“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Mark 8: 29
Yesterday we looked at what the crowd were saying about Jesus. Jesus, however, was never out to impress the crowd. He wasn’t interested in public opinion or how popular he was. He came for the individual. He came for the lost. As he explained in the parable of the lost sheep he was prepared to go after the one that had wondered away. Those that others overlooked were the ones that Jesus noticed. He came to make an intimate connection with people. Each person who was willing to receive from him had a life changing encounter. He stepped into their worlds to lift up their heads and offer them a life of love, acceptance and freedom. So who did they say that he was?
He revealed himself as a rescuer to the young woman caught in adultery. Dragged in front of an angry crowd. She stood, humiliated, head bowed low, ready to be sentenced to death. She was merely a pawn in a bigger game that was being played out to trap this so called “man of God”. Jesus did not need to play games or try to fight his corner. He simply wrote on the ground, and the accusers all slowly slipped away. Unable to throw a stone as they now faced their inability to meet the perfect standard. He not only saved her from death but he offered her a new life free from shame and guilt.
He came as a friend to Zachaeus, the tax collector, who was shunned by his town for stealing and cheating. Jesus, ignoring the response from the crowd, honoured Zachaues and restored to him a sense of worth and value that no material goods could buy. Such love and acceptance transformed his life and he responded by giving back to all whom he had cheated above and beyond anything that he had taken.
He came as a redeemer to the woman at the well. This woman had suffered rejection from men and rejection from other women. She had come to get water to survive and Jesus offered her life giving water. She was so overcome with joy that she left her water pots behind and ran to share the good news of encountering the Messiah with the people she was trying to avoid!
When people encountered Jesus they were transformed by his grace. They were given the opportunity to step into a life of no condemnation. They could leave their past behind and become part of a new family from which came their sense of worth, identity and belonging. The word tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. That means that the same love and acceptance that Jesus showed as he walked on the earth he shows to us today. His heart is to rescue you from all the condemning voices that are rising up against you. He wants to draw close to you when others have turned away or you have lost friends through mistakes you have made. He wants to show you the future that awaits you. A life with him that will cause you to let go of everything that you thought was important and to run out and tell everyone you know about his goodness.
He is your friend, your rescuer and your redeemer. He’s asking you today - who do say that I am?
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Who Do You Say I Am Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2020