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Mar 16, 2023 18:30pm

Straight to the Source

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The city was buzzing. It was the talk of the town and everybody had an opinion. But did they know the whole story? Most of it was hearsay. Without all the facts and eye witness accounts, they were limited in their knowledge.

One of the reasons I liked reporting was telling the whole story. Many times, we would get tips, leads or story ideas from people about an issue, which for the most part was from one side. We would work to get interviews from both sides so in our coverage, the public would get the full picture. We had to go to the source to know the truth.

“And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.” (Mark 8:27-30)

As Jesus walked with the disciples, He asks them whom others believe He is – What or Whom are they saying I am? The disciples share what they’ve heard, that He’s John the Baptist, Elijah, or another one of the prophets. What’s interesting here is that all of these people are dead. Why would the people think Jesus was one of them? False teaching about reincarnation was spreading during this time so many assumed this was what or whom Jesus was. But that was just one side of the story. Jesus then asked the disciples who they say that He is.

Peter, our bold and eager disciple, comes forth and says, “You are the Christ!” Again, as we learned yesterday, this is a title that describes Jesus’ position as King and the Messiah that would save them.

In this, Peter took what He knew to be true of Jesus based on His own testimony of what He witnessed. He went straight to the source to get the truth and declared that Jesus wasn’t any of those men, but the real Messiah that had been prophesied.

But the story wasn’t over yet. There was much to show them that was still to come.

Growing up, I used what others said about God as my building blocks for religion. I took this from one, I took that from another, and soon I had this idea of who God was that fit with what I liked and wanted to believe.

But it wasn’t until I went straight to the source, the Word of God, my Bible, and began studying it, that I found out just how much of what I had heard was wrong. Can you relate? This is how the truth sets us free. I had created my own God and didn’t know it. Who or what I was worshipping was not the real God of the Bible. I had to find it out for myself.

What if Jesus asked you that question today, “Whom do you say that I am?” What would you say? Would you repeat what others have told you? Would you bank on their knowledge? Or would you be able to give a first-hand account to your own experience with Jesus?

I urge you, my friends, to examine what you believe about Jesus Christ and compare it to His Word. You may find that you don’t know the whole story.

I’d love to point you in the right direction if you need help.