Jesus asked his disciples a very important question, and Peter seemed to be the only one courageous enough to speak up and answer this critical question.
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?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 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. 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. Matthew 16:13-18
There were many opinions about Jesus. Some considered him a Jewish Rabbi, and others saw him as their healer. The religious people saw Him as one having demons and were offended by him. Therefore, Jesus asked His disciples about their understanding of Him. Jesus was not looking for admiration or a pat on the back. He was testing them like a teacher tests his/her students. He was evaluating their understanding based on everything that they had learned and observed.
Peter accurately proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ and that he was the son of the living God. He had the right answer, but He still didn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ. He had his own ideas of Christ that were religious and cultural, but they were not the complete truth. This was clear when Jesus declared the following:
From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and He was going to be killed and then be raised on the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:21-23
When Jesus told His disciples about his death and resurrection on the third day, Peter was quick to rebuke Him. If Peter really believed that Jesus was the son of God, don’t you think he would have refrained from rebuking the son of God!? Then Peter went on to tell Jesus that this was not going to happen to him! While Peter was accurate in calling Jesus the Christ, he was rejecting the work of Christ. Jesus told Peter that he was mindful of the things of men rather than being mindful of things of God.
Peter was a mixture of the new and the old nature. We can also be a mixture of great revelations and worldliness at the same time. Peter had a wrong view of the role of Christ in his life. We can also have a wrong view of Jesus based on our upbringing, culture, or past denomination.
The areas that do not line up with the Bible will cause great confusion and disappointment in our lives. We need to reassess those areas of conflict and find out if our views are based on scripture or some worldly viewpoint that is familiar to us. Can you challenge your assumptions about your faith and look to the Bible to realign your expectations to the Bible? In what areas do you need an adjustment?
