Bible Character Studies: Peter. Pt. 4 Faith questions and Peter's powerful confession!

Good Morning to everyone this new beginning of the day.
Can we think about this?  God's mercies are new every morning for us!  As we go do our varies tasks today, I pray that each of us will extend mercies to those around us too. 



What did Peter and the disciples see happen after Jesus taught them about the things that truly defile a man?

Matthew 15:21-39 ends with the disciples seeing the daughter of a Canaanite woman healed by Christ, and another great multitude of 4,000 fed by the Lord. In between these two events they watched Jesus minister to large numbers of people by healing those who were blind, deaf, lame so that the people "glorified the God of Israel."

The first part of Matthew 16 find the Pharisees and Sadducees demanding a sign from Jesus and Christ's warning to beware the leaven (false doctrine) of the Pharisees. 

This leads us to the next time that we find Peter mentioned by name.

Matthew 16:13-20  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? 14  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 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. 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. 19  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20  Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. 

A faith check question.

Let us make sure we understand that when Jesus asked the questions in this text it was not because He did not know the answer. Christ knew the thoughts of all those around Him. Think what an enormous burden that would be, to always hear in your mind what people really think about you even if they do not say it!

God did not ask Adam and Eve after they had sinned where they were because He did not know, He already knew.  He was drawing them out in order that they would see the guilt and shame and that they might confess their sin. 

Jesus asked these questions so that the disciples might be made aware of their own faith in Christ. 

Who do men say that I am?

"And they said..." The disciples were aware of what people were saying about Christ. They told Jesus that some people said He was John the Baptist while others said that Jesus was Elijah. Some said that Jesus was Jeremiah the prophet or that He was one of the prophets. 

No doubt, Jesus already knew these things but He asked this question because He was preparing to probe the faith of His disciples. This is where the impulsive response of Peter gives the clearest definition of what faith in Christ means.

But whom say ye that I am?

"And Simon Peter answered and said..." The answer to the first question was supplied by many or most of the disciples. The answer to Christ's second question was given by Peter alone. He did not hesitate to declare what he believed to be true about Jesus Christ. 

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Wow, there is so much to think about in the answer Peter gave. First Peter declared that Jesus is the Christ. The name or title Christ means the anointed One. The title Christ means that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, the King of Israel and the All Conquering Seed of the Woman. 

Next, Peter declares that Jesus is the Son of God. No confession of faith could be more profound than this. In fact Paul wrote about this truth to young Timothy. It remains a controversial truth today and yet it is also an irrefutable truth. God was manifest in the flesh in order to pay our sin debt and accomplish salvation and redemption for all humanity. 

1 Timothy 3:16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 

Last, Peter brings out the great contrast between the idolatrous pagans and God manifest in the flesh who is Creator of all, Sustainer of all and Savior of all who will believe. 

All idols are the same. They are all made by the hands of man out of stone, metal, clay, wood or ivory. They cannot move. They do not feel anything. They cannot speak and they cannot see or hear. They are powerless and worthless and worshiping idols is a great offense to our Holy God. 

In contrast, Peter sets before us in his confession of faith, the One, True Living God of heaven and earth. There is none other. And this God took on a body of flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Points to Ponder...

• All kinds of people in the world have differing opinions of who Jesus Christ is.

• Some say He was a good moral teacher.

• Others say that He was a humble rabbi. 

• Others say He was just a man committed to a cause like Gandhi was.

• Only one view is correct. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." 

What a powerful and sublime confession from Peter when responding to the second question asked by Jesus. Sometimes we grow impatient with Peter and the others wondering "How can they not understand these things?" Well, they were people like you and me. They were ignorant of spiritual realities and it took time to teach and train and prepare them for ministry after Christ ascended to the Father. 

Yet, as these men listened to their Lord and as they saw what He did and as they observed the countless lives changed by Christ some of the truths did stick with them. Peter grasped enough to blurt out the marvelous confession of faith that is the subject of today's blog. 

It takes time for us to grow and mature and "get a grasp on" the truths of the things of God. Like Peter we will at times be dull of hearing, slow to act and prone to wrong understanding. Yet, like Peter the light of the truth may also burst in upon our minds at times so that we might triumphantly declare as he did, God was manifest in the flesh. He was here on this earth. He came to take care of our sins and to offer a restored relationship with God through Christ!

May the Lord continue to grow us up into Christlike men and women as we pursue our study of Peter. May He use  us in His service however He sees fit. May we seek to live for His honor and glory every day.

Bob