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Tests, Trials and Questions


            When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
                They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
                “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
                Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
               Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 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. 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.” Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20)

            There are some people who teach that today's passage shows that Jesus was discouraged or feeling insecure, so He asked His disciples these two questions. There may be others who think He asked them because He felt the need to see how well His marketing program was working. I think they've forgotten that Jesus was a rabbi, which means teacher, and the disciples were His disciples, which means students.  A teacher doesn't ask a student "What does two plus two equal?" because the teacher doesn't know the answer is four. The teacher asks in order to find out if the student knows, and in order for the student to find out that the student knows.
                        Peter got the answer right, and Jesus not only told him it was the right answer, but also that the Father had revealed it to him. He gave the right answer, which he got from the right source. That means that Peter was in the sort of relationship with the Father in which such communication was possible.
            The Bible talks about tests and trials that we face, and about God doing things to find out  whether someone would obey, was righteous, etc.  These aren't because God doesn't know. God is omniscient. In asking these questions, in giving these tests, God reveals us to us. More importantly, He reveals something about Himself to us.
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On the Calendar 
 Battles of Lexington and Concord
Birthday of
Roger Sherman (signer of Articles of Association, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Constitution)

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