Matthew 16:13,15 KJV
[13] When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? [15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Matthew 16:16-17 KJV
[16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
I have wondered over the years why Jesus was so interested in knowing the perception of people about him. He was obviously not going to live is life based on the opinion of others? No, I don’t think so. Haven studied this scripture for over the years, I have come to this conclusion that how people and especially his disciples perceived him was very important to him not because this will make him bigger or mightier than he already is but it is important that the people know and understand who he is so that they can benefit from the knowledge of who he is. Your perception determines what you believe and what you believe determines what you receive.
Those who perceived him as one of the prophets will obviously receive and believe him as a prophet and the virtue they will draw from that will be limited to the prophetic reward which is good but they have only shot changed themselves of so many other things. The prophetic office is just one of the offices he occupies as the Christ.
When Peter announced him as the Christ, it was indeed a revelation compared to the varying perceptions from various people mentioned earlier. The church is built upon this revelation that Jesus is the Christ it is the foundation of our faith as Christians. The word Christ is not his last name but the office he occupies. The word is from a Greek word ‘Christos’ meaning the anointed one and his anointing. It has the same meaning with the word Messiah referred to in the Old Testament. Christ is prophecy fulfilled, he is the coming messiah that all the prophets from Moses to Malachi spoke about, the bible from Genesis chapter one to Malachi all spoke about him, his coming, his mission, his suffering, his triumph and finally our victory in Christ Jesus. He said in John 5:39, search the scriptures; they all testify about me. Let’s have a look at some of these scriptures;
In Genesis Christ is the word that was spoken, ‘let there be light’, when God talked about the seed of the woman that will bruise satan’s heal, He was talking about Christ, When Abel offered a lamb as sacrifice, he was making reference to Christ as the lamb that was slain for our sins, Noah was asked to build an Ark where every one that runs in will be saved, that was a prototype of Jesus the savior of the whole world. Abraham encountered him as Melchizedek the King of Salem and he blessed him in Genesis Chapter 14. The writer of Hebrews made reference to this as he being the High priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus corroborated this when he told the Jews that before Abraham was I am. John 8:58. In Genesis 22:18, God told Abraham that in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. In this he wasn’t referring to Isaac but to Jesus Christ.
The final straw that broke the camels back in Egypt was the feast of Passover which the children of Israel observed, all of these was talking about Jesus Christ. Moses encountered him as the Rock of Ages, he struck the rock in the wilderness with the rod and water came gushing out for the people. In exodus 33, Moses encountered Jesus on the mountain when he asked to see God face to face, God allowed him to see only His glory. He said ‘I will make all my goodness to pass before you and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you’ vs 19. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, he is the Glory of the father, Colossians chapter 1. The Children of Israel ate mana in the wilderness, the bread that came down from heaven, this was pointing to Jesus, the bread of life. After Moses came all the prophets, they all saw him and prophesied about the soon coming King.
Isaiah 6:1 KJV [1] In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isaiah 9:2 KJV [2] The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Isaiah 9:6 KJV[6] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The above scriptures are some of the prophesies of Isaiah about the Christ. What about the Psalmist David, he saw and encountered the Christ and wrote about him. Acts 2:34-36 KJV
[34] For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, [35] Until I make thy foes thy footstool. [36] Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
The above was a statement made by Peter after the Pentecost, making reference to David’s prophecy about the Christ. Indeed Jesus is the Christ. Peter got this revelation even before his crucifixion and after his resurrection the Apostle went on to propagate the message of Christ that is the Gospel, the good news that Jesus is Lord. Any thing outside this is no gospel . Paul encountered him on the way to Damascus, he saw the Lord and testified 1 Corinthians 15:6-8 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. [7] After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. [8] And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. Throughout Paul’s life he never stopped talking about his encountered with The Christ and he spent the whole of his life telling the whole world about Jesus Christ. Acts 18:28 KJV
[28] For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. Friend this is why we have been called to reveal Christ, this is the reason for our existence, this is our purpose in life as a church, we are to manifest this Christ to our world but for you to reveal Him, he must first be revealed to you. I charge you therefore to go for a quest for a personal revelation of Jesus as the Christ, when you catch this revelation, I guarantee you that your life will never remain the same, then you will become indeed a revealer of Christ in words and in deeds. This is what you are destined to do, Manifest! In Jesus name.
Pastor Ayodele Abisagbo.