13 Now when Jesus
came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who
do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said,
"Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah
or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do
you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him,
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not
prevail against it. 19 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." 20 Then he
sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Matthew 16:13-20
is a story of the confession of faith by Peter. The source is Mark in verses
13-16, 20. Let us consider these verses first. Peter offers an affirmation of
faith that becomes a model for others. It occurs in the district of Caesarea
Philippi, an area well known for its many temples, especially to Pan.[1]
Jesus is wondering what the disciples have heard people are saying about him. Some
think of him as John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or
another prophet. Such responses would have messianic implications, for Jews of
this time believed the spirit of prophecy ended with Malachi and would not
return until the Messiah came. Yet, this response does not satisfy Jesus, for
he asks them whom they think Jesus is. Peter is the one to respond that he is the
Messiah, Son of the living God. These verses have parallels in other passages. In
John 6:66-69, many disciples turned away from Jesus because of the difficulty
of his teaching. Jesus asked the twelve if they also wished to turn away from
following, but Simon Peter said they had no one else to whom to turn, for he
had the words of eternal life. “We have come to believe and know that you are
the Holy One of God.” In John 11:25-27, Jesus informs Mary, “I am the
resurrection and the life.” Mary responds, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are
the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” The Gospel of
Thomas 13 has an unusual exchange which will contrast the special relationship
Thomas had with Jesus versus the relationship the other twelve had with Jesus. Clearly,
this passage disparages Peter and Matthew in particular and elevates Thomas. It
comes from a time when Gnostic believers were making clear their distinction
from the apostolic churches. We should note that Peter affirms his faith only
in the presence of Jesus and the other disciples. It would have been a
confession or witness had he done so on the night of the arrest of Jesus.[2] The
response from Jesus might surprise us, in that he does not want them to tell
others that he is the Messiah. The reason, undoubtedly, is that the term had
political implications Jesus did not share. We also need to remember that while
Peter is a model here, in the next verses he will oppose the journey of Jesus
to Jerusalem and he will lead the disciples in deserting Jesus at his arrest. He
will have significance only as he embraces the path of suffering that Jesus
will follow.[3]
Yet, ever since Peter makes this affirmation of faith, the church understands
its uniqueness in this way. What makes Christians who they are is Jesus. If God
had given the church a book, it might become a noble philosophy of life or a
system of virtues. What the church has instead is one who came in Jewish flesh
and through whom God saves. He was the son of a Jewish carpenter, he lived briefly,
he died violently at 30, and he unexpectedly rose from the dead. The church
believes it has seen as much of God it hopes to see in this life. Even in his
own time, maybe especially, the identity of Jesus was hardly self-evident. Some
believed or hoped he was the promised Messiah and eventually believed he was
God come to humanity in the flesh. Others thought he was crazy. Since the time
of Jesus, many others have undertaken to identify Jesus. H. S. Reimarus
(1691-1768) said Jesus was a Jewish revolutionary figure who died a
disappointed failure. David Friedrich Strauss (1808-74) showed how this was the
case by removing the miraculous elements of the Gospels. Ernest Renan (1823-92)
offered a romantic picture of Jesus as a strange, sweet, spirited poet and a
great moral teacher and example. H. J. Holtzmann (1832-1910) portrayed Jesus as
a teacher of timeless ethical truth. Johannes Weiss (1863-1914) returned
attention to the kingdom of God as an apocalyptic, end of the world notion that
ended in a disappointed Jesus. Albert Switzer would largely agree with this
assessment. These authors made their decisions regarding Jesus. The question
for us, of course, is the decision we make regarding Jesus. Such scholars ought
to remind us that our images of Jesus will often reflect our aspirations. Yet,
Jesus keeps breaking free of our limited images.[4] The
incomprehensible and ineffable nature of ultimate reality will make sure many
persons will hesitate to offer such a claim. After all, it seems arrogant to
claim one religious description of reality as superior to rival descriptions. Further,
no tradition can reasonably claim exclusive rights to the means of salvation. Many
Christians, desiring not to give offense, will back away from the uniqueness of
the saving work of Christ. Yet, the affirmation of this nonexclusive
particularity of salvation in Christ may well be the condition for genuine
respect from others.[5] When
it comes to such matters, the secularity of this age moves us toward a stance
of perpetual detachment. We are onlookers. We stand back and watch the world go
past us. We are like perpetual tourists, just passing through without actually
landing anywhere. We can quickly learn the basic teachings of Buddhism, Islam,
and even the teachings of Jesus. Yet, the church still asks, “However, what do
you believe? On what will you bet your life? What commitment, which attachment,
will determine how you live, move, and have your being?” At some point, the
church does not care what 9 in 10 Americans believe. What do you believe? When it
comes to religious matters, we can find so many different opinions and
conflicting points of view. We seem to have no place to stand where we can
determine what is right. Yet, making no decision is adopting a point of view. You
are socially acceptable and intellectually humble if you admit you have no
point of view or settle down and admit to having a position. True, you will not
know everything. You will not have settled all possible questions. Yet, to find
the words that locate you in a relationship with “the way, the truth, and the
life” is to find a rock on which to stand and build your life.
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