The One
Read This Week: Matthew 16
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 Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. – Matthew 16:13-17 NIV
No one in the history of the world of note has endured mistaken identity and misconception quite like Jesus Christ. This misinterpretation of who He was and what His mission entailed began while He was still on earth, and it persists today. People have a hard time fully understanding the person of Christ – His divinity, His humanity, and His ultimate purpose and glory. Because of this, incorrect assertions, characterizations, and truth claims are made about Jesus in multiple ways. The late author and philosopher, C.S. Lewis summed this up perfectly in his classic book, Mere Christianity:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Christ: ‘I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I do not accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil. You have to make a choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Jesus himself knew this was prevalent even while He was in the flesh, performing miracles, teaching, and revealing the glory of God. So he decides to stop in the middle of His ministry in Matthew 16 and ask his closest followers about His identity and who they and the world thought He was. In verse 13, he asks about the macro perspective of his identity, and then He makes it personal in verse 15 and asks the disciples themselves. He says, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” and “Who do you say I am?” It is helpful for us to address the same questions in our lives. Who do people in our day say Jesus is and who do we as His followers say He is in our hearts, with our mouths, and our actions.
We need to be aware and in tune with how our friends, neighbors, co-workers, and culture see and perceive Jesus. This knowledge is important as we seek to love people, minister to them, and address their doubts and skepticism while showing them grace and compassion. We cannot do this to the glory of God if we’re not dialed into their beliefs. This is why the Lord asked His followers who people said He was. He wanted them to know the intellectual, spiritual, and cultural barriers that stood between them and knowing Jesus.
He then turns to the disciples for the most important question: Who do you say I am? The same question that is still most vital to us, and one that we must know with the same confidence and faith as Peter in verse 16: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. We must know this Christ and his attributes, supremacy, and the reality of His current and future glory. Knowing Jesus informs our beliefs, galvanizes our worldview, strengthens our faith, and gives us hope and joy. It also empowers us to witness to others the true identity of Christ and present the truth of His salvation and gospel.
Jesus is as Peter expressed. He is The One. He was not just a good teacher, a wise sage, a prophet like Jeremiah, or a religious icon. He was not a cosmic genie or just God’s nice son that interceded for His judgmental father. He wasn’t a liar or lunatic in the tradition of cult leaders or a martyr to incite a revolution. He was and is who Peter said he was. He is Lord. He was in the beginning with God, and He was God, and He still is. He is The One for all time, and He reigns above all other opinions about Him. May we live this truth out in front of a skeptical world and proclaim it in faith so that all may know and experience life with Him.
This song shares some of who Jesus is. It brings tears every time I play it because He is amazing. I know you will be touched: https://youtu.be/T5-6gwssX0Y
That’s so good, Heidi. Thank you for sharing that with us. It is always a wonderful encouragement to be reminded of the names of God and who He is.
Matthew 16:15-17 says, “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.”
I love this – who do you say I am? Let me tell you about my Jesus. My Jesus saved me, He became my Savior, He is worthy of my Praise, He is my best friend, He is with me 24-7. My Jesus loves me, He looks out for me, He is my Shepherd, He always provides, He makes a way when there seems to be no way.
He helps me to be strong when I am weak when I need to make a change He helps me it may take a minute but when I ask Him He helps me to feel what I need to overcome. But it does take work on my part to seek and find the way He wants me to go, or what to do. It’s worth it because I get to be free that what tries to control me, That’s what my Jesus does He heals me and sets me free. Thank you, Jesus.
My Jesus He helps me to make right turns, I do have to respond to Him, Listen and let the Holy Spirit guide me, when I don’t listen all I have to do is ask Him what to do and He is always working – taking the bad and turning it into good, why because I am a child of God. I could write pages of who Jesus is to me and I’m sure you can too, so share some.
Just like what Jesus said to Peter in verse 17, who is my brother in Christ, Then Jesus answered him, “Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah.” I am blessed just like Peter and all the people in the Bible, I get to be happy here on earth, I get to be favored by God and so do you if you gave your life to Jesus, you know you are saved, You are spiritually secure forever and ever. So who do you say Jesus is to you? Share it everywhere you go.
Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
I love this post, Heidi. The section about who Jesus is to you reads like a powerful sermon and a testimony to the person of Jesus in your life and to anyone who believes. I found myself reading it with a cadence and rhythm as if it was a song to honor Christ and who He is. I want to repost this part for everyone to read again:
Let me tell you about my Jesus. My Jesus saved me, He became my Savior, He is worthy of my Praise, He is my best friend, He is with me 24-7. My Jesus loves me, He looks out for me, He is my Shepherd, He always provides, He makes a way when there seems to be no way.
It paired so well with the passage of Scripture and the blog as Jesus is indeed The One. He is supreme and over it all. Everything came through Him and for Him and by Him. It all points to Him as you so aptly said. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Thank you too, Jason, for blessing us with what you shared. It’s awesome!
Thank you, Heidi! It is a blessing to be here and be doing this with you.
In reading Matthew 16, this is what God was saying to me. You as the church belong to Jesus. He brings people together and he builds it on a firm foundation. The forces of death and darkness can not prevail against it or conquer the church. This is a promise. In these dark times in the world, I am with you. I know what the future holds. You belong to Me and you need to trust Me. You need to spend more time drawing near to Me and quit putting worldly things around yourself to distract you from Me.
It is your place to follow Me and what I am asking you to do. Do not try to lead Me in the way you would like Me to go. Do not let your mind settle on the things of the world. You are to deny yourself when you surrender yourself to Christ and obey His will for you. Death of self is the command of the Christian life. You can’t gain resurrection life without dying to self first. It will add to your life. You will find life and victory in obedience.
What this said to me, is I need to be all in for Jesus, not just halfway in. I need to let God lead me in the way that he wants me to go. That way I will find true joy and contentment in Him, which will bring me peace in my life.
Great commentary, Kathy. It is always good for believers to remember that the forces of death and darkness cannot and will not prevail against God’s church or the advancement of the kingdom. It’s so helpful to build faith and confidence in what the Lord is calling us to do. This stood out to me:
It is your place to follow Me and what I am asking you to do. Do not try to lead Me in the way you would like Me to go. Do not let your mind settle on the things of the world.
We’re to follow Jesus and His plan for us instead of enacting our plan and asking Jesus to rubber-stamp it. Thank you for that challenge that God spoke through you.
I got this from Matthew 16 verses 24-26:
Where is your cross, did you forget it somewhere?
Did you put it down or was it too heavy to bear?
Where did your cross go, did you leave it behind?
Was it too big of a burden for your heart and mind?
Where is your cross, did you cast it aside?
Did you think in Jesus it was hard to abide?
Where do you discard it, did it become an obstacle?
Was continuing to carry it becoming impossible?
I have a question for you: where is your cross?
When will you retrieve it?
For it is your soul, that without it, you will forfeit.
What that means to me is to follow Jesus, we must die to ourselves, without complaining. To follow Jesus there is no living for self. Just let Jesus live through us. We will stand before Jesus and only the treasures we have laid up in Heaven will count. There is no price to give it all to Jesus.
Your poem is a tremendous artistic expression from this passage, Jeri. These verses are so convicting and challenging and so was your piece. These stood out to me:
Where did your cross go, did you leave it behind?
Was it too big of a burden for your heart and mind?
Where is your cross, did you cast it aside?
Did you think in Jesus it was hard to abide?
These lines really get to the heart of the issue and what plagues us the most when it comes to taking up our cross and following Jesus. It is the burdens of life and staying connected to Christ that cause us to struggle daily with being Christian in this world.
We must allow the Spirit to fill our hearts, control our minds, and empower us to stand up under our burdens as we serve Jesus and live on mission.
This week, God gave me a song from Matthew 16 called “Spirit of the Lord”:
We have the spirit of the Lord
We have the spirit of the Lord
We have the spirit of the Lord
Don’t panic or get upset
We have the spirit of the Lord
He helps us through our trials
In our storms, He is our light
In the darkness, our Lord gives us power, strength, and peace
His heart is filled with love, kindness, and forgiveness
Don’t worry
We have the spirit of the Lord
Today is a new day and a new beginning with our Father
We have the spirit of our Lord. Amen.
Everyday is a new day with our Lord. We can pray and ask him to take our burdens away. He forgives us, so let’s forgive others and let them see the Lord in us.
I love this, Alma. It is a tremendous reflection of the promise of God’s Spirit and all that it holds for us and how it empowers our lives. We don’t need to panic or worry or be upset, we have the spirit of the Lord.
It also reminded me of 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” and these Life Church Worship song lyrics:
Lord, do what only You can do
With one word the mountains move
When You breathe, the dead arise
And the bones come back to life
There is power in this room
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is life
Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
Like a river running wild
Like a never-ending fight
Where the spirit of the Lord is