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. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Who do people say I am? It is a potentially revealing question. I remember once in my church high school group, working on a group exercise where the front of a mask was printed on one side of the paper and the back side of the mask was printed on the back side.

Where the back of the mask was, we were instructed to write out our characteristics, our strengths and weaknesses, our victories and struggles. We were asked to write out how we saw ourselves. On the front of the mask we were instructed to give the paper to the other people in our group. They wrote out how they see us and how God sees us.

It was a pretty revealing exercise, reading how other people and God viewed me compared to my self-view.

Jesus does something similar in this passage. He asks his disciples who others say he is. Some compared him to Elijah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. These were men of renown in Jewish history. They were powerful and great leaders.

Then Jesus asked them, “Who do you say I am?” One view was from outside his daily circle, one from within, his living circle — his spiritual brothers (and possibly at this time, some sisters too). One view was based on his public actions. The disciples’ view was based on his private life.

And Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” Jesus, instead of giving Peter lots of credit, tells him this was revealed to him by God’s Spirit.

And is that not the goal for me too? To draw close to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, so much so that the truth is revealed to me and I can proclaim it.

It was not Peter himself that God built his church on, but his proclamation of the truth that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

He was and is … love and grace and justice and truth, defined in the flesh. So incredible. So many people appear polished on the outside and yet are corrupt or fake on the inside. Jesus was the same in private as he was in public. He was true through and through.

Lord, thank you that you are the personal, true, and loving Messiah who saved me. You loved me before I was born and planned great things for me. Help me to see myself as you see me. May my life reflect your holiness and goodness. Teach me to be authentic in how I live and sacrificial in how I love.