Read the passage and respond to these questions:            1.  How do people around you view Jesus? 2.  And what do you think about him?  How did you find this out?

Jesus is asking His disciples, who does the world say that I am?  Do they think about me? and what is it they think?  It is a reminder to us that God is thinking about the world.  He is at work in people’s lives and He asks us to be sensitive to His heart, come along side them, and help them see what He is doing in the midst of their lives.  Jesus then asks His disciples if they know who He is.  Jesus is not having an identity crisis. He knew Who He was then as He does now.  “…Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”

Jesus said to him, “ It is as you said” (Matthew 27:64).  Jesus knew there were many opinions about Him.  Was He God’s Son or just a great preacher who said great things? Was He just something that people could add to their life to prop them up or was He the Bread of Life who holds it all together.  A prop is something placed beneath or against to keep it from shaking or falling.  It is any movable object used on the set of a play. Life is like a play, though it is real, it is practice for eternity.  Some keep themselves to busy so there is no time to stop and think about how they wish life were different. That can be a prop that we  lean on so we don’t fall. There may be others and I trust God will speak to us and reveal those things that keep us from fully leaning on Jesus as the Son of God.

Peter, who was known as the outspoken disciple, identified Jesus as the Son of God.  It was there Jesus encouraged and gave definition to who Peter was. One of the truths in this passage is that as we grow in our knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, we too become more confident in who we are as His sons and daughters.  God by His Spirit is the revealer of all things, who He is to us and who we are to Him and the world.  May we grow in our knowledge of Jesus the Messiah as we go into all the world.
Prayer
Holy God, thank you for revealing Jesus’ true identity to me.  And now, help me to know who I am in relation to You and Your church.