A WORD FOR TODAY, September 13, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, September 13, 2021
“I will give you thanks with my whole heart. Before the gods, I will sing praises to you. I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your Name for your loving kindness and for your truth; for you have exalted your Name and your Word above all. In the day that I called, you answered me. You encouraged me with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, Yahweh, for they have heard the words of your mouth. Yes, they will sing of the ways of Yahweh, for Yahweh’s glory is great! For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar. Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand will save me. Yahweh will fulfill that which concerns me. Your loving kindness, Yahweh, endures forever. Don’t forsake the works of your own hands.” Psalm 138, WEB
Last week Jesus ask the disciples the question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” In others, Jesus wanted to know what the world thinks about Him. This week He turns the question around to us, “Who do you say that I am?” This is a much harder question to answer because to call Him more than rabbi and friend means giving up ourselves. It means following the good and perfect will of God. It means offering our whole selves as a spiritual sacrifice.
Matthew 16 describes a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. Matthew was a brilliant rabbi who did not just report the events surrounding Jesus’ life and ministry; he wove a story that pointed toward the purpose of Jesus’ life. In the first part, Matthew introduces us to Jesus. He tells us about His nativity and youth, as well as His relationship with John the Baptist. In the second part, Matthew shows Jesus proclaiming the message of His life, and how He is followed by the crowds. They see the parables in action. Jesus teaches and then gives the people very real examples of the lessons. The second part ends with today’s Gospel passage: the confession of Peter. From this point forward in Matthew’s story, Jesus sets His feet toward Jerusalem and the cross.
Jesus wondered about the scuttlebutt. “What are they saying out there about me?” The disciples told him about all the theories. Then Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” For just one moment, Peter saw Jesus clearly and confessed faith in the Savior of the world. It wasn’t of his own doing. Peter’s confession of faith was not something parroted from what other people thought about Jesus. It was not from the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees; it was not a fearful assumption from a king and it was not a guess from those who knew the stories of the Old Testament. It was a confession of faith hewn by God’s own hands. And on that rock, Christ would build His church. Peter didn’t confess faith by His own knowledge or ability. It was God Himself that revealed the truth to him.
Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ is only the second time since the birth story in Matthew that Jesus was referred to with that title. The first time was when John was in prison; he sent his followers to Jesus to ask if He was the Messiah. Jesus told them to report to John what they had seen and heard. His identity as the Christ, the Messiah, was wrapped up in His ministry. It was the proof John needed. The healings and the stories revealed to the world that Jesus was the One for whom they waited.
Peter confessed his faith that Jesus is Lord, but Jesus’ relationship with the people went downhill from that moment. They want something different than what He is willing to give. The miracles and stories continue, but they are more pointed as Jesus moves toward the cross. Jesus refuses to be what they want: an earthly king that meets their physical needs. He is the Anointed One who will fulfill all God’s promises.
Peter seems to stand alone as he makes his confession of faith, but while he was the first, Peter is standing for the whole body of Christ. The other disciples except Judas eventually came to understand Jesus and His purpose. The disciples saw Jesus as the revealed Word of God in flesh, the Savior, the Son. They became sons of God by faith, hewn by God’s own hand, and so do we.
We are Easter people, living because Jesus finished the work He was sent to do. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ has been revealed to us. We can know who Jesus is and understand what He means to us today. He still asks us the two questions. He asks, “Who does the world say that I am.” There are a thousand different answers to this question. To the world He was a teacher, a rabbi, a miracle worker, and a good man. He was a radical willing to stand up against the injustice of His day. He’s a friend, a comforter, a guide whose example we would do well to follow. But the question that truly matters is this week’s which He asks each of us: “Who do you say that I am?”
By God’s grace we will answer that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Now, today, we join with the psalmist, the people of Judah, Paul and Peter and the other disciples, and every generation of the Church throughout time in the chorus of thanksgiving. We can rest in this promise, for God is faithful. We are sent forth in faith to be God’s witnesses, to tell the world that Jesus is the Christ through whom God fulfills every promise. Today and every day sing praise and thanksgiving to God, confessing faith in the revealed Word of God in flesh, faith that He has hewn by His own hand so that we will go out into the world and share the story of Jesus so that by His grace they will confess faith in Him, too.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.
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