August 24th. 2008 Lectionary
Reading: Matthew 16.13-20
Text: “..this was not revealed to you by man, but by
my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 16.17 (NIV)
This is a wonderfully dramatic
moment at Caesarea Philippi and recorded in the gospel of Matthew. Jesus asked
the disciples first who the men and women in the local villages thought He was, the disciples gave various replies.
Then Jesus asked, and you, Who
do you say I am ?
Peter,
the gospel tells us was the first to reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God……….”
This is a wonderfully dramatic
moment at Caesarea Philippi.
Now some recent commentators,
writing about these verses
have
spoken about Peter’s discovery at Caesarea Philippi,
that
here, some have said, is the point where Peter realises who Jesus is
Here’s an example: all the hints, the wonderings, the hesitant questionings,
the private puzzled discussions with the rest of the Twelve, all pointed to one
irresistable conclusion - suddenly Peter
understood – who Jesus was.
or
here’s another:
At that special moment in Caesarea
Philippi, in the company of Jesus, the disciples came to realise who he was....from
there they could go on out to spread the gospel message.
Wondering, questioning, , delving deeper, discovering who Jesus was.
However, there are two ways we
can look at what happened at Caesarea Philippi.
Two ways we can look at what is happening in
Peter’s great declaration........... When Peter said that day: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God……….”
We can look at this as the
result of Peter’s wondering, questioning, delving deeper, finally
discovering who Jesus was.
or we
can listen to what Jesus says about it.
When Peter said that day: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God……….” we can look at this as the result of Peter’s wondering,
questioning, delving deeper, then discovering for himself who Jesus was,
but
we will miss the great and profound meaning
of these verses.
For something much greater deeper,
richer, significant is happening here than simply Peter’s wondering,
questioning, delving deeper, and then finally discovering who Jesus was.
Something great, and profound and
significant happens here at Caesarea Philippi.
What is it ?
Well, we find out through the
words of Jesus Himself.............
When Peter says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God……….”
Jesus replies “Blessed are you, Simon Peter for this truth
did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by
my Father in heaven”
Listening to the words of the
Lord Jesus, we
know immediately that whatever has happened, Peter has not worked out for
himself who Jesus is, this is not a realisation, an irrestible conclusion …. a discovery............
not
the result of Peter’s long wondering, questioning, delving.
Instead, here in this actual situation with Jesus and
His disciples
something
has happened..................
an
event has taken place in Peter’s life.........
We know this, because that is
what Jesus says.
“Blessed are you, Simon Peter for this truth did not come to you from
any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven”
When Peter says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God……….”
Jesus tells Peter that his
eyes have been opened, by the Father in heaven. What he, Peter, now knows, has been revealed to him, given to him from on High.
What has been given to Peter ?
Well, we know from Matthew’s
gospel what the people in the villages round about thought. We know who they
thought Jesus was - they thought Jesus was a prophet, a great prophet. And they
said so. They thought Jesus was perhaps John the Baptist, cousin of the Lord,
great prophet of repentance and judgment, who had come alive again. They
thought Jesus was Elijah, great prophet of power, the defender of
But Jesus is none of these, not John the Baptist, not Elijah, not Jeremiah.
Jesus Christ is not one among these prophets, He is the One about whom they prophesied, the One whose coming they declared. John the Baptist, Jeremiah spoke of God’s promise of His coming,
Jesus is the complete
and perfect fulfilment of God’s promise !
That’s what has been given to
Peter......... he has been given to see who Jesus is, by the Father in heaven !
This is not what Peter has
worked out, it has been revealed to him, by the Father. What does this mean -
revealed by the Father? Can we be more precise ? When
Jesus was baptised, the Father’s voice was heard: those close heard the
Father’s voice say: This is my Son whom I
love with Him I am well pleased.. at the
Transfiguration of Jesus, when His radiance and glory were seen for those few moments
on the mountain top, again the Father spoke “This is my Son whom I love with Him I am well pleased – listen to Him.”
Now, the Father’s voice
speaks: not from above, or beyond Peter, but within him. The
Father speaking within Peter’s spirit. In this intense and holy moment the
Father opens Peter’s eyes to see who Jesus is,
the Father fills Peter’s mind and understanding with the light of the truth about Jesus,
And the Lord discerns this:
When Peter says: “You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God……….”Jesus says............ this “was given to you directly by my Father in heaven.”Jesus discerning His Father’s work in Peter.
In John’s gospel, Jesus
declares, the Father who sent me will
confirm who I am........ Jesus sees in Peter, discerns in Peter, the
Father speaking to Peter, opening Peter’s eyes to see........... confirming in Peter just who Jesus is........
the
Christ, the Son of the living God……….
And, says Jesus, it is on
this rock I will build my Church
that
is, the Church, we as men and women, is built on the rock of solid faith
that is given to us by the Father in heaven
This is exactly what Paul says
in the first chapter of Galatians…
the
gospel – I did not receive it from anybody, nor was I taught it,
I received it ……..!
So, we learn something
important about Christian truth, the Christian gospel here. What we as men and
women know of the good news of Jesus, is given to us.
What we know about Jesus and His Cross
does
not come from discoveries we make ourselves.
The truth about Jesus is given
to us - something happens - the Father opens our eyes to see who
Jesus is, fills our minds and our understanding with the truth about Jesus,
fills our hearts with the light of Jesus….
Does this mean that if we seem
to know little about Jesus or the gospel, that we are stuck, waiting for the
Father to open our eyes ?
Paul has the answer in
Ephesians chapter 3……
if we wish to have the power
to grasp how wide and long, and high and deep is the love of Christ, to know
more deeply about Him………. we pray for this,
we ask
our Father in heaven for this: and, says
Paul, we will find that
Jesus Christ – is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us…………
And just as the Father opened
Peter’s eyes and mind,
called
faith in Jesus Christ into existence in Peter,
so in
us He builds faith, truth by truth,
opens
our eyes to see new things in Jesus Christ,
the wonders of who Jesus is, of His becoming man, the meaning of His Cross, the power of His resurrection, His ascending into heaven for us.
Indeed, the Father will open
our eyes to see the simplest things or the deepest........... but
we will know for ourselves the blessing of Jesus, who says:
“Blessed are you,
for these truths did not come to you from any human being, but
they were given to you directly by my Father in heaven”
AMEN