How Do We Know?
This is an audio recording of How Do We Know? the Day 25 entry in Today for Seafarers (Vol. 1) devotional by Jason Zuidema.
Listen to the audio by Sheila Margerrison or read the text below:
“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea
Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and
still others, one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”
You can learn a lot about people by looking at their passport. You can determine how old they are, what they look like, and the places they have traveled. But you cannot really know someone until you have spent time with them and developed a relationship with them.
Today’s verses tell us about the identity of Jesus Christ. We could gather a lot of information from many sources about Christ, but we cannot really know him until we listen to his voice and spend time with him.
In this passage the guesses from people who didn’t know Jesus were all over the map. They all fell short of identifying his true person and work. To many people, he was apparently just another religious guru. At least they understood that he was sent by God and had an important mission.
Suppose there was a sports star who was so good that he was being compared to some of the great athletes of the world. That would get our attention and make us interested in what he was doing, right? In a similar way, many people in Jesus’ day compared him to the great prophets of the past. People thought he was someone special—but was that enough?
Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was: “What about you? Who do you say I am?” His question was important. He wanted to see if his disciples’ view was different from that of others.
Peter answered for the whole group: “You are the Messiah [Christ]”—that is, the deliverer God had promised many years earlier.
The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same thing as the Greek word “Christ”—that is, “Anointed One.” This was the title of a special deliverer promised by God. If someone was anointed, that meant they were appointed by God for a special task or mission.
Typically in the Old Testament three types of people were anointed to special roles: prophets, priests, and kings— and they all served as mediators between God and human beings. There was also the promised Anointed One: the Messiah. He himself would be a prophet, priest, and king and would be greater than all the others, because he fulfilled what they had spoken about.
Peter had it right: Jesus was the Anointed One (the Messiah, the Christ) sent by God for the salvation of humankind from the curse of sin and death. This was good news indeed!
For Further Thought
What is the difference between the Messiah and religious gurus?
Do you believe Jesus was the Messiah? Explain.
Why was Jesus sent to save us from our sins?
Prayer
Holy Spirit, prepare my heart to be moved by you so that I am ready to respond whenever you call me. Amen.
