Who Do You Say I Am?
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.””- Matthew 16:13-16 NLT
U2, along with their lead singer Bono, has long been my favorite band since I first heard their first two faith-tinged albums in 1982/1983.
So, as I read an article about Bono awhile back and got into the meat of what it said, it seemed to fit right in with some of the Old Lazy Dog devotions and some of the ensuing conversations in the days prior to during and after Easter: Who Do You Say That I Am?
When Bono was asked a similar question, his answer may surprise you...
The mega-star frontman of U2, was asked, “Isn’t it far-fetched to believe that Jesus Christ is God.”
Here's how he replied:
“No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook.
Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate."
And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you.
And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah.
...So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was--the Messiah--or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. ... I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched... " ~ From Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas (Riverhead Books)
So... With that in mind, I’ll ask the question again...
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Keep the Faith... Carpe Diem
