Talk by Peter

In our reading, Jesus asked his disciples, ‘who do people say that I am?’

It is also a question we consider when putting together a tribute to someone who has passed away. The best tributes at a funeral in my view are the honest ones. I still remember entering a house in Exeter, during my curacy, and before I even sat down, a family member said to me. ‘You won’t say anything nice about the old bat will you?!’ I think I responded along the lines of I am sure we can honestly reflect on her character without having to be nasty!

But what do we think of Jesus? People then, as people today have all sorts of ideas about who Jesus might be. Often when asked we will say: ‘A good man’. If you ask a Muslim who Jesus is, they will say to you: ‘A prophet’, others will say, ‘a good Teacher’ or a ‘miracle worker’ and of course Jesus is all of those.

Some of these were titles he gave himself, probably the most familiar is ‘the good shepherd’ picking up the image of Psalm 23, or maybe, ‘the living bread’ a phrase we sometimes use when we come to remember Jesus sacrifice’ by taking the bread and wine. but Jesus has many more titles. Someone has estimated that there are over 200 titles for him in the Bible.

Here, Jesus starts by talking about one of those titles – ‘the Son of Man’.

This is a striking phrase. In the Old Testament, which was the Bible that Jesus knew, he may have been thinking back to Psalm 80 verse 17 where the Psalmist wrote: ‘Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself’. Here, the Psalmist was crying out to God to act through a specific individual anointed to bring deliverance.

Here at the very northern end of Israel, the source of the River Jordan, at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks his disciples, ‘who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ and they come up with several suggestions. John the Baptist (whom Herod had beheaded, could he have been raised to new life?), Elijah (who was the greatest old testament prophet and had ascended into heaven in a chariot) or maybe one of the other prophets such as Jeremiah.

This gives us an interesting insight into the people’s view of Jesus – it was certainly not along the lines of ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’, beloved of the Victorian hymn writers. OT prophets didn’t usually have encouraging things to say to rulers or the people of their day. Jesus’ teaching was equally challenging and the people recognised that.

Jesus asks them again and Peter blurts out. ‘You are the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Finally, one of the disciples had understood. But Jesus recognised that Peter hadn’t said that by his own reflection, rather, God the Father had whispered the title in Peter’s ear. Jesus then blesses Peter and through him, all people of Christian faith by telling him and through him, us, that the church that Jesus will found, will be based upon faith alone.

In another place in John’s gospel (John 6:29), Jesus is asked, ‘what must we do to do the works that God requires?’ and Jesus’ ‘Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Our reading ends with Jesus telling the disciples not to share this insight with anyone. Why was that important? Very simply, Peter makes this declaration at Caesarea Philippi. If you have ever been to Israel, you will know that the River Jordan comes out of a cave here under Mount Hermon. A century or two before, the Greeks had set up a temple to their god Pan at the entrance to the cave, but during Jesus’ lifetime, the Romans had also built a huge temple to the latest addition to their god’s pantheon, namely the Emperor Augustus. All citizens of the Empire, with the exception of the Jews had to declare during public worship that Caesar is king or Lord. So, for Peter to make the declaration that he did at Caesarea Philippi that Jesus was the Messiah right by a temple dedicated to the Roman Emperor would have been dynamite.

So, Jesus told them to keep quiet. He knew that there were some in the crowds listening to him that would have tried to make him King by force there and then. So, for now, the disciples were to keep this to themselves.

But the question is still there for all of us? Who do I say Jesus is? Who do you say that he is? And if our answer, like Peter’s – whatever particular words we use – stumbles towards:

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”, then we too are blessed – and on that declaration of faith in Jesus, God will build the church, grow his Kingdom and transform others’ lives.

A prayer for each day. Gracious God, encourage us with faith, transform us with hope and inspire us with love, that we may be bearers of your good news for the world. Amen.

Every blessing. Peter