Day 16

Jesus Is the Messiah

from the Matthew reading plan


Matthew 15:1-39, Matthew 16:1-28, Isaiah 28:16, Romans 10:9-11

BY Bailey T. Hurley

In my twenty years of following Jesus, there have been plenty of seasons of routine spiritual rhythms without genuine worship. When I read, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8), I feel convicted by the lack of intimacy I can cycle through with Jesus. If Jesus were to ask me who I think He is, I wonder if my response would be more of a textbook answer or a description that comes from the depth of knowing someone so well that you are readily able to describe who they are.

When Jesus asks the disciples, “who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13), I imagine all the men making designs in the dirt with their sandals, looking down and mumbling some answers about what they’ve heard people shout in the streets or whisper in the synagogues. The disciples followed Jesus from town to town and watched Him perform miracle after miracle. And even though they saw things with their eyes, their hearts still had room to grow in knowing who He really was.

But when Jesus asked again, Simon Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v.16), and Jesus praised Simon! For it wasn’t just seeing the outward things but God revealing in Simon’s heart who Jesus truly was. 

How do you really know someone? You spend time with them! You watch them! And then you open your heart to see them as they truly are. How intimately connected to the Father I long to be to see the person of Jesus for who he really is—the Messiah, the Savior. How do I often let myself get distracted by the details of faith and the busyness of life that I miss the true person of Jesus?

In this dry season, one of the newer members of our small group shared: “I used to laugh at Christians; I thought they were stupid for believing in something like Jesus. God is absolutely amazing to take someone like me and turn my life completely around—someone who hated Jesus and now worships Him with my whole life.” 

His frank and earnest story moved me. Afterward, while getting ready for bed, I thought: “What an amazing God I have. I don’t doubt He can call people from darkness into light, but, wow, nothing can stop Him. Jesus is the Son of the living God.” This isn’t the first time God has used someone’s testimony of faith to remind me of the passion I had when I first came to believe in Jesus. This person’s faith story was a gift to my faith and a tool to draw me back to the person of Jesus. May Simon Peter’s declaration of who Jesus is also draw us towards Jesus, our Messiah. For “everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame” (Romans 10:11).

Post Comments (41)

41 thoughts on "Jesus Is the Messiah"

  1. Sheryl Hunter says:

    Jesus is Lord ❤️

  2. Tina says:

    This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8),

    Ouch.

    Ouch.

    Ouch.

    I walk the walk, talk the talk, but actually am i the person I portray myself to be! I am forgetful. I am picky choosy. I am easily distracted. Easily wooed by the things of this world.

    BUT GOD..

    Oh, BUT GOD..

    Thank you Lord God, Thank you for your Son, Jesus, the Messiah, the bringer of Truth, and whom I would love to know as intimately as He knows me.. Lord, in your mercy.. hear my prayer

    Amen.
    X

  3. Sadie Gonzalez says:

    This! ❤️

  4. Tami C says:

    Carla and others who have mentioned “knowing Jesus in your heart” verses knowing details about Jesus. In church on Sunday I went up for prayer and the woman who prayed told me just that: “Tami – you need to let Jesus into your heart, not just your head”. She was spot on. It’s giving me food for thought, and I keep asking myself, but how? How do I have what I know on my head drop to my heart? I crave that and it’s hard to not feel like I’m doing something “wrong”.

  5. Terri Baldwin says:

    Well, this woman would not be put off, and so knelt before Him and begged, “Lord, help me.” Jesus pushed her a little further, reminding her of the historic distinction between the cursed Canaanites and the blessed Israelites. In the short saying the Jews are the “children” and the Gentiles are the “dogs.” The children get fed first.

    But the woman’s answer is marvelous: even the “dogs” eat the crumbs that the children drop. She acquiesces to the role of a “dog” in relation to Israel (she knows the Messiah came to Israel first); she may not be able to sit down at the Messiah’s table and eat with the “children,” but she should be allowed to pick up some of the crumbs they drop. She wants some of the uncovenanted mercy of God, His general saving grace to all people.

  6. Terri Baldwin says:

    ”“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.“
    ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  7. Terri Baldwin says:

    teaches us about true purity, persistent faith, and divine compassion. Jesus invites us to examine our hearts and priorities, challenging us to value God’s commandments over human traditions. The Canaanite woman’s faith is a reminder of the power of persistent faith, regardless of circumstances. Jesus’ compassion, seen in His healings and the feeding of the multitude, reminds us that He cares for our physical and spiritual needs alike.

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