True Gospel with SAVIOUS-PARKER KWINIKA
“WHO do you say I am?”
Jesus Christ asked his disciples this question after he observed something terribly wrong with them.
Their faith was weak at that point.
The book of Mark 8:29 of the English Standard Version expands on this conversation between Christ and the disciples.
The verse reads: “And he (Jesus) asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’. Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”
Peter guessed correctly.
Jesus later praised him in the book of Matthew 16:17 of the New Living Translation for being used by Jehovah to accurately answer the question.
The verse in which Jesus Christ replied and praised Peter reads: “You are blessed, Simon (Peter) son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”
Prior to Peter’s guess-work kind of response, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, you would see that in the book of Luke 9:19 of the New Living Translation, some disciples had dismally failed to answer Jesus’ question.
Despite having lived, walked and dined with Jesus Christ for so many years, the disciples still did not have a clue whatsoever who Jesus Christ was.
This sheer ignorance was despite having noticed the manner Jesus prayed, drove out demons or evil spirits, healed the sick, fasted, performed miracles and how he preached the gospel of love and forgiveness.
Despite all this happening under their nose, Jesus still remained a closed book to the disciples.
To prove the disciples did not know who Jesus Christ was, they replied inaccurately to his question above.
They answered, “Some say you (Jesus) you are John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”
Fellow brethren, I find this question critical, and equally exciting, not only during Jesus Christ’s lifetime on earth. It is still applicable even today. It will be applicable even in future.
Jesus’ question was not motivated by some type of self-conceit or vanity. His query was aimed at provoking the disciples to consider their level of faith.
The immediate results of His question exposed that the apostles were ignorant. Out of the twelve disciples, only Peter precisely guessed. This showed that a majority of disciples had no knowledge or faith in Jesus Christ.
This is why the bible teaches why it is impossible to please Jehovah without faith. Faith and hope are key for human beings to transform themselves from one level of life to another, be it socially, economically or politically.
Most importantly, any type of faith MUST always be placed towards the creator of heaven and earth, who is Jehovah God.
Hebrews 11:6 of the Berean Study Bible attests what this True Gospel is preaching.
It reads: “And without faith it is impossible to please (Jehovah) God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Now the challenge comes when people choose to pursue professional careers without placing faith in them.
Worse, others marry a partner they do not have much faith in. This is a recipe for marriage breakdown.
Separation is inevitable in that case, no matter how long partners have lived together.
In a nutshell, Jesus knew well that if the disciples, who were his inner circle were ignorant as to who he was, what more of the rest of the populace who did not interact closely with him like the disciples.
It would thus be a daunting task to preach the Gospel into the many parts of the world when his disciples did not have faith in him.
I like the version in the book of Matthew, where the message was clearly captured.
Matthew accurately relates that Peter did more than just identify Jesus as the Christ but also proclaimed Jesus’ divine nature: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
This is confirmed in Matthew 16:16.
Prior to his question to the disciples, Jesus had heard so many conversations from the general public about his identity.
Some believed he was one of the ancient prophets, maybe John the Baptist or any other powerful religious leader.
In the book of Luke 9:18, Jesus asks the question: “Who do the crowds say I am?”
In response, the disciples related the various popular versions. The opinions included several personages come back to life, pointing to the fact that the crowds viewed Jesus as someone special.
But the crowds’ guesses were all wrong.
So Jesus directs the question to the disciples themselves: “Who do you say that I am?” In other words, are you following the crowd? Are you sticking with the conventional wisdom about Me? Or do you have another, more insightful answer? What do you really think?
In conclusion, I recommend that we always learn to quickly develop faith in Jehovah so that whatever we might need or require in life, Jehovah God will always come to our rescue, bless, protect and uplift us.
However, the underlying factor is that, without faith it is not just difficult but very impossible to please Jehovah God.
Today, I would like to encourage everyone to learn to trust in Jehovah so that all these things our hearts so desire shall be given to us.
Matthew 6:33 of the New American Standard Bible states: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
When the bible says “seek first His kingdom” it actually refers to seeking who Jehovah is, dwelling in Him and doing all righteousness so that in return, Jehovah dwells in you all the days of our lives.
I like my favourite ancient king, David, who confessed that knowing Jehovah and having faith in Him actually solidified him to fear no evil because greater is the one in me (us) than he (devil) who is in the world.
Although David was a shepherd boy during that period, the then King Saul, who had armies, could not kill the enemy of Israel because he lacked faith in Jehovah.
This is after Jehovah had given David the power to slay Goliath, who in the bible is widely described in the Book of Samuel as a Philistine giant.
David defeated him in single combat.
In Psalm 23:4 the New Living Translation, David proves even walking through the darkest valley, he would be unafraid of anything because he trusted or had faith in Jehovah God.
It reads: “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, those who believe in this True Gospel, say amen!
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