This is part of a series “Honoring Our Messiah with Mimicry Not Mockery,” where we examine characteristic traits of Jesus Christ, and how they are applied to a biblical Christian life. The underlying question in each article  is “Are you imitating your Savior in a way that looks like mimicry or mockery?”

Need to catch up? Read Part 1.

How do you identify yourself? Answer that question to yourself now, seriously. Do you identify yourself by the esteem of others, the amount of money and stuff you can amass, how many are under you in your power structure at work, or by something else? What you draw your identity from speaks volumes about who you are.

Understanding our identity builds the very foundation of who we are. When you don’t understand who you are, you are susceptible to the wiles and suggestions of those around you, be it for good or bad. This is especially important for Christians since the modern world-view hardly aligns it the lifestyle depicted by Christ.

Think about your teenage years. Research has shown that, “although adolescents become increasingly accurate in understanding who they are (their self-concept), this knowledge does not guarantee that they like themselves (their self-esteem) any better.”^[1] Like teenagers, Christians must identify and establish who they are early in their Christian walk. This explains the intense spiritual warfare many new believers come under, it is akin to peer pressure a teenager may face. Whether facing spiritual warfare or peer pressure, the negative impacts I can leave can shape a person’s life forever.

The disciples regularly underwent tests from Jesus to test their knowledge and faith in Him. Look at the example of Philip in John 6:3-13 (ESV). (For a primer on why I use the translations I do, read this.) In this article, I will post four Identity Questions to you. Answer these questions honestly to learn more about your identity in Jesus.

Jesus tests Philip’s faith in John 6:5. Philip was a very analytical man, in fact, every time we see him in Scriptures, he is analyzing something. Being the analytical type, he immediately went to thinking about how to feed the crowd. He fails the test, however.

Remember that Jesus is God and that God is omniscient. This shows in John 6:6, Jesus knew what He was going to do. Philip’s first clue to what was happening should have been the crowd itself. This crowd was composed of men coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three feats Jewish men were required to attend.^[2] Many of these men would have been tired from the trip and out of (or nearly out of) traveling provisions. Upon seeing Jesus on the hillside, roughly 5,000 men diverted to come here Him teach. This leads us to the first Identity Question:

1. What does it take to divert your attention from Jesus?

Did these men stop at Jerusalem’s 7-11 for a hotdog and a break before visiting Jesus? No! Philip missed this point, and gave his fateful answer in John 6:7.^[3] Philip is clearly voicing his analytical opinion of how feeble and worthless of an attempt at feeding the crowd would be.

Now look at John 6:8f. Andrew produces a complication to Jesus’ question, but from a very different perspective. Andrew, much like Philip, is always seen doing something in the Bible, bringing people to Jesus.^[4] Without digging much deeper, you can see Identity Question number two surfacing:

2. When faced with a crisis only Jesus can solve, do you look for the easiest way to supply the minimum needed, or do you look to Him for what only He can supply?

Andrew brings a small boy with some loaves and fishes. Compare what Philip says in John 6:7 to what Andrew says in John 6:9.

“Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.”

Human Solution >> Human Excuse >> Failed Human Results

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

Human Offering Brought Humble >> Plea For Divine Assistance >> ???

You can see a pattern developing here, and it is a very powerful pattern at that! Philip wants to provide a human solution to a miracle-needing situation. Finding no solution, he moves on to a human excuse, this is unsurprisingly followed by a failed result.

As for Andrew, the pattern is similar, but the application is vastly different. He sees the miracle-needing situation the same as Philip. Instead of trying to solve it on his own, Andrew humbly brings what he can to Jesus. His plea shows his need and dependence on God. But what is the missing link in the pattern?

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

Human Offering Brought Humble >> Plea For Divine Assistance >> Get Out Of The Way!

When Andrew realized the situation could only be provided for by God, (1) he did his part by humbly providing to Jesus what he could, (2) made his plea, and then finally (3) got out of God’s way to allow Him to do His part! How many battles could God win in your life if you just got out of the way and let Him do his job? Identity Question number three is perfectly set up now:

3. Do you humbly bring your offering to Jesus and let Him bless it for God’s purpose, or do you (try to) strong-arm God into doing what you think is best?

For the sake of brevity, I am passing over the feast miracle (this article is longer than Steve Jobs’ hair in the 70s already!). The final miracle in this setting occurs in John 6:12f. After serving the meal, the disciples collect up twelve baskets of leftovers. Nothing big, right? Wrong! Much like tipping today, banquet and feast attendees would leave parts of their meal for the servants to eat from. I call this a miracle because Jesus ensured His disciples were provided for when they were serving those in need. Your final Identity Question may be a simple yes or no question, but an honest answer to it may be harder to give than you may think:

4. Do you hold back from God so you can provide for yourself, or are you faithful enough to serve the Master that will ensure you are provided for?

If you answer these four Identity Questions honestly and faithfully, you will find your identity in Christ. If you find yourself unable to answer these questions with a clear conscience, then are you missing something from your life? Are you missing a feeling of internal peace that only faith in Jesus Christ can bring? If so, I encourage you to pray this prayer.

Lord Jesus, I want to confess my sins to you. You know I don’t have all the answers, and that I don’t understand everything. But what you do know is that I am ready to take that step of faith, and give my life to you. I know that you came to this earth, humbly. And that you gave your life on the cross, for me, humbly. And I know that you rose from the grave victoriously to break sin and death’s hold on me. Today, I ask for Your forgiveness, and ask that Your become my Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, please let me know! I want to celebrate with you, and help you take the next steps in this new life! You can send me a message here.

Other articles in this series: Part 1.

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1. Feldman, Robert, Development Across the Life Span, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008), 409. [↩]
2. The other three feasts were the Passover and Pentecost (cf Deuteronomy 16:16). [↩]
3. John 6:7 (TNIV) rendering underscores how little could be done by saying the bread bought would only supply one bite each! [↩]
4. Cf. John 1:40-42, Matthew 4:18. [↩]