Confessing and Following Jesus as Christ

Theme: The most important thing in life is to confess Jesus as Messiah and follow Him no matter the cost!
In vv. 18-20, Jesus asks His disciples what the crowds thought about His identity. Then He asks His disciples this same question. Peter answers on behalf of them all, "The Christ of God." Jesus is the true Messiah, and we need to understand His uniqueness. We cannot make Him into anything we want Him to be. He is the anointed One from the Father, and people are called to repent and believe in Him.
In vv. 21-22, we see the mission of Jesus. He charges the disciples to be silent regarding His identity, and predicts His mission and death and resurrection. Jesus's mission was greatly misunderstood by the disciples, and we must also realize that spiritual truth will be misunderstood at times. In v.23, the requirement to be a disciple is given. We are to be selfless and take up our cross daily to follow Christ. It is of utmost importance that we understand who Jesus is and that we believe on Him and follow Him.