Deciding who Jesus is: the path to peace and resolving conflict
By Dean Collins
A few years ago I was at a conference where one of the speakers was talking about building a deeper relationship with God through prayer. One of his points was that anytime there is division between believers, the first step is to sit in a room together silently. Every person should be praying silently, he added, and not simply asking God to fix the situation or the other person. Our prayers in these silent moments should simply be focused on connecting with God and quietly waiting for him to speak to our hearts and minds. Only then should we take a step toward a conversation with the other person about the conflict or disagreement.
I thought about that idea this morning as I read Luke 9:18: “Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him.”
The sentence appears a little confusing at first glance. Luke told us Jesus was praying alone, and then he said the disciples were with him. So which is it? Was Jesus alone or with the disciples? My guess is that Jesus was doing something similar to what we later read happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was praying and the disciples were sleeping, or in this case maybe just talking amongst themselves. Or maybe they were watching and wondering, “How can he pray so long?!” I suspect you have a friend or two who seem far better at prayer than you believe yourself to be, and you wonder how they do it. I imagine that’s something like the disciples felt about Jesus and his prayer discipline.
‘Who do you say I am?’
Out of the silence of prayer, Jesus turned and spoke to the disciples who were with him. He asked this question: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” That is an interesting question for us as well. Was Jesus really concerned about his image with the crowds? Did he need some reassurance he was trending well in social media? I doubt it! His question that day was like most of his questions any day, more about what the listener needs to understand than him truly needing information from them or us.
The disciples of course answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist risen from the dead or maybe one of the great prophets like Elijah.” Jesus moved on to his real question. This was and is the important question Jesus still asks of us today: “Who do you say I am”?
Maybe this is what we should do to resolve the conflicts we face. What if each day we spent some time alone quietly praying for the purpose of simply connecting to the heart and mind of God? Would our strength, insight, and obedience look any different to others? Would we then be able to answer as Peter answered? He said, “You are the Christ of God.”
Jesus is the answer from God to everything that is broken, damaged, and in need of renewal. The Christ of God is the one who has, can, and will bring deliverance to all from the bondage of sin. Not just his death but his burial and resurrection are evidence that he is not only the love of God but the power of God in our lives and for all things now and to come.
‘You are the Christ of the living God’
The question Jesus asked of Peter and the early disciples is the question we must answer individually as well. Our answer determines our course of action for every day. Our answer is a reminder to us of who delivers and rescues and that it is not us no matter how hard we try. It is the Christ of God who rescues, transforms, and will come in glory.
Maybe the best way to begin the new day, not only the best way to deal with difficult people or situations, is simply to stop, embrace the silence of prayer, and listen. If Jesus nudges you in the silence, pay attention. Whatever we do following our time of prayer will be aligned with his will when it begins with the conviction “You are the Christ of the living God.”
Your time with God’s Word
Luke 9:18-20 ESV
Photo by Jeremy Yap at unsplash.com
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