SUMMARY
In response to Jesus’ question, Peter speaks for the disciples and announces that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. confirms this confession by PeterPeter (also known as Cephas, Simon Peter) was the disciple who denied Jesus during his trial but later became a leader in proclaiming Jesus. as a mark of God’s blessing and announces that Peter is the rock upon which he will build his church.
ANALYSIS
This passage has fittingly been acknowledged by many as pivotal and climactic in Matthew’s narrative. The whole narrative of Jesus’ teaching, preaching, and healing thus far has led to this point. More immediately, the series of stories that have just preceded (13:44-16:12) have repeatedly pressed the issue of faith and discipleship. How will they read the signs (16:1-4)? What will they make of this Jesus? In Matthew’s telling it is assumed that the disciples (and the readers of the Gospel?) will know and expect some things about the Son of Man (16:13; see 16:28; 17:9, 12). What is not clear is how Jesus is to be related to this expectation. After various answers, when pressed again, Peter speaks for the disciples, and thus for Matthew’s Gospel, with the assertion that Jesus is the MessiahThe Messiah was the one who, it was believed, would come to free the people of Israel from bondage and exile. In Jewish thought the Messiah is the anticipated one who will come, as prophesied by Isaiah. In Christian thought Jesus of Nazareth is identified..., the Son of the living God (see the title of the Gospel in 1:1).
Several things are noteworthy in this account. First, Jesus, for one of the first times, does not criticize this response as “little faith,” but instead commends it for its revelatory power. Consistent with a major theme in Matthew it is described as a mark of God’s blessingBlessing is the asking for or the giving of God's favor. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn Esau. At the Last Supper Jesus offered a blessing over bread and wine. To be blessed is to be favored by God., a blessing that so often accompanies the status of being a righteous discipleA disciple is a person who accepts and follows the pronouncements of a teacher. Jesus chose twelve disciples (also called "apostles" in some of the Gospels) to follow him and bear witness to his message Anyone who (like them) follows Jesus is engaged in Christian... of the kingdom (see 5:1-12; 11:6; 13:16; 24:46). Second, the story recognizes Peter’s central role as a representative of the disciples in his confession of faith. Here, for the first time in Matthew’s Gospel, the titles of Messiah and Son of God are joined together (the only other occurrence is ironically on the mouth of the high priest at Jesus’ trial 26:63-66). Third, MatthewA tax collector who became one of Jesus' 12 disciples. now uniquely calls attention to the community gathered around this confession. He alone of the Gospel writers uses the word translated anachronistically here as “church,” but which links this group together to the assembly of Israel (see also 18:17). In this passage, Matthew links this assembly to the kingdom of God. Finally, this assembly is endowed with the promise of a rich gift, the keys of the kingdom through which, in the name of God, it is invited to exercise the power of forgiveness in the binding and loosing of sin.
