Memory Text: Matthew 16:13 NIV “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"”

Sunday – Not the Baptist
Matthew 16:14 NRSV “And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."”
Matthew 16:14 COMMENTARY JOHN WESLEY NOTES There was at that time a current tradition among the Jews, that either Jeremiah, or some other of the ancient prophets would rise again before the Messiah came.
Matthew 16:14 PEOPLE’S NT COMMENTARY Some say that thou art John the Baptist. Who had been killed by Herod a few months before. That was one popular notion regarding him, circulating, no doubt, chiefly among those who had never seen him. Herod Antipas entertained it
What aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have been similarly to that of John the Baptist?
Matthew 3:1-3 KJ21 “1 ¶ In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.’"”
Matthew 4:12-13 God’s Word to the Nations “12 ¶ When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.”
Matthew 4:17 God’s Word to the Nations “From then on, Jesus began to tell people, "Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near!"”
Matthew 14:1-2 God’s Word to the Nations “1 ¶ At that time Herod, ruler of Galilee, heard the news about Jesus. 2 He said to his officials, "This is John the Baptizer! He has come back to life. That’s why he has the power to perform these miracles."”
Mark 1:1-5 God’s Word to the Nations “1 ¶ This is the beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 The prophet Isaiah wrote, "I am sending my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way for you." 3 "A voice cries out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord! Make his paths straight!’" 4 John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.”

Monday – Not Some Other Prophet
Matthew 16:14 NLT “"Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."”
What important difference was there between Christ and the prophets?
John 1:1-5 NLT “1 ¶ In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make. 4 Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. 5 ¶ The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
John 17:5 Moffatt NT “now, Father, glorify me in thy presence with the glory which I enjoyed in thy presence before the world began.”
Hebrews 1:1-3 Holman “1 ¶ Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. 2 In these last days, He has spoken to us by /His/ Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. 3 He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Tuesday – Not the “Real Jesus” of Historians
According to many historians, the “real” Jesus existed but without being in any way supernatural. The New Testament writers, however, felt that He was divine.
(1) They personally knew what they had written was true.
Luke 1:1-4 CEV “1 ¶ Many people have tried to tell the story of what God has done among us. 2 They wrote what we had been told by the ones who were there in the beginning and saw what happened. 3 So I made a careful study of everything and then decided to write and tell you exactly what took place. Honorable Theophilus, 4 I have done this to let you know the truth about what you have heard.”
Luke 1:3 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Luke did not profess to have seen these things, and this expression is designed to show how he acquired his information. It was by tracing up every account till he became satisfied of its truth…We see the nature of Luke's inspiration. It was consistent with his using his natural faculties or his own powers of mind in investigating the truth. God, by his Holy Spirit, presided over his faculties, directed them, and kept him from error. .
(2) Peter as an eyewitness knew it was true
2 Peter 1:16-21 Century English Version “16 ¶ When we told you about the power and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling clever stories that someone had made up. But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness. 17 God, our great and wonderful Father, truly honored him by saying, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him." 18 We were there with Jesus on the holy mountain and heard this voice speak from heaven. 19 ¶ All of this makes us even more certain that what the prophets said is true. So you should pay close attention to their message, as you would to a lamp shining in some dark place. You must keep on paying attention until daylight comes and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 But you need to realize that no one alone can understand any of the prophecies in the Scriptures. 21 The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God.”
(3) Paul knew it was true also by his investigations.
1 Corinthians 15:3-7 CEV “3 I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say. 4 He was buried, and three days later he was raised to life, as the Scriptures say. 5 Christ appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. 6 After this, he appeared to more than five hundred other followers. Most of them are still alive, but some have died. 7 He also appeared to James, and then to all of the apostles.”
1 Corinthians 1:18-27 – see below.

Wednesday – Not The “Real” Jesus
Paul replied to the intellectuals of his day as follows:
1 Corinthians 1:18-27 God’s Word to the Nations “18 The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 Scripture says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will reject the intelligence of intelligent people." 20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the persuasive speaker of our time? Hasn’t God turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense? 21 The world with its wisdom was unable to recognize God in terms of his own wisdom. So God decided to use the nonsense of the Good News we speak to save those who believe. 22 Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but our message is that Christ was crucified. This offends Jewish people and makes no sense to people who are not Jewish. 24 But to those Jews and Greeks who are called, he is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 26 Brothers and sisters, consider what you were when God called you to be Christians. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view. You were not in powerful positions or in the upper social classes. 27 But God chose what the world considers nonsense to put wise people to shame. God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame.”
1 Corinthians 1:20 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Among the Greeks the word [scribe] was used to denote a public notary; or a transcriber of the laws; or a secretary. It was a term, therefore, nearly synonymous with a man of learning.

Thursday – Messiah, Son of God
According to witnesses and His miracles, he was the Son of God.
Matthew 1:22-23 ESV “22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).”
Matthew 1:23 COMMENTARY THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL The Sonship of Jesus demands a miraculous birth. If we doubt the miracle of his conception, we can never solve the perplexing problem of his marvelous life and death.
Matthew 11:2-6 Holman “2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent /a message/ by his disciples 3 and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 4 Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. 6 And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed.””
Matthew 22:41-45 CEV “41 ¶ While the Pharisees were still there, Jesus asked them, 42 "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose family will he come from?" They answered, "He will be a son of King David." 43 Jesus replied, "How then could the Spirit lead David to call the Messiah his Lord? David said, 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right side until I make your enemies into a footstool for you.’ 45 If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be a son of King David?"”
Mark 14:61-64 MKJV “61 But He was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, Are you the Christ, the son of the Blessed? 62 And Jesus said, I AM! And you will see the Son of man sitting on the right [hand] of power and coming in the clouds of the heaven. 63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, What further need do we have of witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy; what do you think? And they all condemned Him to be guilty of death.”
John 20:26-28 MKJV “26 ¶ And after eight days the disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace to you! 27 Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger here and behold My hands; and reach your hand here and thrust [it] into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!”
John 20:28 COMMENTARY JOHN WESLEY NOTES Thomas now not only acknowledges him to be the Lord, as he had done before, and to be risen, as his fellow disciples had affirmed, but also confesses his Godhead, and that more explicitly than any other had yet done. And all this he did without putting his hand upon his side.
It all comes down to faith, which even the greatest scientists have to have in order to believe even in their own discoveries.