Monday of the First Week of Lent – February 22, 2010
Matthew 16:13 –19
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
When Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say I am?” he has no interest in asking for Peter’s opinion. Peter’s opinion is no more or less relevant than the next person’s opinion.
The question is not about what Peter believes, about how much information he has accumulated concerning Jesus.
Jesus is asking Peter about his experience. “Who have you experienced me to be?” It’s a good question. It takes the possible answers out of the theoretical realm and places them squarely in experience, in the grit of life. For it is possible to answer theoretical questions in most any way. Life questions, however, must be answered with the frame of experience.
It’s a good Lenten question for us to ponder, also. Who have you experienced Jesus to be? If you can get that question out of your head and move it into your heart, what will you say? What does your experience tell you about Jesus? How has your life informed who Jesus is for you?
Peter answered that he experienced Jesus to be the “Anointed One” (the Messiah) for whom generations of faithful Israelites looked for deliverance and liberation. Peter experienced that Jesus was God-touched (or “anointed”) with that spirit of deliverance and freedom. He made the intimate connection of Jesus to God (“Son of the Living God”).
Jesus’ subsequent words to Peter are not the reward for a correct answer, as we’re likely to assume. His words of affirmation to Peter come as a result of Peter’s honesty. While he’s capable of doing it, here Peter doesn’t try to pull one over on Jesus. He answers authentically, out of his personal experience of Jesus. Jesus blesses him and speaks into him a word that firms up Peter’s identity.
This passage is not a template for how to get Jesus to bless you. It is, however, one example of the kind of authentic living that Jesus loves, the kind of self-honesty that opens the door to a deeper connection to the Anointed One.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
When Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say I am?” he has no interest in asking for Peter’s opinion. Peter’s opinion is no more or less relevant than the next person’s opinion.
The question is not about what Peter believes, about how much information he has accumulated concerning Jesus.
Jesus is asking Peter about his experience. “Who have you experienced me to be?” It’s a good question. It takes the possible answers out of the theoretical realm and places them squarely in experience, in the grit of life. For it is possible to answer theoretical questions in most any way. Life questions, however, must be answered with the frame of experience.
It’s a good Lenten question for us to ponder, also. Who have you experienced Jesus to be? If you can get that question out of your head and move it into your heart, what will you say? What does your experience tell you about Jesus? How has your life informed who Jesus is for you?
Peter answered that he experienced Jesus to be the “Anointed One” (the Messiah) for whom generations of faithful Israelites looked for deliverance and liberation. Peter experienced that Jesus was God-touched (or “anointed”) with that spirit of deliverance and freedom. He made the intimate connection of Jesus to God (“Son of the Living God”).
Jesus’ subsequent words to Peter are not the reward for a correct answer, as we’re likely to assume. His words of affirmation to Peter come as a result of Peter’s honesty. While he’s capable of doing it, here Peter doesn’t try to pull one over on Jesus. He answers authentically, out of his personal experience of Jesus. Jesus blesses him and speaks into him a word that firms up Peter’s identity.
This passage is not a template for how to get Jesus to bless you. It is, however, one example of the kind of authentic living that Jesus loves, the kind of self-honesty that opens the door to a deeper connection to the Anointed One.
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