“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, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-19)
In the Old Testament, flesh and blood frequently refers to biological offspring or relatives (compare frequently refers to biological offspring or relatives “But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; YOUR VERY OWN SON SHALL BE YOUR HEIR.” (Genesis 15:2-4) Eventually, flesh and blood came to be another term for “humanity” or “human being,” as all human beings have flesh and blood and are the biological offspring and relatives of other human beings. We see this usage in Hebrews 2:14. “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity.” Flesh and blood, or humanity, is often contrasted with spiritual entities who do not have a body made of flesh and blood. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Here, the rulers and authorities are not human, but spiritual. Flesh and blood beings are distinct from spiritual beings.
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham