What is Abide? | Listen to this Episode 

This week’s Abide episode comes from the passage in the Our Daily Bread devotional from Monday the 9th of September, which is Matthew 16:13-19.

Today, we’re going to read a passage that focuses on one disciple’s declaration about who Jesus is. If you ask someone on the street, “Who is Jesus?”, you’ll most likely get a variety of different answers. For those of us who have been to church before, we might list various titles such as Son of God, the Messiah, Saviour of the world…. Other people might say things like “teacher” or “leader” or even, “miracle worker”.

In our passage today, Jesus puts this same question to His disciples. Let’s see how one of them responds…

Let’s read from Matthew 16, verses 13-17:

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

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

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

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

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

Whenever I go to pick up my daughter from daycare, she’s over the moon. She can easily pick me out from a group of parents walking in and her face lights up with pure joy. She usually yells “mummy!” And runs right over to greet me with excitement. My daughter not only knows I am her mother by title but she knows deep in her heart and soul that she belongs to me. To my daughter, my title as “mummy” isn’t just a descriptive title, it’s a deeply meaningful title that carries a powerful truth beyond the title itself.

When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” He wasn’t just asking for a descriptive title. It seems like He was trying to get them to reveal not only their knowledge of His title, but their belief in Him as well.

If you asked my daughter who I am, she’d say I’m her mummy. But her answer isn’t just a statement of fact that reveals her knowledge, there’s also a sense in which her answer reveals what she believes about me and her relation to me.

Look again at what Peter says in response to Jesus in verse 16, “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’” Peter’s response reveals that he believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour. It also reveals that Peter believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Not only that, but the living God. Living…. In other words, active, moving.

Peter’s answer and Jesus’ response seem to reveal that this is something Peter believes deep down in his soul. This isn’t just an accurate, textbook answer to a question but a deep heartfelt answer, too.

If you’re reading this today, then you probably know some of the titles that are given to Jesus. If I asked you, “Who do you say Jesus is?” then you might quote some of these titles in response.

But the real question for us today is, do we believe those titles to be true deep down? It may seem like an obvious answer. It might seem like the kind of Sunday school question we should have moved on from asking by now. Yet it’s surely one of the most important and life-changing questions we can continue to ask ourselves today.

Who do we say Jesus is?

If you’re honest, does your answer remain in the realm of a textbook answer, or does it come from the heart and express your relationship with Christ? Let’s spend some time this week reflecting deeper on this question. Perhaps write down whatever thoughts come to mind.