How We Know God (Matthew 16:13–20)

What did you experience the first time you encountered Jesus? Explore this week’s Gospel reading and consider what it means for us today.

Each week, we post a passage from Sunday’s Scriptures; share links to resources that give context and inspire new ideas; and offer a few questions to get you thinking about what we’ll read together in church.

The Gospel for August 23, 2026

Matthew 16:13–20

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Read all of Sunday’s Scriptures

Step Into the Story

3 Ways to Go Deeper

Commentary

Why does Jesus ask his disciples not to tell anyone about who he is? Because we must uncover that truth for ourselves, says Father Richard Rohr: “Many Christians believe what we’re supposed to believe. But here Jesus says, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ What have you experienced? What have you personally discovered? What knowledge do you have?”

Poetry

How do we experience God firsthand? In “Wild Geese,” poet Mary Oliver offers a freeing answer: “You do not have to be good. / . . . You only have to let the soft animal of your body / love what it loves.”

Music

Gospel legend CeCe Winans sings the classic hymn “Blessed Assurance,” which speaks to way Christian faith comes alive not in doctrine but in the intimacy of relationship

Reflection Questions

Take a Moment to Wonder

• Think about your earliest memory of encountering Jesus. What did you experience?
• What if the path to God is simply being the person God created you to be? What if you’re already there?
• Who does God say that you are?