Matthew 14-16--Ministry In the Fast Lane

Jesus was a busy guy. Some images of Jesus seem to portray him as out on a leisurely stroll throught the Judean countryside and happening to do ministry in the process. As we read in these three chapters, Jesus was a man on a mission! To use some Methodist terminology, Jesus was the original "circuit rider"--moving around from town to town to minster to the people in those places. Even a casual look at where he goes and what he does shows Jesus as a man with a clear purpose. This purpose, I believe, is to visit as many as people with the Good News of God's salvation. Notice that Jesus is always going to where the people are, and meeting them in that place, not just the physical place but also the spiritual place. Jesus was all about moving people to a different place in their relationship to God.
The end of chapter 16 brings us to a climactic point in Matthew's gospel. Here we see Peter's bold confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. I wish we had access to the mind and heart of Peter that brought him to the point of making this confession. Perhaps it was because Peter had witnessed Jesus doing so much that Jesus had to the Christ, to do all that Jesus did. Perhaps Peter was the recipient of a divine revelation from the Spirit that caused him to make this proclamation. So often Peter is scorned because of his "speak first, think later" tendencies. This is one instance where Peter is praised for his boldness. How would you answer Jesus' question? If Jesus were to ask you "who do you say I am", how would you answer? Why would you answer this way?
As the chapter ends, we see Jesus warning his disciples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah. Why is this? I think the answer lies in the fact that Jesus is not the type of Messiah that was expected; what was expected was some great military leader that would expel the Romans and restore the monarchy to Israel. What we about to witness is a major shift in emphasis in Matthew. From this point forward, Jesus focus is going to be on reveling himself as the suffering, servant Messiah. It is almost as if the early part of Jesus' ministry was intended to be a "now that I've got your attention" time, so then Jesus could reveal who he really is; much like a child would do whatever they could to get a parent's attention so they could really show them something. One thing is for sure, though. With Peter's declaration of Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus begins to travel the road that will take him to Jerusalem, to greater conflict withe the religious leaders, and, eventually, the cross of Calvary.