Verse: Matthew 16:13-20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Devotion
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the “coincidences” that tend to follow a person’s walk with God. It was a coincidence that I talked to that person at just the right time. A coincidence that my prior experience perfectly prepared me for the trial I was facing. But the longer I follow Jesus, the more I replace the word coincidence with God at work.
Just a few verses before this passage, Jesus says, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” And then, not long after, He blesses Peter—calling him by his full name, Simon son of Jonah—after Peter proclaims that He is the Messiah.
Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe Peter’s father was just named Jonah, a common Jewish name. Scholars debate it. And sure, sometimes we put meaning where there isn’t any.
But I’ve noticed that when you start leaning into these moments—when you stop dismissing them as random—you begin to see the fingerprints of God everywhere. It shifts the way you live. Makes you more aware. More grateful.
So my challenge for you and me today is this: Keep looking for God in the details. Keep being continuously awed by Him. Because at the end of the day, Jesus is the Messiah. And that’s not random. That’s truth.
Author: Joanna Martin
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