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13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

TITLE: Who Do You Say I Am? (Part 2)

Segway:

Remembering up to this point in the passage.

The disciples worldview of the Pharisees and Sadducees has been rocked ....

The disciples personal view of the Pharisees and Sadducees has been rocked ....

(Vs 12) “Beware of the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Knowing this, Jesus takes them on a retreat ....

Caesarea Philippi

Beautiful Scenery / secluded

On this retreat ....... 2 Questions

“Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?”

We came to understand the question a little better knowing “I AM” was referring to “Equal To.”

Response - Some say, JTB, Elijah, Jeremiah, and a Prophet

“Who do you (you’all) say that I am?”

Response - “The Christ, the Son of the living God.”

A couple of significant things when it comes to this response .....

The articles (THE) “Emphasizes identity!”

one was omitted due to translation.

“The Christ, The Son, of The God, The Living.”

The other significant thing is .....

The “location” .....

They were in this area (region) that was known for pagan worshippers (This was their worship center)

So the response was very significant.

Who do you say I am equal too?

none of these dead gods ....

one was omitted due to translation.

“The Christ, The Son, of The God, The Living.”

This was very interesting due to the fact of all these dead pagan gods.

Christ is acknowledged as THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD!

Who do the people say? “Just another Good man!”

Who Do You Say that I am? “The Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Aren’t you glad today we serve a living God?

We concluded with this thought .....

The Disciples were troubled in their Spirit!

There were 2 things that helped them in this time of trouble ....

They got away and got some “ALONE TIME” with Jesus.

They confirmed within their Spirit Who Christ was!

They may have known it in their hearts but something happens to confirm what you know in your heart to what you believe totally....... “They spoke it.”

Body:

This leads us into (Vs 17-19)

The first thing I want to make note of is ..... Out of the 4 Gospels, Matthew is the only one who records this statement from Jesus.

This is significant to the fact of who Matthew is writing to, THE JEWS!

He is revealing the one who is bringing forth the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus!

And through Jesus, we receive the Kingdom of Heaven (Salvation)!

The thing that is important for us to understand is this .......

Before the experience with Christ .... we are the recipients of the Fall.

Born into it!

...... Inhered it!

...... it’s what our forefathers have left us!

Let us close in prayer ...... (Just kidding)

I’m not going to leave you hanging there though .....

After the experience with Christ .... after acknowledging Christ as our Lord and savior (receiving Salvation) ..... we are no longer recipients of the FALL!

We are recipients of a wealth of things that the Fathers offers to us.

Whats interesting is that Jesus tells the disciples (4 Things) the receive.

(Not an exhausted list)

4 Things Jesus tells Peter and the rest of the disciples they have received because they answered the question correctly, “Who do you say I am?”

These 4 things are still in play today for all of us .....

We are recipients of “DIVINE FAVOR” (17 Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!)

That word blessed (in the Greek) means “receiving Divine Favor”

Look at the person next to you and say, “We are Blessed.”

Some of the most heartfelt emotional moments in my life is when someone comes up to me, points to my family (wife, kids, grandson) and say’s, “You are a blessed man!” translated - “As a Man of God you have received divine favor.”

A flood of emotion comes over me.

I imagine this is how the disciples felt when Jesus said to them, “Blessed are you....”

Can i just interject something this morning ....... the only way to receive this Divine Favor is to be living for Jesus, acknowledging Jesus as the Son of the Living God, following his teaching, serving Him to the very end of existence here on earth.

The disciples did just this! (Check each one off)

This is what we receive when we acknowledge Christ as the “The Son of the Living God.”

That word blessed (in the Greek) means “receiving Divine Favor”

Not only are we recipients of Divine Favor .....the Second thing we receive ...

2. We are recipients of “REVELATION.”

(17b For Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.)

Truth is revealed!

Jesus tells them … this was not given to you by man!

We don’t read anywhere in scripture (UP TO THIS POINT) someone coming up to the disciples and saying, “I think he is the Christ!”

They may have thought it, but even if they did think this, they were not going to speak it.

(They would look crazy.)

Jesus tells them … this was given to you by the Holy Spirit.

Truth Revealed!

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior you start seeing TRUTH!

The way I looked at women who dressed very provocative, before I knew Christ ......

It was all for me!

I looked at them and thought things that brought me pleasure.

I used them for my gratification.

Soul Ties!

But after getting saved (Acknowledging Christ for who he is) I no longer saw women this way.

I look at them with love and compassion

If they were dressed provocative my first thought is about them, not me!

Why do they dress this way?