I am not a believer, but I must confess, as a historian, that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.
— H.G. Wells

Bottom Line

Discovering who Jesus is requires allowing Jesus to show you who He is.

Mark 8:27-33

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

We have created a Jesus in our own image

How do we change this?

1. Recognize it
2. Read the gospels & follow Jesus alongside others
3. Give yourself the litmus test

‍How do we know who is being faithful to Jesus? The litmus test, I believe, is simple: Love. Cruciform love. That’s how we know.
‍— Rich Villodas

Action Steps

• Describe what Jesus is like in your own words.
• Where are you creating a Jesus in your own image?
• What’s one area where Jesus might be disrupting you?
• What’s one area where Jesus might be disrupting us?