The Christ

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE CHRIST

Luke 9:18-20

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"  19 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." 20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

NIV

Are we really to believe Jesus did not know what the crowds thought of him? Are we really to believe his disciples did not try to correct the crowds when they were saying such things about Jesus? Wouldn’t they have told the crowds that he was not John the Baptist or that he was not Elijah or for that matter some prophet from long ago? Why would they not have told the people that this is Jesus of Nazareth? Surely Jesus knew what the crowds were saying and this was simply a moment to see if his disciples had discovered the truth about him, although he also knew their hearts. So he asks, and we have to see this as giving them the opportunity to acknowledge who he is. It seems Peter is the vocal one, or at least he is the only one who is recorded as speaking up. It has been revealed to Peter by the Spirit, although he has not been given yet, that Jesus is the Christ of God. Some manuscripts use the word Messiah of God, but the Greek text uses the word Christos which is to mean anointed. You are the anointed one of God, which is the Messiah, the Christ. Although Peter was chosen by Jesus to be one of his disciples, Peter did not have the knowledge of who Jesus was until it was revealed to him by the Spirit. Still Jesus uses this moment so that Peter and we have to believe the rest of his disciples acknowledged that he was the Christ. They might have thought he could be. They might have murmured among themselves that he could be the Christ, the Messiah, but we are not told of their personal discussions with one another. But we are told that at this time, Peter makes the statement that he believes Jesus is the Christ. We can see this same situation today. We have many people who know about Jesus, but do not know who he really is. It is the Spirit who reveals who Jesus is, and unless we hear the voice of the Spirit we cannot know the true identity of Jesus. Man can investigate, look into history, read the scriptures, as must have many Jews, looking for the signs that would mean the long awaited Messiah had come, but unless they hear that still small voice of the Spirit they cannot know Jesus as Peter did, and as we who have heard that voice. Peter was not a Jewish Scholar, or a teacher of the law, he was a simple fisherman, yet still a Jew who attended synagogue and heard the scriptures read. Yet with all the knowledge of the scriptures and the prophets being read, Peter had not known who Jesus was until he was revealed to him by the Spirit. Matthew's account says that Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” And Jesus told him that truth “…was not revealed to you by men, but by my Father in heaven.”  This truth holds true today, it is only by the Father in heaven, the Spirit of God we may know the true identify of Jesus. Praise God we heard his voice and we have acknowledged that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and as such we have been born again, a new creature in Christ, and have everlasting life.