Tell Jesus who he is and Jesus will tell you who you are!

Matthew 16:13-22

13 Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? 14 And they answered, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 15 He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am? 16 Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar- Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek, Petros —a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra —a huge rock like Gibraltar] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven. 20 Then He sternly and strictly charged and warned the disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 21 From that time forth Jesus began [clearly] to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and the high priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised from death. 22 Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You! 23 But Jesus turned away from Peter and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way [an offense and a hindrance and a snare to Me]; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men.

Food for thought!

Jesus is the key that opens each one of us. We are all mysterious, and without Jesus we never come to know ourselves, we never come to know life, death, suffering, loving. We are sealed people, we are closed books, and only Jesus has the key to unseal and open us.

Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides. It was sealed with seven seals. 2 I saw a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll. No one could even look inside it. 4 I cried and cried because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, «Do not cry! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the battle. He is the Root of David. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll.» (Rev. 5:1-4)

  

When Jesus had heard the verdicts of the crowd, he asked the all-important question: "But who do you say I am?" At that question there may well have been a moment's silence, while into the minds of the disciples came thoughts which they were almost afraid to express in words; and then Peter made his great discovery, not only of Jesus but also of himself.

Like Jesus, we all want to know who we are. We want to know what others think of us. One thing is certain, NO ONE KNOWS WHO WE ARE, EXCEPT JESUS. All the others call us many things, many names; I am many things for many people, you're many things to many people. If you asked your friends who you're, like Jesus did, you would here all kinds of answers, good and not so good; it is all guesswork because no one can tell you who you are except the Lord. 

But to know who you are, you have to know who Jesus is. This is what happened. When Peter came to know who Jesus is, when Peter told Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus told Peter who he is: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven."

This means that the road to ourselves goes through Jesus; he is the key that opens us. Peter never knew himself nor his career until Jesus told him in all details. And Jesus never told Peter who he is until Peter knew who Jesus is. So, you too, to know yourself, you will have to know who Jesus is. The more you know Jesus the better you know yourself, the less you know Jesus the less you know yourself.

"Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll? The Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the Root of David. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll."