Who Do You Say I Am - Audio

Big Idea - Who is Jesus and where does the true knowledge of Christ come from? This is the main question that has been posed through the first half of the book. Jesus has been careful to not disclose His identity directly, even though His miracles would indicate He is no ordinary person. Matthew has already given the answer in the introduction, but the crowd and the disciples have struggled to answer this question. Peter is now able to answer the question, though His understanding is still incomplete. But it is not only a matter of understanding who Jesus really is. Matthew is also making an important point about how the disciples came to understand who Jesus was, and likewise, how anyone comes to have a true knowledge of Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God who has come to give His life as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. This understanding and knowledge did not come from Jesus, neither can the disciples take credit for figuring it out on their own. This knowledge came by revelation from the Father in heaven. Only God the Father can reveal the full and true identity of Jesus to anyone. But, that is not to say that God reveals Jesus apart from the witness of His people. Peter was given the authority and responsibility along with the other Apostles to proclaim Christ and to make disciples. We do not have the same role as Peter who established the Church, but we are to be building on that foundation, proclaiming Christ and making disciples. But we must keep in mind that we are simply stewards of the treasures of the Gospel and it is God who must reveal Himself to people. We also see in the life of Peter that receiving revelation from God does not mean we can still be full of misunderstanding! Peter got it right, and then he got it terribly wrong! We need to acknowledge that our minds and our entire world view are not from God and need radical revision so that we have the mind of God and not the thoughts of Satan. We need to press into further revelation and understanding from God!