An Unknown

When the Lord Jesus takes his disciples to Caesarea Philippi, he has reached the final stage of his ministry. Probably three years have already passed, and there are only a few months to go. He sees that it is time to confront his disciples with his true identity: Who is the Son of Man?

In the dialogue he has with them it is very clear that the crowds do not know him. The answers are varied and all of them wrong. But what of the disciples? When he asks the question of them, they seem to go silent. There is no record of any response from them.

Could there have been a long and embarrassing silence? Stupor? Could the Father have intervened to save the disciples from a greater shame? Peter intervenes to say what he did not have in his heart, what no man can know for himself regarding Jesus. Peter's response is God's response, not man's. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God".

Jesus was a stranger to them, despite the fact that they frequented his company for many days. They were close to him physically, but not in heart – they didn't know him. Therefore, that moment must have been sad for the Lord – one more of all those that he lived through because of his disciples.

But today, is it different? There are many who frequent the altars too often, without knowing Him. Many there are who observe complicated forms of piety, without knowing who is behind them. They usually use good ways to talk about it, but they can't talk about Him as someone they know, because they don't know Him.

They use conventional forms, but nothing alive and real. They cannot say that they converted to Christ, but 'to Christianity'; they cannot say that they know Jesus, but the gospel, they do not follow Christ, but a religion. They cannot say that they are in Christ, but that they attend meetings; they do not know the Lord, but vaguely name God. What does this mean? That still today, just like yesterday, Christ is unknown. And you, do you know him?

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