Daily Word Of God
Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’
Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- Through the gift of faith Peter understood who Jesus truly is. Peter was the first apostle to recognize Jesus as the “Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Jesus then confers on Peter the divine authority to govern the Church and to build it through God’s infinite power which no earthly and evil powers can overcome.
- If Jesus were to ask each of us personally with the same question: “Who do you say I am?” What would our response to Jesus be?