Who do you say that I am?

The Word from the Vine: Luke 9:18-22

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."

The Text Made Fresh (Gospel Parallels)

Matthew 16:13-23; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-22

The gospel text for today is classified under what scripture scholars call, Triple Tradition. This means that this particular gospel text can be found in all three synoptic gospels, namely Matthew, Mark, and of course, in Luke. This too means that they basically share the same material, i.e. sayings of Jesus, events, parables, etc. But if one looks closely, that is synoptically, one sees more and more the glaring differences found in the three accounts.

Here are some of the significant differences:

       • When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (τίνα με οἱ ὄχλοι λέγουσιν εἶναι) Peter’s reply varies in all three. In Matthew 16:16, he replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (σὺ εἰ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος). In Mark 8:29, however, Peter simply answered him, “You are the Christ” (σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός). Luke 9:20 had Peter strangely identifying him as, “The Christ of God” (τὸν χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ). “χριστὸς” or Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name for Messiah. It means the ‘anointed one’ and has been used in Hebrew Scriptures to refer to those who were given a special role in Israel.

        • Matthew has a distinct Matthean material (that is, a material uniquely found in Matthew alone) in verses 17-19. Here, the Matthean author establishes the primacy of Peter as the head of the Church, “You are Peter (Pe>tros), and on this rock I will build my church…”

        • All three mention how Jesus will suffer rejection at the hands of the elders, the chief priest, and the scribes. It is only in Matthew (v.21), however, that there is specific reference to Jerusalem – “that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…” This is perhaps the Matthean writer’s own theological appropriation of their newfound faith in the light of their situation at that particular time. There are two commonly-held assumptions that support this idea: (1) the Matthean community was mainly composed of people who were deeply steeped in Jewish traditions, thus the frequent reference to prophetic literature and that (2) the book was most likely written after the destruction of Jerusalem.

        • The Lukan account does not include that part when Peter “took Jesus and began to rebuke him” for predicting Jesus’ own death. It seems rather odd that after confirming Peter’s role in the church, Matthew and Mark then had Jesus rebuking Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” A good number of Scripture scholars agree that, of the Synoptic gospels, Luke was written last. This omission may be attributed not to an editorial fatigue on the part of the writer but on the redactor’s (following Redaction Theory) important task of bringing in his own theological insight to the material at hand. In this case, the writer perhaps felt it important to emphasize the unity of the church under the leadership of Peter. By omitting this latter part of Matthew and Mark, the Lukan writer addressed a pastoral need of his community.

         • For your prayer consideration, you may contemplate on this gospel text – to imagine that you are either Peter or Jesus or one of the disciples. Imagine Jesus asking you, “Who do you say that I am?” How would respond to him? Spend a few minutes for this prayer exercise. Then watch this video:

The Word Made Fresh (Reflection)

In one of my contemplations during the long retreat, I remember so vividly how, like Peter, Jesus asked me point-blank, “Who do you say that I am?” But unlike Peter, I was too stunned to reply. I forced myself to parrot the same words in scripture but knew deep within that it really meant nothing. Instead I broke down, knelt in front of him and fired loaded questions one by one, “Lord, where were you in all these? Where were you when I badly needed you?” Without me realizing it, I was recalling painful experiences in the past. There was nothing but silence. He held my hand so dearly yet silently. I could not stand the silence. I was about to let go of him when he finally uttered what would perhaps become a turning point in my prayer.   

“I am Jesus the Christ,” he said gently but meaningfully. I recalled right at that moment how the Lord has reached out his hand when I was deep in the mud, how he lifted up my spirit when I was down low, how he turned my personal failures to hopes, how in his silence he was most present. 

“I am Jesus the Christ.”  It dawned on me that when he asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?”, he probably was not looking for a profound reply from Peter. Surely, Peter’s confession was a consequence of his deep friendship with Jesus. Jesus rather wanted Peter to be open to his self-revelation. Are we open enough to acknowledge Jesus' loving and healing presence in our lives? Allow him to reveal himself to you, “I am Jesus the Christ.”