Mat 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?
Mat 16:14 And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
People had different opinions as to the identity of Jesus. Some thought of Him as the mere son of a carpenter. Others believed Him to be the Prophet.
Its not enough, though, to have an opinion of Who or What Jesus is, we must need to know Who and What He is to us personally.
Ask people who they think Jesus is and you'll get a dozen different answers. What does the Bible call Him? Alpha, Omega, the Mighty God, The Son of God and much more. But, it isn't enough to know what the Bible says, or what our churches teaches, about Him. The question was:
But whom say ye that I am? Who is Jesus to you, personally? Peter tells us Who He is:
"the Christ". Not just Jesus, but
"Thou art the Christ" Peter then tells us the What that Jesus is: "the Son of the living God." Not just "the Son of God", but
"the Son of the Living God". Our God lives!
We can come to know Who and What Jesus is to us, by knowing Him. Peter knew Jesus personally- had walked and talked with Him. He didn't just know about Jesus... he knew him personally. Isn't it something that we, too, can know Jesus on this personal level?
I want to know Who and What Jesus is in my life. I want to know Him personally. Paul cried out,
"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Phl 3:10 To know Who and What Jesus is to me, I have to die with Him. My flesh, my desires, my thoughts, my everything has to hang there on that cross with Him for me to know Who Jesus is to me.
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