Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven

 

 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 Jesus 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 Jesus' response to the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, for this question defines Christianity.  Peter's correct answer prevents the Christian faith from being seen as simply another system of philosophy or spiritual path, because it names Jesus Christ as the one and only Son of the living God.  Such a position excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  As Jesus indicates, Peter's insight cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and it is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study Bible also asks us to note that Christ first draws out false opinions about Himself ("Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?").  He does this to identify these incorrect ideas, as people are better prepared to avoid false teachings when 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."   Here is a play on words, for in both Aramaic and Greek the name Peter and the word for rock are the same (petros/petra).  This rock does not refer to Peter per se, according to St. John Chrysostom, but rather to "the faith of his confession."  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.  My study Bible explains that in the Old Testament, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering its gates, Christ opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  So also, the Church will not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  My study Bible also notes that the term church (εκκλησια) is mentioned only twice in all the gospels, here and in Matthew 18:17.  This Church 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.  According to my study Bible, keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given to both Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18; John 20:23).  It says that Peter was not a leader over the others, but 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.  It says that papal claims in later centuries mustn't be confused with the New Testament witness concerning Peter, nor should Peter's role be diminished in opposition to those claims.  Binding and loosing is a reference primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" (according to St. John Chrysostom; see John 20:23), but 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. 

 

 In our reading for Tuesday, the commentary included the importance of understanding relationships and relatedness within our faith as those which are between persons.  That is, over and against the idea that we ascribe to a philosophical system, or that faith is an intellectual choice, or a one-time oath of some sort.  We, in the "community of the called" (a literal way to translate the Greek word for church in today's passage, εκκλησια/ekklesia) are those who relate to one another not as mere individuals in a system, not as numbers, or ones with nominal membership, but as persons.  That is, persons have attributes which are unique to themselves, as well as attributes which are shared with other persons.  We are body, soul, spirit, mind.  And as persons, our relationships span many levels and depths, because we are made up of so much.  It is in the fullness of ourselves as persons that we are to love God, for so says the Old Testament Shema, the one which Jesus named as the first and greatest commandment of all:  " You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5).  He named this one as the second:  "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).  This kind of love, both the love for God as expressed in Jesus' first commandment, and the love of neighbor expressed in the second, can only happen between persons.  We know Jesus as a person, and Himself also as the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son.  So while today's reading defines -- as my study Bible says -- what Christianity is, separating it from other philosophical systems or spiritual paths, it is distinguished also in the sense that it establishes faith as a relationship between persons; or rather, Person-to-person, so to speak.  Just as there is a depth of love and relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, so this kind of love is extended to us, the εκκλησια, the Bride of Christ who is our Bridegroom.  This is a relationship of love with God Who is love (1 John 4:8); it extends and penetrates more deeply into who we are than we know ourselves, for only God can know the true depth of the heart within us.  This kind of knowing is different.  It is the kind of knowing that Jesus praises as revelation from God the Father:  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."   In that revelation which Jesus has praised as blessed is the power of relationship, even of God the Father to one of us, to St. Peter, and the working of the grace of God within it.  It reminds us of another expression of praise and gratitude from Jesus, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes" (Matthew 11:25; see also Isaiah 5:21).  Let us also praise God and be grateful for this love and depth of relatedness in His grace for us all (John 1:16-17).