Peter the Declarer — Matthew 16

A text — Matthew 16:13-20
16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
16:14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
16:17 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.
16:18 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.
16:19 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.”
16:20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

A reflection:

Peter’s declaration that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, doesn’t surprise us very much. It’s a commonly told story, and among all the Peter stories, we expect to hear it.

But remember, in the previous stories, Jesus has been kind of surprised by the disciples’ lack of declarations, revelations, or even basic understanding of what Jesus is up to in his ministry. Jesus knows that God is the one who gives the gift of faith (as Luther says, “Not by my own reason or strength can I believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me…”). Human beings, on their own, cannot believe in the triune God. Only God makes that possible. Our faith does not begin by anything we do – it begins with God first speaking in our lives, whether we recognize it or not.

So the disciples’ delay in making declarations, revelations, and basic understanding is at least partly the Holy Spirit’s fault, perhaps. God hasn’t stirred them enough. Until this particular day. The day Peter declares, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Imagine Jesus’s happiness! Imagine his excitement! These men whom Jesus has been teaching, living with, traveling with, healing in front of – God has stirred up in them faith enough for Peter to say it aloud. It is a huge moment. And Jesus foretells the future that will come of it. Rapturously! 

How many times have you been convinced in your life walk that God is good, that Jesus is Lord? How many times do we have the chance to declare our experience of God’s truth and love? How rarely we speak up! Might we be bold sometime today and find a way to declare what wonderful things God does? Imagine the happiness God feels when we do.

A prayer:

Dear Lord, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us Peter’s witness to Jesus and Jesus’s reaction to that declaration. Help us to be as bold as Peter, even in a small way, this day.   Amen.