Matthew 16:15
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Matthew 16:15 NIV
Devotional “The Question That Changes Everything”
Jesus did not ask His disciples what they had heard about Him from others. He asked what they personally believed. That distinction matters. Faith is not inherited from a crowd. It is confessed from the heart. Peter's answer was not the result of religious education or human reasoning. Jesus made clear that the Father in heaven had revealed it to him. The most important question you will ever face is not about your career, your finances, or your future. It is the question Jesus still asks today: Who do you say that I am? Your answer to that question shapes everything else.
Read the Context
Matthew 16
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
2He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (a) 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
5When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus 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. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, (b) and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades (c) will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be (d) bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be (e) loosed in heaven.” 20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life (f) will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Footnotes:
a 3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes . . . of the times.
b 18 The Greek word for Peter means rock.
c 18 That is, the realm of the dead
d 19 Or will have been
e 19 Or will have been
f 25 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verse 26.
Make it Personal
Have you moved beyond what others say about Jesus to a personal, settled conviction of your own?
Practical Application
Write down in your own words who Jesus is to you personally. Not what your church says. Not what your family believes. What do you believe, and why?
Talk to God
Jesus did not ask His disciples what they had heard about Him from others. He asked what they personally believed. That distinction matters. Faith is not inherited from a crowd. It is confessed from the heart. Peter's answer was not the result of religious education or human reasoning. Jesus made clear that the Father in heaven had revealed it to him. The most important question you will ever face is not about your career, your finances, or your future. It is the question Jesus still asks today: Who do you say that I am? Your answer to that question shapes everything else.
Read the Context
Matthew 16
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
2He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (a) 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
5When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus 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. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, (b) and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades (c) will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be (d) bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be (e) loosed in heaven.” 20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life (f) will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Footnotes:
a 3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes . . . of the times.
b 18 The Greek word for Peter means rock.
c 18 That is, the realm of the dead
d 19 Or will have been
e 19 Or will have been
f 25 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verse 26.
Make it Personal
Have you moved beyond what others say about Jesus to a personal, settled conviction of your own?
Practical Application
Write down in your own words who Jesus is to you personally. Not what your church says. Not what your family believes. What do you believe, and why?
Talk to God
- What part of God’s character do I want to praise him for?
- What do I want to thank God for?
- Do I have any unconfessed sin?
- What do I need God’s help with?
- What questions do I have?
- Do I need direction? Do I know how God wants me to serve him today?
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