Day 35 of 49
Fill in this blank: Jesus ____________.
Did you fill it with a noun? Jesus, the Son of God, Jesus, My Redeemer, Jesus, the Messiah, Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Or with a verb: Jesus heals. Jesus delivers. Jesus saves. Jesus died and rose again.
The people who lived in Judea when Jesus walked physically on the earth wondered about his identity. Opinions ranged from the promised Messiah to Beelzebub. What an individual believed about him determined their response to him.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Mt 16:13–20.
It’s interesting that Jesus begins by asking them what others say about him. This occurs later in his ministry. The disciples walked with him for almost three years. They’ve witnessed multiple miracles of healing and deliverance. They’ve heard his words spoken with authority. They’ve seen how he ministered to the hurting with grace.
They’ve listened to the opinions of others.
Some say John the Baptist. John had a powerful ministry and would have been fresh in everyone’s mind. Herod believed Jesus was John the Baptist (Mt 14:2).
Some said Elijah. Even today at a seder meal, a chair is saved for Elijah.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
Mal 4:5–6.
Others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. They believed he spoke with the authority of the prophets and a similar message of repentance.
When Jesus asked what the disciples thought about his identity, Peter jumped in, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus then said that Peter received this revelation because God revealed it to him. Peter’s statement of faith did not keep him from faltering in his faith, acting foolishly, or denying Christ. However, God remained faithful to Peter, and his faith and confidence in Jesus Christ grew and developed over time.
Like Peter, we came to know Jesus Christ, not because of our actions, but because God gave us his grace. We are a work in progress, still learning and growing in our faith. We may falter in our faith, act foolishly, or deny Christ and depend on our own resources…but God is faithful and will continue to draw us back to his way.
As we reach out to others with the hope that is available in Christ, remember, it is God’s grace that will bring them to life.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Eph 2:1–10.
Lord, thank you for your salvation that you gave through Jesus Christ. Help me to walk faithfully as you lead. Help me to be transparent when I fail. Thank you for not giving up on me.
TRICIA LATHROP 