Matthew 16:15-20 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And answering Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it. 19I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he commanded the disciples in that they might not tell anyone that he is the Christ.
Jesus now turns to his disciples to see what they think about him. The most important question of history is asked in verse 15. It is a question that must be answered by all people, in this life or at judgment. As Paul wrote in Philippines 2:10-11, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The identity of Jesus has been one of the key themes in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew starts off with a genealogy to show Jesus to be the Messiah. Then the baby is given the name Jesus, “Savior,” and Immanuel, “God with us.” Had the disciples caught on to these titles yet?
Simon was the first to give an answer. His character as shown in the Gospel accounts is one of assertive faith, but often this faith falls short because of some outside pressure, doubt, or circumstance. This same pattern is seen in this passage and the next. Peter has seen something powerful at work in Jesus. Jesus could not be just any person. Indeed, he is the Messiah, the one promised in the Jewish Scriptures. Significantly, Peter also adds that Jesus is also the Son of the living God. What Peter thought of these two designations is difficult to tell, but clearly, Peter saw God’s power in Jesus and believed Jesus to have a special and unique relationship with God. The transfiguration has not taken place yet in the story, so somehow, Peter can come to this conclusion.It is possible that by this point, the disciples had heard the stories of Jesus’ miraculous birth, but this cannot be assumed. Jesus states that Peter came to this conclusion by direct revelation from God. This was a divine gift to Peter, something that came with his growing faith. Faith is what enables people to see the true identity of Jesus. The Jewish leaders lacked faith and therefore, could not see who Jesus is.
Jesus responds to Simon’s identification of Jesus with his own identification of Simon. Simon had insight into Jesus, and Jesus had insight into Simon. Simon has been called Peter many times in Matthew before this, even at the first mention in 4:18 when Jesus called him and other fishermen to follow him. Whether or not Jesus gave this nickname to Peter, and thus Matthew reflects on this name and uses it from the start, or if Simon had this second nickname from before he met Jesus. Verse 18 implies the second option, that it was Jesus who gave this name to Simon, and the name remained and became part of the vocabulary of the Gospel writers like Matthew.
The meaning of the name is significant. Peter is the transliteration of the Greek petros, which would be the translation of the Aramaic Cephas. Peter was like a rock to the early church. Although he would have his own trials, doubts, and fears, he still grew in his faith in Jesus. Peter represents the journey of all true believers. Jesus promises in Revelation 2:17 that each of us will be given a special name in heaven known only by us. Names are significant, especially when given by the Master and Creator of all.
Jesus gives Peter several significant promises in response to his confession of faith. First, Peter will be the rock upon which the church is built. This is the first time the word church (ekklēsian) occurs in the New Testament. Matthew is the only Gospel writer to use this word, and it is used only in verse 18 and 18:17. It basically means “the called out ones,” as in a congregation or assembly of people. It is the word used in the Septuagint (Greek) Old Testament for the gathered people of Israel. The early believers adopted this word for themselves. Peter would be a key person to start the church in fulfilling its mission of witnessing to the world. His sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 began this.
Second, the gates of Hades would not overcome the church built on Peter. Hades is the word used for the place of the dead as compared to heaven. The power of Hades and the death is represents cannot overpower the church. The church represents the new life of God. Death could not hold Jesus nor can it hold those who put their faith in him. Those who are bound by the power of sin and death can find release through the witness and ministry of the church. Peter exemplified the life of faith that would make the church strong.
Third, Jesus would give the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter. The church is not the kingdom, although the church participates in the kingdom. Peter would open the way to the kingdom to people by his witness. He needed to be faithful when the persecution would inevitably come. By his faithfulness, people would hear the good news of Jesus. If Peter failed, people would miss out. Peter held the key to the kingdom for many people. The kingdom is open to all people, both Jew and Gentile. Peter had to learn this hard lesson later, as recorded in Acts 10.
This passage has much packed into it and has caused a lot of discussion and even division over the centuries. The primary message is fairly clear. It is a call to recognize who Jesus is and then to be faithful to him. Jesus wanted his disciples to keep his messianic identity a secret for now lest the crowds misunderstand why he came. Jesus came to bring new life to all people by his death and resurrection. He will teach the disciples next about the call of the cross.
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