Context No. 3033 of 4322 · Matthew
Context · Reflection
Matthew 16:17-21: in context
17Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” 20Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. 21From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.
After Peter confesses him as the Christ, Jesus blesses him: flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it; I give you the keys of the kingdom. Then he swears them to silence, and from that moment begins to show them that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and on the third day rise.
The high point, Peter's confession and Jesus' promise to build an unshakable church, is immediately followed by the first prediction of the cross. The church Jesus builds cannot be overcome; the gates of Hades will not prevail. But the way he builds it is through his own suffering and death. Right after the mountaintop of you are the Christ, Jesus turns his face toward Jerusalem and the cross. Glory and suffering are held together: the indestructible church is founded on a crucified and risen Lord.
Do I want the triumph of Christ's kingdom while shrinking from the way of the cross by which he actually builds it?
Sources
- Matthew 16:18: "On this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."
- Matthew 16:21: "Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer... and be killed, and the third day be raised up."
- 1 Corinthians 3:11: "For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ."