In the Bible passages that our brother just read, there is one common theme that links all three passages together. In each of these three passages we find three questions. And each of these three questions raises the same question: who is this man named Jesus? In the first passage (Mark 4:35-41), when Jesus rebuked the wind and calmed the waves, his disciples asked themselves, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” In the second passage (Luke 5:17-21), prior to healing the paralytic, Jesus said to him, “Your sins are forgiven you.” The Pharisees, who witnessed the miracle, took offense and they replied, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And in the final passage which was read (Luke 9:1-2, 6-9), when Herod the king heard of the preaching campaign inaugurated by Jesus, and learned that Jesus’ disciples were healing the sick through the power that Jesus had given them, Herod asked, “Who is this, of whom I hear such things?” In each passage, the question that was raised was essentially same: who is this man? Who is this Jesus? Who exactly are we dealing with here?
The significance of this question is not trivial, for according to Jesus himself, a proper recognition of his identity forms the foundation upon which Jesus’ church would be built. We see this to be the case when we look at Matthew chapter 16. Here we can find the same question being asked, but this time, it is Jesus himself who is asking the question.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said, ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community.’ (Matthew 16:13, NJB)
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Author: Philip P. Kapusta
Keywords: Son of God, Sons of God, God the Son
Bible reference(s): Deuteronomy 32:8, Exodus 4:22, Genesis 6:2, Gen 6:4, Hosea 11:1, Jeremiah 31:9, Daniel 3:25, Luke 20:36, Luke 3:38, Matthew 16:13, Matthew 16:16, Matthew 5:9, Romans 8:14, Matthew 4:3, Matthew 4:6, Matthew 8:29, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 26:63, Matthew 27:40, Matthew 27:43, Matthew 27:54, Mark 1:1, Mark 3:11, Mark 15:39, Luke 1:35, Luke 3:38, Luke 4:3, Luke 4:9, Luke 4:41, Luke 22:70, John 1:34, John 1:49, John 3:18, John 5:25, John 9:35, John 10:36, John 11:4, John 11:27, John 19:7, John 20:31, Acts 8:37, Acts 9:20, Romans 1:4, 2 Corinthians 1:19, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 4:13, Hebrews 4:14, Hebrews 6:6, Hebrews 7:3, Hebrews 10:29, 1 John 3:8, 1 John 4:15, 1 John 5:5, 1 John 5:10, 1 John 5:12, 1 John 5:13, 1 John 5:20, Revelation 2:18, Matthew 21:10, Luke 9:9
Source: Lecture given in Richmond, Virginia on April 3, 2016.
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