Series: Who Do You Say I Am?
Message: Who Do You Say I Am?
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Daily Walk: Japhet De Oliveira
Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 78:38-43.
Read: Matthew 16:13-24 (NLT). As you read the New Living Translation, note 1-3 insights or questions.
Reflect: The moment you ask someone out on the first date could be the moment that changes your life forever. When you propose marriage and they accept your proposal, you know that your life will change forever. The importance of the occasion makes the setting really important. You want to choose the best location and the ideal time.
Matthew 16:13 presents a pivotal question at a momentous time, two and half years into the ministry of Jesus. Nothing would ever be the same after this question was posed. Once Jesus asked the question, everything changed. This raises three more questions:
Why did Jesus ask this question?
Why did He have to take the disciples to Caesarea Philippi?
How did His answer and conversation shape the mission going forward?
In life, at work or school, and especially in ministry, it is important to remember that perception has power. In fact, an important key in communication is not what we say, but what our listeners hear (Matthew 13:4-23). Our perceptions are shaped by our preconceptions, and our preconceptions are shaped by our own life and times. The Jews had a very clear vision of what the Messiah should be and what He would do for them. Shaped by their experience of oppression, they wanted a savior that would restore them to the glory days of Solomon. They wanted the Roman empire crushed. Along comes God Incarnate—Jesus and He creates a vision that will last beyond this planet’s short history. A vision that captured the hearts and minds of many. But it shatters all their preconceptions. They cannot get Jesus to conform to their idea of what He should be (Matthew 16:13-14 and John 6:15). Jesus, sensing the end of his earthly ministry, knowing that the Holy Spirit will descend with transformative power, wants the disciples to embrace and understand who He is, before they know why and how He is. For if they know that Jesus is the Messiah, they can be prepared for the mission and call He places on their life. Jesus already knew the answer to His own question—of course—but until the disciples spoke it out loud, it was not real to them.
Recalibrate:
Respond:Pray for .the courage to be in the space for Jesus to engage you.
Research: What was Caesarea Philippi famous for?