Daily Bible Reading and Study Rooted in Scripture Alone
January 25
The Question That Separates Followers From Fans
There is a religious noise you can sit in the middle of and still miss the living Christ. That is why Jesus doesn’t start here with miracles and commands. He starts with a question that searches the soul.
Jesus takes His disciples to Caesarea Philippi. A city drenched with lies of false gods and men making competing claims as to what is true. Jesus is surrounded by idols and asks “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” ~Matthew 16:13 Their answers are quick. Respectable answers. John the Baptist. Elijah. Jeremiah. One of the prophets. Good men. Good religions. Good reputations with God. But not enough. Jesus comes closer. He presses His followers into the circle of light. “But whom say ye that I am?” ~Matthew 16:15 That question today still distinguishes crowds from committed disciples.
Peter steps forward and answers with heaven granted clarity. “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” ~Matthew 16: 16 Jesus explains why He is glad Peter said that. “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” ~Matthew 16: 17 You will not find Jesus by using your mind, how you were raised, or what you feel. The Father must reveal Him to you. Until He does your Jesus will always be something less than Lord. Someone to help you, teach you or prophesy to you.
Immediately after this declaration about who Jesus is, Jesus reveals what must happen. He says plainly that He must suffer, die, and rise again the third day. Peter who just experienced heaven interrupted Jesus and began to rebuke Him. Peter wanted blessing without the cross. Jesus responds to Peter in no uncertain terms. “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” ~Matthew 16:23 Dear Christian, even when we are believing God, we can become a stumbling block when we let human reasoning overtake God’s revealed will. When we embrace anything other than the cross of Christ we have turned our backs on heaven.
Jesus states it plainly for anyone who would come after Him. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” ~Matthew 16: 24 This is not religion babble Jesus is calling us to die. Die to self rule! Jesus balances the eternal equation. “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” ~Matthew 16:26 You can have it all this world has to offer and wind up spiritually bankrupt before God.
Six days later Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain. The veil is lifted for them. Jesus shines with the glory of who He is. Moses and Elijah appear talking with Jesus. Two pillars of the Old Testament point toward Jesus. The Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in Christ. Peter, ever the shepherd worrying about his sheep makes sure they don’t miss out on holy ground by suggesting tabernacles be built. God cuts Peter off before he finishes speaking. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” ~Matthew 17: 5 When God speaks may everything else stop speaking. Jesus is not one voice among many. He is THE WORD.
The disciples see and fall on their faces out of fear. Jesus touches them and says, “Arise, and be not afraid” ~Matthew 17: 7 They look up to see Moses and Elijah have vanished. “They saw no man, save Jesus only” ~Matthew 17: 8 God has given us many pictures in scripture but when we study His word there is one picture He wants burned into our heart. When everything else is gone…Jesus remains. Law fulfilled in Christ. Prophets fulfilled in Christ. Glory revealed through His Son.
Peter had to make a choice. Who is Jesus to you when it costs you? Will you follow Him or try to help Him when the way He calls you to hurts or feels uncomfortable? God has spoken. “Hear ye him.” Listen to no one else’s opinion. Let culture, tradition or your own reasoning fall away. Jesus alone is worthy of our confession.
Tomorrow we come down the mountain. We enter into the every day journey of trusting Christ to show us if our confession of who Jesus is will sustain us or if it was just words we spoke. Stay tuned. The glorious glimpse we get today is only Jesus preparing our hearts for the valleys we travel tomorrow.
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Matthew 16:13-17:9
Genesis 50:1 – Exodus 2:10
Psalm 21:1-13
Proverbs 5:1-6
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New Testament: Matthew 16:13-17:9
Summary:
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
The Transfiguration
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 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. ~ Matthew 16:16-17
With his dramatic confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat 16:16), Peter declares his faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah. Have you declared your faith in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah?
It is Jesus who is the Messiah, the Anointed One, and the Son of the living God. It was out of perfect love for His children that Jesus, the King of Kings, came to earth. You can receive this great love from Him today if you reach out to Him.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? ~ Matthew 16:26
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Overview: Matthew 14-28 – Click Here
Winning by Losing: The Paradox of Discipleship
There are some among the charismatics, for example, who say that Jesus is here to make you healthy, wealthy, and happy. And they tell us Jesus wants you well or Jesus wants you rich, and if you aren’t all those things, then you’re not demanding your rights or you don’t have enough faith to appropriate what’s yours because Christianity is designed for you to get everything you need and want.
And even the fundamentalists and evangelicals through the years have been guilty of propagating a Jesus who is offered to men as a panacea for everything. Wouldn’t you like to be happy? Wouldn’t you like to have abundant life? Wouldn’t you like to know peace? Wouldn’t you like all your problems solved? It’ll make you a better salesman and a better athlete, et cetera, et cetera. And we advertise the get without the give, the gain without the pain.
And then there are the self-esteem cultists and the self-image cultists who tell us that Jesus came to boost our self-esteem and our self-image. They have fallen victim to the narcissism, the self-love of our contemporary society.
But I submit to you that to view coming to Jesus Christ as simply to get is to prostitute the divine intention. To come to Jesus Christ, yes, is to receive and keep on receiving forever and ever. But there is pain before the gain and there is a cross before the crown and there is suffering before the glory. And there is sacrifice before the reward. And I believe that’s what our Lord is teaching us in this critical passage. We are called to win by losing, that’s the heart of discipleship. We are called to give up before we gain.
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You Need to Know the Bible for Yourself
Everybody needs to know what the Bible really says: what it says about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, salvation and eternity, etc. Don’t depend on what a church or some famous preacher tells you. If you depend on Hollywood, the History Channel, or a magazine for the most important information you will ever need to know. You may end up lost forever not knowing what God has written down for you. He wants you to spend eternity with Him.
You need to know Jesus before you can be saved. The bible is all about who Jesus is and what He has done for you. He has a gift for you and it is completely free. But if you don’t know Him, you will not be in the Kingdom of God with Jesus who gave His very life for you.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ ~ Matthew 7:21-23
There is an absurd amount of very bad information out in the world today about the Bible. You will only know the truth if you study the bible for yourself. And if you study the bible and ask The Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the truth He will and it will change your life forever.
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