In Matthew 16 Jesus asks His disciples two questions. The first one is in verse 13, “Who do people say that I am?” He gets a variety of answers: “Some say you are John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others, Jeremiah or one of the Old Testament Prophets.” Just think about that! They could have said that people say you are the illegitimate son of Mary, an imposter, a liar, or a servant of Beelzebub as the religious leaders suggested. The important thing about the first question was that everyone, including the disciples at this point, saw Jesus as nothing more than a man. Jesus wanted them to see that, but he wanted to contrast the truth of his identity with the opinions of men. This lead Him to the real question.
“What do you” think of me? This is where Peter shines forth with the right answer: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus then blesses Peter and explains that “…flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, by only my Father in Heaven.” The deity and identity of Christ cannot be known apart from divine revelation. God is always at work opening the hearts of people to the truth of the identity of Jesus. That’s how He builds His church. It’s on the “rock” of the profession of Jesus’ identity as God’s divine Son and Savior of sinners.
We become members of God’s Universal Church through this profession of faith in Jesus Christ. He is God’s divine Son, our Lord, Our Savior and Our Redeemer. Through this profession, we are part of something greater than ourselves. Through this profession we are part of God’s work that surrounds this whole wide world. Through this profession we are in touch with almost 20 centuries of History. But we are also in touch with something much more important. We are in touch with God Himself. Jesus, Himself, said, “No man comes to the father, except through me.”
Chuck
“The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest…” Matthew 13:23