Matthew 16:13-17 (NIV)
Don’t you just love Valentine’s Day? I do! I love the hearts, love the flowers, love the candy, love the cards, love the gah-gah of it all. I always love the Valentine’s gift that my husband and I get from Haylie. It’s always so special.
Then there’s our gift to Haylie. It makes my heart so happy to see how she responds to the Valentine’s gift we give her. Last year we gave her a Koala bear. She named him Bert. They’ve been BFFs ever since.
Remember when you were a kid and you made the ever-popular Valentine’s box? You know the one where you took a shoebox and wrapped it in aluminum foil. Then cut a hole in it for friends to put a Valentine’s card in it made especially for you! You got to take it to school and your teacher set aside a time for everyone to exchange Valentine’s cards. Of course, there was always a bit of a competition going on to see who received the most Valentine’s cards.
With all that stated, when it comes down to it, the never-ending Valentine card happens to be the Bible. I know how much I love it. And Jesus is our true Valentine.
But, then, does Valentine’s Day seem awkward at times? Jesus’ followers felt a sense of awkwardness. Especially when asked, who do you say that I am? There appeared a category of answers:
- Some special guy? (John the Baptist? Elijah? Jeremiah?). If so, I get to pick and choose what parts I like and don’t like.
- The Messiah? Son of the living God? (Peter maybe). Not some special guy but the guy. All life comes from Him.
- The goal of Christians is to get to the place where we do and think as Jesus did. We don’t knowingly do what we know is wrong.
John Wesley’s journal indicates that on one certain day something new happened that changed it from being about himself to being about God.
This begs the question of us today. Who do you say that Jesus is?
- Are you friends?
- Is it like dating?
- Is it like being engaged?
- Is it like an ideal Godly vision of marriage?
Keep in mind, this is the Messiah the son of the living God that we’re talking about. You see questions are difficult. In this scripture, we’re reaching a pivotal moment of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. Up until this point, it’s been about faith and Jesus pressing this issue. Jesus healing and teaching. Suddenly Jesus poses this intensely direct and personal question to Peter, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter has nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. He then finds himself in a position of speaking for the disciples when he announces that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
So, Peter answers Jesus’ question correctly. He knows that Jesus made a promise. His promise to Peter was that he would be the “rock” on which the church would be built. Peter was trusted with the spreading of the good news of Jesus. Jesus trusted him to tell others how to be saved. Peter carried the gospel like we carry our faith to people who haven’t heard it or who don’t believe it.
Jesus promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit. He promised Peter that he would be a leader of the early church. Ultimately, Peter witnessed both promises coming true!
Promises are important, yes? We make promises that we intend to keep. It’s like that special Valentine that promises to love you forever. Jesus has promised to love us forever. To stand beside us forever. In return, we keep our promise to love Him forever.
We promise to share our faith so that others see a light inside a heart that beckons those who are lost to come forward and follow Him.
Photo by Cathal Mac an Bheatha on Unsplash
The time will surely come when you hear that question “Who do you say that I am?
How will you answer?
And that’s what I learned in Church……see ya next time!
