the one and only...

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah."

Mark 8:27-29

caesarea philippi was an interesting place. in its time, it was a center of worship... pagan worship. at one time there were temples there for baal. before becoming caesarea philippi, its name was panias, after the greek god pan, who was thought to have been born there. so, there were temples for pan there, as well. then when the area came under the control of philip, herod the not-so-great's son, he renamed it caesarea philippi, after himself and to honor caesar. so there was a roman temple for caesar.

needless to say, this place was loaded with pagan temples for syrian, greek, and roman gods. interestingly, it is here that peter makes his confession. peter's statement should shock us. he is saying, "we believe that You, the One standing before us in the flesh, are the One Whose name we can't even speak. You are the One Who spoke creation into being, Who spoke through a burning bush to moses, Who delivered our people from egypt, Who has been promised through the prophets." this is astonishing!

what can we take from this? well, to begin with, to confess that Jesus is Lord in the midst of all these pagan temples is at the same time making a negative statement. it is not only saying that Jesus is Lord, but it is saying that this means that no one or nothing else can be.

i am not sure that i often think about what confessing Jesus as Lord in my life means on the negative side. if we are to say that Jesus is Lord of our lives, then we, inherently, have to say that He alone is in control. we have to say that nothing else can be treated as Lord... nothing else can be exalted, worshipped, glorified. this might cause the need for some serious rearranging in our lives to truly be honest with this confession. peter figures this out very quickly... just read the next few verses.

i think that it is also significant that Jesus first asks what others think about Him before asking who they think He is. there seems to be an implication here that the confession that Jesus is Lord has to be ours alone. when we stand before God, i have a feeling that He isn't going to care so much what our friends, family, or pastors thought about Jesus. instead, the question will be, "who do you say I am?"

in reply to peter's confession in matthew's gospel, Jesus states, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven."  i will let you all chew on this statement.

cheers,

jw <><