13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 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. 18 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. 19 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.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Matthew 16
These verses are generally cited for the Peter and rock stuff. For 2000 years, what those references mean has been the source of vigorous debate. All this clouding the marvelous truth in the question, the answer and the source of the answer. Jesus asked his disciples the greatest question. “Who do you say I am?” There had been many rumors, guesses, hopes. None of that matters. It’s all about who each of us says He is. This doesn’t mean that Jesus can be any number of things. It means that who He really is can only be known by a divine revelation from God. It can’t be learned from comparing rumors. It can’t be learned from careful study. It can’t even be learned by deep meditation. It is revealed by the Father. In these days, He makes that revelation to those who follow His son in faith.
This was the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:33: ““This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jesus isn’t building his church on Peter. He is building it on people to whom God has given the divine revelation of who Jesus is and all that comes with that revelation: hearts of flesh replacing hearts of stone, the law placed inside by divine miracle.
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