Daily Word Of God
Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said, ‘who do you say I am?’
Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’
Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- Jesus is asking each one of us, “Who am I to you?” Before answering, we each need to have to a personal understanding of who Jesus is for us; not what our preachers, friends and others say about Him. We also need to live out this understanding daily.
- For Peter Jesus was the “Christ, the Son of the Living God.” So, He was able to grow in this understanding and remain faithful throughout his life and even died a martyr’s death.
- Spend some time pondering on who this Jesus is for you. If we are able to have deep insights and convictions of who He is, then our faith and relationship with Him will grow and we will then be able to live out this truth with greater responsibility as Peter did.