“…on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they told him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’ And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Christ.'” (Mark 8:27-29)

Ink Blots & Search Bots

Jesus famously asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27). That question acknowledges the swirl of conversation around Jesus’ identity. These days, we ask the internet our questions. Did you know you get over two billion pages if you google “Who is Jesus?” People still love to talk about Jesus and offer a shocking variety of takes on who he is.

Some seem to view him as an abstract idea; he becomes like a Rorschach ink blot letting them assign meaning based on how they look at the world. Some like to see soft and cuddly baby Jesus while others fixate on angry, avenging Jesus. You can find blonde Jesus, black Jesus, and even buddy Jesus. There’s Muslim Jesus, New Age Jesus, and American patriot Jesus. Some people focus on a laughing Jesus or a hugging Jesus, Jesus with kids on his lap, or Jesus with a shepherd’s crook in an idyllic field. If Jesus is just an idea to co-opt, make him whoever you want him to be. But wait. He isn’t an idea; he’s a person.

Confounding & Complete

There’s another reason so many ideas abound about who Jesus is: He’s such a complete, perfect human that he sometimes seems like a walking contradiction. But rather than picking your favorite aspect to emphasize, read the gospels and appreciate the whole picture of this striking figure, full of compassion and courage. He’s an authoritative teacher who seems to challenge old ideas with fresh insight while pointing to these ancient Bible texts as the basis of everything he teaches. We find a divine king with regal dignity and impossible power who accepted humiliation, suffering, and death without resistance. His gentle strength and life-changing teaching make us want to find a tree to sit under and contemplate life. Mostly, it makes us want to follow him.

Two Questions

What have you heard about Jesus? What do your parents say about him? What do your teachers, coworkers, and friends think? What do you hear from historians and scholars, celebrities, and influencers? Jesus didn’t ask that first question to collect information. He did it to allow his disciples to offer a personal answer, distinct from all the other noise. It’s an establishing shot, showing us where we are before we zoom into the real action as Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29).

Jesus doesn’t care about your answer to his first question. He cares about your response to his second question: Who is he to you?

What’s a Messiah?

Peter’s answer boils Jesus’ identity down to one word: “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29). But what does that even mean? It isn’t part of Jesus’ name; it’s a title that explains how he fits into the Bible’s story.

Christ comes from the Greek word for Messiah. Both the Greek and Hebrew words mean “The Anointed One.” When Israel appointed someone, they anointed them by pouring oil on their head. We find Old Testament examples of anointed priests (Exod. 40:15), an anointed prophet (1 Kings 19:15-16), and anointed kings (1 Sam. 10:1).

More than just oil; the anointing can represent the pouring out of God’s Spirit to empower their unique role (1 Sam. 16:13; Isa. 61:1). And because God established Israel’s kings, God’s people recognized them as “the Lord’s anointed” (1 Sam. 24:6).

Future Present Tense

But Jesus isn’t one of the anointed ones. He is The Christ, The Anointed One. Some of the people who saw his miracles recognized that he was not just a prophet but “the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14); the prophet Moses foretold God would raise up, which many saw as a reference to the Messiah (Deut. 18:15-19).

But what a strange way to describe someone who has already come — “the one who is to come into the world.” Yet that forward-looking hope is fundamental to understanding “Messiah.” John’s disciples asked if Jesus was “the one who is to come” (Matt. 11:2). And when Martha made a similar confession to Peter’s, she said, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world” (John 11:27).

The Christ is the one we’ve all been waiting for, “the one who is coming into the world” — and has come — to save us and make things right. Unlike everyone else, he’s “the holy and righteous one” (Acts 3:14). There’s no one else like him and no other way to be saved (Acts 4:12). He’s the One. So those are our choices, Peter’s answers to Jesus’ two questions. Others saw him as “one of the prophets” (Mark 8:28), just as some today see him as one of the good teachers.

Jesus is either “one of” or “The One.” You answer by following him as king or placing your devotion elsewhere. May we heed the Father’s words, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” (Luke 9:35).