Matthew 16:13-20 (also Mk. 8:27-30; Lk. 9:18-21)

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”  20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

It is interesting that most people identified Jesus with other great leaders like John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. It seems that no one saw Him for who He really was. Only Peter knew that He was the Messiah— “the Christ.” And Jesus told him that he didn’t figure it out on his own; His Father revealed it to him.

This revelation is similar to what Jesus said in John 6:65, that no one can come to Him (and believe in Him) unless it has been granted him from the Father. At that time when everyone was rejecting Him because of the claims He was making about Himself, it seems that only Peter and the other apostles believed in Him. I think they at that time knew that He was the Messiah; but here in this statement Peter is confirming that he knew who He was.

Now starting in verse eighteen Jesus makes four statements about Peter and about his future.

1. “You are Peter.” Peter’s name, Petros, means a small stone.
2. “And upon this rock, I will build My church.” Rock here is Petra. It means a larger foundation stone. We know from Scripture that Christ is the head of the church (Eph. 5:23), and He is the cornerstone of the church (1 Pt. 2:6-7). But I think Jesus is telling Peter that, though he is a small stone, he will play a big part, in his leadership, in establishing the church—which is the larger stone.
3. “And the gates of hades will not overpower it.” Hades (or death) will have no power over the church. This statement I think was meant to encourage Peter in his leadership role.
4. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”  In this statement Jesus gives Peter great authority. But in John 20:23 we see that this authority is not given only to Peter, but will be extended to all the apostles. Later this authority will also be extended to church leaders, even now (Matt. 18:18-19); but it is given only according to the Word of God and according to His will. 

John 6:66-69

66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”  68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

The morning after Jesus walked on water, heading toward Capernaum, the crowd of people (the 5000 that Jesus fed) wondered where he was. Some of them took boats and went across the lake and found Him there. They wondered how He got there without a boat. Jesus knew that they came to Him to be fed by Him again. Then He began telling them that God would give them bread from heaven and satisfy them forever. He also told them that He was the bread of life from heaven and that if anyone partakes of Him will live forever. When Jesus was saying these things many of the people began to grumble. Some just plain did not believe Him. Others didn’t understand what He was saying; especially when He told them that in order to have eternal life they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood. And He told them that no one could come to Him (believe in Him) unless the Father allowed it. So, this is why so many deserted Him—even many of his disciples.

But, as our text indicates, when Jesus asked if His twelve would desert Him too, Peter spoke up for them and assure Him that they would remain with Him. Why? Peter gave these reasons:

1. They knew of no one else to believe in.
2. Because He has the words of eternal life.
3. They have believed in Him.
4. They have come to know that He is “the Holy One of God.”

These words of Peter’s were genuine and heartfelt. We can’t judge whether Peter or the others at this time were true believers or not—or whether they understood everything He said.  All we know is that they were compelled to stay with Him.