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

Saints Peter and Paul with Christ, 1050, Saint Sophia Cathedral, Novgorod

 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, 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 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 comments that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question any person can ever face.  It is, indeed, the very question that defines Christianity.  According to my study bible, Peter's correct answer is one that prevents the Christian faith from being seen as one more philosophical system or path of spirituality, as it names Jesus as the only Son of the living God.  This position, it says, excludes all compromise with other religious systems in terms of its uniqueness, and the being of the Son.  Peter's understanding is not achieved through human reasoning, but rather by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study bible also points out that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself in this passage.  He does this in order to identify incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings if they are clearly identified.

"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."    Jesus offers here a play on words:  in both Aramaic and Greek the words for "rock" and "Peter" are the same, only changed by gender (Greek:  petros/petra).  My study bible suggests that this rock refers not simply to Peter per se, but, as John Chrysostom comments, to "the faith of his confession."   It notes that the true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades are the powers of death, according to my study bible.  In the Old Testament, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering the gates of Hades, Christ opens the stronghold of death, which sets free the souls of the righteous.  Also, the Church will not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  My study bible adds that the term church is mentioned only twice in all the gospels, here and in 18:17.  This Church, it says, is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly. 

"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.   My study bible explains that the term keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority given to Peter and to the other apostles after the Resurrection (see 18:18; John 20:23).  Peter was not a leader over the others, my study bible explains, but rather a leader among them.  This truth was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and where Peter advised, but James presided.  The New Testament witness regarding Peter is clear, and nothing in later times of the Church should either aggrandize nor diminish Peter's role.  Binding and loosing refers primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" according to St. John Chrysostom (see John 20:23).  But, according to my study bible, this also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles.  This authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect to this day.

It's quite remarkable how the confession of Peter renders a momentous effect in the presence of Christ and the disciples.  As explained by my study bible, these statements of Jesus affect an extraordinary future for the Church, its meanings, and what it will become, and remains in the process of becoming.  Here at once Christ pronounces solemn statements about the power and the authority of the Church, about the extraordinary nature of Peter's confession as revelation from the Father, and moreover about the confession as foundation for the future.  It is almost hard to imagine side-by-side the possible scene of this confession as it occurred, together with the effects that Christ names here.  We might imagine a rather intimate conversation between Christ and His disciples.  But suddenly it is the right time for Jesus to ask them this question:  "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  They offer various answers, but Peter gives the confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  How does Peter know this?  How does he come to this conclusion?  Is it simply by the signs they've seen?  We look in yesterday's reading (above), with its misunderstanding by the disciples, and realize that Jesus has just reasoned with them, wondering how they could forget about the extraordinary signs He's done of feeding the multitudes, twice!  First of all, this revelation of the Father is meaningful in that it teaches us God's presence fully with us.  How else is it possible for human beings to receive revelation from the Father?  Peter's mind is illumined through a mysterious communication that can only be a great grace.  This is also a gift of faith, for it is through faith that this revelation is possible.  Therefore, just as Christ as emphasized throughout His ministry that signs are made possible through faith, and not given conversely, in order to create faith, here we have yet another instance of what potential faith can unlock.   This revelation of the identity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is also an example to us that faith is capable of "unlocking" or revealing things through us that we ourselves haven't necessarily a conscious idea about.  Jesus Himself testifies that Peter's revelation of Jesus' identity as Son is that "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  It makes it that much more clear that the power of faith working through us may unlock or reveal possibilities, even for wisdom, that have not been considered in the normal run of day to day life, or even our conscious awareness.  In the potentials Jesus names additionally, namely "the keys to the kingdom" and the power to bind and loose sins, including all the teaching and sacramental authority of the Church, we understand that dynamic strength of potential unlocked or made possible through faith.  Moreover, the power of death ("the gates of Hades") -- that which prevails over flesh and blood in our worldly understanding -- has no power over the potentials which grace can reveal through faith.  Even our prayer, we understand, can work to help those who cannot help themselves, and those who longer dwell in the world.  As such, the prayers of the faithful are always made for both the living and dead.  Jesus' word today, in response to Peter's confession made on behalf of all and for all the faithful, teach us more about the extraordinary power and explosive growth and potential of the Kingdom, as is so well illustrated by all the parables He taught in chapter 13.   The real question remains for our faith as one of ourselves as witnesses to this explosive growth.  We understand and behold the history of our Church, past and present.  But we have yet to see what it will bring into the future.  All that we can do is share this faith, and await what it can do -- with God's grace, and even the work of God the Father within us -- for our own lives and for our world.  Let us remember always that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  The icon above, although quite ancient and therefore a little worse for wear, depicts St. Peter and St. Paul, together with Christ the Lord in between.   St. Peter's hand upholds what in other icons of this type is a depiction of a Church (and seems here to be missing simply from age), while St. Paul holds the Gospel of the living Word, and points to Christ.  The icon gives us a sense of the fullness of the Church, resting upon all of the apostles, and fully within Christ.  Let us consider where its future lies, as it is built upon this rock, but eternal in its character as the Body of Christ.