
The cover has text added to a cropped image of a wooden cross in the Saharna landscape reserve, Moldova by Botnari Stefan, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
“Who do you say I am?”
The Life-changing Confession that Jesus is Christ
The past year has forced us to reexamine many of the things in life we take for granted. When we first heard about a virus affecting the city of Wuhan, we didn’t know how widely it would spread or that it would also be called novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and Covid-19. Neither did we realize how it would impact international travel, commuting to work or school, attending church, going out for meals, and visiting family and friends. Many of us found these things impossible, while others could do them, at least for a while. The arrival of something previously unknown brought life-changing consequences to many, and life-shattering or life-ending consequences to hundreds of thousands of others. And while some have become exceedingly diligent, if not paranoid, in washing their hands, wearing masks, and keeping to a proper social distance, others have responded with denial or scoffing or simply disregarding what government authorities and medical professionals have told us to do. But no matter how we feel about it or respond to it, Covid-19 is a life changer.
Though the analogy quickly breaks down, the life of a man who was born just over 2000 years ago similarly forces us to reexamine our lives and our place in the world. Whether we know him as Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, or the Lord Jesus Christ, his teaching ministry and sacrificial death have greatly impacted people worldwide. And while some sincerely believe that he is the only true God who came to earth in the flesh for the sake of his people and are extremely diligent to obey him, others deny that he was anything more than a man, if he lived at all, and scoff at those who think otherwise.
This issue of Mission Round Table will take up Jesus’ eternally-important question, “Who do you say I am?” to show that the answer will greatly impact individuals and societies. It will, in fact, cause many—including long-time Christian believers—to reassess their lives, work, and relationships in the light of the Lord of all life.