Who Do You Say I Am?

 

Matthew 16: 13-19

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

What would I say if Jesus asked me, "Who do you say I am?"? I might declare as quickly as Peter, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God," for that's what I have been taught since I was young; now it comes automatically to my  lips, thank God.  But what if it didn't?  What if I had to search, study, think out my answer?  Perhaps such an exercise would deepen my faith and appreciate the Presence of the Son of God as one of us. I  might reflect further and ask myself how the Presence of Jesus is affecting not only my beliefs, but my actions, my relationships with others, my thoughts and behaviors.  I might find the incentive to spend more time in gratitude and in asking how I can put our belief into action.

Bro. Rene