Word Wednesday

Word Wednesday

“Pop Quiz”

Evelyn Fordham Goodman

October 7, 2015

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Matthew 16:13-15 (NLT)

I remember it like yesterday.

The whole room would hush in sheer panic as our high school music teacher would commence a musical pop quiz of sorts.

Randomly calling one soprano, alto, tenor and bass from the choir, he would ask us to stand and sing our part- alone.

I don't think the aim of the director was to embarrass us, but rather to hear us and for us to hear ourselves. He wanted to see what we really knew (or didn't know), independent of others.

It's so easy to blend in and lean on other voices. It's so easy to go with the flow and follow the crowd.

Jesus gave a similar quiz to his disciples. Starting off with easy questions, He asked about others' opinions of him.  “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples quickly rattled off to Him the word on the street. They knew what others thought perhaps from their barbershop chats and table talk. It was easy discussing the opinions of others

But then, Jesus gently moved the line of questioning from general to specific, requiring more than rote answers, and popular opinion. He wanted to know what they thought and believed, independent of others.

He asked, "But who do you say I am?”

In other words, what do you think of me? What are your thoughts and ideas? Where is your head? Where is your heart?

He poses this same question today- not to embarrass us, but for Him to hear us and for us to hear ourselves.

PRAYER:

Lord,

You have a way of cutting through all the phoniness and getting to the heart. Honestly, I like hiding out and blending in. It's so much easier than the energy required to be honest. Thank you though for continuing to show up asking me to come out of the crowd into an intimate relationship with You.

© 2015 by Evelyn Goodman. All rights reserved.

www.evelyngoodman.blogspot.com