Who Do You Say That I Am?

     Jesus’ question “Who do you say that I am?” is before each of us.  And one could say we answer that question daily in all kinds of ways.  Certainly, this will be part of the sermon this coming Sunday.  But there are some important matters to note before we get there.  Peter answers correctly.  Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of the living God!  But Jesus is quick to note that Peter didn’t come up with this on his own.  This got me to thinking about how we answer Jesus’ “Who do you say that I am?” question daily and in all kinds of ways.  But is this something we come up with on our own?  Is this some conscious or logical conclusion?  When you really think about it, to confess that a Jesus we have not seen with our eyes, is the LIVING GOD is no small matter.

Jesus tells Peter that his confession could only be revealed to Peter by the Father in heaven.  This is a good and significant thing to note.  Why?  Because if this is dependent on us, we are in trouble.  The church is in trouble!  Jesus says to Peter, on this this rock, I will build my church.  Peter’s name means rock.  But if the church is built on the rock of Peter, that rock sunk.   Peter denied Jesus not once, but three times, cursing and swearing.  How good it is that the church is not built on any of us, but on Christ only.  And because it is built on Christ alone, the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.

What an amazing honor, privilege and miracle it is, that Christ would use the likes of us to be ambassadors, empty vessels and messengers of his unbreakable Kingdom.