Q & A - Who Do You Say I Am??

This morning I was again reflecting on a question and answer session between Jesus and the Pharisees, this one found in Mark 11:27-33 NIV:

[27] They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. [28] “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

[29] Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. [30] John's baptism---was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

[31] They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' [32] But if we say, 'Of human origin' ” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

[33] So they answered Jesus, “We don't know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

As I was reflecting on these verses, I was not so focused on the trap they were trying lay for Jesus, but rather was thinking about Jesus and his merciful response.  So often I read about Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees, and I always think they were contentious and that Jesus was hammering on them, but the more I have  reflected on Jesus, I just don't get that sense any more.  Instead I tend to see His heart for them, and the invitation He gives them to change the way they are thinking.

It is true that they were looking for ways to trap Him, looking to ensnare Him in such a way as to be able to arrest Him and kill Him, but I just don't think Jesus was that concerned by that threat.  Instead, I think His response was always loving and merciful.  In this case, He turns their question into a question for them to consider.  They were at a decision point, where if they chose correctly they would have realized that He was the Messiah.  If they chose to believe John was from God, then they would have had to believe that He was the one that John was preparing the way for, the Messiah.  They knew scripture, they knew the passages from Isaiah 40:3 speaking of the one in the wilderness crying "prepare the way for the Lord."  Jesus was giving them the opportunity to repent!  He was ready to tell them the truth, if they would have chosen to believe.  They had the choice, they saw it clearly before them, and they chose to deny Him.

I think that most of the time this is how He leads us as well.  The question is always a variant of the following verse - Matthew 16:15 NIV: “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  When we receive this question from the Lord, He is always giving us the opportunity to draw nearer to Him, to change the way we think, to repent in our thinking and recognize His truth!  He loves us and wants us to see Him for who He is, and to see who we are in Him!

For example, when we are confronted by difficult circumstances, we have the choice to believe that He is our provider, that He is faithful, that He is all powerful, and that He is sovereign, or not.  Our choice affects our relationship with Him, we either go deeper and entrust ourselves to Him at a deeper level, or we deny or doubt Him or His characteristics and turn to something else.  We may not see the choice as clearly as that, but if we distill our thoughts down, that is what we are deciding.

He either is God, or He isn't.  His Word is either true or it isn't. There really isn't any in-between options.  He isn't mostly powerful, mostly faithful, and sometimes our provider.  Somehow we convince ourselves that is the case though, when we choose to believe otherwise.  I love the fact that Jesus is never surprised by our struggle, nor only willing to give us one chance.  I love that He is always merciful, and compassionate and loving!  He came to reveal the Father to us, and He continues to do that every day!  He wants us to be in relationship with Him and wants to remove anything that is impinging our faith and experience of His faithfulness and blessings.

So today, I am encouraged to see the opportunity in my circumstances to answer the question, "who do I say He is?"  Every time I am confronted with that question I know there is an opportunity to go deeper in relationship and revelation of Him!