“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! 

How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord

or who has been his counselor?”

“‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’

They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

Simon Peter said in reply,

‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

Jesus said to him in reply,

‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.’”

After a significant application process and personal interviews, I was selected to participate in the Youth for Understanding Japan-U.S. Senate exchange program in the summer of 1988. Two high school students from each state were selected and we gathered in Washington, DC, for five days of orientation and training before departing for six weeks in Japan. We had a formal dinner at the Japanese Embassy where we met the Ambassador from Japan in a reception line. We had practiced our greeting many times, “Hajimemashite, douzo yoroshiku.” (Very pleased to meet you). My nerves got the better of me and I stumbled through the greeting, butchering the pronunciation. The Ambassador was very kind, leaned in with a big warm smile, and said, “Next time, just try konnichiwa.” (Good day). My embarrassment at screwing up my big moment of encounter with the ambassador was overcome and we even shared a more intimate moment and connection because of his response to my mistake. In my insignificance as a high school student, the ambassador came close to me in his compassion. 

Like the difference between an American high school student who couldn’t get it right and an accomplished Japanese diplomat assigned as the Ambassador to the United States, in and of themselves, our world and God’s world do not intersect. God is wholly other, beyond our understanding and grasp. He transcends our capacity to know, love, or affect (or control) him. In his compassion, however, God has come close to us. In the incarnation of Jesus, God has revealed himself to us. Taking on our nature, God has bridged the divide at his own initiative. We can enter into communion with God, united to the one who is wholly other. Even our mistakes and sins provide an avenue for the mercy of God to draw us in. God has drawn close to us. He has overcome our sinfulness. God has revealed himself to us. He has done so through Jesus. 

If our way of knowing the eternal triune God is through the person of Jesus, then the question carries all the more weight, “Who do you say that I am?” John the Baptist? Fine. Elijah? Good. Jeremiah? Ok. A prophet? Sure. The anointed one? Maybe, but we’ve got to check that out—are you going to overthrow the Romans and return Israel to glory? Son of the living God? Now, you’ve gone to far! LORD (YHWH)? Blasphemer! Heretic! Sinner! How dare you! Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!

The claim doesn’t resonate with the same raw emotion 2,000 years later, but it is no less radical. Jesus is the revelation of God. Jesus is God in person. We are faced with a dilemma made popular by C. S. Lewis and known in short as “lunatic, liar, or Lord” or “mad, bad, or God.” The words and actions of Jesus (notably, his claim to be “I Am” and his action to forgive sins committed against others) only allow for three options: Jesus is delusional; Jesus is evil; or Jesus is who he claims to be—Jesus is God. Jesus’s own words and actions don’t allow us to put him in a safe category of simply prophet or moral teacher. This is where it becomes personal. Has God come close to us? Everything hinges on our answer to Jesus’s question. Who do you say that I am?