Who Am I

Last message: Jesus challenged the religious leaders about their traditions versus what God desires. It’s a heart issue.

Between then and today’s lesson, Jesus encounters a Gentile woman with “great faith,” whose daughter Jesus healed of demons.

He healed a multitude of people

We are also told of the second time Jesus fed a crowd…this time it was 4000 men (plus women and children). Jesus used 7 loaves and a few fish, and after everyone was full, there were 7 baskets left over.

He also addresses the religious leader’s misguided doctrine, comparing it to leaven because bad doctrine invades and spreads.

Matthew 16:13–20 CSB

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

Ever felt like you were being given a test you hadn’t studied for? I imagine this is how the disciples felt

People will have an opinion about Jesus.

Some of the ideas sound good but that does not make them correct

A 2016 Harvard study on personal identity found that people define themselves largely by what others say about them. When participants received positive affirmations of their character, they tended to act consistently with those affirmations; when labeled negatively, their behavior often aligned with those perceptions—even if the labels were false.

Connection: That’s the world’s question—“Who do people say that I am?”—reflected back at us. Culture will always offer opinions about Jesus, shaping perceptions of faith. But when God defines Christ for us—“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”—our identity changes too. Once we know who He is, we finally understand who we are.

It comes down to who YOU believe Jesus is.

Everything is built on the revelation of Jesus in our lives.

Knowing Jesus is like holding up a mirror from heaven. The clearer we see Him, the clearer we see ourselves. The world’s reflections distort; only His revelation defines.

We would never see the truth if God did not show us

Getting the answer of who Jesus is right changes who we are

Jesus gives a double meaning statement - first Peter would be the one who stood and shared the gospel on Pentecost thus starting the growth of the church BUT it is the revelation of Jesus as Savior that is the foundation of the church

Our authority is given to us because it comes through Jesus and WHO He is