Matthew – God’s Purposes
For me, the question, Who do you say I am, depends on who you ask. To my children, I am mom. To my grandchildren, I am grandma. To my husband, I am his wife and best friend. To students, I am teacher. To my church family, I am a believer and friend, to unbelievers, I am a nuisance. (Smiling on that last one, but it is true.)
Most importantly to me, to my Heavenly Father, I am His child. To Jesus, I am His redeemed heir and follower of His teaching. To His Holy Spirit, I am one who keeps Him busy with guiding me through the distractions of life, consistently working to correct and transform me, comforts me when I am attacked by the world who does not know Him, and gives me courage to stand when I wearily fall down in the work.
Who do you say I am? I am child of the Living God and part of the Bride waiting for her Groom to come for her some day.
Jesus was being labeled “prophet who speaks with authority”, Teacher, Healer and so on. Only a few knew or realized He was the Son of God…except for the demons, until now when Jesus approaches His closest followers.
Matthew 16, NLT
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
DIGGING DEEPER…
It should be noted that there had been other confessions of faith prior to this one. Nathaniel had confessed Christ as the Son of God (John 1:49), and the disciples had declared Him God’s Son after He stilled the storm (Matt. 14:33). Peter had given a confession of faith when the crowds left Jesus after His sermon on the Bread of Life (John 6:68–69). In fact, when Andrew had brought his brother Simon to Jesus, it was on the basis of this belief (John 1:41).
How, then, did this confession differ from those that preceded it? To begin with, Jesus explicitly asked for this confession. It was not an emotional response from people who had seen a miracle, but the studied and sincere statement of a man who had been taught by God.
When Jesus pressed, BUT, who do YOU say I am, Peter boldly stepped up to declare, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. This declaration needed to be said out loud for all his followers to understand just Who they were following. Rough waters are ahead, you need to know, without a doubt, who you are following. This question, But who do you say I am, was for the learning and benefit of the disciples.
TODAY, this question is for you and I. In all that is going on in the world right now, at this minute, “Who do YOU say I am?”, asks Jesus. It’s not about what I have done for you, says Jesus, it is about who you think I AM.
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are the Son of the Living God. You are Messiah. You are Savior and Lord of all. You are my Savior and my Lord. I will continue to follow You.
In Jesus Name, Amen
