¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Turning to His disciples, Jesus asked the most central question possible, pivotal to everyone’s spiritual journey. Nothing else matters much if we get this question wrong. Who do we say Jesus is?  Everything hinges on that. It is foundational to all of life. Nothing can be assumed, not even with the disciples. Like in the Old Testament, the question was, “Can God be trusted?” For example, when God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, the Scripture records, “Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6).  The apostle Paul puts it this way, “… if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…” (Rom 10:9). The writer of Hebrews echoes this, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb 11:6). Faith in the God who presents Himself is central.

For the disciples, the moment of “coming out” had arrived. There is something about verbalizing that crystallizes and solidifies a growing belief. To audibly communicate one’s faith is to step over the line from unbelief to belief. It is like signing one’s name to the dotted line, standing up and being counted. Yes, yes, I do believe. Jesus was inviting His disciples to cross the threshold. While the question was addressed to all 12, Peter, as was often the case, could not be kept from speaking up (though in all likelihood, his response was representative of the other eleven as well), “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Straight forward question, straight forward response. Succinct and to the point.  Jesus is the Christ (which is the Greek term for the Hebrew word, “Messiah”). He was the Son of God, divine. This was never considered to be a statement indicating Jesus was less than fully divine, as some today might assert. In fact, after Jesus asserted that “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), the Jews tried to stone Him, “because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God” (John 10:33).

Peter was sticking his neck out, for calling a mere man God was punishable by death. It was a point of no return, no turning back now. No longer just followers of an earthly prophet, they were now committed to this man whom they believed to be God.