Does what others think about you matter? I don't mean to you of course. I am asking if it has an impact on the person who is thinking about you. Does what they think about you bear any weight on their relationship with you? How they behave around you with others? How they act toward you when you are alone? What they trust you with in their presence and in the absence of their presence? I would say the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES.
Let me explain. If you find a person to be honorable and of good moral character, then you will be more inclined to desire to be around them because you trust them. In trusting them, you may be inclined to be more transparent with them than any other person. You would have a level of intimacy (in-to-me-see) with them that few others would achieve.
Examples in life include but aren't limited to a trusted financial advisor. You would lay your wealth at his feet and follow his advice on how to invest your money - sometimes even blindly so. A well-respected doctor would be sought after for his diagnosis of your sick child. You would trust him explicitly with your most valuable gift, your child, because of his reputation. These are examples of how people's behaviors are modified because of what they thought about a person.
It is logical then to conclude that what you think about a person is important because it dictates your behavior. So then, what you think about someone becomes a controlling factor in your life. You can see why this would be paramount for us to discuss then. Especially in spiritual matters of which I now find my vocation.
Jesus knew the importance of what people thought about him. In Luke 9:20, Jesus is about to ask a question of his disciples. One he has already asked in the verse prior of others when he said, "Whom do men say that I am?" The disciples answered one by one saying, "prophet", "Elijah", and "John the Baptist". But in verse 20, Jesus turns this question towards his disciples. He asks, "But what about you? Whom do you say I am?"
Jesus knew what we have already stated - what you think about a person dictates your behavior - and as such, he knew what was getting ready to happen to him. He knew that they needed to know and believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ of God. Because if they didn't know it by now, what they were going to encounter in a few short days was going to cause them to behave differently.
Jesus was about to be turned over to the Jews and crucified. He warned his disciples the time was at hand where he would suffer much. But they didn't understand. They couldn't understand. He was waving the red flags to give them the heads up, to be able to say "I told you this was coming". But they weren't hearing it.
Jesus was privy to the fact that he would be falsely accused, beaten, spat on, mutilated, and finally shamed through crucifixion. What he would endure and who others would say he was could've shattered the disciple's world. For the past 3 years, they have spent every day with Jesus. Their time was spent with the kind and gentle healer. The Rabbi whom everyone sought after. And soon those same people would seek him to kill him.
Peter's answer to Jesus' question is all encompassing and true. He says, "You are the Messiah, God's Christ." Such a small description, but oh so powerful and infinite in it's meaning. Peter identifies Jesus as God's solution to our broken humanity. Jesus is the answer to every heart ache, every longing for redemption, every pain that we feel. Jesus is the one who would redeem us from the curse of the law of sin and death. He would pay the price for our salvation, enabling us to become children of god.
Basically Peter says that Jesus is ALL. Jesus embodying the Christ meant he is ______. In other words, what is there that Jesus cannot be? What need do we have that he cannot fill? The answer Peter gave assured Jesus that what was coming the disciples could handle. If in their hearts they believed he was the Christ, then whatever they encountered - good or bad - they would respond to it in a way that reflected his Lordship in their lives.
Who Jesus' disciples thought he was then is just as important as who Jesus' disciples of today think he is. If Jesus is the Christ, are we behaving as if he is so? If he is our savior, are we living like we have been saved? If he is our redeemer, have we trusted him with our brokenness? I guess the first thing to address before we even get to how we are behaving is "Who do we say that Jesus is?"
The answer to that question is worthy of meditation, examination, and exploration in our hearts, thoughts, and lives. Because who we say he is determines how we behave... how we respond to difficulties in our lives... how we give... how we love... how we conduct our affairs... how we care for others.
I would encourage you to take some time right now to think about who Jesus is to you. If you don't know, I urge you to get plugged in to a local church and to begin reading the Bible. Through God's Word, prayer, and God's people, God will reveal to you who Jesus is. And once you know who he is, you'll never be the same.
I'm praying for you, whoever you are, that God would reveal Himself to you through His Son Jesus.
This month at Simple Church I'm teaching a series called "Jesus Is ______." I would like to invite you to attend and hear exactly who Jesus is. I don't care if you are a skeptic, non-believer, or believer of another faith. All are welcome to attend. Come and listen. Here's a link for service times and location: http://www.simplechurchohio.com/#!untitled/c1t44
If you can't make it, you can listen to the messages via podcast. Here's the best way to do that: http://www.simplechurchohio.com/media#!blank/c22ia. Or you can find us on iTunes on your mobile device here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/simple-church-ohio/id648986602?mt=2.
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