According to my query through Google, “Twenty Questions” is the most straightforward guessing game that can be played, and you can have hours of fun at home or on the road. Yeah, right.
Last summer I participated in my own version of Twenty Questions quite by accident. I had the opportunity to revisit an area on the Navajo Reservation where I first taught over 40 years ago and was able to see many old friends and even a few former students. You do the math. Not only has the community changed since 1971, but so have my kindergarten students. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. A young man came up to shake my hand and asked “Do you know who I am?” That’s when the game began. I’m not sure I asked my allotted twenty questions, but it took quite a few to narrow down where he was from, who his family was and finally, to dredge up his name from the murky past. He was having a great time and when I finally came up with the correct answer, we were both laughing. Everywhere I went, people greeted me with hugs and handshakes—and then the inevitable “Do you know who I am?”
Jesus asked a similar question. Turning to his disciples, he asked “Who do people say that I am?” and their response was “some say John the Baptist, and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14). When he turned the spot light on them and asked “Do you know who I am?” Peter was quick to answer. He affirmed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus just as quickly responded “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona (Peter), because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (v. 17).
If you use the same questions I did with my Navajo friends, the results might be confusing: Where are you from? Bethlehem. Who are your parents? Joseph and Mary. What is your name? Jesus. End of story. Peter, however, was able to sidestep these obvious answers and with insight given to him from God answered with the following: You are from heaven, your father is God and you are the Christ, the Anointed One. Peter usually gets labeled the impetuous one (remember his ill-fated walk on the Sea of Galilee and his strong affirmation “I will never deny you”?), but this time he nailed it.
Christmas is over and many of us have already put away the decorations. The holiday is past, either accompanied by a giant sigh of relief or a warm glow as we remember good times with friends, seasonal music and special worship services. But hold on a minute. The Christmas child is still asking people everywhere “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus wants to be sure we really know who he is. Is he merely the historical figure that was born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago or do we have a personal relationship with God’s Son, the Anointed One, who “became flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14)? There is a reason the angels who appeared to the shepherds on that long-ago night proclaimed “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14).
The answer to Jesus’ question of “Do you know who I am?” is that He is God, the Savior, who was born to die for your sin and mine.