ESOCS Devotional 25 January 2025 – Who is Jesus?
MEMORY VERSE: “He saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am?” Matthew 16:15
TEXT: MATTHEW 16:13-END
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
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Jesus asks an interesting, yet important question to His disciples in Matthew 16:13: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” It is interesting to think about what the people in Judea and Galilee were saying about Jesus. Some people said that Jesus was John the Baptist. You might remember back in Matthew 14:2 that this is what Herod Antipas thought. Herod thought John had been raised from the dead and that is why he was able to do miracles. Some people said that Jesus was Elijah. This comes from Malachi 4:5 where Malachi prophesied that Elijah would come before the great and awesome day of the Lord. Also consider that Elijah was one of the few miracle workers in the scriptures. So, connecting Jesus to Elijah would make sense in the minds of the people. Other people say that Jesus was Jeremiah. This is a curious conclusion. There is not a prophecy for the return of Jeremiah like there was for Elijah’s return. But I wonder if this conclusion was drawn because of their similar teachings. You might remember that one of the charges against Jesus at His trial was that He said He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Jeremiah also proclaimed that God was going to destroy His temple by the Babylonian Empire. Jeremiah was a prophet of doom to the nation. So, some were hearing the teachings of Jesus and connecting Him to Jeremiah. Finally, some people determine that Jesus was one of God’s prophets. The two on the road to Emmaus had drawn that conclusion (Luke 24:19). The Samaritan woman at the well drew the conclusion that Jesus was a prophet (John 4:19). The blind man in John 9:17 also understood Jesus to be a prophet.
But Jesus is not interested in taking a popularity poll; rather, He wants to know the thoughts of His disciples. Look at verse 15: “But who do you say that I am?” Now, it is important to note that Jesus is asking this of all His disciples. The “you” is plural but in English language do not have a word for a plural you. In our day we say “you all” or “all of you”- “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” They use “yourselves” to indicate the plural you. “But whom say ye that I am?”
Simon Peter answers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now I want to ask a question. Do you think Peter was the only person who believed this about Jesus or do you think Peter is answering on behalf of the apostles? I do not believe that Peter answering the question meant that the other disciples did not have an answer. Jesus asked this question to all His disciples. Who do you all say that I am? I think Peter answered for himself; hence, the question this morning – “But, who do you yourselves say that I am?”
CHALLENGES
- Who is Jesus to you and how well do you know Him and relate with Him.
PRAYER POINT
- Father, help me to know you more per time. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 35:1-end; 36:1-end; Matthew 17:1-13
ESOCS Devotional 25 January 2025
