13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”17 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. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. REFLECTIONSWritten by David PonnuswamyHaving read this passage a few times I was intrigued why Jesus asked his disciples what the people were saying about the Son of Man – that is, about himself. Surely Jesus knew the answer to that question. Was he genuinely seeking this information or was he testing his disciples? What do you think?In vs 14 the disciples tell Jesus that some say he is John the Baptist come back to life, others say Elijah, some say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Then he asked his disciples, “But what about you – who do you say I am?” And Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Jesus tells Peter that he is blessed because this was revealed to him not by man but by God. Jesus also calls him Peter (in Greek, Peter is “Petros”, which means rock). Peter’s faith in Jesus is solid like rock. And it is on this faith that Jesus will build his church. Peter is absolutely sure that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.So my dear brothers and sisters in all six congregations at St Barnabas Fairfield and Bossley Park, Who do you say Jesus is? Is Jesus the Christ for you too? Can he build his church on your solid faith? I sincerely hope the answer is a resounding YES. I pray that the Word of God and the love of Christ dwell richly in all of us as Jesus builds his church in and around us.Have a blessed week in Christ Jesus.ABOUT THE AUTHORDavid is a member of our of our Bossley Park Morning congregation.