23/08/2026
WHO IS HE?
“But who do you say that I am?” — Matthew 16:15
There is a dangerous noise in our generation: the noise of the grapevine and content creators.
People hear something from someone who heard it from somebody who was told by another person—and before long, a rumour has become “fact,” gossip has become “truth,” and slander has become a verdict and there goes content.
Sadly, many Christians have become more attentive to what people are saying than to the Gospel. They know what people are saying, but they do not know what God is saying. They can tell you the latest rumour about everyone, but cannot tell you what Scripture says about their own lives.
And this is precisely where Matthew 16:13–20 becomes profoundly relevant.
Jesus asks His disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Notice the question: What are people saying?
The disciples had the answer immediately. They had heard the grapevine: “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
But Jesus was not interested in the rumours and gossip.
He then asked the question that changed everything:
“But who do you say that I am?”
That question moves us from hearsay to conviction, from public opinion to personal faith, from the crowd to Christ.
Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And Jesus revealed something extraordinary:
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”
Peter became the rock not because he had the loudest voice, the greatest education, or the most information. He became the rock because he was able to distinguish the voice of heaven from the voices of the crowd.
That is the crisis of Christianity today.
We have Christians who listen to everybody except God.
They listen to WhatsApp rumours, social-media commentators, village gossip, political arguments, anonymous voices, conspiracy theories and whispered accusations. Yet they hardly open the Bible. They spend hours discussing what somebody said, but scarcely spend minutes asking, “Lord, what are You saying to me?”
And there is a spiritual danger here:
If you constantly feed on the voices of men, you may eventually lose the ability to recognise the voice of God.
The sheep of Christ must learn the Shepherd's voice.
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
— John 10:27
Peter heard something beyond the grapevine because he had encountered Christ personally.
This is why going to church matters.
You do not go to Church merely because it is Sunday. You go because, in a world overflowing with voices, you need a place where the Word of God can become louder than the noise of the world.
You go to Church to be reminded who Christ is.
You go to Church to have your assumptions corrected.
You go to Church to discover that your feelings are not always the truth, your fears are not always prophecy, and public opinion is not always God's opinion.
You go to Church because faith cannot be built permanently on rumours.
Peter did not say, “People say you are the Christ.”
He said:
“You are the Christ.”
That is the difference between a person who has heard about Jesus and a person who has encountered Jesus.
There are Christians who have been around Church for years but have never moved from “they say” to “I believe.”
“They say the Bible is the Word of God.”
But do you actually open it and allow it to speak to you?
Peter's breakthrough came when he stopped reporting the opinions of others and started responding to the revelation of the Father.
Perhaps that is the invitation God is giving you today.
Stop living entirely from what they say.
Go deeper.
Read the Scriptures.
Come to Mass.
Listen attentively to the Word.
Study your faith.
Ask questions.
Learn the teachings of the Church.
Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament.
Pray until the noise becomes quiet enough for God to speak.
Because the world will always have another rumour.
Another accusation.
Another scandal.
Another opinion.
Another “somebody told me.”
Another voice saying, “Did you hear what happened?”
But the disciple must learn to ask a greater question:
“Lord, what are You saying?”
And perhaps this is one of the greatest spiritual disciplines we need today:
Do not believe everything you hear. Do not repeat everything you know. Do not judge everyone you hear about. And never allow gossip to become the foundation of your faith.
Before you repeat it, pray about it.
Before you believe it, examine it.
Before you judge someone, remember that you do not know the whole story.
Before you listen to the crowd, listen to Christ.
The world has enough people carrying information.
The Church needs people carrying revelation.
The world has enough people spreading rumours.
The Church needs people spreading the Gospel.
The world has enough voices asking, “What are people saying?”
Christ is still asking:
“But who do YOU say that I am?”
And your answer cannot come from the grapevine.
It must come from an encounter.
It must come from Scripture.
It must come from prayer.
It must come from the Church.
It must come from a heart that has learned to listen.
Peter heard the Father—and became the rock.
Perhaps the Church is calling you back today, not merely to sit in a pew, but to listen again.
Go to Church.
Open the Bible.
Learn your faith.
Listen to the Word.
And above all, turn down the volume of the crowd until you can hear the voice of the Father.
For when the world asks, “What are they saying?”
the mature Christian asks,
“What is God saying?”
And when Jesus finally asks,
“But who do you say that I am?”
may your answer not be borrowed from the grapevine.
May it rise from the depths of your own encounter with Him:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And when you know who Jesus truly is, you will begin to discover who you truly are.
Happy Sunday and a fresh week from
Fr Innocent Ikwu'oche Atama
fans
Umache John Joseph