Sunday 24 August 2014

Background

At the start of this chapter in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is askedby his opponents to show them a sign from heaven. They clearlyhaven't seen the many signs that Jesus has already shown in hisministry so far. He dismisses them with a cryptic word about the"sign of Jonah" (Matthew 16:4) (reiterating his words in Matthew 12:38-41 - pointing to his death andresurrection). For all his wonderful healings, his well-reportedfeeding miracles, and his unsurpassed teaching, there are some whostill want proof. Jesus' disciples, however, have taken note of allof these signs, and many more. So what is going through their mindswhen Jesus takes them on a little retreat out towards the city ofCaesarea Philippi in the far north west of the country? Jesusdoesn't wait for them to raise the subject. "Who do people say thatthe Son of Man is?" (v. 13): he basically asks them what people aresaying about him. ("Son of man" is a strange phrase which refers tothe mysterious biblical figure in Daniel7, who returned to heaven and was given all authority by God torule over the earth. Time and time again, Jesus used the phrase torefer to himself.)

The disciples respond to the question with various accounts ofwhat people are saying about Jesus: linking him to various prophetswho have gone before, and suggesting they might be reincarnated inJesus. Although these answers are wrong, they do show that thepeople in general had a sense that Jesus was sent from God in thestyle and tradition of these great prophets. (This suggests thatJesus was not the gentle, mild and harmless chap we sometimes liketo imagine: John the Baptist, Elijah and Jeremiah were wild andzealous prophets who stood up to wayward kings and called people torepentance.)

So now that they've successfully 'beat around the bush', Jesusasks them straight: "But who do you say that I am?" (v. 15). SimonPeter, typically, jumps in first: Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.He's the one all Israel has been waiting for. He's the one theprophets were talking about. He's the one John the Baptist waspreparing the way for. He's the one who would be God's humble andvictorious king, anointed by God himself, and as such adopted asGod's son, in the way that David had been before him. He would belike David but greater than David, bringing God's justice and peacein his wake; an end to oppression and the restoration of trueworship. And since Israel was chosen to bring God's blessing toall, the Messiah would turn out to be the Lord of the whole world.Our simple explanations sometimes fail to do justice to all of thehopes and expectations that were loaded into 'the Messiah' fromcenturies of prophecy and promise. When Simon Peter calls him "Sonof the living God", it too is filled with this messianic meaning;not necessarily the divinely-related-to-God way that the apostlesand the Church would later try to put into words.

So Peter has hit the nail on the head! Jesus doesn't deny it;instead telling his disciples not to tell anyone about it (verse20). There was so much misunderstanding about 'the Messiah' thatmessianic groups could easily find themselves in trouble with theruling Romans or at odds with the differing religious sects ofJudaism. Jesus knew that would come for him, but the time was notright.

Peter was the one who put into words what the others werethinking. He was the first to witness to God's revelation; therevelation that is Jesus the Christ. And so Peter would become thesolid foundation of the Church. And he got this status, not becausehe was a particularly good leader, or a particularly faithfuldisciple, but only because God had revealed it to him and Peter hadresponded by speaking the truth. And it's this witness that theChurch is called to continue today. God has revealed God's own selfalong with God's own purposes in Jesus the Messiah, the son of theliving God.

To Ponder

• Jesus says, "And on this rock I will build my church." He saysthat he will build it: not us. How often do we think and act as ifthe future of the Church depends on us?

• How can we put aside our often-misplaced 'church-building'activities, and concentrate instead on being (like Peter) afaithful witness to God's revelation in Christ?

• Who do people say that Jesus is? What do you hear people sayabout Jesus Christ today? More importantly, who do you say that heis?