True Confession

True Confession

Matthew 16:15-17, NLT

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”

Setting the Scene

We can sense the sudden tension in the air. They had been brainstorming the different ways the crowds were identifying Jesus. Now he was asking them for their own view. First there was silence. Then Peter spoke: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus did not ask Peter what he meant. Depending on the Bible translation, the first title in Peter’s declaration may be “Christ” or “Messiah.” “Christ” comes from transliterating the Greek term Khristos, which along with Messiah (Hebrew) means “the Anointed One.” Peter was placing Jesus in the singular category of the Promised One from the Old Testament prophecies. The disciple got the title right, even if he didn’t fully understand what it meant. Peter would have to discover what each of us eventually discovers—we can have the right answers about God, but there will always be more to God than our answers. Even our right answers are only a glimpse of all God has to reveal.

Jesus affirmed Peter and his answer, using his formal name—Simon, son of John. He declared Peter “blessed,” not because he had given the right answer but because that right answer had been given to him. God had demonstrated his favor on Peter’s life by giving him the insight to speak the right answer.

Getting Personal

You have you been given the same insight from God’s Holy Spirit, so that you can acknowledge Jesus as the Promised One, the Son of God. Jesus said Peter was blessed because he had been given this knowledge. What blessing do you think you have because you have acknowledged Jesus as Christ?

God’s Word makes it clear that we can’t claim to generate the faith it takes to believe in Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8, “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (NKJV). When it comes to receiving credit for our salvation, we get none—all of it goes to Christ. In that moment when we believe, that simple act of faith is itself a gift from God.

Talking to God

Thank God for the combination of gifts that may have brought you to him: the drawing of the Holy Spirit, others to testify to the truth about Jesus, compelling reasons, and simple ability to trust him.