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- Apr 25, 2006
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4 August 2008
Word on the Web
Pray First
Who do you say Jesus is, in the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you think?
'Dear Lord...'
Matthew 16:13-20
When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, "What do people say about the Son of Man?"
The disciples answered, "Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet." Then Jesus asked them, "But who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter spoke up, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus told him:
Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You didn't discover this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven. So I will call you Peter, which means "a rock." On this rock I will build my church, and death itself will not have any power over it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth. But he will not allow anything that you don't allow.
Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Main Point
Did you ever play the board game Guess Who? when you were a kid? Each player has a card with a character on. The object of the game is to match up various physical characteristics, and slowly but surely work out which character is on your opponent's card. The winner is the first one to guess correctly.
People in Jesus' time must have felt they were playing a similar kind of game when they tried to work out who he was. They looked at some of his characteristics - prophetic, revolutionary - and matched him up to other personalities that they knew about. Is he Elijah? Is he Jeremiah? Is he John the Baptist come back to life?
Everyone sensed that there was something special about this man Jesus. But still, none of the guesses were quite right.
People still try to do the same now - ask any random selection of people on the street who Jesus is, and you will quite likely get as many answers as there are people. Ask a Christian and they will generally trot out the 'right answer' that Peter is commended for giving.
But how often do we really think about what it means to say that Jesus, a human being, is the 'Messiah, Son of the living God'?
Reflect
Spend some time now reflecting on the character, power and actions of Jesus. He is breathtaking in his uniqueness.
Word on the Web is provided free of charge as part of the ministry of Church Army.
Word on the Web
Pray First
Who do you say Jesus is, in the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you think?
'Dear Lord...'
Matthew 16:13-20
When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, "What do people say about the Son of Man?"
The disciples answered, "Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet." Then Jesus asked them, "But who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter spoke up, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus told him:
Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You didn't discover this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven. So I will call you Peter, which means "a rock." On this rock I will build my church, and death itself will not have any power over it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth. But he will not allow anything that you don't allow.
Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Main Point
Did you ever play the board game Guess Who? when you were a kid? Each player has a card with a character on. The object of the game is to match up various physical characteristics, and slowly but surely work out which character is on your opponent's card. The winner is the first one to guess correctly.
People in Jesus' time must have felt they were playing a similar kind of game when they tried to work out who he was. They looked at some of his characteristics - prophetic, revolutionary - and matched him up to other personalities that they knew about. Is he Elijah? Is he Jeremiah? Is he John the Baptist come back to life?
Everyone sensed that there was something special about this man Jesus. But still, none of the guesses were quite right.
People still try to do the same now - ask any random selection of people on the street who Jesus is, and you will quite likely get as many answers as there are people. Ask a Christian and they will generally trot out the 'right answer' that Peter is commended for giving.
But how often do we really think about what it means to say that Jesus, a human being, is the 'Messiah, Son of the living God'?
Reflect
Spend some time now reflecting on the character, power and actions of Jesus. He is breathtaking in his uniqueness.
Word on the Web is provided free of charge as part of the ministry of Church Army.
