By Calvin Landrus

When Jesus asked his disciples "Who do people say that I am?" (See Matt. 16:13 and Mark 8:27), He knew that people's answers would determine the path of their spiritual journey.  Since then, some have answered that Jesus was just a good man or philosopher who left us with some virtuous teachings to live by.  Others have answered, "What does it matter?" because all we "know" about Jesus is just a fabrication of men.

How do you answer that question?  Who do you say Jesus is?  His disciples answered his question with, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."  Then, Jesus turned the question to His followers.  Peter gave his reply: "You are the Christ."  In the original Greek, Christ means "the anointed, the Messiah."  By using that, Peter expressed his firm conviction that Jesus was more than just a mere man with some good ideas, but deity in the flesh.

Now, how would most unreached climbers answer that question? Let me suggest two possible directions stemming from an article found at gospeloutreach.net.

The first direction promotes an exalted view of man. This view holds that all men are divine beings because god is in all.  In other words, we are all little 'gods' and if we follow the teachings of Jesus, other spiritual teachers and our own inner compass, we can reach a higher state of enlightenment.  And since we can become a "god", then one would have no need for a savior.  

Climbers may not say this in-so-many-words but many of them view themselves as divine, not in a capital "D" way, but divine none-the-less.  Many climbers have a false sense of being in control of their own destinies because they have been able to subjugate (i.e. crush) a route, cliff or mountain.  That leads to them to a false conclusion that they don't need God as part of their life.

The second direction advances a smaller view of Jesus.  Rolaant L. McKenzie, author of the online article referenced above, wrote, "This view attempts to explain away the great things said of Christ in the Bible and in history.  They point to the writings of scientists and humanistic philosophers who brush aside as irrelevant or ridiculous anything that cannot be conformed to their theories.  They deny, declaring as superstitions of unscientific men, miracles and other supernatural events.  And they believe that if given sufficient time, they will be able to explain away everything supernatural and divine about Jesus, reducing Him from God to a mere man that fits within their parameters."   

Last summer after a day of climbing in Ten Sleep Canyon, WY, I had conversation around our campfire with a 20-something year old lady who stated that she was an atheist.  At one point she brought up the "Bertrand Russell's teapot" analogy that has been promoted in years by Richard Dawkins.  From some "wiki" research, I found out later that Russell proposed that if he claimed that a teapot was orbiting the sun, it would be nonsense for him to expect others not to doubt him just because they could not prove him wrong.  His point was to refute the idea that the burden of proof lies upon the skeptic to disprove the claims of religions but upon us as believers.  This all is plausible only i you presume there is no supernatural.  And in our case, they easily by "logic" reduce Jesus to being a myth.

Since Jesus never minced words about whom He is and why He came to the world, its easy to challenge these less than accurate views of Him.  In the word of God, Jesus used several unique phrases starting "I AM".

1) Bread of Life (and giver of eternal life): "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry" John 6:35

2) Light of the World: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

3) Gate to Heaven and Source of Abundant Life:  "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:9,10

4) Good Shepherd: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" John 10:11

5) Resurrection and Life: "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" John 11:25

6) Way, Truth, Life: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me." John 14:6

Well known author, C.S. Lewis, (The Chronicles of Narnia fame) was an agnostic before accepting Jesus as his personal Savior.  In Mere Christianity, he wrote this, "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg-or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

During my freshman year of college, I had a decision to make.  Would I embrace the Christian faith I was brought up in or would I let it slip by the wayside.  I was convicted that I needed to take a stand either to believe or reject Jesus.  I have concluded along with Peter and so many after him that Jesus is Christ, the Messiah I desperately need in my life.  I implore you to join in with the same answer to Jesus' question of "Who do you say I am?"