Questioning Jesus – Week 3

Questioning Jesus – Week 3

Question #3

Who do you say that I am?

• Matthew 16:15

Observations:

1. Many people have wrong ideas about who Jesus is.

• Matthew 16:13-14

C. S. Lewis – Mere Christianity

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

2. How we personally answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” is of utmost importance.

• Matthew 16:15
• Matthew 16:16-18
• John 5:24
• John 12:48

3. Even when we know who Jesus is, it can be hard to not hinder His mission.

• Matthew 16:23

Application:

1. Answer the question.

2. Ask Jesus to point out any place you’re hindering His mission.

Family Discussion Points:

*Open by reading Matthew 16:13-23

1. What kind of wrong ideas have you had about who Jesus is? Explain.
2. Why are we so prone to wrong thoughts about Jesus?
3. In your own words, can you explain why views of Jesus that are inconsistent with the totality of Scripture fall short?
4. Why is it important how you personally respond to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?”?
5. How have you personally responded? Please share with the group.
6. After his amazing confession of Christs’ identity, Peter misunderstood Jesus’ mission and Jesus said he was a hindrance. What are some ways we hinder the mission of Jesus?

* Close by asking God to continue to deepen your understanding of who Jesus is.