Identity is essential to anyone. It tells people who they are. But not everyone identifies a certain person the same way. They may be trusting someone else to give them the perception of a person instead of coming to a conclusion themselves.

Jesus had a clear identity. He himself affirmed it many times. But that doesn’t mean that people got it. We can see that in the following excerpt:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:13,14)

First, let me make one thing clear: these verses don’t mean that the people of that time believed in reincarnation. If they did, they wouldn’t have mentioned John the Baptist in the list because Jesus and John were alive at the same time for many years.

They did mention John the Baptist and the other prophets because they meant that they believed that Jesus had come to perform the same duties, preach the same topics, prophesize the same promisses and warnings as those prophets did.

In other words, people believed that He was another powerful prophet, and that was it. However, their perception was wrong. Jesus was not only a prophet, he was much more.

Right after hearing the disciples’ answer about what people thought He was, He asked them what they thought:

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15,16)

Peter’s response, although short, is efficient in describing Jesus’ identity. He was:

• the Messiah: the one promissed by God to be Israel’s ultimate prophet, priest and king (see this post for more details).
• the Son of the living God: with this affirmation, Peter declared that Jesus is God (see this post for more details). By emphasizing the “living” characteristic of God, Peter probably wanted to make it clear that God was the only living god, as opposed to the idols worship by other peoples in their time.

Peter’s affirmation was powerful. He probably didn’t understand everything that he had just said. But was it right?

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)

Not only Peter was right, but Jesus affirmed that his definition of Jesus’ identity came from the Father Himself. And after Jesus died and resurrected, He also became our Savior.

If Peter were to follow other people’s opinion, he would have never get it right.

What about you? Do you trust what other people are saying about Jesus? Or do you trust what the Father and the Bible say?

Who do you say Jesus is?