“ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’ ” (Matthew 16:15-16).

There was drama as Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi with His disciples. It was essential for Him to know that His disciples had grasped who He is. Caesarea Philippi was a center of pagan religious culture. Herod the Great had built a great white marble temple there dedicated to the worship of Caesar. No one could look at the city without seeing the temple to Caesar shining in the sunlight. There Jesus stood, asking whether or not His disciples knew who He really is.

Jesus is misunderstood by most people. He was labeled a heretic by the religious leaders of His day and as only a Prophet and great Teacher by many of His followers. He is more than a prophet and teacher and the success of His mission depended on His disciples knowing that. As the Messiah, Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption for the human race. As the Son of the living God, Jesus has a Divine nature.

There has never been anyone like Him. He stands unique as God who became Man to free us from our sin. Peter got it right; He is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Helen Keller, that remarkable woman who overcame so many obstacles in life, never went to church during her early childhood. Deaf, mute and blind, she did not learn the story of Jesus until she was taken to Phillips Brooks for religious instruction. The great preacher told her, in the simplest possible language, how God had sent Jesus to teach us His will, show us His love and make Himself known to humanity. The face of Miss Keller lit up as she spelled into the hands of her interpreter, “I knew all the time there must be One like that, but I didn’t know His Name.” We know His name. It is Jesus and He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.