23/08/2026
Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit
BEFORE YOU SPEAK FOR JESUS
Scripture: Matthew 16:13–20
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Matthew 16:15
Quote:
“The Church belongs to Jesus Christ, and therefore it cannot belong to any other man.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Devotion:
Jesus first asks, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples answer easily. They know what everyone else is saying.
Then Jesus changes one word and suddenly the question becomes harder:
“But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
It is possible to know what everybody says about Jesus and still never answer Jesus for yourself.
Peter replies, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus immediately tells him that this was not revealed by “flesh and blood,” but by the Father.
That is striking. Peter speaks, yet the Father has first spoken to Peter. Before Peter can confess Christ, Christ must be revealed to him.
Then Jesus says, “On this rock I will build my church.” Notice whose Church it is and who does the building: “my church... I will build.”
We often carry the Church as though everything depends upon us. We defend it, organise it, lead it, worry about it and sometimes even fight over it. Yet Jesus calmly reminds His disciples: the Church is Mine, and the building is Mine.
Our calling is to know Him, confess Him and faithfully use the keys entrusted to us. The future of His Church remains in His hands.
Perhaps that is why Jesus begins with the question of His identity before He speaks about His Church. When we lose sight of who Christ is, we will eventually lose perspective about what the Church is.
So before we speak for Jesus, work for Jesus or even argue about what belongs to Jesus, Sunday brings us back to the question from which everything else flows:
“Who do you say I am?”
Personal Prayer:
Lord Jesus, reveal Yourself to me afresh. Keep me from knowing only what others say about You. May I know You, confess You and serve faithfully in the Church that belongs to You. Amen.
Benediction:
May Christ, the Son of the living God, keep us faithful in our confession and steadfast in His service; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among us and remain with us always. Amen.
