Day 18: Matthew 16
GUESS WHO
The disciples are great. They give up their jobs to follow Jesus, not worrying about money or the future. These are guys filled with faith, just wanting to be near Jesus and be part of what he's doing. As we've already covered, at one point when the crowds disappear, they say to Jesus that there's nowhere else they'd want to go, that only he has the words to eternal life. So often though, they fail to get it. As Jesus tells parables or explains things to them, they miss the point loads.
Here, Jesus warns them about the religious rulers and they somehow take it that Jesus is telling them off for not having bread. Maybe after the feeding of the 5000 and the 4000 they thought they should always have bread on them ready for a crowd and were letting Jesus down. Who knows? Plainly, they often just didn't get was Jesus was saying at first.
This isn't the part of Matthew 16 that I want to focus on though. In verses 13 to 20, Peter shows that he may not get everything that Jesus says, but that he grasps the key to everything. He may not understand the details of all of Jesus' teachings, but he knows who Jesus is.
At this point, Peter shows that he has been listening all along. He has heard the rumours; he knows what people think of Jesus. Ultimately, he knows that Jesus is far more than people have been saying. Peter has followed Jesus and knows who he follows. He declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus doesn't respond by praising him or telling him he's right. He simply acknowledges that he is Peter, and that this ordinary fisherman will be the rock on which the church is built.
In the internet age, we live in a place where everyone can make their opinion known. You just have to look on Facebook, Twitter, forums or blogs to see people giving their opinion on any given subject. People have an outlet to make their opinion known instantly these days, and most people seem to have something to say. If you click around the internet, you will see all kinds of opinion on Jesus. Some people will say he is the Son of God, some will say he had some good teachings; some will say he didn't exist, and some will condemn his words as irrelevant.
Peter didn't listen to the crowd. The religious leaders hated Jesus. Many people thought his teachings were too hard. Peter knew he was the Christ. I think this is one of the main reasons Peter is so pivotal in the history of the church. Even though Peter would make mistakes, most notably denying Jesus, I believe that Jesus knew that Peter was a man who would go the distance. I believe that a crucial part of this was that he was a man secure in the knowledge of who Jesus was.
In our churches, there have been many rocks that the church has been built on. There have been many men and women who have known what it is to truly follow Jesus, acknowledging him as their saviour and trusting him with their lives. We live in a time where we can reap the benefits of their past faithfulness.
It is often said that we live in a 'Post-Christian era' in Britain, where the time of Christianity has passed in our country. However, I believe that same question that was asked of Peter comes to us all in our generation. The question of who we say Jesus is will be relevant for us all.
As we've worked through Matthew so far we have seen a man of miracles, who pointed the way to a kingdom far greater than what we see in our own societies. We have seen a man who has taught us the need to turn our lives back to God, a man who will ultimately sacrifice himself for the sake of calling a broken world His people.
As we look at Jesus, let's acknowledge that he is the Christ, the son of God, and let's live our lives so that we may be the ordinary men and women that God uses to continue to build his church.
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