Peter Identifies Jesus as the Christ

Jesus has been preparing his disciples for their mission with clear instructions. With the crowds following him, the authorities, Pharisees and the people themselves, are all trying to identify who Jesus is. Some guessed John the Baptist, some Elijah  and  some, an ancient prophet who had risen again.

Jesus is aware of the  questions running in everyone’s mind  and this difficulty arose mainly from Jesus’ humble background   – a carpenter’s son, how could he be speaking & teaching scripture and with such insights and knowledge? Then  after praying to his father, he poses this very pertinent question to Peter, his chosen leader  and Peter’s reply satisfies Jesus. “You are the Christ  of God!” – the anointed one sent with a specific mission to establish God’s reign.  

Jesus then commands them not to discuss this and talks about the events to come – from trial to death to glory. The picture was blurred, the common hope was to see the Davidic golden age again & not a suffering King/ Messiah but the picture will only get clear later. 

Our mission as Christians is to establish God’s reign – i.e to transform ourselves and the people around us, change our lives, our thinking and lead by example. Only knowing that Christ is with us, we can make a difference and see his mission turn to reality!