Sharing Bread Matthew 16:13-16

SHARING BREAD

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Matt 16:13-16 (NIV)

The most important question every soul will have to answer is presented here within our verses for today.  Who do we say this Jesus is?  Certainly, this is a question that each of us should frequently put to ourselves seeking always to match our words with our actions.

In a remote area with few followers around, the Lord Jesus was afforded the opportunity of private conversation with His guys.  He begins the conversation by asking the question “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Notice He did not ask who do the Scribes and Pharisees say that I am rather He was thinking of the ordinary people, those whom He had spent much time with teaching and healing, those who had followed Him from town to town and those whom the Pharisees despised and felt beneath them.  Christ had not stated plainly to the people who He was, rather He had left it to them to infer His true identity by His Words and by His works and now He desired to know the identity they had inferred.  Obviously there were differing opinions floating around as the disciples respond to His first query with an honorable and flattering – yet wrong - reply of the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.  It is possible to have good thoughts regarding Christ - is it not - yet not correct thoughts.  It is possible to have a high opinion of the Savior but not high enough.

“All lines of messianic prophecy meet in Jesus.”   Fred John Meldau

“Jesus was God spelling Himself out in language humanity could understand.”   S. D. Gordon

¹² “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”   Acts 4:12 (NIV)

Seeking always to pinpoint each heart, our Lord zeros in on the disciple’s opinion of who they say that He is.  Ever the spokesman for the group, Pete passionately pipes up with the precise praiseworthy words of:   “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Peter’s answer is brief yet full, true and to the point.  It is indeed “the conclusion of the matter” as Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 12:13.  He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.   

His guys had been better taught than others.  By their intimacy with Jesus they had far greater advantages of gaining knowledge than other followers had.  Those who walk closest to the Lord are to have the truest attitudes about Him and therefore able to give far better accounts to others.  What we know about Christ we should never hoard.  We are not to sit, soak and sour.  We are to be conduits of His Truth, mercy and grace to others.  He pours in, we are to gain understanding and then pour out.  This is to be a continuous process and one that is never finished until we see His face.

“Be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your life may preach among all sorts of people.”   George Fox

It is sad to the Lord Jesus when His followers do not seem to get it – especially those nearest to Him.  I am reminded of Christ’s Words to Philip after the Lord had been with him for such a long time.   Christ gives forth a most staggering claim regarding His true identity:

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.”  John 14:8-11 (NIV)

 

“There is no broadminded approach when it comes to entering into the life that God has for you. God doesn't present you with a variety of doors to consider. He doesn't say, ‘Go ahead and pick the door that looks best to you, and after you decide, I will support your decision and bless all that you do.’  It is true that God does have a plan and a purpose for your life, but it can only be entered into through one door. Jesus Christ is that door. There is no other entrance. There is only one Gospel to believe; only one Truth to embrace; only one Shepherd to follow; only one Savior to trust; only one Lord to serve; only one Master to obey.”   Roy Lessin 

 

“Man needs, above all else, salvation.”   Norman Goodacre

What I glean from this:

·       The most important question I will ever answer is:  “Who do I say that Jesus is?”  Also, what I believe, I am to live.  My words must match my actions.  

·       Salvation is found in no one else but Jesus.

·       Jesus is the conclusions of the matter – of every matter.