisees thought about Jesus: He was a friend of sinners, a servant of Beelzebub, or even a glutton.Jesus asked this question as a teaching moment and also to frame the next question: “who do you say that I am?” it was Peter who blurted out the answer: “You are the Christ!” and he was likely speaking for the others as well.But no sooner had Peter made his pronouncement than Jesus told them that they must tell no one about it. Why? Because Jesus had to teach Peter and the others what being the “Christ” really meant, as the Jewish people had developed many ideas about what the Messiah would do when he came.They believed that the Messiah would do supernatural things. They ...
