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When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to 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 also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And 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 commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
- Matthew 16:13-20
Yesterday, we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed. Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand the that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to Him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." My study bible says "Who do you say that I am? is the greatest question we can ever face. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God is Peter's ringing confession -- an insight given to him by the Father. Jesus' messianic identity and divinity, the mystery hidden from eternity, cannot be truly known by human reason, but only by God's revelation (1 Cor. 12:3). Christ means 'the Anointed One.' Christ is the Son of the living God, whom the Father has anointed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). David says, 'Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions' (Ps. 45:7). Isaiah, speaking in the name of the Lord, says, 'The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me' (Is. 61:1)."
"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." My study bible tells us that Peter/rock is a play on the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra). Rock refers not to Peter himself but to the confession of his faith. The true Rock and foundation of the Church is, of course, Christ Himself. The Church rests upon this Rock by her unchanging faith, her confession. With this faith as the foundation, the gates of Hades, the powers of death, are powerless against her. In the Old Testament gates suggest a fortified city . . . Hence, by shattering the gates, Christ is opening the stronghold of death to set free the souls of righteous men. In all the Gospels, church is mentioned twice by the Lord, here and in 18:17, describing the true Israel whose citizenship is heavenly. She is the body of Christ, the divine-human organism, and to her comes the call of Jesus for the whole of mankind to abide with Him and in Him (Eph. 1:23)."
"And 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 commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. A note here tells us that keys of the kingdom clearly implies a special authority given to Peter himself, but never separated from his confession of faith. While Peter was a leader of the disciples and of the early Church, all the apostles were empowered with Christ's authority (18:18). Further, Peter was not a leader over the others but a leader among them, as seen at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), where elders, or presbyters, met with the apostles together as equals. . . . Binding and loosing is a reference to the teaching, sacramental, and administrative powers of the Apostles which were transmitted to the bishops of the Church."
Today's reading contains extraordinary news, of many kinds. Not only is there the confession itself, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, but there's all kinds of other news here. This Messiah isn't merely a great leader, a human being, the expected One, but He's God who is also human. There is no getting around this extraordinary and staggering news. There's not a secondary form of our faith that waters it down. It is quite literally awe-inspiring or even awe-some in the sense that those two things just can't seem to be put together! It is the greatest paradox and yet it's the core of our faith. But that isn't the only news here: the real news just might be the confession of faith that this is so from Peter, because this isn't an analysis, it's not based on required proofs (which Jesus has steadfastly refused to give to anyone). No, the staggering news here is given to us by Jesus, that it is the Father in heaven who revealed this understanding to Peter. God is not only present in human form in Jesus Christ, but God the Father is present (or rather, at work) in each one of us, although there is only one Christ. Jesus has revealed the Father's presence to us in several readings in the Gospels, perhaps most stunningly and vividly when He tells us that whoever receives a little one in His name, or one whom He has sent, also receives not only Jesus Christ, but also the Father who sent Him (forms of this appear in all four Gospels). He has also told us that of the little ones "their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." This powerful news extends to us as well. Not only do we have faith that Jesus is God incarnate as human being, but He tells us that God the Father is with us, revealing and working -- even through the angels which guard us. This is truly "awesome" news, awe-inspiring, because it tells us of our connection with the divine, with that which is so infinitely beyond ourselves. Inspiration isn't just a matter of brain power (although inspiration will incorporate all skills, gifts, talents that we've been given). It's a question of the openness of our hearts to receiving this news, with eyes and ears that are ready to hear spiritual truth. There really could be no greater gift than the depth of this connection, because we have no idea where such a thing can take us. Let us remember how extraordinary God's love and presence are. Christ is with us, God is with us, the Father works with us, within us. How ready are we to accept such an extraordinary gift? How shall the keys of the kingdom take us ahead, and what strong gates can keep Him out?
