Who Do You Say I Am?

When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Matthew 16:13-16 NET

Napoleon has been quoted as saying; “I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him.” What did Napoleon know about Jesus that many people don’t, that he could make such a statement? For one thing, he was a student of history. He studied empires and the people who created and lead them. He studied their lives, how they governed and what they were known for. What they said and did in both their political and private lives, and Jesus was one of them he studied.

In studying the words of Jesus, Napoleon found that Jesus could not have been just a mere man. He should have been forgotten by history being born of peasant parents, having a common vocation of a carpenter and taught and proclaimed His message for only 3 short years in the public arena. Instead His life changed millions of lives and changed the course of history forever. The study of Jesus’ life so impressed Napoleon that he wrote, “One can absolutely find nowhere, but in Him alone, the imitation of the example of His life. . .I search in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ.”

If we are true disciples (students) of Jesus Christ, we should see Him in a similar way, but most of us don’t, because we haven’t taken the time to do so. Today is a new day, a new beginning, begin today to get into the Word of fod and begin to see Jesus as He truly was meant to be seen, so that He can become our true all in all.