Matthew 16:13-23–Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
Our belief in Christ’s deity is accurate. He is the Son of God and came to wash away our sins. However, each of us still needs to be on guard against Satan’s efforts. He will still try to influence our thinking and actions. Christ asked a specific question, “Who do you say that I am? (verse 15)” Peter spoke for them all: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God (verse 16).” For Peter to confess and affirm this to Christ, which He commended him for, it becomes an essential foundation stone upon which the church is built. However, Peter was still immature and did not fully understand the significance of his confession and the mission of Christ. Christ’s ultimate mission was to be crucified and resurrected to build His church.
Peter revealed his theological confession when he told Christ that He would not be killed in Jerusalem. The thinking was that this could not happen if He were, in reality, the Messiah and the King of the Jews, as promised in the Old Testament. Christ rebuked Peter, actually accusing him of being a mouthpiece for Satan. Even though Peter was correct in who Christ was, there was a misunderstanding of His death and resurrection. There was a loss of understanding of Peter that would not be fully understood for another five years. Yes, he heard the parables about the Kingdom of Heaven, but the misunderstanding was about who would make up the body of believers, both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 3:6).
Blessings–Pastor Christopher
- How does the influence of Satan impact your belief in Christ Jesus?
- Is there any prejudice in your thinking about who will be in Heaven?
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