Who do you want Jesus to be?... That is what He's asking, is it not? "Who do the crowds say I am?" Who do you say He is? What do you want Him to be? What do you expect from Him? What is He supposed to do for you?

Do you answer like the crowds? "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." Or do you answer like so many "Christians" (and I use the term loosely) do today? "He is or is like my holy therapist, who helps me deal with emotional hardship and is all about supporting me." "He is my defender, the defender of the poor and downtrodden, and He brings me social justice and teaches tolerance." "He is a great moral leader who keeps His promises and drives with purpose, and He shows me how to be a better person." "He is my healer, and He cures all my ills and infirmities." Do you answer like Simon the Pharisee would: "He is a great miracle worker, and it's great to have Him as my guest."

You see, it is so easy to read through the Scriptures and find the kind of God you want to find. You can read of the many miracles Jesus has performed and you see Him as only a miracle worker—all the healings make Him a physician only, all the exorcisms make Him and exorcist only, etc. You read of Him speaking principles, and He becomes a champion of social justice—for He always speaks well of the poor and needy, the orphans and the widows, the very old and the very young—and when He performs His miracles, it is always for their benefit.

This is nothing new. The people of Jesus' time did the same thing. They had their scriptures in which they uphold God's prophets as moral champions. The prophets were men of God who spoke from Him, proclaiming justice for the poor, the weak, and the needy. Sometimes, they even performed miracles—raising dead back to life, causing flour and oil to last a long time, bringing fire down on soaked wood, etc. Jesus fits the mold. He speaks their language, referring to Himself as the prophets of old used to do. He speaks from God...He speaks with authority. He performs miracles. If He's not a new prophet, then He must be one brought back to life.

The thing with Jesus, though, is that He's the Son of God. He's got that something that the other prophets never had. We can see it because we have Matthew chapter 1—we have Luke chapters 1 and 2. We read of a lineage that goes all the way back to Moses...all the way back to God. We read of the Holy Spirit visiting Mary and conceiving in her the Son of God. So, that much we can answer to His question: Who do you say that He is? You are the Son of God!

The next logical step would be to identify with the people Jesus has helped. Whether you are poor, ill, or emotionally scarred, you read of Jesus helping these people and identify with them. No, it's not that you want to be like them so that Jesus will help you, it's that you are already like them, so you believe that Jesus will help you.

You see, that's the problem we have. That's the problem that the people in Jesus' time had, as well. We are so blinded and deafened by sin that we fail to see and hear the full message. We are so blinded and deafened by sin that we only see and hear what we want to see and hear.

We read of Jesus healing people with all manner of illnesses—well, I have an illness too, so Jesus will heal me. We read of Jesus comforting the bereaved and distressed—well, I am distressed too, so Jesus will comfort me. We read of Jesus defending the poor and needy, the widowed and downtrodden—well, I am poor and needy too, so Jesus is on my side and will give me everything that I need to get through this.

We start believing that we deserve Jesus' favor because of who we are...because of the condition we are in. The greatest of sins creeps in again—sin that masquerades as righteousness: we believe that we are righteous, are made righteous, or deserve righteousness because of who we are, what we have done, or what condition we are in!

While these things may be true, what happens when they don't happen? Curse God and look to something else for what you need? While you may believe that you are in fact not cursing God, it is actually what you do when you place something created for false in His place. You do indeed curse God when you look to something else to do what you expect God should do for you or when you look to something to perhaps do what God is incapable of doing, to tie up the loose ends, so to speak.

But there is a right answer to the question Jesus asks. After asking the disciples what the crowds said, he turns the question to the disciples: "'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?'" Again, we can answer the question correctly: "You are the Son of God." But St. Peter also answers correctly: "The Christ of God." In answering this, Peter confirms that Jesus is a miracle worker, a healer, an exorcist, a champion of social justice, and a comforter. For in that answer, Peter states that Jesus is the one anointed and appointed to die for the sins of the world, for our sins, in order to justify the world, in order to justify us. In that answer, he says that Jesus is the One chosen to redeem mankind to God by taking the sins of the world upon himself and dying on a tree, the new tree of life, being raised back to life and giving the world—giving us—eternal life.

That is the greatest miracle He has ever performed. While changing water into wine was a great miracle, changing the sinner into a saint by His death and resurrection was infinitely better.

That is the greatest healing He has ever done. While giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, legs to the lame, and cleanliness to the leper were all awesome healings, giving cleanliness to us who were sick with sin so that God would no longer look upon us as unclean was a far better healing. For our robes have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb as we were washed clean in the waters of Holy Baptism.

That is the greatest exorcism He has ever performed. While casting out the legion of demons into pigs and causing them to run over a cliff was spectacular, it pales in comparison to casting out the evil spirits in us in the waters of Holy Baptism and making room for the Holy Spirit. For with the gift of the Holy Spirit given in Holy Baptism, a gift won for us by Jesus' death and resurrection, we are claimed by God as His holy child, and Satan can no longer lay a finger on us.

That is the greatest judgment He has ever pronounced. While standing up for the prostitute who was about to be stoned—"let he who is without sin cast the first stone"—defies all logic and sense of justice, the words He pronounced to her, the same words He says to us because of His death on the cross—"your sins are forgiven"—are the sweetest words of judgment we could ever hear!

And that is the greatest comfort He has ever given. While calming the storm certainly comforted the fears and anxieties of the disciples who feared for their lives and were in the boat with Him, giving them peace, He gives a greater comfort in the peace that passes all understanding as we consume His body and His blood, which He shed on the cross, in the Eucharist. And He comforts us with the sure and certain knowledge that since we have been Baptized into His death, we have likewise been Baptized into His resurrection—that on the last day, those of us who are still "fighting" in the Church Militant will be reunited with those who are waiting in the Church Triumphant, as they are raised back to life.

It is not that we deserve God's favor because of who we are, we receive God's favor because of what His Son—His Christ—has done. He meets our condition of sin with His merits and righteousness. He takes our condition of sin upon Himself and makes us righteous, just as St. Paul once wrote: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Who do you say Jesus is? He is the Son of God—the Christ of God. He is the Savior of the world. He is the very Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is your Redeemer, who has taken your sin. You are forgiven by Him.