Whom say ye that I am?

Matthew 16 tells us of a time where Christ was with his disciples and he asked them two questions. First he asked, "Whom do men say that I the son of Man am?" And they responded, with a few suggestions of the various beliefs about him. Then Christ asked "But whom say ye that I am?"

I don't really think that Christ really wanted to know what it was that others said about him. Rather it seems to me that his purpose in his first question was to draw the distinction between what the disciples had heard, and what the disciples believed. That's a distinction that we all need to find. We've all heard a lot about Christ. We've been told many things about who Christ is by others, but what do we actually believe?

This  isn't really the sort of question that can be answered off hand. It's the kind of question that requires some searching of the heart. It requires determining what of all the things we have heard and learned do we truly believe, and what is just opinion that we repeat. Such a search may bring to light beliefs that we are not entirely certain of. This will hopefully lead to more earnest study and prayer, and in the end and increase in faith.