I recently picked up off our book shelf the biography of Martin Luther written by Eric Metaxas. I love biographies and especially those that tell the life of spiritual leaders and US presidents. Outside of his 95 thesis nailed to the church doors, I really don’t know much about him. And apparently neither do a lot of other people. The first chapter deals with correcting many myths and legends about him that have been handed down through the centuries. The first thing we don’t know is the year he was born. Best guesses have landed on 1483. Some of the myths that Metaxas sets out to debunk is that he “was born into a family of peasants and poor minors.” The truth is Luther’s father, Johannes, was a “successful entrepreneur in the mining business.” His mother, Margerethe, came from an “established, prominent, and quite well-to-do” family. Mayor, Doctor, Electoral Councillor, teachers of medicine were all cousins on his mother’s side. Archeology has uncovered much in the last couple of decades. Digs in the city of Mansfeld and the very house which Luther lived most of his growing up years, show a family who lived well with a steady diet of pork, beef, goose, and various other meats. Not too bad for a bunch of ‘poor peasants.’ They found many household utensils, toys, buttons and other items that would belong only to those with considerable means in that day.

Why do I tell you this? It is fascinating how myths and legends get started. How easy it is to lose facts and truth when the myth seems to fit the narrative we would like to believe. It is easier to picture Martin Luther, the poor peasant turned monk, taking on the big Church that had been taking advantage of the poor for years. 

We are living in a culture where facts are readily discarded or twisted if they don’t fit the narrative we want to believe. We have become very loose with the truth. Truth has become ‘relative.’ I have mine and you have yours. But if we want to live in reality that never works. Jesus, at one point, asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” There answers pointed to myths and legends that people had been sharing – John the Baptist raised from the dead, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Myths and legends that many believed but were not true. Jesus then asked “But you, who do you say that I am? Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Matthew 16:13-20.

Today, there are many ideas, myths, legends stating who Jesus is or isn’t. Many would believe the Bible to be a book of myths. Who is Jesus? If we do not have the right answer to that basic question, we will have an eternity, separated from Jesus, to realize just how wrong we were. The Bible is very clear on who Jesus is, what he has done and how we are to respond to him. How well do you know Jesus? From where did you get your idea of who Jesus is?  Are there myths and legends about him that you hold onto because it fits what you want him to be? 
Matthew gives us a warning in Chapter 7, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophecy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name? Then I (Jesus) will announce to them, “I never knew you! Depart from me, you lawbreakers!” (HCSB)
 Those people were following the wrong Jesus. They bought into the myths and legends of their day. How about you?

“Who do you say that Jesus is?”