13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Matthew 16:13-20
The craftsman works with his hands and special tools and fashions from wood, a beautiful piece of furniture. When the hours of work are complete and the smooth table top is finished to be durable and lasting, He can make the claim, "I made that."
Our President once made the statement, concerning the infrastructure of our cities, "You didn't build that!" True, not every citizen had a hand in laying the concrete or pavement, not even the curbing or the painting of the stripes, but all of it became possible when citizens paid taxes.
When Jesus asked his disciples, "But what about you? Who do you say I am?" .....How would you answer a question like that? We have read Peter's response, which obviously demanded an abundance of faith. "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
On Peter's response professing Jesus as God's Son, Jesus promised to build His church, and he did! Years have come and gone, countless church buildings have been built by contractors, building committees, volunteer labor, or just a small group of friends and neighbors getting together to build a building. Even with all of the success of the professional builders, and the volunteer workers, buildings have been built, but Jesus is still the master builder of the church.
He is still in the church building business today as more and more accept his invitation to a "newness of life" that only he can give. Until he returns to gather his own, the gates of Hades will not overcome the church HE built. Sometimes we need a reminder that all of our church work, to the glory of God, all of our new buildings, all of our good deeds, it's still the church of Jesus Christ. Proclaim his gospel throughout the world, "Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
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