Knowing the real Jesus

What kinds of jobs do the people in your family have? If your mother works in a hospital, the people there might call her "Doctor." They only know her as a person who sees them when they're sick; you know her as "Mom."

Different people had different names for Jesus, too -- and some of them weren't even the right names! In this week's Gospel (Luke 9:18-24), Jesus and His friends talk about His real "job": being the Son of God.

Jesus and the Apostles were praying together when He asked them, "Who do other people say that I am?" The Apostles said, "Some people say you're John the Baptist or a prophet." "But who do you think I am?" Jesus asked. Peter answered, "You are the one sent by God."

When your father goes to work, the people he works with might call him by his name -- "Bill" or "Mr. Smith." But it would be pretty silly for you to start calling him "Mr. Smith" at home! To you, he's just "Dad."

In Jesus' time, some people He met looked at the work He did teaching people about God and called Him "prophet," their word for people who did that. Other people called Jesus "John the Baptist," which wasn't His name at all!

Jesus' friends, though, knew just what to call Him. Like you call your mother "Mom" and not "Doctor," they knew that Jesus wasn't John the Baptist or a prophet. Jesus was the Son of God, sent to help people get closer to God the Father.

If your dad was meeting someone new, he might say, "Hi, I'm Bill Smith." But you know he'd never say that to you. Just like that, when Jesus met new people, He let them call Him whatever they wanted for a while. But with His friends, the Apostles, Jesus used His real name. Jesus wanted them to remember exactly who He was!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me remember, when I'm praying, the names of all the people I love! Amen.

(06-18-98) [[In-content Ad]]