The moment had come for Jesus to challenge the disciples about His identity.  Having spent time praying to Father God, the Lord turned to ask His followers who the people in the crowd thought He was.  His teaching and miracles alone could not define Him.  Unlike people who achieve greatness because of their achievements, Jesus was great because He had always been the Son of God.

The first question was oblique - what was the crowd saying about Him?  The only people they could use as reference points were the Old Testament prophets like Elijah, or the more recent John the Baptist.  King Herod thought that John, whom he had executed, had been raised from the dead (Luke 9:7).  The prophets were God's servants, speaking truth and doing miracles.  Interestingly, very few were heeded (2 Chronicles 24:19; Matthew 23:34).  

But was Jesus just a prophet?  Certainly, He was the prophet who Moses spoke of (Deuteronomy 18:15).  But Jesus was more than a prophet.  Peter's response was clear ... Jesus was the Messiah (Christ) of God.  The word ‘messiah’ means ‘Anointed One’.  In the Old Testament, three groups of people were anointed with authority – prophets, priests and kings – and Jesus fulfilled all three roles, and more, as the Son of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

The same question is important today, "But what about you … who do you say I am"?  The answer does not so much define Jesus, as us.  1 John 4:15 says, "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God".  Many will say Jesus is a teacher, prophet, good man, great example etc; but unless they submit themselves to the authority of the Son of God they have all missed the point.  But those who can say without hesitation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, do so because they have a relationship with Him and have received His Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Evangelistically, ‘who do you think Jesus is?’, is a great diagnostic question and takes your conversation right to the heart of the Gospel.  Pray, and then look for the opportunity to ask what people think about Jesus - it will open the way for you to tell them what you think, and why!