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peter's confession
life of christ: matthew 16.13-28
peter's confession at caesarea philippi
introduction
Peter�s confession at Caesarea Philippi climaxes Jesus� great Galilean ministry. Some NT scholars call it the watershed of the gospels because all the different themes of the previous chapters converge in chapter 16 which answers the question, "Who is this One who controls nature, heals the sick, raises the dead, and speaks with authority?" This passage answers that question and then sets the stage for a new development in Jesus� ministry.
At this point we are entering the third and last year of Jesus� public ministry. Jesus fed the 5,000 exactly a year to the week before He went up to Jerusalem at Passover time to be crucified (John 6:4). After that event Jesus returned to Capernaum where He preached the sermon on the Bread of Life. The sermon offended so many even of His own disciples, that they quit following Him (John 6:66). They loved the idea of Jesus feeding them miraculously; they, however, had major reservations about submitting to His lordship. At this point Jesus enters a period of relative obscurity. Although He still attracts crowds; however, the electricity which surrounded Him seemed to dissipate. The Jewish hostility instead intensifies to such a degree that the Jewish religious leaders will stop at nothing to destroy Him.
Knowing that the future of Christianity lies with the band of apostles, Jesus for the next year focuses primarily upon them. He will instruct them not only about what kind of Messiah He is going to be but also about what kind of disciples He expects them to be. At this time Jesus takes the 12 and retreats to a region about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee to a city called Caesarea Philippi. It is far from the crowds of Galilee and also from the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas whose reign threatens Jesus� safety. It will provide Him ample opportunity to zero in on the 12 apostles and train them for the day when He leaves them and ascends into heaven.
Caesarea Philippi was a suitable place for this great confession about Jesus. It was noted for both the worship of Pan and the emperor Tiberias. Originally, the city was called Paneas in honor of the Greek god Pan, the half-goat, half-man god who lived in the woods playing the flute and engaging in all sorts of mischief and sexual misbehavior. Herod Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas and one of Herod the Great�s sons, rebuilt the city and named it in honor of Tiberias Caesar, hence the name Caesarea. He added his own name Philip to the city in order to distinguish it from the other Caesarea located on the Mediterranean Sea which served as the headquarters for the Roman procurator of Judea. Herod Philip built a temple there for Caesar worship. It is here that Jesus is proclaimed the King in the Kingdom of God and God the Son.
a preliminary discussion (Matt. 16:13-14)
Before asking the disciples pointblank as to His identity, Jesus introduces the subject by asking the disciples who the crowds thought Jesus was. The attitudes of the crowds towards Jesus are quite illuminating as to Jesus� personality. Some in the crowds believed that Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life. The most famous proponent of this view was none other than Herod Antipas who had executed John. When Herod heard that Jesus was performing miracles and proclaiming a gospel of repentance like John, his guilt led him to believe that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. He probably also believed that John had come back in the person of Jesus in order to haunt him.
Other groups in the crowd believed Jesus to be Elijah or Jeremiah. According to Malachi 4:5, Elijah would come as a forerunner who would usher in the day of the Lord and also the coming of the Messiah. Jesus in their opinion was probably just this forerunner who would announce the coming of the Messiah. On the other hand, Jewish legend taught that Jeremiah had hidden in Mt. Pisgah the vessels of the Temple before the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. The legend also taught that Jeremiah would return right before the coming of the Messiah and that he would restore the Temple vessels. According to them Jesus was Jeremiah who had come to restore the Temple vessels and serve as a forerunner to the Messiah who would bring in the Kingdom of God.
These observations inform us first that the crowds did not identify Jesus as the Messiah, that is, the King in the kingdom of God, but only as a forerunner of the Messiah. In their opinion Jesus was a great man; however, He just was not the Messiah because He did not harmonize with their views about the Messiah. Second, these observations show us what kind of person Jesus was. The 3 men the apostles mentioned were fiery, dynamic men of God. John preached the coming wrath and lived out in the wilderness dressed in a loincloth make of camel skins. Elijah lived in much the same manner that John lived. He also prayed and shut up the skies for 31/2 years. At the end of the 31/2 years, Elijah called down fire from heaven and executed the 400 priests of Baal. Jeremiah, likewise, preached a message of the coming destruction of Israel. All this points to the view that Jesus was a dynamic, fiery preacher warning God�s people that they needed to repent in order to experience the wonderful salvation that God was bringing and to escape the wrath that went along with this salvation.
peter's confession about jesus and jesus' confession about peter (Matt. 16:15-20)
Jesus now turns to the main point of this conversation. Whereas He might be interested in what the crowds thought of Him, Jesus was keenly interested in what the disciples thought of Him. He turns to them and asks, "But you (the Greek really emphasizes the word "you" here), who do you say that I am?" Peter responds, "You are the Christ, the Messiah, the King who has come to fulfill all of God�s promises in the OT about His people. You are the fulfillment of all our hopes and dreams. You�ve come to establish God�s kingdom and bring salvation to God�s people. You�ve come to destroy the enemies of God�s people and then reign forever upon the throne of Your father David. Moreover, You are more than what we bargained for. From our earliest days we were taught that although the Messiah would be a great man, he would nevertheless still be only a man. You are more than man. You are God, God the Son. Your Father is none other than the God who not only lives as opposed to dead idols but who also gives life to all who believe in Him."
Jesus is elated! He responds: "Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah (son of John)! God�s favor rests mightily upon you because you have experienced something that few have ever experienced. A mere mortal could never have informed you of this, nor could mere mortals have ever come up with this confession. When man views Jesus, he sees John the Baptist returned to life, or Elijah and Jeremiah come down from heaven but never God the Son. Rather, the fact that you made such a confession demonstrates that God has revealed this to you.
"Just like you said something about Me, now I am going to say something about you. From now on, you will be known as Peter, the Rock, and upon you the Rock I will build My church. The gates of Hades will never overcome My church. It will live forever and ever and ever. Moreover, 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."
This passage is probably the most controversial passage in the entire NT. Unfortunately because one denomination has gone to an extreme with this verse, other denominations have gone to the opposite extreme. Our Roman Catholic friends have claimed that since Peter is the Rock and the foundation of the church he is also the first Pope. Since Peter served in Rome, he was its first bishop, and as such, every other bishop in Rome who has succeeded Peter has the same authority Peter has, the authority to grant or deny entrance into the kingdom of heaven!
Protestants have overreacted and claimed that Peter is not the rock, although his name (Greek petros) means exactly that. Instead the rock is either Jesus, the true foundation of the church (1 Cor. 3:10), or Peter�s confession about Jesus. Whereas Peter�s confession is a necessary ingredient to this whole mix, that is, only by making such a confession is Peter the Rock, he and not the confession is the rock, that is, the foundation of the church.
When you consider the nature of the church itself, you easily understand why Peter is that rock, that is, the foundation of the church. The church is not a concept or building but rather people who confess Jesus as the Messiah, God the Son. Anytime you build a building, you lay down the foundation first. Even I know that! Since Peter is the first to make that confession, he is the rock, that is, the foundation. (See also Eph. 2:20 which also calls the apostles the foundation of the church and Jesus the chief cornerstone or capstone). "But," you may object, "isn�t Jesus the foundation? Paul says He is in 1 Cor. 3:19." That�s true. Paul does call Jesus the foundation in 1 Cor. 3; however, in Eph. 2:20 Paul calls the apostles the foundation and Jesus the chief capstone or cornerstone. It�s just that here Jesus is calling Himself the builder of the church and Peter its foundation. We need to be careful about being too rigid with the NT symbols when the NT itself is fluid with those symbols. Since the NT is flexible with those symbols, we need to be flexible also. Find out what the symbol means in each particular passage, and don�t make broad generalizations.
How is Peter the rock, the foundation of the church? As we studied earlier when Jesus called the apostles, we saw that the NT is based upon the writings, witness, and recollections of the apostles concerning the life and ministry of Jesus. Whereas God is ultimately the author of the entire Bible, we have no writings from the hand of Jesus Himself. Instead the apostles were the ones who either wrote the NT or served as the authority behind each of the NT books. In fact, the only reason some of the NT books are included in the Bible is that they were written by the apostles. The early church had a hard time accepting Jude, 2 Peter, and Revelation; however, the fact that the apostles penned these books compelled the early Christians to accept them as God�s Word.
What kind of church is Jesus building? It is a building so great that even the gates of Hades cannot withstand it. Usually gates are used for defensive measures. When the inhabitants of a fortress saw the enemy approaching, they lowered the iron gates to prevent the enemy from entering the city. Well, in this instance, although Hades may lower its gates, the church will still be able to conquer the fortress of Hades. By this Jesus is saying that the church is in mortal combat with Hades, the realm of the dead, just like everybody else is in mortal combat with Hades. Unlike everybody else though who dies in their struggle with Death, the church will never die. Although governments or intellectual skeptics may ridicule and even persecute her, she will live forever. Why? Because her Builder, Jesus the risen Lord, lives forever. Not only does He live forever so that He can sustain her forever, His resurrection proves He is powerful enough to sustain her forever. The church may experience ebb and flow; however, she will never die.
Jesus now changes the symbol from that of constructing a building to maintaining that building. In the household of a wealthy landowner, one of the most important persons in the household was the chief steward who was ultimately responsible for its maintenance. Joseph fulfilled this very role in the household of Potiphar. In this new household Jesus who has the role of the owner of the household has placed Peter as the chief steward. (Again, remember that he occupies this position because of his place in time and history, not because of any inherent worth or superiority). This chief steward has the right to grant or deny entrance into this house, the kingdom of God.
Does this mean that Peter can keep people out or admit them based purely on a whim? The idea of binding and loosing in this passage reveals the meaning and function of Peter�s role as chief steward. The idea of binding and loosing in Jesus� day referred to the role of the rabbis who legislated on what was or was not God�s will. Peter cannot dictate God�s will; however, he can reveal to us that will. That will is that God wishes all people be saved (2 Pet. 3:9). The only way God will allow a person to enter the kingdom of heaven is for that person to confess his sins and to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord of his life. When a person does this, Peter can inform that person that he has entered the kingdom of heaven and salvation. On the other hand, when a person does not do this, then Peter can inform him that entrance has been denied him into that kingdom. [Note that this authority is given not just to Peter but to all the church (Matt. 18:18 and John 20:23).]
At this point, Jesus instructs the disciples to share with no one His identity as the Messiah. Such a proclamation would be premature since the disciples do not understand what kind of Messiah He is going to be. They will understand only after He has died on the cross and risen from the dead.
jesus describes the nature of his messiahship (16:21-28)
With verse 21 we begin a major new phase in Jesus� ministry. After Jesus led the disciples to the conclusion that He was the Messiah, God�s unique Son, He began to explain to the disciples the nature of that Messiahship. All four gospels indicate that at least three times during the last year of His ministry, Jesus explained the nature of His Messiahship. What He said startled the disciples because it ran contrary to everything the Jews had been taught and believed about the Messiah. Jesus informs them that instead of going up to Jerusalem to receive the acclamations of the people and be crowned the Messiah, He is going to go to Jerusalem the killer of prophets, suffer many things at the hands of the Jewish religious Supreme Court (the Sanhedrin), be killed, and then rise from the dead on the third day. Peter the Rock cannot believe his ears. He takes Jesus aside and literally says, "Mercy to you!" or "May it never be, Lord, because I will never, no never allow this thing to happen!"
At this point Jesus wheels around and tells Peter the Rock, "Get behind Me, Satan," almost the exact words Jesus said to Satan after he tempted Jesus the third time. "You have become a stumbling-block to Me." Now instead of being the rock which forms the foundation of the church, he has become a stumbling-block in the path Jesus must take in order to follow His Father�s will. Peter is now taking the approach Satan takes. Satan will call Jesus "Lord" and yet refuse to obey Him or to follow His path.
What is more, what Jesus is saying applies not only to Him but also to the disciples. Many times when we read the following we forget the context in which Jesus says these words. The context? Jesus is going up to Jerusalem in order to die, not figuratively, but literally! Jesus says that the necessary qualification for being Jesus� disciple is being willing to follow Jesus, and that means taking up his own cross and following Jesus to execution. Many times Christians reduce this statement to being nothing more than a symbolical following of Jesus Christ. Whereas that may be true today, the fact is that when the disciples first heard this statement, they did not think of the cross as being a symbol but as a reality of execution. In order to qualify as Jesus� disciple, a person must be willing to lay down his/her life literally because of their relationship with Him.
It is only logical that in this verse Jesus includes martyrdom. The Christian life consists of nothing less than daily dying to self and living for Jesus Christ. It would only make sense then that the logical outcome of the Christian life is nothing less than literally laying down one�s life for Christ.
Jesus provides a motivation for being willing to die daily and even to suffer martyrdom: the person who clings to his life here on earth will lose it in heaven. The person who insists on clinging to what he wants, to his agenda, or his goals will ultimately lose the life that Jesus Christ provides for him throughout eternity. Look at what we cling to: the praise of mere mortals, a few extra bucks so that we can drive around in a nice car, a superior education so that we can talk about things which ultimately don�t matter. These things don�t really satisfy. They are not life. On the other hand, Jesus says that the person who gives up his own life, that is, his own goals, agenda, and insistence on getting his own way will receive God�s life, not just in the future, but right now in the here and now.
Jesus again reasons with His disciples why they should be willing to give up their own lives, etc. and receive His life. Jesus says, "So what if you do get what you want? So what if what you want satisfies you in the present life? The fact is that a day is coming when the things of this world and those who have lusted after them will be destroyed, whereas those who sought after Jesus and were willing to give up their own lives for Him will receive eternal life. Jesus warns us to evaluate what we will gain in each case and lose in each case. In the first case we gain the world for a few short years (70) and lose our soul for eternity; in the second case, we lose the world for only 70 years and yet gain our soul for eternity. (Note how Jesus is arguing from the greater to the lesser in this verse. No one has ever received the whole world. Even if he did, it would not be worth losing his soul for eternity. If that is true, then losing one�s soul is not worth whatever else we may gain or strive for in life.) Jesus finishes by saying that this warning is not an idle threat. A day is coming when He will return with His angels to call mankind before His judgment seat and act upon what He has just said.