Who do you say that Jesus is?

在聖經的敘述中，耶穌時常獨自祈禱，特別在大事發生之前；這證明跟隨耶穌的門徒，也必須藉著祈禱尋求天父的旨意，以便明白自己的使命、得到啟示。

耶穌然後問門徒：「眾人說我是誰？」這呼應著先前黑落德的疑問：「這人到底是誰？」因為當時耶穌的事蹟已經傳得很廣，很多人也在揣測祂的身份。有人說祂是洗者若翰從死者中復活了；有人說祂是厄里亞；也有人說祂是古時的一位先知復活了。可是這些傳言對門徒來說其實不是重點。重要的是耶穌的下一個問題：「你們說我是誰？」就如祂的門徒，我們也可以從不同人或途徑得知有關耶穌的事，但最重要是我們必須清楚對我們個人來說，耶穌究竟是誰？祂跟我們有甚麼關係？我們只是遠距離聽聞祂的一切，還是真的有邀請祂成為我們生命中的主？

藉著天父的啟示，伯多祿回答說耶穌是「天主的受傅者」。「受傅者」的希臘文是「基督」，希伯來文則是「默西亞」。當時猶太人都期待默西亞會光榮地來臨為他們重建王國，但耶穌卻一再重申，祂必須受許多苦、被人棄絕，然後復活。我們期待與耶穌基督在天國共享永恆的福樂前，也必須一再提醒自己，作為祂的門徒，我們也要跟隨祂走上這條苦路，才能與祂一起踏進祂的光榮。

In the bible passages, Jesus often prayed in solitude, especially when some significant event is going to happen. This indicates that both for Jesus and His followers, it is important to seek the Father's will through prayer in order to understand His calling and His plan for each of us.

Jesus then asked his disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" This echoes with the question Herod asked about Jesus previously: "Who is this about whom I hear such things?" At that time the miracles and things Jesus did had spread very far, thus many people were speculating about who this person is. Some said He is John the Baptist raised from the dead; some said he is Elijah; others said He is one of the ancient prophets who has arisen. Yet these are just rumors. More important is the question Jesus asked next: "But who do you say that I am?" Anyone can learn about Jesus from what other people say, or from different sources, but what's more important is that we must figure out who is Jesus to us personally. Is He someone distant or historic? Or have we invited Him into our lives as our ever living Lord and God?

Through the Heavenly Father's revelation, Peter replied that Jesus is "the Messiah of God". "Messiah” is the Hebrew word meaning "anointed one", which is equivalent to "Christ" in Greek. At that time, the Jews were expecting the Messiah to come in glory to establish God's kingdom, but Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that he must suffer greatly and be rejected, before He will raise again. We look forward to the eternal life and glory that Jesus will share with us in heaven, but before all this happens, we must also remind ourselves that as His disciples, we must first carry our cross and follow Him.