- Notes from Nathan
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- Matthew 16:16-17
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
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.
Our outputs are the fruit of our inputs.
Look no further than Peter for evidence. Perhaps his statement came from a sudden flash of insight. But Jesus’ use of the word revealed here implies an uncovering. Is it possible this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment statement as much as the fruit of what he’d observed as he followed Jesus?
If the preceding chapters of Matthew are any indication, we come to know Jesus as Savior by encountering him in the situations that uncover his identity:
In our chaos, he is our peace
In our fear, he is our deliverer
In our grief, he is our comforter
In our sickness, he is our healer
In our hunger, he is our provider
In our wandering, he is our teacher
It seems there’s a correlation between our taking inventory of his activity and our assurance of his identity.
Heavenly Father - Open our eyes to your salvation in every situation, that we’d open our mouths in testimony to who you are.