Matthew 16:13-17 When Jesus came to the
region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say
the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others
say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." "But
what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter
answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 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.
Jesus withdrew himself
to a mainly gentile region that lies approximately twenty-five miles north-east
of the Sea of Galilee for some much-needed rest. During this time, He spent time
teaching the twelve men that followed Him every day. The question He asked his
12 disciples is one that was paramount in their lives and our lives today as
well. "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" This question
laid the groundwork for a more critical question that each one of us must come
to grips within our lifetime. "Who do you say I am?"
His disciples
responded with what they saw as who the masses of Jewish people believed Christ
Jesus might be. Some said John the Baptist, who had been beheaded because he
dared condemn Herod Antipas for divorcing his wife and unlawfully taking
Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Phillip I. Some believed Jesus was John
the Baptist come back to life, that theory is so preposterous and ludicrous it
does not deserve any further elucidation. Some believed that Elijah, that had
not died but was taken away into heaven, had come back to earth. Another
segment of the Jewish people thought He might be Jeremiah, who was known as the
weeping prophet, because of his great concern for the future of the Jewish
people.
Then Jesus turned the
inquiry away from who the world believed Him to be because a human viewpoint of
who Jesus was and is totally and completely irrelevant. If the people that were
against Jesus could convince others that Jesus was merely one of the prophets
come back to life, it would devalue and belittle His Messiahship.
The Apostle Peter, who
we know from the scripture was not bashful in coming forward to protect His
master, emphatically and unconditionally acknowledged and affirmed what the
truth was and that is that Christ Jesus was God in the flesh. Jesus is the
living God divergent from the dead heroes of the Jewish people. This conclusion
from Peter did not come from his feelings or his opinion, he could have only
been that emphatic through divine revelation. Jesus acknowledged that by
telling Peter that it did not come from “flesh and blood, but by my Father
in heaven.”
Today we can only
realize who Jesus is the same way Simon Peter did, through the Word of God.
When we do confess that Christ Jesus is the true promised Messiah, come to save
the world from their sins, we will then be drawn into a closer and more
personal relationship with Him. When that does happen through the leading,
guidance and direction of The Holy Spirit our minds and spirits will be opened
to more of the power and truth of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
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