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, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 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. 18 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. 19 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.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus asks His disciples who the people say that He is. Their reply shows that the people have recognised that He is not an ordinary man. Like John, He preached repentance. Like Elijah, He was mighty in prayer and in performing miracles. Like Jeremiah, He was rejected by His generation. But non of those is adequate. Israel had failed to identify Him as the Messiah even though they had recognised that there was something supernatural about His ministry.
So Jesus asks who they think that He is. Peter replies on their behalf and acknowledges that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus applauds him for his recognition of the truth and explains that his answer has come directly from the Father’s revelation to him.
Today we see many ideas about who Jesus was/is. Many consider Him to have been a good man, a prophet, or a key character in history. But what is most important is who you believe Him to be. If your understanding of who Jesus is is inadequate, then you will miss His true significance—that He is the Son of God, who died on the cross for your sins, to give you eternal life, that can only be obtained through Him.
Jesus then begins to reveal the mystery of His kingdom program on earth. Peter’s name in greek was “rock”, so Jesus’ response was, “You are rock (Petros), and on this rock (Petra), I will build my church…”. There are a number of understandings of what Jesus meant when He said this. The most likely is that Jesus was indicating that Peter would lead the church as it was born, and that the church would be established on his proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah. Peter is the “rock” who would lead the church that would be built on Jesus, the “Rock”. Peter later acknowledges that Jesus is the secure foundation, the Cornerstone and that he and the apostles were merely stones built on that foundation (see 1 Peter 2:4-8).
Peter was given the keys of the kingdom of heaven in the sense that he was given the opportunity to reveal the truth of the gospel and open the kingdom to the Jews (Acts 2:38-42), then the Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17) and then the Gentiles (Acts 10:34-48).
Jesus told the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ because His plan was still not fully revealed. They still didn’t understand that He wasn’t there to establish an earthly kingdom, but was there to die for the sins of the world.
While Peter was specifically given the keys to the kingdom of God as the founder of the church, we too have been given the keys. We are able to unlock the kingdom of heaven for others by telling them who Jesus is. Who do you know who needs this unlocked for them? Pray now that God would give you an opportunity to speak the truth of the gospel with them and the boldness to use that opportunity.