'When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah (Mt. 16:13-20).’
Matthew gave Jesus the title ‘Son of Man’ a name used in Daniel; “As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man. When he reached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, He received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed (Dan 7:13-14).” Jesus told Peter that his confession of faith was inspired by God and went on to give Peter primary in the post-resurrection Church. God revealed to Peter alone that Jesus was His son, one in being with the Father, eternal, and the Messiah the promised savior. The ‘church’ is related to the Kingdom of God and is an interim state on Earth where salvation is determined. God will bind or loose whatever Peter, or the disciples (Mt. 18:18) bind or loose. Binding should be understood as binding the devil and exorcising(loosing) evil spirits. Peter would be the cornerstone on which the Church, comprised of both Jews and gentiles, would be sustained through the Holy Spirit.
Almighty God, grant us the gift of faith to affirm that Jesus Christ is lord in our hearts because our earthly experiences alone cannot enlighten our minds to such an inner revelation. May we be among those loosed from the bonds of sin who are brought to salvation by God’s merciful grace. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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