JESUS CONFESSION
2nd of 7 devotions in Jesus Appreciation series
John 1:11: “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.”
“Who do you say I am?” Jesus asked His disciples more than 2,000 years ago.
He asks the same question today.
Originally, Jesus asked this question after leaving Caesarea Phillipi far up in northern Israel. The disciples led by the Master Himself just witnessed people who hated God and lived in terrible idolatry. [I-DOL-i-tree] means placing supreme importance on anything other than in God.
Of what does “terrible idolatry” remind you?
Can you see boys and girls calling one another hateful names? Do you watch them cheating each other? How much do they lie? What games—baseball, basketball, football, hockey—do you see them play?
Imagine that the disciples were shocked to see that extreme idolatry. Jesus may have purposefully led them through a totally different place than to what they were accustomed. What we consider normal may totally contrast others’ norm. Often, different people are obviously and glaringly unlike us. The things they do and how they think simply don’t compute in our brains.
Jesus wasn’t as surprised as His Jewish disciples probably were. Remember, Jesus is co-creator with the Father. He reads peoples’ hearts. Jesus knew that He would be rejected by the same race who looked and spoke like Him. Most of His disciples fit the Jewish mold. A Gentile physician named Luke was the only exception.
So, Jesus probably expected their answers to His probing question, “Who do you say I am?”
Then Peter upset the applecart. See the lesson linked below for their various responses. Mathew 16:16 reports that Peter responded with, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Can you see Jesus’ raised eyebrows when He exclaimed, “Blessed are you, Simon Son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My Father in heaven!”
Peter’s answer reflected poorly on the other disciples.
Take Home Nugget
Peter’s confession is how we’re to confess—or admit—Jesus to others. The enemy wants to shut us up with lies that we must not talk about God. “Don’t upset the applecart!” he warns, “No one will talk to you!”
If we believe that, we won’t ask, “Who do you think Jesus is?” We decided ahead of time that another is disinterested.
No! Asking that question opens up a dialogue where we get to testify about God. We can share the secret that in Christ our sins are forgiven and we’re adopted into God’s family!
We get to show excitement about living in heaven with God FOREVER.
We get to confess Jesus!
Holy Father, empower me to confess Jesus to others every day as my new year's resolution. Amen.
Adapted from “Caesarea Phillipi” by Mr. Steve M. Cohen. Texas. Portals of Prayer Devotional magazine. December 27, 2017.
J.D. Griffith
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