The trouble with mountaintop experiences is that we always have to come back down. Moses is about to learn this the hard way. Here he stands on the mountaintop of Israel’s history—literally and figuratively. The Lord has just rescued his people out of Egypt with his powerful, outstretched arm. The Israelites have just crossed the Red Sea on dry land, turning back only to watch their adversaries swept away by the mighty waters. Moses has…
“You are the Christ” (v 29),[1] Peter proclaims boldly in the villages surrounding Caesarea Philippi. So certain a declaration coupled with so little understanding. Who is this Christ that Peter follows? Does Peter grasp the implications of his statement? More pressing still, do we? Do we grasp all that it means to follow this Christ? “And he began to teach them” (v 31). Jesus begins to expound all that his messianic office entails. To be…