He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”

This passage starts with Jesus asking “who do the crowds say that I am?” Jesus asks this question becaus many people had confused Jesus with one of the prophets, and He does not want His apostles to make the same mistake. It is important that they recognize Him for who He really is, so that the can properly teach others about Jesus when He is gone.

Next Jesus asks “who do you say that I am,” and Peter answers rightly. He identifies Jesus as the Christ, and everything that goes along with that title. Peter is a human that sees Jesus, another human, for who he really is, God. But He did not come to this knowledge on his own, this is divine understanding that was given to him from the Holy Spirit. But it suffices to make the distinction that Jesus was making in His first question, and solidifies His point for all of His disciples to see.

Jesus then breaks all of their hearts by telling them that He will die and rise again. In the chapters of His teaching ministry, He predicts His passion 3 times, and 3 times they don’t get it. The jews sincerely believed that the messiah would come and do four things: Rebuild the temple, destroy all of Israel’s enemies, and unite all of the tribes of Israel, and Reign as the king of the nation. So the messiah dying without accomplishing those ends is hard for these jewish disciples to comprehend.

But Jesus did do all of those things. Just not in the way that they expected. He rebuilt the temple of His body in three days, after it was destroyed on the cross, and in Heaven he is building his new temple with the souls of the faithful that died in loving friendship with God. He has absolutely untited all of the tribes of israel, that were scattered amongst all of the gentiles in His new church of Christianity, and at the end of time, the uniting will be finally complete in Heaven. On the cross Jesus destroyed the power satan held over the world, and freed us all from his subjection, and at the end of time He will take care of all of those enemies, by sending them to hell. And finally Jesus reigns as king of His church right now and in heaven for all eternity.

The point of this reading is that Jesus is the Christ, the messiah that was prophesied, and not just a prophet. We must understand this, and we must not dismiss Him as just another man. He is God, and He came to save us from our sin. Do you believe that? That is the question for today. We all need to struggle with His question “who to you say that I am?” The answer to that question determines your eternity… Choose well!

Oh lord, help increase my faith, and trust in you, so that I can love you fully and bask in your glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.