(Conflicts, Confession, and the Cost of Discipleship)
Matthew 16:13-28,1 Peter 2:6, Psalm 42:2, Psalm 84:2, Daniel 6:26
Summary: This is the chapter where Peter proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Promised Messiah and Son of God. This confession of faith is the catalyst that gave birth to the church, with Jesus being the Chief Cornerstone (1Peter 2:6-8).
Jesus and His disciples entered the region of Caesarea Philippi, found 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. This was the territory where Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas, ruled as Tetrarch. It was here that the Lord asked the disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
He was a subject of both conversation and controversy among the people of Israel. Some of the people saw Him as the embodiment of the prophet Elijah, who had a showdown with the pagan priests of the Phoenician “deity” Baal, whose worship had included the horrid practice of live child sacrifice. This encounter and its consequences are presented in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings, Chapters 17-18. Elijah has a prominent role in the arrival of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).
Some people believed that he was John the Baptist raised from the dead, while others likened Jesus to the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah, because in Jewish tradition, it was believed that he had hidden the Ark of the Covenant and the Altar of Incense as the kingdom of Judah fell to the armies of Babylon in 586 B.C. This is recorded in the book of 2 Maccabees 2:4-8, part of the Apocrypha, which is not in the accepted canon of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
Yet, no one had said that Jesus was the long-expected Messiah of God. Apparently, He did not measure up with anyone’s concept of the Messiah. It was Peter who openly declared that Jesus was indeed the Promised One of God (v.16). Jesus was the Messiah, the One who was worthy to sit upon the throne of His ancestor David (2 Samuel 7). Peter had confessed that Jesus was not just another man, but God in the flesh who came to rescue His people. Peter had a better understanding than the others as to Jesus’ relationship with God the Father.
This confession was a direct revelation from God to Peter (v.17). Jesus declared that Peter’s confession was the “rock,” along with the teaching by the disciples about Jesus, which would become the foundation of the church (v. 18). This foundation has withstood and triumphed over the gates of hell for eternity.
Remember, when life seems overwhelming and the world, the flesh, and the devil are giving you a troublesome time, go to the end of the book of Revelation. Jesus won, and so do we when we surrender our lives to Him as Lord and Savior. It works every time (Romans 10:9-10).
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