WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?

Passage: Matthew 16:13-20

Key verse: 15

NIV

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah(A)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist;(B) others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”(C)

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”(D)

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,(E) but by my Father in heaven.(F) 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a](G) and on this rock I will build my church,(H) and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys(I) of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.”(J) 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone(K) that he was the Messiah.

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 16:18 The Greek word for Peter means rock.
  2. Matthew 16:18 That is, the realm of the dead
  3. Matthew 16:19 Or will have been
  4. Matthew 16:19 Or will have been
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 (A)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say (B)John the Baptist, others say (C)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, (D)“You are (E)the Christ, (F)the Son of (G)the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, (H)“Blessed are you, (I)Simon Bar-Jonah! For (J)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, (K)but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, (L)you are Peter, and (M)on this rock[a] I will build my church, and (N)the gates of (O)hell[b] shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you (P)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and (Q)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[c] in heaven.” 20 (R)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 16:18 The Greek words for Peter and rock sound similar
  2. Matthew 16:18 Greek the gates of Hades
  3. Matthew 16:19 Or shall have been bound… shall have been loosed
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

Jesus is many things to many people. A possible poll today might include: A great spiritual leader, the Messiah, God himself, or even a hippie Jew.

While we spend a lot of time maintaining and worrying about our public image, it is the person who we share our personal life with that really knows us best. For Jesus, Peter was one of those people. Peter encountered Jesus when Jesus told him to let his net down for a miraculous catch of fish after a failed night of fishing. Peter was given a new hope when Jesus called him to fish for people. After this, he could not but say, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Even as Christians, sometimes we only know Jesus as we are expected to know him. But Jesus wants us to know him as God knows who we truly are and loves us. We can do that when we open our heart and life to him and experience his truly life-giving Spirit in our own life. It is God who speaks into our own hearts who Jesus is to us. If we let him, he can save us from whatever failure, shame, or sin we find ourselves in.

Prayer: Lord, I want to experience your grace on my life and struggle. I want to know your power to heal and transform me.

One Word: Who is Jesus to you?