New Year. New Beginnings.

For centuries people have asked the question, “Who is Jesus?” 

In the gospel of Luke chapter 9 the ruler Herod heard stories about Jesus and asked who he was. Some said he was John the Baptist, raised from the dead, or perhaps Elijah the prophet or one of the other prophet of long ago who had returned. Unconvinced Herod wanted to meet Jesus.

Later in that same chapter, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do the crowds say I am?” Interestingly, the disciples gave Jesus the same answer that Herod received. Then Jesus change the question and asked the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” 

Peter answered, “The Christ of God,” which means the anointed one of God. Peter answered the question based on his experiences from traveling with Jesus. 

As we read through the gospels we find another person who had an even longer and closer relationship with Jesus. That person was James, his brother. Can you imagine if your brother told you that he was the anointed one of God? I think I would go to our mother and tell her that my brother is crazy. Essentially that is what happened. In the gospel of Mark, chapter 3 we read that Jesus’ mother and brothers went to a house where Jesus was telling stories, and in verse 21 it says they went to take charge of him for they said he is out of his mind. 

So how did Jesus convince his brother James that he was not crazy but was indeed the Christ of God? The answer can be found in First Corinthians chapter 15 were Paul tells stories of who Jesus met with after he was crucified dead and buried and then resurrected. In verse 7 it says that Jesus appeared to James. I wonder how that conversation went. “Hey James, do you believe me now?” 

We know the answer to that question because some years later James wrote a letter and in the greeting he introduced himself as James, “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let us pray.

Lord, may we have a relationship with you and know you as the Christ, the anointed one of God. Amen.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.