In today’s gospel, Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do people say that I am?” (v.27). Replying that He is said to be John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets, pushed Jesus to ask an additional question which is more directed to His disciples. “But you, who do you say that I am?”. Peter answered “You are the Messiah” (v.29). Before making sense of Peter’s answer, let’s have a close look at the previous answer. Is the first answer wrong? Some people say that “you are John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets” (v.28). This answer takes a form of popular opinion and yet, Jesus is not John the Baptist. He is greater than John the Baptist as the later predicted during his preaching: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals” (Mk 1:7-8). He is not Elijah, because it is written, “Elijah has come”, “yet how is written regarding the Son of Man, that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt” (Mk 9:9-13). We cannot say neither that Jesus is simply one of the prophets among others of his time, -since to be a prophet means simply to be a messenger, - unless we want to adopt the popular opinion of Jesus’ time.

To move away from this wavering answer, it is important to ask ourselves, who is Jesus for us? Who is Jesus for you today? Is Jesus the one who once came, lived on earth and was crucified by Romans as rebellious? (Historical Jesus). Is Jesus the one whose name you call upon, only when you are undergoing life’s troubles? The one who becomes a simple healer, a miracle worker just when you are in need of him (Magical Jesus)? Or is Jesus the one with whom you have experienced greater love (Jesus of faith)? Although Jesus did some prophetic actions, delivered some prophetic messages, he is not limited to being a prophet. He does not simply carry God’s message. Instead, He is God’s Word that became flesh (John 1:1). As Christians we know and believe that Jesus came on earth, lived, taught, prophesized, … but also, He suffered, died and mostly, He was exalted by God the Father who raised Him after the three days. He is alive, present in the life of the believers, in the life of the Church through the Holy Spirit in a way that people who believe in Him can clearly say who Jesus is for them.

Drawing from Peter’s experience, we are called to make a personal encounter with the Christ, the Messiah; to experience Him, His presence and His love in a unique way, (different from popular and wavering opinions) until we realize that without Christ, our being Christian does not have any sense. In fact, when it is taken grammatically, the word Christian chopped from its root christ-, the suffix -ian is meaningless, unless we call it I-A-N that is I Am Nothing. I think that is what Simon Peter experienced until he expressed it in another conversation with Jesus: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

Let us then, keep Jesus in mind as our Savior, our best friend, the one we must trust, who cannot abandon us, nor “break our hearts” because He told us “I no longer call you slaves, [...] I have called you friends” (John 15:15). In fact, Jesus is our friend, the best we can ever have. He shows His love for us, not only in words but also in action. If we are able to make such a realization, then we can be able to answer clearly who Jesus is for us, and get ready to carry our own cross in order to follow Him, i.e. to be His true disciple.