The Keys to the Kingdom

The Keys to the Kingdom

Matthew 16:13-17:27

Who do you say I am? (16:13-20)

The title “Son of Man” has always been mysterious. It may be related to the “Messianic Secret” with which Jesus controlled his revelation, as he does at the end of this passage. It is clear from this question and answer, however, that it was not a known messianic title. If Jesus had been asking who men said the Messiah was, the disciples would not have replied with answers about Jesus, personally. The title is certainly a Biblical one used in various ways (Psalm 8:3-4) but Jesus seems to have appropriated it for himself.

While we can imagine that someone might have believed that Jesus was Elijah reincarnated, it is hard to understand how they could have thought he was John the Baptist, with whom he was very much contemporary (14:1-2). Perhaps this is an indication that the people saw Jesus as of the same type as Elijah or John – a mighty prophet of God (21:10-11).

In the last ten thousand years there have been many ways in which Jesus has been understood. Most in the Western world would say that he was a good man with important teachings. But he was a man who claimed to be the Son of God, and who had the temerity to forgive people of their sin. He was no good man, he was either the Son of the living God, or he was a charlatan (1 Corinthians 15:19).

This determination cannot be made by a study of his teaching, no matter how devoted one may be. Even Peter, who lived and ate with him and studied from him day after day could not arrive at his great confession of his own merit, or with the help of anyone else. It is the prerogative of God to reveal himself to us, and we know him by his choice alone (John 15:16).

By this choosing he has not only redeemed us, but commissioned us (John 20:21-23). We have been given the keys to the kingdom, so that in forgiving others, we may participate in the forgiveness God has given us (6:14-15). This is what it means to be Christians: to participate in the love Christ has for us (John 13:34-35). This is how we tell the world who He is.

Listen to Him! (16:21-17:23)

In the preceding passage, Peter is given a preeminent place. Whether or not he was the foundation of the papacy, he seems to have been made first among the disciples. What becomes clear in from the reading of this extended passage is that he is presented as the quintessential disciple – a figure for us when we are at our best and our worst.

Up against a passage in which Peter is at his best, Matthew shows us Peter at his worst (16:21-28). When Peter applies worldly wisdom to the ministry of Christ, Jesus rebukes him just as he did the prince of this world, and the church personified became evil personified (4:8-10). “Whoever loses his life will find it” is an idea that is far from the wisdom of this world, but the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20-25).

In the story of the Transfiguration (17:1-9) we see Peter as we normally see ourselves: neither saint nor sinner, but somewhere in between, in an existence where we hardly know what is going on, but where we recognize the good grace of God. The story itself is mysterious in many ways. What was the exchange between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah? Did Jesus have other such experiences that were not recorded for us? There are many questions like these that may never be answered for us in this life, but the story is included in Matthew for a purpose which we can understand, at least to some degree.

First, the story is one among many that plainly show the open approval of the Father for the Son (3:16-17; 12:17-18). For Matthew, this does not only signify that Jesus was the Messiah, but that the life of Jesus, the very existence of the Messiah, is proof of God’s continuing, redeeming presence in our world.

Second, we should note the voice of God commanding “Listen to him!” Even though the disciples had the bodily witness of Jesus, and even though they heard the very voice of God, they could not understand. Indeed, from this mountain-top event we descend to the day-to-day existence of the disciples, where they have tried and failed, and Jesus upbraids them as recalcitrant children (17:14-23).

Matthew’s aim is not to denigrate the disciples, but to encourage us, as we join the disciples not only their failings, but also their hope. Jesus tells us we need not fear, only believe (Mark 5:36). And what if there are times when our faith is too small, smaller even than a mustard seed? Then, as Mark records the prayer of the boy’s father: “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).