Questions from Jesus

Lots of people spent the summer watching "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" on TV. If you were one of them, you probably got all excited, guessing the answers to questions and imagining you won a million dollars!

Jesus would have been good at "Millionaire." He liked asking questions and helping people find the right answers. This week's Gospel (Mark 8:27-35) is one of those times.

Jesus asked the Apostles, "Who do people say I am?" They said, "John the Baptist, Elijah or a prophet." Jesus asked, "But who do you say I am?" Peter had the answer: "You're the Messiah, who'll save the world." Jesus warned them that He'd be hurt for saying He was the Messiah. Peter got worried and told Jesus to be quiet. But Jesus scolded him: "Get away from me, Satan! You're thinking like a person, not like God."

"Millionaire" asks questions about all kinds of things: movies, sports, things people always say and other subjects. You have to know about a lot of different things to win money.

Jesus, though, only asked His friends about one thing: God. After He taught and taught that He was God -- also called the Messiah, the person who came to save the world -- He wanted to know if they remembered what He said. That's why He asked them about it.

On "Millionaire," the longer the game lasts, the harder the questions get. For Jesus' Apostles, it was the same way. Because they were His best friends, they'd listened to Him a lot, so He xpected them to know the answers to some tough questions.

One of those was that Jesus would be hurt because people wouldn't believe He was the Messiah. The Apostles didn't like to think about that, so Jesus kept reminding them -- even yelling at Peter!

If Jesus were watching TV with you, He might have liked "Millionaire." He didn't need a million dollars, but He always cheered for people who remembered His answers!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me remember everything you taught. Amen!