You are the Christ

Setting and Overview
Matthew as with the other Gospel writers, uses multiple layers to emphasize certain themes and messages. In that sense, Jesus’ teaching is complemented and exposited by the narrative, including both the events and the location. Matthew’s theme is that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah, Israel’s promised and long-awaited savior. As part of that, Matthew is also demonstrating how Israel largely failed to recognize that during Jesus’ earthly ministry. In Matthew 16:13-20, as we reach a climax of revelation, it is important to note when it is happening (as Jesus has been rejected by Jewish authorities and performing miracles among the Gentiles) and where it is happening – after leaving Jewish territory to go to a far different area.
Exposition
Following his encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees, and then his departure with the disciples to the other side of the lake, they go next to Caesarea Philippi, an important city in the region of Philip the Tetrarch. The city was known historically for pagan worship, and in more recent times for dedication to Rome, and so it stood in contrast to the Jewish region of Galilee. Significantly, it is here that Jesus asks the disciples about popular opinion regarding his identity. The disciples respond with a varied list, reflecting the range of positive theories: John the Baptist (Matthew 14:2), Elijah (II Kings 2:11, Malachi 4:5), Jeremiah, or some other prophet. Not knowing exactly what to make of Jesus, it was easiest to fit him into another identity. His disciples should know better, though, and so Jesus puts the question to them. Peter answers with the first explicit confession of Jesus as the Messiah in the Gospel. While the OT rarely used the word “Messiah” when pointing forward to the Messiah, there were still references to a future king, ruler in the line of David, prophet, messenger, and suffering servant. Most messianic fervor focused on the first two, meaning that few were looking for a Messiah that looked like Jesus.
In response to Peter’s confession, Jesus praises him as blessed because the truth was revealed to him by God. Jesus then renames him Peter (meaning “rock”) and declares that on this “rock” that Jesus will build his church. While some have understood “the rock” to mean Peter’s confession, or Jesus’ words, or Jesus himself, the most immediate emphasis is on the church being built on Peter, although not independent of his confession, which itself is a declaration of the truth of Jesus’ words about his identity. Jesus furthermore gives the promise that the church will prevail against the powers of death and be sustained throughout all history, an important promise coming just before Jesus’ first prediction of his own death. He also promises to give Peter the keys of the kingdom (Matthew 18:18, contra Matthew 23:13), a promise that has immediate and special significance in Peter, but also has relevance to the church in the ages to come, provided that the power is being exercised in accordance with biblical truth. Following the promises, Jesus then offers an admonition to not tell others that he was the Christ. In light of misunderstanding of the nature of the Messiah, to pass on that information at the time would lead to further confusion, and would interfere with Jesus’ earthly ministry. Public proclamation of that truth would have to wait for later (Matthew 10:27.)

Examination and Application
Although Peter’s confession goes further than any preceding confession, it is still incomplete, as the following verses will dramatically demonstrate. Recognizing the full significance of Jesus being the Christ would come with difficulty, especially before the cross. For us, recognizing that Jesus had to die but seeing it in light of his resurrection is far different, but confessing him as Lord still requires us to reject the pull of our sinful flesh. In another important confession, John records Peter’s confession in John 6:68-69 after a description of many disciples falling away in light of Jesus’ difficult teaching. When challenged by Jesus if they want to leave as well, Peter proclaims that they do not, but his reason is not because following Jesus is easy, rather it is that since he has the words of life there is nowhere else for them to go. That is true of us as well. To confess and obey Jesus as Lord is to take up our cross and follow him, but if what he says is true, then no other path makes sense.