About the Text
(13) What and where is Caesarea Philippi? This is not
the same city as Caesarea, the city that Herod the Great built. Rather, Caesarea Philippi
is another city north of Galilee, named after Caesar and Herod Philip the Tetrarch.
(14) Why did some people think that Jesus was John the Baptist, Elijah, and other
prophets? Because Jesus taught with such great authority and performed miracles.
Some thought He was John the Baptist, who was murdered, but thought to have come back from
the dead. Some thought He was Elijah, a prophet who never died, but was taken up into
heaven in a whirlwind (see 2 Kings 2). Jeremiah was another great Old Testament prophet
who lived about 600-700 years before Jesus' day.
(16) Why does Peter call Jesus "the Christ"? Christ is not
Jesus' last name! Rather, it is a Greek title that means "Messiah," Hebrew for
"anointed one" or "chosen one."
(17) Why does Jesus say Peter is "blessed"? Because the
blessings of God simply come to all those who confess that Jesus Christ is the divine Son
of God. In other words, if you believe in all that Jesus claimed about Himself, and in all
that He did, you are blessed by God.
God blesses believers abundantly. The believer has eternal blessings such as peace Psalm 29:11), wisdom Prov. 3:13), authority in the new Kingdom (Matt 5:3), comfort (Matt 5:4), righteousness (Matt 5:6, Rom. 5:17), forgiveness ~s. 32:1), eternal life ~om. 6:23), the ability to serve God in extraordinary ways tluough the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4, Eph. 3:7), the ability to do good works through the Holy Spirit(2 Cor. 9:8, Gal. 5:23). This is why Paul says "Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Eph. 1:3)
There are also blessings which we may not see right now, but certainly
by the time Christ comes back: Wealth (Gen. 12:2, Deut. 16:15, Deut. 28:8, Job 42:12),
many children (Gen. 17:20, Gen. 22:17), and victory over the enemies of God (Num. 22:6,
Deut. 33:11, Deut 33:29). These blessings are most prominent in the Old Testament, and
many New Testament apostles and godly people today are temporarily denied of these
blessings. Nevertheless, whenever we receive such blessings, we must always thank God for
giving to us these blessings we do not deserve.
(17) Why does Jesus call Peter "son of Jonah," when in John 1:42, He
calls Peter "son of John"? Two theories. Some scholars believe that
john and Jonah are variations of the same name. Others believe that Jesus, in this
passage, was comparing Peter to the prophet Jonah (from the Old Testament), not that Jonah
was actually Peter's physical father.
(18) Is Jesus referring to Peter when He said "On this ROCK, I will build my
church..."? No. If Jesus meant Peter, when he would have said, "On YOU,
I will build my church," instead of using the awkward "On this rock."
Furthermore, while the name Peter means "rock," the form is different. Peter in
the original Greek is petros, while "rock" is petra.
Therefore, Jesus could not have meant that Peter himself would be the foundation of the
church.
"Rock" refers not to Peter, but what Peter SAID, that Jesus is
the Christ, Son of the living God. In other words, Jesus Christ is the "rock"
upon which the church is built. In Matthew 7:24, Jesus uses "rock" again to
refer to Himself when He said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and
puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
(18) What are the "gates of Hades"? It means death. Hades is
the realm of the dead. Jesus meant that death, persecution, and Satan's other torments
cannot and will never destroy Christ's church.
(19) What are the "keys of the kingdom"? It is one's preaching
and sharing about Jesus Christ. When you tell others about salvation through Jesus Christ,
it's as if you are turning the keys to let people enter" into God's kingdom, if they
believe.
(19) What did Jesus mean by "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven..."? Perhaps a more accurate translation will make it clearer:
"whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven..." In other words,
Jesus says that when you see someone reject Christ, that person was already rejected by
God. When you see someone accept Christ, that person was already rejected by God. When you
see someone accept Christ, that person was already chosen by God in heaven. This means
that God is ultimately in control of people's accepting, or rejecting, Jesus Christ.
The Bottom Line
God blesses those who believe in Jesus Christ, no matter how "blessed-less" life may seem at the time.
Insights
Count your blessings. Open your eyes.
Key Memory Verse
"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build
my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18)