Who Do You Say

Open your Bible and read Mark 8:27-30

He asks the easy version first. What are people saying about me? The answers come fast, because opinions always do. John the Baptist. Elijah. One of the prophets.

Then he narrows it to the only question that costs anything. But who do you say that I am?

You have probably heard the argument that he is either a liar, a lunatic, or telling the truth. It is a useful frame and it is also too neat. A serious person can reply that the sayings might have grown in the retelling, that legends do accumulate. That is a real objection and we will take it seriously later this month.

For today, just refuse the easy exit. Great moral teacher is the one answer the documents themselves do not offer. Whatever you end up concluding, let it be an actual conclusion.