Title: Jesus and I!
Contents
27) As Jesus and his disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea and Philippi, on the way, they asked his disciples, "Who do people say I am?" Who do you say I am? Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ." 30 Then he warned him not to tell anyone about him...
It is really sad and painful to know that the friend I trusted to understand me the most does not understand me. It is also sad and painful to see that, since we have been friends for so many years, it turns out that what I thought would be willing to help if I was in need was a misunderstanding. Hagi, it is not easy for us to understand our friends well and confidently say that we help when we need them. It is not difficult for a person to understand a person.
God deeply understands human beings who are doomed to sin, suffering, death, and eternal destruction, and sent Jesus Christ to this world to save them. But the world did not understand Jesus Christ properly. Even some theologians and some clergymen believe that there is only one summit of a mountain, but there are different ways to reach it. degree.
Jesus' Questions about Himself and His Disciples' Answers
When Jesus and his disciples were going out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, the most beautiful scenery in the Holy Land, he asked his disciples on the way.
The purpose of Jesus' visit to Caesarea Philippi, the border between Judea and Gentile, was because it was a good place to teach both Jews and Gentiles, and to speak more freely about Himself as the Messiah. “Who do people say I am? The purpose of asking the question is to test the disciples' faith in Jesus so that they can properly understand, believe, and follow Jesus Christ.
When the disciples heard Jesus' question, they answered, "Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say he is one of the prophets." I was only talking about good reviews from the public opinion about Jesus. In fact, there were bad reviews of Jesus as “a glutton and wine drinker”, “a friend of a publican” and even “a madman”. Maybe the disciples didn't say it because some of them had a bad reputation.
The majority of Jews understood Jesus as a superior messenger of God, or as some dead servant of God reincarnated as a human being.
The Jewish understanding of Jesus is completely wrong. As W. W. Wessel said, “It is very surprising that none of the disciples' answers did not say that anyone thought of Jesus as the Messiah. Did the demons know who Jesus was, and didn't they openly proclaim it? And yet, the Jews, who had been waiting so long for the Messiah, did not realize who Jesus was.”
The comprehension of any human being, whether atheist or theistic, who claims to be the lord of all things, is not a great thing. Those who claim to know, or to understand, must know that this is precisely why they and many others are at a loss, disappointment, and unhappiness.
Failure to properly understand people and not fully understand their potential will lead to disappointment, disappointment and misfortune. If so, how much disappointment, disappointment, and misfortune will result if we do not understand Jesus' status as the Messiah and His messianic power? In a word, we do not receive the benefits of Jesus' messianic love and power, and we live in the world and cannot escape the eternal destruction of hell.
One day the devil opened a night market and sold tools such as lust, deceit, pride, envy, etc. with price tags. However, it is said that the most expensive thing in the market was 'frustration'. Frustration is a human emotion that arises when goals and desires are not achieved or when we are forced to do something we do not want to do. But a more fundamental reason for our frustration is that we have abandoned the shield of faith and allowed the creative attack of fear, unbelief, and self-pity. Even if the devil uses all means, will people not listen to him? Finally, they say that they use a tool called frustration.
Even if you don't know everyone, every science, every religion, every life, you must know who Jesus is. No one, no religion, no one can save man. If there was any other way of salvation, the Lord Jesus would never have come, nor would God have promised the Messiah. Please know and believe that only Jesus, who came after God's promise, is our eternal Lord. The apostle Paul who was fluent in Greek and Hebrew thought, and became an apostle of the Lord Jesus when he heard the voice of the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus while persecuting the church, the body of Jesus Christ made a very important declaration. In 1 Corinthians 12:3, it is said, “No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” If we put everything down and humbly listen to the voice of God the Creator like a creature, we can understand who Jesus is.
Questions about Jesus Himself to His Disciples
Jesus, who asked the theory about himself, then asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” To this question, the disciples were not ready to answer. In the meantime, while living together with Jesus, they learned the gospel, a powerful new lesson, and saw many miracles and wonders, but the disciples did not know exactly about Jesus and did not fully understand the meaning of Jesus' miracles and miracles. is.
At that time, Peter, the representative of the disciples, answered, “You are the Christ.” It means Messiah or Savior. However, the problem is that although the expression of Peter's confession is correct, it is questionable whether the inner meaning is also correct. In other words, we do not know whether we have a proper understanding of the messianic nature of Jesus. In the Jewish world at that time, as in the present day, there were various views of the Messiah. For example, the view that the Messiah the king appears from the descendants of David, the view that the Messiah the priest and king appear from the Levites, and the view that there are two Messiahs, the priest and the king.
What these Messianic views have in common is that they politically establish the kingdom of David on the earth and conquer and rule the nations by force. Of course, this view of the Messiah is completely different from Jesus, the Messiah of suffering. In conclusion, Peter only knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but did not know what kind of Messiah he was. Peter did not understand Jesus as the Messiah of suffering, but he misunderstood Jesus as the Messiah of glory, the ruler of the messianic kingdom that conquers and rules the whole world. This can be seen from the fact that Peter jumped up and rebuked him when he heard the announcement of Jesus' suffering that followed soon after, and that Jesus did not let anyone know about his work for a while until the time was ripe.
How are we? We who have been saved by believing in Jesus are disciples in a broader sense in that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Are our lives really being led under the sovereignty and control of the Lord? Or are they led by lust for water, lust for honor, hatred or hatred, left and right ideology or trend?
It is said that camels kneel before their masters at the beginning and end of each day. In other words, when it is time to finish work after a day, the camel kneels before its master and waits for the load on its back to be unloaded, and when a new day begins, it kneels again before its master and bears the burden placed on it. The owner knows the camel well. For this reason, load only as much load as the camel can carry. Camels don't mind the load their owner puts on them. The camel is you. And the Lord is God. God knows your situation better than anyone. And he loads you as much as you can bear. How do you receive your burden at this time? Are you humble like a camel? For birds, wings are heavy but they can fly, and ships can sail because of their heavy sails. The cross is a burden for a Christian, but it makes him go to heaven.
concluding remarks
Jesus is not just a saint, nor a prophet, nor a priest, nor one of saviors. He is the one and only Lord who took away the sins of the world and became the sacrifice according to the will of God. This wonderful spiritual fact is understood and believed through the Holy Spirit. Jesus asks us, “Who do you say I am?” We must answer with our lives, not with our heads, our hearts, and our mouths. In your personal and family life, church life, and social life, the answer must be to acknowledge and obey Jesus as Lord.
At the Army Infantry School, there is a training class called Dokdo Law. It is a training in which a group of people with given coordinates assembles to a destination within a set time with a compass map. You don't need any help other than a compass to get to your intended destination. However, it is possible to arrive at the rendezvous in that time thanks to an accurately drawn map and a compass pointing in the right direction. This reminds us that we just need to seek God whenever we lose our direction or purpose on the path of life and wander about not knowing the way. If we always look to the Lord based on the Bible, the Holy Spirit will show us the coordinates we need to go. If you do, you will always receive new grace and blessings and live with love, and you will enjoy eternal life in heaven.