DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
What
About You? St. Mark 8:27-31,
especially vs. 29: “But Who do you say that I Am?” The first eight chapters of
St. Mark’s Gospel have no record of discussions between the Lord Jesus
and His disciples concerning their perceptions of Himself. He enlists them; they
“follow” Him (Mk. 1:16-20); He appoints the Twelve “...that
they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach...” (Mk.
3:14). The disciples are astonished
at His miracles (Mk. 4:41). He
explains His teaching to them in detail (Mk. 4:34; 7:17-23). Now, however, on the occasion described
in the present passage, the Lord probes the disciples’ views concerning
Himself.
How many who call themselves Christians, likewise, never reflect on His
question! Ask yourself: “What
opinions do I hear concerning Jesus Christ?” More important, “What do I believe
with regard to Jesus Who suffered many things and was rejected and was killed
and after three days rose again?” ( cf. Mk. 8:31). Where do I stand in relation to Him?
The Lord’s first question seeks objective replies: “Who do
men say that I Am?” (vs. 27).
The disciples reported the common opinions of the day. The hearsay they offered was a
reflection of the Jewish milieu in which they lived. They shared the popular opinions that
the Lord Jesus was not perceived as an ordinary scribe or teacher, but rather
as a man of supra-natural powers.
The popular evaluation of the Lord Jesus concluded that He was a most
unusual Person. To say that He was
John the Baptist would be assert this in the face of the Forerunner’s
recent execution (see Mk. 6:14).
Identifying Jesus as Elijah or as one of the other Prophets similarly
could be said only if one believed the Lord Jesus to be extraordinary. Notice, however, that none of these
views concluded that Jesus of Nazareth was God Incarnate.
Today, one encounters an even wider array of views concerning the Lord
Jesus than is found in St. Mark’s Gospel: He was a first century Jewish
rabbi. He was a great prophet. He was the world’s outstanding
religious teacher. He was one of
history’s great avatars of divinity.
Many of today’s secular pundits strip all divinity from Jesus of
Nazareth, and count Him simply as a wise teacher of high ideals. However, Beloved of the Lord, answer the
Lord Jesus Himself: “But who do you say that I Am?” (vs. 29).
The question sets a watershed before anyone who tries to answer
Him. It determines whether one is
an Orthodox Christian, that is, one who declares, “I believe in Him as King and
God.” Do you “Bow down
also before Him, [and] bow down before the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit: the Trinity one in Essence and undivided”? St. Peter speaks the mind of the Church:
“You are the Christ” (vs. 29).
The unique and only Anointed of God, the Messiah.
In the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Lord responds to St. Peter’s
confession by saying, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and
blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven” (Mt.
16:17). St. John Chrysostom applies
this blessing of the Lord to all who confess Jesus as Peter did: “Yet
surely unless he had rightly confessed Him, as begotten of the very Father
Himself...had he accounted our Lord to be one of the many, his saying was not
worthy of a blessing.” And
the blessed Archbishop adds, “It cannot therefore be that one should
learn the Son of any other than of the Father; neither that one should learn
the Father of any other than of the Son.” Revelation! God speaks to the human heart, and when
He does, the words of the Gospels become one’s own declaration,
one’s own response.
Beloved, answer the Lord Jesus, not from habit, nor from the swirling
thoughts of men, nor from your own ideas.
Open your heart and pray God the Father to reveal His Son to you.
O Holy Father, hallow me - my mind, my heart, my very body. I die away from Thee.