The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention a discussion Jesus had with His disciples on the coast of Caesarea Philippi. See Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; and Luke 9:18-21 to read this fascinating account. In Matthew 16:13 we read, "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'" Jesus, in essence, was asking, "Who am I?"

I seriously doubt Jesus was asking this question of His disciples because He did not know and desired to know what other people thought of Him. Rather, I believe, Jesus asked the question, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" as a way to stimulate and get His disciples to begin thinking. He first asked them to tell Him who others said He was and then changed the question to, "'But what about you?' He asked. 'Who do you say I am?'"

Jesus got down and dirty or rather personal with His disciples when He asked the question in Matthew 16:17, "But what about you? Who do you say I am?" The opinions of others was no longer the issue at hand, but now Jesus wanted to know who His disciples believed Him to be. We, as believers or disciples of Jesus, are also called to answer this same question, "Who is Jesus?" Do our answers echo the crowds as recorded in Matthew 16:14, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."? Or has God revealed to us personally the identity of His son?

Peter's well known proclamation of faith follows in Matthew 16:16 as we read, "Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" Jesus confirmed Peter's words to be correct and in Matthew 16:17 we read, "Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven.'" Peter was declaring Jesus to be God when he said, "You are the Christ."

The word, "Christ," according to Webster's dictionary is, "The Messiah whose appearance is prophesied in the Old Testament. Jesus of Nazareth, regarded by Christians as the realization of the Messianic prophecy; originally a title (Jesus the Christ), later used as part of the name (Jesus Christ)."

The problem with the English language and many of us, as Americans, is we have become lazy. I remember back when I was a young boy, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service had a mascot named, "Smokey the bear." He encouraged us by saying, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires!" His name was, "Smokey," he was a bear, and we affectionately called him, "Smokey the bear." However, a few years ago some "well meaning" folks came out with an advertising campaign, which they say was to educate us about Smokey's real name. They claimed the descriptive word, "the" should not be part of the beloved bear's name. It just did not seem or sound right to those of us who had grown up calling him, "Smokey the bear" to say, "Smokey bear."

Likewise, in our modern translations and vernacular we have dropped the word, "the" from the title, "Jesus the Christ." We have almost secularized the title, "Christ," to a last name status. When in reality the word, "Christ should be interpreted to mean, "Messiah." Changing what is meant to be an adjective or description into a noun is bad grammar and business in my humble opinionated opinion.

Seriously, I do not think we consciously seek out to deny the deity of Jesus, yet we must be aware of the enemy and his schemes. In 1 John 2:18; 21-22 we read, "Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour . . . I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist--he denies the Father and the Son." May we be on the alert for false teachers who fail to recognize Jesus as the living God.

It is extremely important, now more than ever, for us to know and understand who others say Jesus is and for us, personally, to know and be able to communicate who Jesus is. In 1 John 5:1 we read, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His child as well." May we begin by putting out the damaging "forest fires of heresy" and begin to spread the good news of the gospel. May we boldly declare Jesus as Israel's long awaited Messiah, "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Amen.