The Quiet Hour

Mt Benger Mail, 2 November 1938, Page 2

The Quiet Hour

AN IMPORTANT CONFESSION (Contributed). For some time just before the end of His earthly ministry Jesus had been travelling with His disciples from place to place. Away in the remote regions He had spent much time in secret prayer and now as He was drawing near to Caesarea Philippi He began to talk with His disciples upon important confidential subjects. During these journeys there had grown upon Him the conviction that He must die. His heart ached at the thought of leaving His disciples whom He had called, to face alone the mysterious and troubled future. So He wanted to teach them the great secrets held and to prepare them for His death. But first He had to be convinced of the depth of feeling they had for Himself; had to be sure they would appreciate what He had to tell them. It must have been with a feeling of tenseness that Jesus approached His question. Upon the answer His teaching and kingdom hung in the balance. These men were the only ones to carry on His task. Were they worthy ? Did they appreciate the greatness of their mission? So He approached the important question by a preliminary one. “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” The opinions prevalent among the masses concerning Jesus seem to have been mainly favourable. All agreed in regarding Him as a prophet of the highest rank, differing only as to which of the great prophets of Israel He most nearly resembled. Some said He was John the Baptist revived; others Elias, while others again identified with one of the other great prophets such as Jeremiah.

When we reflect on the high veneration with which the ancient prophets were held, we cannot fail to see that these diverse opinions current among the Jewish people concerning Jesus imply a very high sense of His greatness and excellence. Taken separately they show that in the judgment of candid observers Jesus was a man of surpassing greatness. Taken together, they show the many-sidedness of His character, and its superiority to that of any of the prophets; for He could not have reminded those who witnessed His works and heard Him preach, of all the prophets in turn, unless He had comprehended them; all in His one person. The very diversity of opinion respecting Him, therefore, showed that a greater than Elias or Jeremiah or Ezekiel had appeared.

But how did Jesus receive these reports? Was He satisfied with them? No, He was not. He was greater than any prophet and His work was the crown and seal of theirs. If this were the opinion of His disciples then His ministry was a failure. So He turned to them and put the all-important question, “But you—whom say ye that lam?” Simon Peter promptly answered, ‘ ‘ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” One can almost hear the sigh of relief issuing from the Master’s lips. So overcome was He that His emotion almost carried Him away. “Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jona. Your name shall be Petros and on this rock I will build My church.” That great and glorious church which He saw in vision and which was to herald His kingdom;, was assured, founded on supreme faith in Himself. The disciples, though not fully understanding, had perceived in Him something greater than a prophet, something born out of the mystery of Hod. Upon this act of faith Christ based all His future plans for His Kingdom. On simple humble men He placed the responsibility of His task, not simply because they were faithful to Himself, but because they perceived, even though dimly, the majesty and holiness of His divine being. When later the testing time came, it was this glimpse into the eternal that enabled them to transcend the limits of human fear and weakness, to overcome the bitter opposition and hatred of men; to remain stedfast, though without a leader, ever clinging to that something in Him that bridged the gap between man and God. They learned to die gladly for their faith and throughout the ages since men and women have learned to suffer cheerfully; to endure pain and loss; to purge their souls of weakness and fill them with the things of the Spirit. All this has been possible because of their faith in Him who is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Throughout the centuries that has been the touchstone that has lifted men and women out of darkness into light; turned criminals into saints; sinners into Christians; the broken-hearted into strong men and women. This same power is available to-day to those who believe in the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

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