August 23, 2020

It is probable that Jesus was discouraged over the responses of the many who had heard him preach and who witnessed His miracles. Like people who flock to certain churches today that offer healing, or mesmerize their audiences with mind-blowing antics that are geared to crowd- gathering, there were crowds who pressed in upon Jesus because He could perform the kind of magic that pleased them, fed them, or healed them. They were quite willing to vote Him into office as king if that could be arranged.

Jesus took His most loyal followers aside to question them concerning their attitudes in this matter. He invited them to articulate their feelings toward Him. The larger group of followers that showed some interest in Jesus compared Him to Elijah or John the Baptist or some prophet come back to life. From the inner circle of followers, through the lips of Peter, came a more encouraging confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It was a true confession, probably immature at this point; nevertheless, it was genuine, and Jesus accepted it as such.

May it be our genuine confession, even if it is not fully thought through. As Peter developed in his comprehension of Jesus’ person and purposes, and his own commitment to Him, so we will grow and mature as sons and daughters of God and disciples of Jesus. We stake our lives on that truth of Jesus as Son of the living God that has become obvious to us by way of the cross and His glorious resurrection. And because of this truth, we are God’s forever.