Out Our Way: 'And who do YOU say that I am?'

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked of them, "Who do YOU say that I am?" - Mark 8:27-29

Out our way, a favorite radio and TV program of the past was, "The Lone Ranger." With the theme from the William Tell Overture blaring away, we were treated to the spectacle of the masked man on his white stallion, Silver, attended by his faithful companion, Tonto. The guy sort of stood out in the crowd.

Yet every week as the program ended, "Denny Dimwit" or some other incredibly dense individual would always ask the same idiotic question: "Who was that masked man?"     Apparently the mask, the white horse, the silver bullets and Tonto were just not enough for some people to figure out the answer. And we would all shout together, "It's the Lone Ranger!" (You dumbbell!)

It is even more amazing that as Easter approaches there are still so many people who have even less of a clue about the identity of Jesus that poor old "Dumb Denny's" failure to identify the masked crusader of the old West. It's certainly not from a lack of clues.

Last week, Palm Sunday, Jesus made it very clear to all who bothered to check out his ride that He was claiming to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God.

As we were reminded Sunday, Jesus coming into the city of Jerusalem during the week of Passover on a donkey was an unmistakable sign.    The prophet Zechariah, hundreds of years before, had announced the Holy One of God - the Great King - would enter the city in just such a way (Zechariah 9:9). Most of the crowd got the point as they began chanting from Psalm 118:25-26 "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the LORD."

But of course, just as with the Lone Ranger, there were a few who managed to miss the obvious. So it was that the High Priest and the Sanhedrin Counsel conspired to secretly arrest, try and condemn Jesus that week before more people started following Him. And as we all know, with the help of the secular, pagan authorities, they nailed Him to the cross and put an end to all this speculation.

"Who is He? Oh, just some religious nut - a troublemaker stirring up the uneducated and naïve people. He's either a great liar or a lunatic!"

Or, "He is Lord, just as He claimed to be." That, of course, was the one option the self-righteous and self-centered could not consider for, if He were the Messiah, then all their pretenses of power, status and self-importance would be shattered. They could no longer be "their own gods," as Adam and Eve had been deceived into believing was possible (Genesis 3:5). So they blinded themselves to the obvious, ignored all the signs and clues, and "got rid of Him."  Or so they thought. For here is the problem that they and all modern "Denny Dimwits" cannot get past - the empty tomb.

Those timid frightened people who ran like rabbits when Jesus was arrested suddenly and boldly stood up and proclaimed the Risen Lord.  Imprisoned, persecuted, tortured and put to death, they never waivered. Paul, who had once been the church's greatest enemy as Saul, was transformed overnight on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-18) and spent the rest of his life proclaiming the Risen Lord.  

So let's see. We have the man, Jesus, claiming to be the Messiah and the Son of God, we have Him put to death for it, and then we have the testimony of His followers that He had been raised from the dead - from that point on - despite persecution, torture and death. And we have the message and the faith not only expanded, but also eventually overcame the entire Roman Empire. We have the church still growing today despite every attempt to stamp it out over 2,000 years. Hmmm. Is that the William Tell Overture I hear in the background? 

Well, "Denny," you can continue to act like the town idiot and ask who He is - but the rest of us understand and are glad. He is risen! He is risen indeed!!!

(John Bruington is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church. His columns are available along with sermons and the Bruin Town Children Stories each we