It’s been two and half years in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Soon His earthly work will come to a close as He fulfills the work of salvation as He dies on the cross and rises from the dead. So this portion of Scripture is very significant. It starts with Herod asking who Jesus is? Then Jesus feeds five thousand from nothing but a few fish and loaves showing everyone He is God the Creator and Provider. Then Jesus asks His disciples who others think He is and who they think He is. Through these questions, Jesus wants to reveal who He is so that they can fully trust in Him.
In Caesarea Philippi, there were some Greeks that had immigrated and settled there after Alexander the Great. It was a diverse city with many cultures and many gods. Was Jesus just one of those gods or was He a good teacher, was He a prophet or was He the true and only God? Answering this question genuinely is not just a verbal or mental acknowledgment but a trust in Jesus. Many cultural Christians claim Jesus is the Christ, but they do not obey. The true Christian constantly surrenders to Jesus in obedience because they truly know He is the Christ.
Through the posing of the two questions, Jesus is distinguishing between the crowd and the disciples. In a poll taken, 85% of people consider Jesus the most influential person in history. But the real question is, does He have power and influence over you? Do you trust Him?
Jesus’ personal devotion
Jesus is the praying Messiah. One of the most dominating aspects of Jesus’ life is prayer. He is the God-man who prayed in all situations (Hebrews 5:7). We might think Jesus might not need to pray. In this passage, we find Jesus is praying alone. It is after praying, that He asks the disciples the question. Jesus didn’t ask because He was concerned with His public image. The question was not impromptu but born out of prayer like everything Jesus did (Luke 6:12). Jesus didn’t pray to get what He wanted but it was to gain the revelation and will of God. When Jesus prayed, God’s decree would follow (Luke 3:21-22).
Jesus’ prayers are 100% perfect obedience. Even Elijah, one of the greatest prophets, who called down fire from heaven and prayed for the dead to life, was not perfectly obedient. But Jesus is perfectly obedient and is now glorified above all names (Phi 2:9-11). He is glorified because He was obedient, He was obedient because He prayed. As confirmation that Jesus prayed obediently, God the Father anoints the Son (Mt 17:5). Therefore we can trust Him.
Jesus is different from others
He is the unique Jesus. He is not a superhero. He is not just a great man. John the Baptist was the last and greatest prophet. As mentioned earlier, Elijah too was a supernatural prophet. Elijah also stood alone against the multitude and performed undeniable miracles. But he also feared for his life, ran away, and complained. Elijah cannot be the Christ. All the prophets, all the famous pastors and preachers, they are men like us, imperfect, born as sinners. Jesus is unique. He is the only begotten Son of God, the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14). He is eternal (Col 1:17). He is sinless. He never changes. He alone has power over death and life. He alone fulfills the hundreds of prophecies of the Messiah. You can trust Him! Until we trust Him, our hearts will not be at rest (Augustin). Actually, there is no one else that we can trust because there is no one else like Jesus.
Jesus deals with people differently
In verse 20, Jesus narrows his scope and asks the disciples directly “Who do you say that I am?”. They respond with “The Christ of God”. Jesus is the one God sent to rescue us (John 3:69). Is Jesus really the Son of God? The angels and demons confirm He is (Luke 1:32,8:28). He is truly the Son of God, the Messiah and we can trust in Him. What happens if we do not trust in Jesus? Then you will be accursed and receive punishment (1 Corinthians 16:22; Hebrews 10:29). A half trust is still trusting in yourself. It will not pass judgment.
Jesus loves His disciples, so He asked them privately. The setting is intimate. It’s not a teaching for the crowd because they were beloved and chosen. Because they were chosen, their confession did not come from their own knowledge but by the grace of God (Matthew 16:17; John 6:44). Jesus reveals the truth to the elect so that they trust in Him.
Conclusion
He will build His church upon those He chooses and loves. In other words, Jesus trusts in us to build His church, so we trust in Him to build the church upon us (Matthew 16:18). He even shares His authority with us (Matthew 16:19). Since we have been entrusted to continue His work on earth, we must trust and obey. Our obedience and faithfulness are not something we generate by ourselves, but by the grace of God which is received by trusting in Him.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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