In this passage, Jesus asked his disciples who they believed that he was. Instead of answering the question, the disciples told Jesus who other people thought that he was. When Jesus asked again, Simon Peter replied that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. Jesus praised Peter for his faith in God and told him that he would be the base of Jesus' church, which basically means that Jesus appointed Peter to be the founder of Jesus' religion. Jesus then told Peter that he would receive the keys to the kingdom of heaven and that Peter would be rewarded for all the good things he does.
Jesus puts a lot of faith in Peter in this passage as he assigns Peter to the task of building Jesus' church, which means spreading his message. Jesus has faith that peter is committed to following Jesus because he believed that Jesus was the Messiah without being told by Jesus himself. Peter also had the courage to speak his mind when the others remained quiet, so that may have also been part of the reason why Jesus chose Peter. Jesus trusted that Peter would be a good leader of the church because he believed Jesus was the Messiah himself and was not afraid to tell people what he thought. In a broader sense, Jesus seems to be challenging us to help build on his teachings since he is not here to tell us what we should do. He would have wanted his teachings to be made known to everyone, and we can do this by following the commandments and showing a good sense of morality. Even non-Christians can help build Jesus' church simply by trying to live his message. To accept Jesus' challenge, all we have to do is act the way Jesus did, trying to help people in need and give people an example of how to live a good moral life. Also, by praising Peter when he took a risk by claiming that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus is encouraging us to take risks based on faith as well. Jesus wanted us to stand up for what we believe in just as Peter did, even if it means that we have to risk being mocked by others.
Jesus gathers his disciples and tells them to scatter throughout the land to spread his message, cure sick people, and drive out demons. He tells them to leave everything behind them and live off of the food and shelter of others. He sends them off on their journey without allowing them to pack up anything. Surprisingly, the Apostles did exactly as Jesus said and went from village to village helping people.
Jesus has faith in the Apostles in this passage because he tells them to spread his message to the world. He can't possibly check up on them to make sure that they are doing his will, but he sets them loose because he trusts that they will follow his orders and complete their mission. He also trusts that they will return to him to continue learning. The Apostles could have just left and continued their jobs of healing the sick for the rest of their lives, but Jesus believed that they would return when they knew the time was right. Jesus also trusted that his followers would obey his rule about not taking anything with them. It would be very tempting for one of the Apostles to sneak back home to grab some food or supplies, but Jesus trusts that his disciples will follow his rules. Also, Jesus puts faith in the people visited by the Apostles because if they didn't give them food and shelter then the Apostles would have become beggars or possibly died on the trip. But Jesus had faith that the people would be kind and generous and would offer hospitality to the Apostles. Jesus' message to us today is to believe in the kindness of mankind bnecause most people are nice. Although Jesus probably wouldn't expect us to travel around the country spreading his word as he did the Apostles, he would probably want us to help people in need, even if it meant that we had to make sacrifices in order to complete the mission that he gave us.
Jesus and his disciples enter the garden of Gethsemane and he asks them to keep watch while he prays. When he returned, he found that they were asleep and he woke them up and continued praying. He checked on them again and they were asleep again. He woke them and they fell asleep one more time. Jesus told them that their spirits were willing to stay awake but that their bodies were unable to do so. At the end of this prayer, Jesus meets his betrayer.
In this passage, Jesus has faith in his disciples by assigning them to keep watch while he prays alone in the garden. They know that Jesus is being betrayed by Judas and they have no idea what is going to happen. They are probably really scared and want to run away. But Jesus trusts that they will stick by him because they are his followers. Jesus has faith that they can control their emotions and force themselves to overcome their fears. Jesus also has faith that, even though his disciples fall asleep on the job three times, they are trying their best to obey his orders. When Jesus says that "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," he is saying that it is not their fault that they keep falling asleep because their bodies are forcing them to sleep. Jesus trusts that his followers tried their best to stay awake and keep guard but that uncontrollable forces overcame them and they fell asleep. Jesus is basically forgiving them because he believes that they did the best they could under the circumstances. Jesus' message for us today is to understand that nobody is perfect, no matter how hard they try. He knew that his followers were trying the best they could but that their best efforts were not enough to overcome the internal forces that all humans are bound by. Jesus' message is to be understanding of the faults of others because it is very likely that they mean well and are trying to help out.
