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XV

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Who do you say I am? Matt 16:15

Are you direct in talking to others? These words of Jesus show that he was prepared to give a direct challenge. Talking with Jesus must have been quite a scary experience; he had an ability to cut through reasoning that did not stand up to his penetrating insight. Do you remember the attempts made by the Samaritan woman to divert the conversation away from personal issues?

It was no accident that the incident related in Matt 16 took place near Caesarea Philippi. This place had been the centre of Baal worship in earlier years; the Greeks later made it a centre of worship of Pan. In Jesus’ day there was a temple, built on a hillside by Philip, to honour Caesar as a god. Against that backdrop, is it not amazing that Jesus, the wandering rabbi, raises the question ‘Who do you say I am’? It was as if the whole area, if it had a voice, might say ‘This is where you find god – in the fertility rites of Canaanites, or by the sensual worship of the Greeks or in the dominating force of Rome, declaring that Caesar is Lord. All three had a common aim – to draw God’s people away from the worship and service of the one true God. There is a total distinction between the worship of God and that offered to Baal, Pan and Caesar.

Who do you say that I am? The question has deep significance in 2008. The direct challenge put to Peter and the other disciples is, in turn, directed at us. As in Jesus’ day, there is no shortage of opinions about Jesus – a great teacher, a prophet and so on. BUT, you are faced with a question to which what ‘they say’ as an answer is irrelevant. Imagine that you are in the bodily presence of Jesus right now (and you would probably be overcome in prostration) asking YOU the question that you cannot brush aside. It is one of the most significant questions to be faced in life.

I can imagine that some of you will reply that you believe in Jesus; good, but Jesus reminded his hearers that demons believe and tremble. This question goes deeper, I suggest that if this devotional achieves what it should, then the whole context has to be read and pondered. The revelation to Peter that Jesus of Nazareth is Messiah means that from this point on, Peter is no longer a free agent but, as the following verses tell us, he is to follow in the path of suffering and death. There is no other way.

This revelation of Jesus to Peter in not ‘by man’ (cf John 1:13) and is directly from God (and we might add by the Spirit, the one sent to reveal Christ to us). If, as you read these words, you feel that their full significance is diminished in any way, seek a fresh revelation of the Holy Spirit who has been sent to show us who Jesus is.