Tuesday March 18, 2003

~ Who do you say I am? ~

Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?”

   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 Christ, the Son of the living God.”
   Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 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. 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.”

— Matthew 16:13-19 (NIV)–

   I think this is important for those who believe in absolute truth. If you do not believe in absolute truth, this passage will probably mean nothing. No need to read further, my thoughts will most likely be categorized in your brain as “waste of time.”
Consider yourself warned.

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     Jesus started by asking his followers: Who do people say I am? (Read: What’s my rep? What do people think of me? What have you heard?) And the disciples gave Jesus all sorts of rumors and theories… Things heard from the Jews, the Pharisees, the Gentiles… This can be found today in those who assume to know Jesus, even though they have never tried to meet this man through the Bible. Are you assuming because you’ve read it somewhere? Because someone tells you Christianity is brainwash, does that make it true? ^_^

     Jesus follows up by asking his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” (Read: Who do you think I am?) And Peter answers: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter’s answer is based on his own experiences on what he has seen for himself. It is not secondhand knowledge passed onto him through others. Peter met Jesus and recognized Him as the Christ, the Messiah. The Son of the living God. He is divinity come down in human form. Peter affirms God at the same time that he acknowledges who Jesus really is. Do you acknowledge there is a living God? Do you acknowledge who Jesus is?

     Jesus then confirms Peter’s answer. God has opened Peter’s eyes. In order for someone to know and truly see who Jesus is, requires God to open his/her eyes. It is not from men. Remember that in order to acknowledge Jesus and God, God must open their eyes. Humans have no such control. Christians cannot open eyes… cannot make people acknowledge the truth. If that doesn’t humble an evangelist, I don’t know what else to say. We are here to speak truth, to say what we see, what we hear… It is not in us to convict, to make people recognize truth.

     And then Jesus returns in kind. After Peter acknowledges Jesus for who He truly is, Jesus tells Peter who he is: “… you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church…” Jesus tells Peter who he is… his purpose, God’s plans for him. It seems to me that this reaffirms, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33 KJV?)

    Jesus finishes with a promise to Peter. He tells Peter, you will be the starting place for my church. This is before Peter denies 3 times… Jesus knows what will happen. He knows what Peter will do. He tells Peter that he will be the bedrock of a church… and this church will not be overcome… not even by the “gates of Hades”, possibly representing death, other gods, or the after-life…

   Peter is given the keys to heaven… perhaps the key is knowing how to get into heaven… knowing the Savior. There is only one way to the Father. Jesus says that quite plainly: “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)

   Bindings… sorry that part is beyond me… Not sure what that part means. The only thing I can see here is that what Peter does on earth will have a significant impact on what happens in heaven. 0_0 Talk about responsibility…

Life Application: hmm… *gnaws on it a bit* I’m wide open on this one… Go meet Jesus for yourself?

==Prayers==

Father, America seems headed for war. There are so many arguments for war, against war, for diplomacy, for use of force, against unilaterlism, against terrorism, for the sake of the iraqi people, against the regime, for the global economy… it all just gets so convoluted… I pray that You will guide our world leaders on the right path. Thank you for answering my prayers… I have been doing a bit of chatting with friends and I am glad to see Your hand in their lives. Keep Your good work going until completion… If it is time for You to dispense justice through war, so be it. If it is time for peace and bringing criminals to repentance, let it be so. Either way, I pray that Your will be done. Keep me in Your ways Lord, my current job and my daily activities are cramping my time with You… I pray all this in Jesus name, Amen.