13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi,
He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I,
the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some
Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do
you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has
not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not
prevail against it. 19 And 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.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell
no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
The Lord Jesus now along with the disciples leaves the small villages and such near the shores of the Sea of Galilee and moves northward into the region of Caesarea Philippi, the city where Herod Philip (one of the sons of Herod the great), ruled and made his home. And so, it is here (outside of the pinnacles of power that then ruled the Jews) that the Lord Jesus Christ will ask the disciples about who they believe His Person to be. Now Jesus will first ask them, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” And so, they respond by telling Him that some say that Jesus is John the Baptist (i.e. John the Baptist raised from the dead as Herod thought). While others say Jesus is Elijah (likely linking the Lord Jesus’ miraculous works with that of Elijah who did some similar works but nothing on par with His), while others said Jesus was Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Yet none (and this is important) had yet rightly identified the Lord Jesus Christ for who He truly is. For as God had not yet revealed the true identity of His Son to the multitudes, for this could not take place before Christ’s Crucifixion and then later Resurrection from the dead.
Vs. 15-17 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Now the Lord Jesus Christ’s declaration in verse eighteen is not that Peter is the Rock on which He will build His church for that designation belongs to Christ Himself. For Jesus is referred to throughout the Scripture as God’s living Rock or Stone, just Peter himself calls Him (see 1 Peter 2:4-8, and also see Ephesians 2:20-22 where the Lord Jesus is rightly referred to as the Chief Cornerstone of all that God is building, i.e. all the people of God made up of both Jews and Gentiles redeemed by His shed blood, 1 Peter 2:9-10). Therefore, the rock on which the Lord Jesus Christ will build His church is the testimony that the Apostle Peter gave of Him, that is Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. For that is the foundation of the Church, Jesus Christ Himself and our declaration of Him as the Christ the Son of the living God. Now in rightly declaring the Lord Jesus Christ (and thus the church being built upon the testimony of His Person) the Lord also says of His church that “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”. Therefore, the gates of death (and all the forces of hell itself) will not prevail against either the Lord Jesus Christ Himself or His people in His church, for the everlasting life which He purchased and then paved the way for us all by His own Sacrificial Crucifixion death and then His Resurrection from the Dead and then His Ascension back to God in heaven assures us all that we who believe in Him will be with Him forever and ever in heaven.
Vs. 19 “And 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.”
When the Lord Jesus Christ declared to Peter that He gave him the keys to the Kingdom of heaven He was referring to Peters having rightly declared His Person as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, therefore Peter could by that Word given him by God likewise declare men and woman to be either loosed from their sins and transgression (or still bound) by their own confession (or not) of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this privilege Peter first exercised on the Day of Pentecost, when He received all the people who repented and believed at his preaching Christ to them (Acts 2:38-41). Now that privilege is likewise extended to every disciple of Christ to likewise declare and receive the same (John 2:20-23).
Having then made the confession of His Person as the Christ, the Son of the Living God the entrance requirement into the Kingdom of heaven the Lord Jesus Christ now tells the disciples to tell no one that He is the Christ. For that confession could invoke salvation for no one until the Lord Jesus Christ first suffered His Sacrificial Crucifixion death on the Cross for us all.
Commentary
Vs.
13-14
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi,
He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I,
the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
The Lord Jesus now along with the disciples leaves the small villages and such near the shores of the Sea of Galilee and moves northward into the region of Caesarea Philippi, the city where Herod Philip (one of the sons of Herod the great), ruled and made his home. And so, it is here (outside of the pinnacles of power that then ruled the Jews) that the Lord Jesus Christ will ask the disciples about who they believe His Person to be. Now Jesus will first ask them, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” And so, they respond by telling Him that some say that Jesus is John the Baptist (i.e. John the Baptist raised from the dead as Herod thought). While others say Jesus is Elijah (likely linking the Lord Jesus’ miraculous works with that of Elijah who did some similar works but nothing on par with His), while others said Jesus was Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Yet none (and this is important) had yet rightly identified the Lord Jesus Christ for who He truly is. For as God had not yet revealed the true identity of His Son to the multitudes, for this could not take place before Christ’s Crucifixion and then later Resurrection from the dead.
Vs. 15-17 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Having heard the disciple’s response, the
Lord Jesus Christ now pointily asks them who they believe His Person to be
(vs.15). Simon Peter then often being the disciple’s spokesmen is the first to
respond, saying to the Lord Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Now Peter’s response is without doubt or
reservation, for it is a heart felt declaration of just who he had rightly come
to believe Jesus to be, and that is the Promised Messiah (i.e. The Christ=Christos which is the Greek rendering
for Messiah) the Son of God. Now with Peter’s heart felt declaration the Lord
Jesus Christ says to him, “Blessed
are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to
you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Vs. 17 Therefore though
Peter’s response came from the heart it was God Himself who had first revealed
His Son to Peter, something which He does for each and everyone of us, in His
own timing and in His own way He reveals His Son to us. Now what we do with
that revelation is up to us. For we all must decide for ourselves whether we will
repent and believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ for ourselves. For God
allows each and every one of us to choose for ourselves whether we will have
Him or not (John 1:12; Rev.3:20).
Vs.
18
And I also say to you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not
prevail against it.
Now the Lord Jesus Christ’s declaration in verse eighteen is not that Peter is the Rock on which He will build His church for that designation belongs to Christ Himself. For Jesus is referred to throughout the Scripture as God’s living Rock or Stone, just Peter himself calls Him (see 1 Peter 2:4-8, and also see Ephesians 2:20-22 where the Lord Jesus is rightly referred to as the Chief Cornerstone of all that God is building, i.e. all the people of God made up of both Jews and Gentiles redeemed by His shed blood, 1 Peter 2:9-10). Therefore, the rock on which the Lord Jesus Christ will build His church is the testimony that the Apostle Peter gave of Him, that is Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. For that is the foundation of the Church, Jesus Christ Himself and our declaration of Him as the Christ the Son of the living God. Now in rightly declaring the Lord Jesus Christ (and thus the church being built upon the testimony of His Person) the Lord also says of His church that “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”. Therefore, the gates of death (and all the forces of hell itself) will not prevail against either the Lord Jesus Christ Himself or His people in His church, for the everlasting life which He purchased and then paved the way for us all by His own Sacrificial Crucifixion death and then His Resurrection from the Dead and then His Ascension back to God in heaven assures us all that we who believe in Him will be with Him forever and ever in heaven.
Vs. 19 “And 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.”
When the Lord Jesus Christ declared to Peter that He gave him the keys to the Kingdom of heaven He was referring to Peters having rightly declared His Person as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, therefore Peter could by that Word given him by God likewise declare men and woman to be either loosed from their sins and transgression (or still bound) by their own confession (or not) of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this privilege Peter first exercised on the Day of Pentecost, when He received all the people who repented and believed at his preaching Christ to them (Acts 2:38-41). Now that privilege is likewise extended to every disciple of Christ to likewise declare and receive the same (John 2:20-23).
Vs.
20 “Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell
no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”
Having then made the confession of His Person as the Christ, the Son of the Living God the entrance requirement into the Kingdom of heaven the Lord Jesus Christ now tells the disciples to tell no one that He is the Christ. For that confession could invoke salvation for no one until the Lord Jesus Christ first suffered His Sacrificial Crucifixion death on the Cross for us all.
Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
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