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 WHO DID JESUS THINK HE WAS? Getting a straight answer from Jesus doesn't seem to have been too easy. In Mark's Gospel, Jesus asks his closest disciples what their answer to the question is. "You are the Messiah," says Peter. "Don't tell anyone about me," is his only response. This kind of elusiveness seems to have been typical. The same goes for "Son of God". "Whenever the people who had evil spirits in them saw him they would fall down and scream, 'You are the Son of God'. Jesus sternly ordered the evil spirits not to tell anyone who he was" (Mark 3:11-12). The only time Jesus is explicit is at his trial. The High Priest asks, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed God?" "I am." And for this he is sentenced to death. (Mark 14:62-64) So, according to Mark, Jesus kept his cards close to his chest. In John's Gospel, the picture is very different. There Jesus speaks openly and at great length about who he is: the unique Son of God, the way to the Father, the Saviour of the world. "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" is one of his most striking claims. (John 14:9) More questions about who Jesus was |
Picture: 6th-century mosaic of Christ from Ravenna, Italy. |
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