Peter’s Great Confession
June 16th, 2007 by Richard Elton
One of my favorite Scriptures is Matthew 16:13 – 17.
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
I like this record, because of its pure simplicity and directness. It clarifies, for me, in words that are easy to understand, exactly what I should believe and confess about the identity of our Lord Jesus.
This is perhaps the only time that Jesus specifically asked anyone about what they thought concerning his identity. Certainly people were talking about Jesus. They know about his ministry and teachings. After all, he had been working the works of his Father God throughout the region – boldly declaring the gospel of the Kingdom of God, healing the sick, raising the dead, working miracles, and confronting the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. So when Jesus asked what the people were saying about him, the disciples replied that many thought him to be one of the prophets come back to life.
When asked directly who THEY thought he was, Peter spoke up. “You are the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the living God.”
It’s interesting to consider how Jesus handled Peter’s response:
- He didn’t refute Peter’s confession
- He didn’t correct him.
- He didn’t try to clarify it.
- He didn’t have to add anything to it.
No. In fact, Jesus greatly praised Peter for what he said, and even acknowledged that God had revealed this to him.
I guess I like this record, because I am not a particularly good debater, and there seem to be a lot of opinions out there about who Jesus is. So whenever someone tries to back me into a Trinitarian corner with their smooth arguments, all I have to tell them is that I believe what Peter believed. Namely that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Period. If this Christology was good enough for Peter, it’s good enough for me also! Apparently John agrees with this reasoning as well.
John 20:30-31.
30Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
What do you think?
- Was Peter’s confession an adequate description of who Jesus was?
- Or is it too simple?
- Do we need to add further clarification to what he said?
- If so, what do we add?
John I so appreciated this entry because things can get very complicated on this topic. Thinking about the trinity can cause my brain to do some many strange turns and maneveurings that my head hurts, Surely God did not intend for this to be. This topic as important as it is must be understood by “simple” folks just like Peter and just like me. How unfair to lay open the hearts of men a doctrine so contrived that no one really can say they understand it and then require it for salvation. Reminds me of the comment about the religious people of the day hindering the ordinary person from entering in by making it so difficult.
Great points…to be the Christ is a big deal! The Christ is the King of the Kingdom of God. I think it would be good for Christians to investigate and stud what it means to be the Messiah. What does the Old Testament teach the Messiah was to do? This will help us today understand Peter’s answer - which from the commendation from Jesus, must have been the right answer.
Who do you think Jesus is? Hopefully, that would be our reply too.