Proper 16 -- Isaiah 51: 1 – 6; Psalm 138; Romans 11: 33 – 36; Matthew 16: 13 – 20
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, August 24th, 2008
“Rocky, my hero!”
OK, you may be asking yourself, “Who is ‘Rocky’?”
Why, “Peter”, of course!
You see, we know St. Peter more by the nickname (Peter) that Jesus gave him than we do by his given name, which is “Simon”.
Peter’s confession[1] of Jesus as the Messiah,[2] the Christ,[3] is a pivotal occurrence in the Gospels. Peter, as usual, leads the way in acknowledging Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God”, even as he does in many other cases (stepping over the side of the boat into the water, e.g.)
So, let’s unpack this text a little….
At the outset, I will admit to you that this sermon will seem a whole lot more like an expository Bible study than a sermon which is intended to urge and exhort us to deeper hunger for God and the eternal truths that Jesus Christ comes to convey. But I have a motive: you see, next Sunday’s Gospel text is that which immediately follows the text we read today, Peter’s confession, and it is the text in which we hear Jesus’ rebuke of Peter, “Get behind me, Satan, for you are on the side of men, and not of God.”
The two passages are linked together, and together, they paint a picture of Simon Peter that ought to encourage each of us in our faith walk with God. For, you see, Peter is not only the “rock” upon which the Lord Jesus will build His Church, but Peter is the example of our own walk with God. So, for both reasons, Peter is “Rocky, my hero!”.
So now, let’s dive into this text we have before us today….
The first thing we ought to notice is the setting for the exchange Matthew lays before us: Caesarea Philippi. A city located on the southwestern slope of Mt. Hermon, it is quite a ways north and a bit east of the Sea of Galilee. So, just as we saw last week in our reading about the encounter Jesus had with the Canaanite woman near the region of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus is again outside “normal” Jewish territory. In fact, in Jesus’ day, Caesarea Philippi was a Gentile area. In a sense, Peter’s confession of Jesus as “The Messiah, the Son of the living God” presages Peter’s confession of Jesus to the Gentiles,[4] which would take Peter even as far as Rome itself.
Next, we should notice the narrowing focus of the conversation as Jesus leads His disciples into a deeper understanding of His identity and mission. It lays out this way as to human beings and Jesus' identity:
Vs. 13 -- “Who do men say the Son of Man is?”
Vs. 15 -- “You, who do you (pl.) I am?”
-Peter’s confession-
Vs. 17 --“Blessed are you [Peter] (sgl), for flesh & blood has not revealed this to you (sgl), but my Father in heaven”
The net effect of the text is to bring Jesus’ identity front and center with each individual disciple (including us), narrowing it from the abstract and from “what others think” about Jesus, down to the concrete, and to what our own confession is.
While we are in this part of the text, we might pause for a moment to examine the answers the various disciples give Jesus as to the things they have overheard in their travels about Jesus’ identity: John the Baptist was thought by King Herod (the Tetrarch) to be resurrected in the person of Jesus (see Matthew 14: 1 – 2); Elijah was translated into heaven (see II Kings 2: 1 – 18), but would herald the coming of Messiah (an apparently popular hope among the Jews, based on Malachi 4: 5), while Jeremiah prophesied at a time when the nation of Judah was threatened by outside powers (Babylon), just as God’s people were threatened by the outside power of Rome. Finally, “one of the prophets” mirrors the question that John the Baptist was asked by the Jews in John 1: 21.[5]
Now, let us turn our attention to Peter’s confession itself:
The first thing we notice is the presence of the definite article “the” along with the title “Messiah”. Some of the ancient Church fathers noticed its presence as well. Apparently, Peter identifies Jesus with a particular and peculiar identity and purpose, saying “you are the Christ” (not just “a Christ”).
“Christ” (or the Hebrew equivalent, “Messiah”) means “anointed one”, coming from the verb (in each language) “to anoint”. Anointing in the Old Testament period was an act of pouring oil on the head of a person, thereby signifying God’s selection of the person for a special and unique purpose. God’s favor rested on the “anointed one”, who was commissioned to do a specific act or to undertake a specific role. In the Old Testament, persons who were anointed were usually kings and priests.
In this regard, it is interesting to note that Jesus’ kingship is emphasized by Matthew in his recording of the visit of the Magi, who come asking, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”[6] Luke also takes time to point out that Joseph and Mary made their journey from Nazareth to Bethelehem because Joseph was “of the house and lineage of David.”[7] Finally, with regard to kingship, note that the sign that Pilate placed above Jesus’ cross said, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”.
As to the matter of priesthood, Jesus’ priesthood is a major theme of the Letter to the Hebrews (see chapter seven of Hebrews, particularly).
Now we should consider the second part of Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter repeats what the disciples had said when Jesus got into the boat after walking on the water. There, as the wind and the waves subsided, they worshipped Him, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”[8] Note that Jesus confirms Peter’s identification, responding by saying that Peter’s acknowledgment is not the work of any human agency or authority, by saying “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
Now, we turn to that part of Jesus’ pronouncement which follows Peter’s confession. Here, we read, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona,[9] for flesh and blood[10] has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” It should be noted that Jesus’ blessing, given to Peter, is the only individual blessing recorded in the New Testament for any one disciple.
Next, Jesus says some things that have been the focus of major attention down through the years, as scholars from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant and Greek Orthodox traditions have wrestled with its significance. Jesus continues, “And I tell you, you are Peter,[11] and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death[12] shall not prevail against it.”
The difference of conviction about Jesus’ pronouncement to Peter, where He says, “and on this rock I will build my Church”, centers on the exact nature of Peter’s role and place in the overall scheme of things.
Let’s pause here for awhile….By virtue of the special and unique blessing that Peter alone received, it is clear that Peter occupies a pivotal and unique role in the foundation of the Church. But what role, exactly? Clearly, Peter leads the way once the Resurrection has taken place, as he puts aside his bumbling and erratic ways to become the chief spokesman for the infant Church. Look briefly at Peter’s bold sermon, given on the Day of Pentecost, for proof of this leadership.[13]
The debate in years past between Roman Catholic, Anglican, Protestant and Greek Orthodox scholars has centered around Peter’s role….Roman Catholics would say that Peter’s role is central to the church’s foundation and future life, a role that is assumed by each successor to Peter, the Bishop of Rome, or, as he is better known, the Pope. In response, other scholars would maintain that Jesus was referring to the confession that Peter made, saying that it is Peter’s confession itself that is the “rock” upon which the church will be built, not Peter himself.
Put in secular terms, we might see these conceptions from a different angle if we compare the role George Washington had in founding the United States, acting as its Commander of the Continental Army, and then as its first President. The question arises in connection with Washington’s leadership just as it has with Peter: Was Washington’s role unique and unrepeatable by virtue of his presence at the founding of the new nation, even though other leaders would come along in due course who would assume the mantle of the Presidency? (That would summarize – generally - the Protestant/Anglican/Greek Orthodox view.) The contrasting view would be that Washington’s role as leader and particularly as President created an office and a mantle which is directly assumed by each successive holder of the office (the generally held Roman Catholic view).
In years past, the differing convictions about Jesus’ meaning about Peter’s role and Peter’s confession has been the source of division. Happily, much of the difficulty and division is behind much of the Christian family today.
At least we can be sure that Jesus responds to Peter’s confession of His identity as “The Messiah” by nicknaming him “Peter”, much as we would nickname someone who is bold, forthright and trustworthy by calling him, “Rocky” today.
As we look at the remainder of Jesus’ statement, we should note that it is Jesus, not Peter, who will build the Church, and that the powers of death (the Revised Standard Version’s translation) will never overpower and destroy it. Scholars are quick to note that this does not mean that the Church will be free of the influences of evil, or that it will enjoy a peaceful and prosperous existence in this world. Even a cursory look at Christian history will confirm that neither condition has been the Church’s lot to enjoy for very long.
Then, the last part of Jesus’ statement says, “I will give you (singular) 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.” Apparently, here Jesus is giving Peter a leadership role, a role that entails the preservation of correct teaching (the phrase, “bind – loose” is traditional rabbinical talk for proper teaching). Connected to the maintenance of proper teaching is an understanding in Matthew’s Gospel that proper teaching and the following of that teaching is the way by which the Kingdom is entered.
We Christians who follow the “catholic faith”[14] maintain the tradition of authorized teachers who are charged with the maintenance of proper teaching. These guardians of the deposit of faith are the bishops,[15] who are successors to the Apostles, having received the laying-on-of-hands that stretches back down through the centuries from the first century and the original Apostles to our bishops today. Bishops are, therefore, successors in a real sense to Peter and the other Apostles, and are to be “guardians of the faith”, as well as shepherds to the flock of Christ.
“Rocky, my hero!” is the phrase we began with today.
Peter, the “rock” earned his nickname as a direct result of his confession of Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
What Peter might have understood exactly by his use of the term “Messiah” to describe Jesus isn’t exactly clear. Could he have been thinking about Jesus as a warrior king like David who united God’s people as they’d never been before? Could he have been thinking of Jesus as a liberator from oppression, Roman oppression? Could he have been thinking of Jesus as a priestly mediator between God and God’s people? All of these concepts fit what Peter undoubtedly knew from Old Testament people who had been anointed to fill a specific function or office with God’s blessing and commission.
It is clear from the next part of chapter sixteen that Peter’s concept of “Messiah” differed from Jesus’ concept.
And it is to that part of the story of “Rocky, my hero (Part II)” that we will turn next Sunday.
Meanwhile, Jesus’ question confronts us, just as it did those original disciples nearly 2,000 years ago, “But you, who do you say that I am?”[16]
AMEN.
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[1] Our Church Year devotes a Holy Day to Peter’s Confession: January 18th.
[2] The title which is derived from Hebrew.
[3] This title is equivalent to the Hebrew (both titles being derived from the verb “to anoint”) in Greek.
[4] See Acts 10: 1 – 48 for the account of Peter’s proclamation of the Gospel to Cornelius, the first Gentile to come to faith.
[5] The return of one of the ancient prophets was, apparently, part of the popular expectation that God’s purposes would be fulfilled in the end times.
[6] Matthew 2: 2
[7] Luke 2: 4
[8] Matthew 14: 33
[9] “Simon Bar-Jona” simply means “Simon, son of Jonah (probably actually John)”.
[10] That is to say, human agency or imagination
[11] Peter is derived from the Greek petros, where is means “rock”.
[12] Literally in the Greek, “the gates of Hades”
[13] Acts 2: 14 - 39
[14] “Catholic” meaning “universal”
[15] Bishops are assisted in their role as authorized teachers by priests.
[16] The word “you” is repeated in the Greek, just as I have rendered it here, for emphasis.
