Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Who do you say I am?
Just imagine you meeting Jesus today and the first question he asks you is 'who do YOU say I am' what would you say?
The question right now is not 'who do christians say i am?' The question is ' who do YOU, say I am'. What would be your response.
Perhaps all your life, people have been telling you about Jesus, some say 'he is good', some say 'he is kind', some say 'he walked on water', some say 'he is a prophet'. People say he is the savioiur of the world. But the question the LORD is asking is 'who do YOU say I am?'. You have now come of age to decide what to believe, so Jesus is asking you "who do YOU say I am?"
Going to church is VERY important, listening to messages is VERY important. But what is most important is when you open the scripture to study for yourself with the help of the holy spirit and come out with truths about JESUS as revealed to you by the holy spirit. This would grow you faster. Like i said you already know who christians say Jesus is, but it's time for you to open that bible and study it for yourself.
The personal understanding that Peter had of Jesus, was what made him the head of the apostles
Mt 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
While the other disciples were speechless, the man with a PERSONAL REVELATION of Jesus, spoke up what was revealed to him by the father in heaven.
You might be a deacon, pastor, deacon, deaconess, Jesus is asking the same question today 'who do you say I am?'
Why did Jesus ask this question?
If you notice, immediately after Jesus was done asking them who he was, the next thing he told them about was his suffering on the cross.
16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
So what's the connection- He knew he was the shepherd (John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.") and he was hoing to be killed because the prophecy said:
Zechariah 13:7 "... smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered"
Matthew 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
Mark 14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
So, the time for Jesus to be 'smitten' was close and when this happens, all the sheeps will scatter, but what will keep the sheep from falling is their personal knowledge of him.
Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy...
So Jesus, the word of God is the rock that would hold you when that situation stirs in your face. Your personal understanding of Jesus is what will see you through that phase.
You were promoted from primary school to college because you passed an exam based on the knowledge you had. Everday situations will throw exams at you but your 'deliverance' is in your knowledge of Jesus.
Isaiah 53:11 ...by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
Proverbs 11:9 ...through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
Please leave the general knowledge everyone has of Jesus, and study the scriptures with the help of the holy spirit, and the word of God will reveal himself to YOU, that's change you require.
GO for the word NOW!
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