When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
He swore the disciples to secrecy. He made them promise they would tell no one that he was the Messiah.
I love this passage, as it is a question I find myself having to answer afresh. It’s not just a theory or learned writing but that is required from the heart.
On Alpha – Why did Jesus have to die, I think we only really get the impacts as we answer this question. God (son of God) died, it effects everything.
Wow this is an amazing passage, May mu answer be like Peter’s every time.
I love this passage too. It reminds me that I can only really grasp who Jesus is and what he did for me, and us all, through what God himself has revealed to me.
I guess what I mean is that TRULY knowing Jesus is not an intellectual exercise for me, but a gift from God. It’s humbling to come back to this passage and remember that no matter how much I think I know, and how clever I think I am, I can only really know Jesus, and also only really understand my own true potential, through my relationship with him.
Perhaps that is why jesus tells his disciples to keep this knowledge to themselves, because it’s down to him to reveal himself to people.