Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-11-15

When Jesus left Capernaum He went
north to the region of Caesaria Philippi
to secluded spot along the base Of
Mount Hermon AS He walked along
the way He began to question His dis
ciples to learn what impression His
life mad made upon the men with whom
He had been associating. He knew what
the Pahirsees and Scribes thought of
Him; He wanted them to tell Him what
the people were saying about Him. His
heart seemed to crave this comfort-He
asked them: VINO do men say that !,
the son of man., am?" Notice that He
used the term expressing His humilia-
tionE"the son of man." He longed to
know whether they had recognized Him
through His disguise, so to speak;
whether they were beginning to realize
that the son of man was also the Son of
God
THE GREAT Confession.
His disciples answered Him very
frankly, telling Him that some people
had expressed an opinion that He was
Elijah whom they were locking to come
before the long expected Messiah; others
said He was one of the prophets; others
saw in, Him resemblance to jeremiah;
while a still larger number thought
that He was John Baptist risen from
the dead,
This did not satisfy Jesus. He might
have sighed as He saw how dull of
perception the people were in the face
of the signs with which His Messiahshlp
had been sealed But He brought II
closer home. imagine He must have
looked them in the face with that pierre
ing eye OF His as He asked them: But
whom say We that I am?' laying the
emphasis on the personal pronoun.
Then Peter. bold outspoken fisherman
that he was, said with all the enthusi-
asm of his nature: 'Thou art the Mes
siah, while thou seemest to be the son
of man, thou art also the Son of God.
This confession was delightful to
Jesus; it was just that for which His
heart had been hungry. He saw that
while He may not have made all the
impression upon the people and the
rulers that might have been desired, He
had at least planted the seed which
would terminate into a splendid har-
vest.
1t was a great confession on Peters
part-the whole Jewish world having an
entirely different conception of the Mes
sian, and Peter with the rest Of them.
Yet dim and incomplete as his vision
might have been, he had yet begun to
grasp the significance of the fact that
their conception. was wrong; that the
Icing promised Messiah was not coming
in, all the pomp and power of the tenn
poral king, but that He was amongst
them in the person Of the Carpenter
their friend and teacher, who was doing
the will of God day by day IN the
ordinary affairs of life. We should
make a great step in advance ourselves
when we have that concept and make
that confession. When we stop yearn-
ing so much for the heaven that is to
be- and make possible heaven now
through loyalty to Him who did the will
of God and always pleased Him.
In other words, he said to Him, you
do not mean that you are going to
make such a blunder as this? Take care
of yourself so that You may lead the
hosts to victory. But turning to His
disciples in order that He might let
them have the benefit of His rebuke, He
rebuked Peter, saying-"Get thee be-
hind me, Satan; you are not speaking
from Gods viewpoint, but from mans
IT was the old temptation to reach the
crown by a short cut; the same kind
OF temptation that Satan used at the
beginning of His ministry, and in His
dear friend Jesus recognized His bitter
est enemy.
Then He went on to tell His disciples
further about this. showing them that
If anyone of them would follow Him