Matthew 16:13–20
What Jesus’ disciples understood about his work and about who he was.
Jesus was teaching his disciples more about himself. He had begun with a warning. (Read Matthew 16:5–12.) Then, he asked them a question. It was a very personal question. He said: ‘But what about you? Who do you say that I am?’
The disciples gave the answers of some other people (Matthew 16:14). The disciples did not mention the very negative attitude of the Pharisees. (Read Matthew 10:25 and 12:24.) But the disciples repeated Herod (Matthew 14:2) and other people. Those people all said that Jesus was a great person. They even said that Jesus was special. Nobody else was like him. But those answers were not enough.
Peter spoke for the disciples (Matthew 16:16). None of them completely understood the words. But Peter made a very important claim. He said: ‘You are the Christ ( Messiah).’ He was recognising that Jesus was the chief prophet of God. In Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, Moses had spoken of this person. A great prophet would come one day. Peter believed that Jesus was that great prophet.
God spoke to Isaiah too (Isaiah 55:4). God promised to send a great leader and a master of the nations.
The Jews believed that the Messiah would be a great priest. He would be a priest for ever. This belief came from Psalm 110:4. Jews believed that the Messiah would be a king for ever. This belief came from Psalm 2:6. The disciples believed that Jesus was both a priest and a king. Peter also described Jesus as ‘the Son of the Living God’. Jesus was God and Creator. (He created all things.) He keeps and supports all things too. (Read John 1:1–3 and Hebrews 1:1–3.)
The true Lord (Master, Ruler) and false lords
All these events happened near Caesarea Philippi. This was a town to the north of Galilee. Jesus left Galilee. And he left the crowds who had followed him. He wanted a quiet place. This was so that he could spend more time with his disciples.
We might ask why Jesus would choose Caesarea. It was an important religious centre. It was the main place for the worship of Baal. Baal was the chief god in the country called Syria. Those who worshipped Baal made all human pleasures their god, especially sex. But people also said that Pan was born there. Pan was the Greek god of nature. Men and women worshipped Pan. They were worshipping what God made, instead of the Creator. (The Creator is he who created all things.)
There was a great temple in Caesarea too. This was a special, large building. There, people would worship the emperor (ruler). He was just a man. But people worshipped him. They said that he was the master of the world.
All these things may be the reasons why Jesus chose this place. There were many other claims upon people. But Jesus called people to follow him only.
Peter, the rock (Matthew 16:17–19)
Men and women cannot understand spiritual things clearly on their own. Some people do understand them. If so, it is only because God has helped them. Here, Jesus showed a very important truth.
Jesus used two words in Matthew 16:18. Aramaic was the language that Jesus spoke. In Aramaic ‘Kepha’ meant a rock. ‘Kephas’ was a name. Many people suggest that the rock was Peter’s faith. Other people think that Jesus was referring to himself as the rock. Other people think that Peter himself was the rock. Probably, it was none of these ideas.
The disciples were Jews. They probably thought that Jesus meant the stone for a foundation. Abraham was like this kind of stone. (Read Isaiah 51:1–2.) The building was the OT people of God. Abraham was its first stone. Jesus said that Peter was the first stone of the NT church. (Note: The NT church is the people of God.)
Something made Peter like a rock. It was his words in verse 16. He was the first person to really understand who Jesus was and is. He was the first of many people who would believe the same thing. 1 Peter 2:4–9 describes all believers as like ‘stones that are alive’. Here, in Matthew 16:16–18, Jesus was teaching an important truth. It was for anyone who wanted to be a member of the real church. Peter’s words here would always be the principle. (Note: The church does not refer to a building. It refers to people who belong to Jesus. So, ‘the church’ means all real believers. They are the ‘stones that are alive’.)
The last words of Matthew 16:18 are hard to understand. The original Greek translation is important. It says: ‘The gates of Hades will not defeat it.’ In the Bible, the word ‘Hades’ can mean ‘hell’. But it can also mean ‘grave’. So it sometimes refers to death.
In the ancient world, many towns or villages had a large open space. It was behind the main entrance. This entrance was called the ‘gate’. It was here that people met together. They would make decisions about their lives and their village or town. Jesus could be referring to any plan that came from the ‘gate’ of hell. No plan that came from there would ever defeat the church. But, Hades could mean ‘death’. If so, it means that death itself would never defeat the church. This seems to be the most likely meaning.
To Jews, the ‘keys’ in Matthew 16:19 would mean teaching that had authority. All Jews would clearly understand this. So, Jesus was saying: ‘I will give the message of God. I will give it to you, Peter, and to all other stones who are like you.’ What men and women did with that message would decide their eternal future. (Eternal means before time began; for all time and for ever.)
Questions
- Who do people say that Jesus is? Write a list of answers. What is your own answer? How would you explain it? How can you live by it?
- What gods do people worship in today’s society? Do the members of your church ever worship false things? (These false things could be important people or ideas. They could be wrong ideas about God himself. They are any things that become more important than God to people.)
- Some people say that it does not matter what a person believes. They say, too, that there are many ways to get to God. What would you say to these people?
