Life is full of questions. Some are large and some are small. Some are essential and some are trivial. Some deal with passing curiosities that grab our attention and we ponder them briefly and then forget them, while others provide for the major themes of our lives. Some we should ask but don’t, and others we ask but wish we hadn’t. In many ways the questions we ask — of ourselves, of others, and of society — define who we are, what we stand for, and what we ultimately become.
There is one question, however, that every person must answer eventually. I call it “Life’s Most Important Question.” Some people go looking for it, chasing after it with the joyful abandon of a child on Christmas morning. Others spend their whole lives deliberately trying to avoid it. Some tiptoe around it and move on because they are too busy with other things. For some individuals it jumps out at them unexpectedly. For others a sudden tragedy drops it on their doorsteps.
How we deal with life’s most important question says a lot about who we are and what we value. There are biases, prejudices, and blind spots that we carry around with us as a result of past experiences that influence us. Then there are the fears and ambitions that have the power to literally dominate our lives. None of these factors, however, alter the importance of facing and answering life’s most important question.
So, what is life’s most important question? Matthew 16:13-20 tells us of the time Jesus was talking with His disciples as they were passing through the district surrounding Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asked them two questions. The first question was: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples replied, “Some say you are John the Baptist, others say Elijah, still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
The second question Jesus asked his disciples is vastly more important than the first. His first question only leads to the second one. He wanted to know what they thought. He does not ask us individually what our parents believe, or what our teachers believe, or what our spouse believes, or even what our pastor or close friends believe. He asks us the question that is more important than any other, “Who do YOU say I am?”
When I was in Israel in 1973 I visited the region around Caesarea Philippi described in Matthew 16:13-20. Every time I read this passage it underscores in a powerful way for me the importance of the question Jesus asked concerning His identity. God’s Word says that ultimately every person — every single person — will ultimately stand before Him to acknowledge Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Hopefully you will not wait until Judgment Day to know who Jesus really was and still is.
No one else can answer life’s most important question for you. You must answer it for yourself. You can agree with Christ or disagree with Him. You can glorify Him or vilify Him. You can follow Him or reject Him. About the only thing you cannot do is to ignore Him. He is inescapable and unavoidable.
If Jesus showed up at your church this coming Sunday and stood before the congregation and said, “Who do you say that I am?” How would you answer? The culture around us seems intent on placing Jesus in the same category as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. But Jesus is not the figment of anybody’s imagination. He was present when the universe was created. He lived on the earth in a specific place and at a definite time within history. Jesus still asks, “Who do YOU say I am?”
What is your answer?
The Paper Pulpit 
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