And Who Do You Say That I Am?

Recently I had the opportunity to travel with some brothers and sisters from our church to the land of Israel, the place where the great majority of events recorded in the inspired Word of God took place. One of the places that we visited was Caesarea Philippi in the northern region of Galilee. Long ago, this was a place where one could find many altars to the gods of Greek mythology and because of this many people would go there to worship their idols. It was in this place that Jesus questioned His disciples saying; “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)

While we were there we could see the ruins of those stone altars that remain to this day, and we could understand why Jesus asked His disciples this question. It was to see if they realized and understood the difference between those dead idols and Jesus himself. That is what made Peter’s response so significant when he answered and declared that truly He was the Christ, the Son of God. Today we live in times where it is not just one region of our country that practices idolatry, but a whole society that is corrupted and saturated by it. The idols of today are not wooden statues or altars of worship, but rather external things, without the obvious appearance of idols, that have taken control of the lives of people all the same such as materialism, pleasures, licentiousness, etc. Today’s idols could also take the form of internal things that rob us of the ability to focus such as the hurts from the past, doubts, worries, or the state of constant preoccupation that little by little turns into a life style. If you find yourself in this situation, answer Jesus’s question for yourself: “And you, who do you say that I am?” May you be able to declare from the depths of your heart and with complete sincerity, “You are my savior and from now on, I turn over the control of my life to You, acknowledging You as my Lord, because You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Promise of the Week: “Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed] in heaven.” Matthew 16:17-19