"Who do you say that I am?" is one important question Jesus prompts us to seriously ponder. Notice that this question is a follow-up question to another: "Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?" This two-step inquiry serves to determine if Jesus' disciples are: (1) aware of the popular opinion of Jesus' identity; and (2) convinced of their personal regard of Jesus.

Popular opinion of Jesus does not necessarily portray the truth about Him. Notice that they gave wrong answers: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the past prophets. No one identified the Lord as the human Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth, to say nothing of His divine identity. Jesus assesses His disciple: whether they are able to identify Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Although it was St. Peter who, through divine inspiration was able to correctly tell Jesus' identity, it should also be our answer if we declare ourselves to be Jesus' disciple. Peter defied the popular route; he trusted the promptings of the Holy Spirit to tell him what the truth is and not rely on mere popular sentiment. Paul took on God's mission for him to be an apostle to the gentiles just as Peter ministered to the Jews. Jesus' question remains alive in their hearts - Who do you say that I am? - they strove to live the answer every day. So too must we.