Matthew 16:13 – When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”  15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (NLT)

In this passage Jesus and his disciples have come to Caesarea Philippi. Not only was this a predominantly Gentile area, its inhabitants practiced many of the world’s religions.  Caesarea Philippi was also a center for the worship of the pagan god Pan, the god of nature.  Against this backdrop Jesus asks his first question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Jesus certainly knew what people were saying, but he was setting up the disciples for the most important question we can ever be asked, “But who do you say I am?”  We may know what others say about Jesus.  Like Jesus and the disciples, we have probably heard people say a number of things about Jesus.  Some good things, some not so good.  Ultimately, we must answer for ourselves, and we do!  Whether we verbalize it or not, each and every day we say who we believe Jesus to be.  We say it not only by the way that we speak, more importantly we say it by our actions.  How we live our lives will tell the truth more than any words of confession we can say.  Are we living life as if Jesus really is the Son of the living God?  Are we living life as if Jesus really is our Lord?  This is a question we must ask ourselves, and often. 

Today, let us live like Jesus is Lord of our life.  Let us live in a way in which our actions speak loud and clear! 

Posted by Ramón Torres