Back to the Bible: Matthew 16:13-20
When Jesus went to Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples who the people thought He was. People had various ideas about it— some thought He was a recent prophet— John the Baptist, some thought He was an old prophet— Elijah or Jeremiah, and others were not sure, but they thought He was one of the prophets. Perhaps, they thought Jesus was simply another stage in preparation for the kingdom promises to be fulfilled. But, then Jesus asked who His disciples thought He was. What the world thinks about Jesus is one thing; what you think about Jesus is the significant matter.
Simon responded, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God” that is, the promised “anointed” King God had longed promised and the human embodiment of God. He saw the truth about Jesus. He knows Jesus is not just another step in the preparations of God’s plan— He is the fulfillment of God’s purposes.
Jesus said that Simon, the son of Jonah, was blessed to have seen this. He had learned this, not from human reasoning, but from the revelation of the Father by the miracles of Jesus.
Jesus gave Simon the new name Peter (Petros, in Greek), which meant stone, and promised to build His church, gather His people, on the foundation, the rock (petra, in Greek), that Jesus was the Christ. That is, Jesus is building a people, a congregation, who are all committed to the truth that He is King and the Son of God. Nothing would stop it– not even the power of death.
Then, Jesus promised Peter (and the rest of the apostles, see 18:18) that they would reveal how to enter the kingdom of heaven. The apostles would bind and loose certain instructions based on what was already bound or loosed in heaven. They would serve as the King’s ambassadors. When the apostles gave instructions or released obligation, they were delivering the will of God (see also Matt. 28:18-20).
However, Jesus tells His disciples not to tell anyone— perhaps He is concerned that while Peter understands that He is the Christ, that He might not have the right idea about what that means. Many Jews, including the disciples, expected and hoped that Christ would be a political and military leader. Jesus will upset their expectations.
We’re thankful to share these considerations of God’s word. It’s best if you have a Bible close to evaluate what we say. We want to go “back to the Bible” for all we teach. Tune in to 100.7 WGOL Sunday at 8:30am for our Back to the Bible Radio Program. Reach out with your questions, comments, or requests for personal Bible study at backtothebiblepodcast.com or at info@backtothebiblepodcast.com.
