It is the high point and then the low point of Peter’s life
to date. First, Jesus calls him the rock on which his church will
be built. Then he calls him Satan and a stumbling block. Peter
understood that Jesus would be powerful and victorious. He did
not understand how that victory could come through the weakness
of the cross. So Jesus must boldly reveal that the cross is the
program for his own life; and, if they follow him, it must be the
program for theirs as well. The power of the kingdom of God will
come in apparent weakness, its glory in seeming shame, its
victory in what looks like defeat. But the power, glory, and
victory of this method will one day be revealed and will last
forever.
THE HEAVENLY CONFESSION
Jesus begins by asking the disciples "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" (v. 13). He has spoken many great things and taught with authority. He has done miracles—feeding 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes, walking on water, casting out demons, even raising up the dead. Who is he?
The disciples reply with the various theories: "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets" (v. 14). The theories are reasonable in their own way. Clearly these thoughts come from people who appreciate and support the ministry of Jesus. After all, those who hated him didn’t say he was Elijah. They said he was Beelzebul, the prince of the demons. But these suggestions recognize Jesus as a man of God, and as one who speaks truth that comes from God. The theories are good, but insufficient.
So Jesus asks, "But who do you disciples say that I am?" (v. 15).
Simon Peter answers on behalf of them all: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." It is a bold confession. Peter declares that Jesus is more than just another prophet, more than just a man sent to declare God’s message. Jesus is the Messiah, the one anointed by God to lead the people of Israel as a king and a priest, not merely as a prophet. Jesus is the one to whom the prophets pointed and for whom they longed.
Peter declares in this confession, you are the One spoken of in Psalm 2 as sitting in heaven with God:
Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the LORD has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, "You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel."
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
with trembling 12kiss his feet,
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
This is more than a mere man. He sits in heaven with God. The whole earth conspires against him, but he laughs at their conspiracy. He is stronger than them all. He commands and they must hear him. If they oppose him, they will be crushed under the mighty hand of God. The whole earth will belong to him.
Truly, this is more than one of the prophets. This one is the Son of the living God, coming to dispense heavenly life as his divine gift.
How does Peter know this? How does he recognize in this humble carpenter’s son the holy king of God? How does he discern that this man who walks the earth is God’s Son who sits in heaven? Is there any clue in Jesus’ physical appearance that points to this answer?
Jesus answers these questions in the way he blesses Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." The flesh cannot recognize Jesus as the Christ. Simon Peter’s eyes are not sufficient to see the glory and the power that are hidden in this humble teacher. Only by faith can Peter discern the true nature of the One he follows.
And so Jesus pronounces him blessed. For God has granted Peter the faith to see what other men cannot. Therefore Peter will not boast in his own wisdom or ability, as though he himself was able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter will rather boast in God who opened his blind eyes and taught him to apprehend the truth. By God’s grace, Peter has been enabled to make a true confession of the authority and power of Jesus Christ his Lord.
On the basis of this confession, Jesus commends his authority into Peter’s hands. "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven" (vv. 18,19).
Consider the magnitude of this statement! Peter has testified that Jesus is the foundation stone upon which God’s church will be built. And Peter has confessed that Jesus is the very Messiah spoken of in Psalm 2. He is the one who sits as a king in heaven and rules with the authority of God himself. And Jesus turns around and gives these qualities to Peter; Peter will be made to be like Jesus.
"You are Peter," Jesus says, using the word for "rock." Jesus has already renamed Simon as Peter, but now he reveals the import of that new name. Peter will be foundational in the building of the church. He will be a living stone in the living temple of the living God. And other living stones will be built up on him and on the confession that he has made that Jesus is the Christ.
And Jesus promises victory for this church that is built on Peter and his confession: "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." What does this mean? Jesus is not saying here that Satan and the demons and the people of this world will attack the church but not overcome it. That is a true statement. And in a way it’s part of the meaning. But the direct meaning is this: The grave shall not be victorious over the church. That is what the word "Hades" means in this context. It is the same word that is used in Acts when the disciples confess of Christ that God "did not leave his soul in the grave; nor did [he] allow his Holy One to undergo decay."
Jesus boldly proclaims that even the most seeming irreversible defeat—death itself—shall not have the victory over his church. Thus Jesus proclaims that even that which seems like defeat for his church will not prove to be so in the last day.
Having made this statement, Jesus appoints Peter as the gatekeeper for this kingdom that even death cannot conquer. "Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven." The sins you forgive, God forgives. The sins you do not forgive, God does not forgive. Who you let into heaven, God lets in. Who you keep out, God keeps out.
But note the way I read the statement, because your translations don’t bring this out. "Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven." Jesus is not saying, if you bind something on earth then God will bind it in heaven; and if you loose something on earth, then God will loose it in heaven. The judgment of God is prior to Peter’s judgment. Peter’s responsibility is to make judgments that reflect the prior judgment of God in heaven. Whatever Peter does on earth must be on the basis of what has already been done in heaven.
This authority is given not to Peter only. In chapter 18, Jesus will extend this power of the keys to all the apostles. And in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul will extend that same power to the elders of the church. So it is that the elders, like the apostles and Peter before them, must bring into the church those who confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And they must put out of the church those who deny (by word or action) that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. If the elders have brought you into the church, they have declared to you that God has admitted you into heaven. And if the elders put you out of the church, they declare to you that God has excluded you from his kingdom.
It is an awesome authority for it is the authority of Christ himself.
So Peter has made an awesome confession. And on the basis of the confession, Jesus has given him an awesome authority. "Then he commanded his disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ." Why? Why should he keep them quiet at the very moment when they long to run through the streets shouting, He is here! The Messiah has arrived! The anointed One of God has come and is about to begin his reign!
They must be quiet for they do not yet understand what it means that he is the Christ. He begins to reveal this to them.
THE EARTHLY REBUKE
"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day" (v. 21). What is he talking about?!?
The first part of the statement is fine: he must go to Jerusalem. Well of course he must. Where else should God’s king reign but from David’s royal throne in Jerusalem? Where else should God’s high priest mediate between the people and God but in the holy city on the hill of Zion? But he does not go on to speak of victory in Jerusalem. He speaks of suffering.
And how will he suffer? From whom will this suffering come? "From the elders and chief priests and scribes." That is, from those who are currently ruling in Jerusalem. This king, who just handed the keys of the kingdom and of judgment to Peter… this king will be judged by those outside the kingdom. And he will bear it. He will not rise up to crush them under his feet and strike down all his enemies and rule. Where is the Christ mentioned in Psalm 2 now?
This Christ does not seem strong. He seems weak and unable to defend himself. He will be ruled by others rather than setting up his own rule. He will be judged rather than judge. And that judgment will result in death. He will be killed.
This is shocking news indeed. How different it is from the way the disciples had conceived of their Messiah. Where are his authority and power now? So distressed are they by this revelation that they appear not to hear his statement of final triumph: he will be raised again the third day. Even the gates of Hades shall not overcome him. Or they hear it but don't understand. They want their triumph now. And they want it in a way that flesh and blood can recognize.
Failing to understand these words, Peter focuses on the suffering. He takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. This vision is so far from what Peter understands the Messiah to be that he presumes to instruct his Lord and to reprimand him for saying such things. "Far be it from you, Lord; this shall not happen to you!" (v. 16). He’s getting an early start on exercising the authority Jesus has commended to him!
Stop it, Lord! he cries. Stop preaching suffering and the cross! Start preaching that the kingdom of heaven will be made visible in a way that flesh and blood can understand. Start preaching that your power will be something that even the unconverted can recognize. They will see suffering and death as your defeat; therefore you must not suffer and die.
Even the name Peter uses for him here—Lord—emphasizes the authority which Peter believes must be visibly displayed before the world.
Peter forgets what his Lord has just told him. Flesh and blood did not reveal to him that this humble teacher was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Rather, God in heaven enabled Peter by faith to discern what was hidden to the eyes of men. Peter does not understand that the victory of Christ must come in the same way, that is in a way that the world cannot recognize, a way that only those to whom the Father in heaven chooses to reveal it. Thus Peter rejects the way of the cross in favor of a visible, earthly triumph.
And so Peter is given another name, this one less flattering. "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (v. 23). The language recalls an earlier rebuke that Jesus made to Satan himself. When Jesus was in the desert, Satan came and tempted him three times. And in the third temptation, Satan "took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’" (Matthew 4:8,9).
The devil was tempting Jesus to turn aside from the way of the cross. He was tempting him to gain authority over the kingdoms of the world without the agony of suffering and death. And Jesus triumphed in that temptation. "Away with you, Satan!" he cried. And the devil left him.
Now Simon Peter comes with that same satanic temptation; and Christ triumphs once again. And so Simon gets another new name—Satan. Thus we learn that "Peter" is not Peter (a rock) because of something within himself. Peter is a rock because he has a bedrock confession that Jesus is the Christ. But when he denies the cross, he also denies that confession, and thus denies his new name.
So he becomes a different kind of rock to Jesus, a stumbling block which could cause Jesus to trip and fall from the path God has laid out for him. So, "Get behind me!" he cries. I have already passed this test. I have already avoided this stumbling block. It is behind me now and the cross is before me. I will enter into my kingdom through suffering.
Therefore he admonishes Peter, "You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (v. 23). Peter has not only become a stumbling block to Jesus; Jesus has become a stumbling block to Peter. For the way of the cross causes men to stumble. They do not see how there can be any victory in it, for they judge according to the flesh. But this stone which the builders reject will become the foundation stone of a new temple to God. And Peter may participate in that endeavor only when he turns his back on the things of men and sets his sights on those things that are above, even though suffering and death should lie between.
Therefore Jesus tells his disciples that he must bear the cross. And not only he, but all his followers must bear it with him. "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me" (v. 24). The cross is not only something Jesus endures for his church; it is also an example that we must follow. It is a mind that we must put on.
We too must suffer. Everyone who desires to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But blessed are you when this happens for your reward in heaven is great. In the world you have tribulation, but do not fear. Christ, by his cross, has conquered the world. This cross, which to the world is foolishness, weakness, and shame, is to us power from God and wisdom from God and honor from God. Therefore we will bear our tribulations patiently as those who have an unshakable hope that in such things the victory of Christ will be made manifest. It will be made manifest to the eye of faith in this present evil age. And in the age to come this victory will be revealed, never to be hidden again.
Therefore, anyone who says different, we say to him, "Get behind us, Satan!" Anyone who tells you the church must be visibly glorious, noticeably powerful, socially, culturally, and politically triumphant—put that stumbling block behind you and embrace the cross!
Children of God, do we not here discern that such temptations will come even from within the church? For Peter is not outside the company of the redeemed when he makes his satanic attack. The attack comes from within and even emanates from one who has been made a key worker in the kingdom. Therefore, even if the ministers and elders of the church should say to us that the church must be visibly victorious, we will not heed them. We will not say that such ministers and elders are therefore outside the kingdom. But we will say that when they tell us such things they are not mindful of the things of God but the things of men. Thus within the walls of the kingdom there are men who confess Jesus as the Christ and yet at times do the very work of Satan. We will reject such work and boldly embrace the cross of Christ and follow him.
THE CALL TO HEAVENLY-MINDEDNESS
But will we not fear though even death itself should overtake us. Behold, our Lord tells us a paradox: "Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (v. 25). The more we try to lay up treasure here, to find comfort here, to escape suffering here—the more we treasure that which will be burned up in the last day. If your life is bound up in what goes on down here, and your concerns are for the things this world, you will lose that life in the day of judgment. But if your treasure is in heaven, if your comfort is totally in the hope of that coming day, if your life is bound up in that which is to come—then no matter how much you suffer down here, even if you lose your life, you will find life, abundant life, in the day of Christ Jesus.
"For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (v. 26). What is the most you can gain from this life? The entire world. For how long? Until judgment day. What good will it do you then? Is the exchange worth it? Think with the shrewdness of the children of heaven not the people of this earth!
"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each according to his works" (v. 27). Your Redeemer is the son of the LIVING God. And he shall stand at the last day upon the earth. And though your bodies are destroyed yet in your flesh you shall see God. Your eyes shall see him and not another’s. The gates of the grave cannot hold you any more than they held your Savior. He triumphed over death, being raised on the third day. You have triumphed already in him; that triumph shall be revealed in your resurrection at the last day. In that day sinners will be judged according to their evil deeds, and you shall be judged according to the righteousness of Christ. Set all your hope on that day.
What will those who understand this passage do? They will suffer for Christ. And what will they gain for that in this life? Nothing. If there is no resurrection from the dead, we are of all men most to be pitied. By suffering, we defer our gratification and our comfort and our rest until the day when Christ comes (just as he deferred all such things until his own resurrection). Let us therefore seek these works—to suffer patiently, to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that in due time he may lift us up.
I swear to you, that day is coming. Do not grow weary in well-doing. Indeed, in a sense that day has already come.
Jesus triumphantly finishes his exhortation: "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom" (v. 28). Is Jesus saying his second coming will occur in their lifetimes? If so, our faith must be deemed ludicrous, for the disciples are long dead, and Christ has not returned.
But before they died, they saw him come into his kingdom. Was he not raised from the dead? And being raised, did he not proclaim to them "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me"? They saw him ascend into heaven and knew by faith that he took his seat at God’s right hand. And on the day of Pentecost, Christ sent down his Spirit and they began to preach with the authority of that kingdom and many repented and were baptized.
And what is the result of this reign, of Christ sending forth his power? They suffered! Peter and John were brought before the chief priests and the scribes just as Jesus was. There they were commanded not to speak in the name of Christ and were severely threatened. But Peter and John boldly answered, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you judge."
Does this look like victory? To be put on trial and threatened and dismissed by the rulers of this world? To them it looked like victory. For finally, they had the eyes of faith they had lacked when Peter rebuked Jesus. And not only they, but the whole church with them.
Thus, in this apparent weakness, the church discerned the triumph of the Christ of God:
And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25"who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the LORD and against His Christ.’27"For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28"to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29"Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30"by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:23-31).
They quote Psalm 2 to describe this triumph. They finally understand the power of the cross of Christ. They finally discern its victory.
In the days that came, they were beaten and rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. The church was persecuted in Jerusalem; so they scattered throughout the region, testifying about Jesus everywhere they went. Everything the world did to defeat them only resulted in more victory for the gospel.
Truly, they had come to bear the cross of Christ.
You as well then, O Believer, do not be afraid to embrace this cross. Receive all suffering with joy. For by such things your grasp on this world is weakened. And by such things you are taught to long for the world to come. By trials your faith is strengthened; and by sorrows you are united to Christ in his suffering. And if you are united with him in his suffering, you will also be united with him in his glory.
Do not fear, little flock. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It is his pleasure to give you the kingdom not in a way that flesh and blood can discern. But your Father in heaven reveals such things to you. And one day you shall gaze upon the glory of Christ and see him face to face.