Matthew 16:15-17 / How We Know God.

Matthew 16:15-17 / How We Know God.

"[Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 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."

In 2013, two computer experts developed a software to determine who is the most popular person in history based on "opinions expressed on the internet." Jesus came in first ahead of Napoleon and Mohammed, who came in second and third respectively.

For the last 2,000 years since His life, death, resurrection, and ascension--Jesus has been the most well-known person in history. That's undisputable. And the bible has been the most popular book in history, which explains why Jesus is so well-known.

So, why would Jesus say "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life…?" If so many people have "known" Jesus in the last 2,000 years, wouldn't the road to life be wider? Something doesn't add up.

The scripture above holds the answer to these questions. Peter knows Jesus as, "the Christ, the Son of the living God." That is a very different type of "knowing" than merely "knowing Jesus existed," or "knowing Jesus as a historical figure." Notice from this passage there is a type of "knowing" that goes beyond our natural (flesh and blood) ability to read about Jesus in a book. Jesus said, "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."

When a person comes to "know" Jesus as the Christ it is a precious gift of God. He has caused us to see a savior, not just a somebody. Anyone can "know" Jesus as a historical figure from a history book, but few will know Him as the Christ from the inspired Word of God.

Think about it, that was your experience wasn't it? You "knew" Jesus for a period; you would agree that He existed, performed miracles, claimed to be God, and had a collection of books written about Him. But you didn't "know" Him as your personal savior. Then, as only God can, He caused you to "know" Jesus in this way. It's a miracle. It's God's loving-kindness toward us. It's a supernatural work that only He can do in the human heart. By natural means of procuring knowledge, we could never "know" Jesus in this way.

I pray we'd always remember how we came to know God. I pray we feel eternally grateful to Him if we know Jesus as the Christ. And I pray we'd cry out to Him in desperation to save the people we love by causing them to "know" Jesus as the Christ as well.

Soli deo Gloria,

Pastor Kevin