Peter Calls Jesus the Messiah - Matthew 16:13-20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Reflection: As Jesus begins to draw near to his ultimate destination, the cross, which we contemplate today on Good Friday, he wants to see if the disciples understand his true identity. While others think he is a good prophet in the line of John the Baptist, Elijah or Jeremiah, he pointedly asks them, "Who do you say that I am?" It is the moment of truth and Peter replies, "You are the Messiah/Christ, the Son of the living God!" Finally Peter gets it right, and at just the right time. Jesus calls Peter blessed, and let's him know this was not his own doing but the gift and revelation from God.
Further he calls Peter, the rock, upon which he will build the church, and nothing including hell will stand against it. You have probably heard that Peter's name means little rock, and there are all kinds of fun word plays to explain how Peter the rock is now the foundation of the Church. Importantly Jesus gives Peter a calling and directive. He tells him, and by association the rest of the apostles, that they have been given the keys to the kingdom and the decisions they make on earth will open doors in heaven and shut doors in heaven. Their power is not a secular one such as civil leaders are given, but bringing in God's kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven through the church. The church is the instrument for calling people to faith in Jesus as the Messiah, by preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments. And through these means of grace, Jesus will build His Church in the power of the Holy Spirit.
There are lots of debates over just what is the "rock" upon which the Church is built. Is it Peter himself, his confession of faith or the Church? The context cries out to say it is the confession of Jesus as the Messiah given as a gift to Peter and the rest of the apostles. In 1 Peter 2:4-5, the letter attributed to the apostle Peter, it says that as we come to Jesus we are the living stones built into a spiritual house offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus. The foundation of the Church is the confession of faith, as revealed by God that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
The last question to address is just what does this authority the Church has been given through the keys of the kingdom look like. In its purest essence it is the authority to announce the forgiveness of sins to those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Only Jesus can forgive sins, but the Church has been given the power and authority to proclaim this to those who believe and are repentant. Secondly, as we will later discover in other teachings in the New Testament, the Church at times needs to judge on matters of life and practice. For instance in the early church Peter declared that all things (like certain kinds of meat) were clean and could be eaten with a clean conscience. The apostle Paul declared that new male, Gentile believers did not have to be circumcised. The church sometimes had to exercise discipline with members who were sexually immoral and deny them fellowship in their gatherings. And there is Paul's instruction on who is fit to receive Holy Communion in 1 Corinthians and how to discern this. (By the way this passage is and has been often grossly misunderstood).
So you can see there is a wide range of subjects the early church chose to exercise their power of the keys with. And we can certainly see how that has differed greatly among denominations over the years. I.e. Catholic Church and Protestant Church. The Reformation was in essence all about the power and authority the church should have as compared to the power and authority of the Word. Pastors and leaders of churches need lots of prayer as they not only proclaim the Gospel through Word and Sacrament, but govern their churches justly in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus you came to build your church upon the confession of faith in you as the Messiah. Your death on the cross on Good Friday reconciled us to the Father. Your resurrection on Easter morning proved You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. We know that as we continue to live out our calling as your people you will build your church on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for the great gift of faith that calls us into the Church and this faith will lead us home to be with You one day. Amen.
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Reflection: As Jesus begins to draw near to his ultimate destination, the cross, which we contemplate today on Good Friday, he wants to see if the disciples understand his true identity. While others think he is a good prophet in the line of John the Baptist, Elijah or Jeremiah, he pointedly asks them, "Who do you say that I am?" It is the moment of truth and Peter replies, "You are the Messiah/Christ, the Son of the living God!" Finally Peter gets it right, and at just the right time. Jesus calls Peter blessed, and let's him know this was not his own doing but the gift and revelation from God.
Further he calls Peter, the rock, upon which he will build the church, and nothing including hell will stand against it. You have probably heard that Peter's name means little rock, and there are all kinds of fun word plays to explain how Peter the rock is now the foundation of the Church. Importantly Jesus gives Peter a calling and directive. He tells him, and by association the rest of the apostles, that they have been given the keys to the kingdom and the decisions they make on earth will open doors in heaven and shut doors in heaven. Their power is not a secular one such as civil leaders are given, but bringing in God's kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven through the church. The church is the instrument for calling people to faith in Jesus as the Messiah, by preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments. And through these means of grace, Jesus will build His Church in the power of the Holy Spirit.
There are lots of debates over just what is the "rock" upon which the Church is built. Is it Peter himself, his confession of faith or the Church? The context cries out to say it is the confession of Jesus as the Messiah given as a gift to Peter and the rest of the apostles. In 1 Peter 2:4-5, the letter attributed to the apostle Peter, it says that as we come to Jesus we are the living stones built into a spiritual house offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus. The foundation of the Church is the confession of faith, as revealed by God that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
The last question to address is just what does this authority the Church has been given through the keys of the kingdom look like. In its purest essence it is the authority to announce the forgiveness of sins to those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Only Jesus can forgive sins, but the Church has been given the power and authority to proclaim this to those who believe and are repentant. Secondly, as we will later discover in other teachings in the New Testament, the Church at times needs to judge on matters of life and practice. For instance in the early church Peter declared that all things (like certain kinds of meat) were clean and could be eaten with a clean conscience. The apostle Paul declared that new male, Gentile believers did not have to be circumcised. The church sometimes had to exercise discipline with members who were sexually immoral and deny them fellowship in their gatherings. And there is Paul's instruction on who is fit to receive Holy Communion in 1 Corinthians and how to discern this. (By the way this passage is and has been often grossly misunderstood).
So you can see there is a wide range of subjects the early church chose to exercise their power of the keys with. And we can certainly see how that has differed greatly among denominations over the years. I.e. Catholic Church and Protestant Church. The Reformation was in essence all about the power and authority the church should have as compared to the power and authority of the Word. Pastors and leaders of churches need lots of prayer as they not only proclaim the Gospel through Word and Sacrament, but govern their churches justly in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus you came to build your church upon the confession of faith in you as the Messiah. Your death on the cross on Good Friday reconciled us to the Father. Your resurrection on Easter morning proved You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. We know that as we continue to live out our calling as your people you will build your church on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you for the great gift of faith that calls us into the Church and this faith will lead us home to be with You one day. Amen.
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