While they were at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples: Who do people say the Son of Man is? Wherever Jesus goes, His fame precedes Him, but away from the prying eyes of Jewish leadership, He wants to know what people thought about Him. Are they open to His message and mission? The people of this region are pagans, raw, and probably less biased to His message.

From their response, Jesus proceeds to know from His own disciples: But who do you say I am? Based on their initial answer, we see no real consensus, with most seeing Him as one of the prophets and even as John the Baptist. Being with Jesus for some time, He asked the disciples their thoughts about Him. He wants to know what people say about Him, but equally important the depth of their perception and understanding of His identity and mission.

Today, we hear in the Gospel of the Canaanite woman who begged Jesus to help her daughter, who experiences evil torment. Knowing she is not a Jew, she feels her unworthiness and disadvantage, yet she persists in her plea, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters. We see in her an example of humility, faith, and gratitude when Jesus healed her daughter. Do we have the same faith and persistence as the woman?

In the Gospel, we hear Jesus - walking on the waters as He approached the disciples' boat rocked by a storm. Most disciples were fishermen who could probably swim, but seeing a person walking on top of the water and not - swimming frightened them. If we do it on our own, we certainly cannot, but with God - we can. How many times have we weathered the storm of our life because the Lord was there to help us? The scene of the panicking disciples was the complete opposite of the peace of Jesus while He was praying alone on the mountain.

In the Gospel, Jesus transfigured in the presence of His disciples Peter, James, and John. The transfiguration displayed God's glory and deepened their understanding of His identity and mission. When the disciples heard and experienced Jesus' glory in the mountain, it reminded them of what happened to Moses at Mt. Sinai (Ex.24). Jesus brought three disciples to Mt. Tabor while Moses also led three of his close associates up the mountain. Moses' face shone when he came down, while a cloud overshadowed Mt. Sinai a symbol of His glory. All the similarities reinforced the theme Matthew already developed: Jesus is the new Moses who comes to deliver the people of God. But Matthew emphasized that there is someone greater than Moses is here. Jesus is no mere human mediator like Moses; He is the Son of God, and His glory is not a reflected glory but His own.