13When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17Jesus 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. 18And 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. 19And 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."
20Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
This one surprised me. When I read this before, I always thought that the significance here is that Peter is the first to claim that Jesus is the Son of God. But that's not true. Back in Matthew 14:33, the disciples in the boat claimed "Truly You are the Son of God!" So is the significance here that Peter is recognizing Jesus as the Christ?
I thought I had read so many places before in this book that Jesus was referred to as Jesus Christ. But as I searched back through it now, the only place that has happened is in the section headings. Nowhere in any other text is anyone calling Him Jesus Christ.
Christ means savior, the promised Messiah that they have been waiting for. In many places I had wondered if that is what people meant when they called Jesus Son of David. But as I look back at all those occurrences, I think the "Son of David" is more a statement of lineage, and strong Jewish heritage. An angel even referred to Joseph as Son of David. And even though many had referred to Jesus as Son of David, when Jesus now asked His disciples who men say He is, they never mentioned Son of David. So I get the impression that the title of Son of David used for Jesus thus far hadn't meant the promised One. Peter is the first one to recognize Jesus as the Christ, the promised One.
Who do people say Jesus is? There has been much speculation on who Jesus is in the last couple of chapters. We remember in Matthew 14:2 when Herod was thinking Jesus was John the Baptist coming back to life. Many had thought Jesus was a prophet, for Jesus had such great knowledge and powers. But would many have thought of Him as their promised Messiah who was to save them? He wasn't raising up an army to bear down against their oppressors. He wasn't doing any of the things they would have expected from their Messiah.
But Peter recognized Jesus as the Christ, the one who was sent to save them. No one told him that, no one even hinted at it. But it was revealed to him through God. The blessing of this revelation from God was given to Peter. A person is blessed not because of what they have done or figured out for themselves, but because of what God has given to them.
No, Jesus didn't come to raise up an army against men, but a church against the gates of Hades, death. Jesus would defeat the arms of death.
Peter means rock. The rock in which Jesus would build His church upon is the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is the foundation of the church. And in this church shall be the keys to the kingdom of heaven: the understanding of God's desires for us and the path to our salvation in heaven. And whatever the church binds on earth shall be bound in the kingdom of heaven: baptism into the family of God, binding together couples in marriage, etc. And whatever the church looses on earth shall be loosed in heaven: forgiveness of sins, etc.
But Jesus said to tell no one that He is Jesus the Christ. Is this because He doesn't want word to get out yet, that He doesn't want them to mob Him with their demands for an army, that there is more work He wants to accomplish first? Or is it simply because no one will truly understand that He is the Christ when simply revealed by another man, by flesh and blood? At this point in His ministry, maybe it is important that others discover it the same way Peter did, as a revelation from God. If told by another man, they will have a man's expectations attached to it. But if revealed by God, they will have the understanding that comes with it.
May we all be blessed like Peter with an understanding of what Jesus is to us -- our salvation.