Who Do You Say Jesus Is: Nashville

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is this not the most elemental and fundamental of all questions? who do you say jesus is? period.

a friend of mine wanted to know what “the average person” walking the streets of nashville had to say in response to that question. so, wielding a handheld video camera and a stack of notecards, we took to the night.

“hey, excuse me. would you mind answering a question for us?”

“ummm…”

“we’re just curious to see what people have to say. if you want, you can simply answer the question and walk away. we’re not here to argue. we genuinely want to listen.”

“okay.”

“we’ll hand you a card. just flip it over, read out loud what is printed on it, and then give your response.”

a flood of responses began falling from people’s mouths: from the epic and chilling to the mundane and sad.

on the back of the card we had the website information that would lead anyone with ears to hear to the youtube video posted above.

i believe this question, more than any other question in all of history, is what matters most. i believe this question brings the kingdom of heaven to the kingdoms of earth in a provoking way. it disturbs everyone: that is, it moves everyone: to think (or rethink) and respond.

so what about you? who do you say yeshua is?

[selah]

simon peter, in good ole simon-peter fashion, steps up and puts it all on the line: he answered his rabbi by proclaiming, “you are meshiach.” what i love about this exchange is that simon peter answers this question in the company of his peers! i kind of imagine there being the awkward silence between yeshua’s question and peter’s response…and then even more awkward silence when he squeezes out his last word.

i wonder how long did yeshua let him hang there. did it feel like an eternity? did he have time to doubt, second guess himself? it wouldn’t surprise me. after all, though he recently walked on water,  but he also recently “began to sink”. (matthew 14.29, 30)

no one else got out of the boat to walk toward yeshua. and apparently, no one else got up the courage to put forth their response to that question.

make no mistake. it absolutely does take courage to answer that question. every morning it takes courage, i believe. why? because: it always leads to an incredible amount of other questions.

if you are messiah… if you ARE the son of the only living god, YHWH… what now? what about today? if you really do heal… what do i do now that i’ve received that healing!? if you really do make all things new… then am i to actually start fresh, even though i feel so attached to my worries from yesterday or my anxieties about tomorrow? if you truly forgive… now am i supposed to just up and forgive those who have wronged me? if you lead like a rabbi… if your kingdom is a reality… if you care more about your glory and the redemption of the world… if you love us…

and the questions will come like a torrent. and though you may feel overwhelmed. even as you are being swept over, you will be cleansed by that torrent: if you say yeshua is messiah.

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despite my unbelief, i believe that who i am is a son of the only living god & king, YHWH [blessed be his name]. a son of the resurrection. a son of the wind which bends all things.

i wonder: would i recognize jesus if he walked past me in target? assuming he were not dressed like a 1st century jewish man. i wonder if would recognize jesus if i overheard him speaking to a group of twenty-somethings at a local coffee shop.

would you? would i? are our expectations of him accurate?

john the baptizer’s disciples sent word to yeshua (jesus) asking if he were the ‘expected one’. i like the fact that this question is included in these ancient writings: it makes it current and cuts to the heart.

it was clear that they were, at the very least, unsure about his messiahship. my research suggests they had good cause: his disciples did not fast or participate in some of the more austere habits as other disciples; he and his disciples surrounded themselves with people no one in their right mind should surround themselves with; he did not always speak highly of those in places of religious authority; and he was not ‘learnt in the letters’, that is, he was not the best educated by their standards.

and yet. he was committed to love. lived a life of simplicity. taught as one with authority. performed countless miracles. became a voice for the voiceless. he embodied grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

it leads to so many other questions, in my opinion.

if he were actually walking this earth, where would he be found? moreover, would i dare go there? would he be outside of a strip club? or sitting at a bar? might he be standing at a well-established church, criticizing those who have never ‘lifted a finger for the gasping weaker’? maybe in washington d.c. befriending the crooked politicians and ‘tax-collectors’? perhaps, breaking bread with a group of addicts down in tent city? or even enjoying a day in the park with a family and their newborn daughter?

yeshua said that when he ascended, those left here would do even greater things than he did. it’s obvious, of course, that this is possible not because we will become greater than him (for a servant is never greater than his master) – but that we would, by the spirit of GOD in us, be able to literally cover more ground than he did: we are able to eat with those addicts while also befriending the tax-collectors while also enjoying a day with our families while also conversating with church leaders while also serving the homeless while also writing a poem while also watching the sun rise – really watching the sun rise.

so i am left wondering, do i even recognize who i am in messiah: in christ: in him. to be honest, some moments i do recognize, i do catch a glimpse. and some moments i look like an ‘empty shell of a man’.

when people meet us, i believe the question should be, “are you like the one, or should we expect someone else?”

our response, a very heavy and humbling response, should be, “tell me what you see.”

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despite my unbelief, i believe that who i am is a son of the only living god & king, YHVH [blessed be his name]. a son of the resurrection. a son of the wind which bends all things.