Why knowing who He is, is more remarkable than you know
Matthew 16.13-17 ESV
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus 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.
It may surprise you to hear that up to this point the scriptures offered us no occasion in which Jesus explicitly taught Peter and the disciples about the fulness of His identity. It’s also worth noting that Peter having been a professional fisherman prior to meeting Jesus, makes it unlikely that he’d ever spent a great deal of time in front of the scrolls. This means that Peter’s response wasn’t learned, nor was it him offering an academic opinion. If we take Jesus’ response to Peter as words meaning the very thing they were saying, then it’s clear that Peter’s response came from a place of profound faith, from a heart that had been supernaturally opened to a deeper knowledge of who Jesus was – and as Jesus clearly asserted, revelation that came from God.
Now in using the expression “flesh and blood,” Jesus wasn’t using language that Peter and the others hadn’t heard before. You see this was a familiar Jewish expression, one most often used in one of two ways: either to draw attention to man as a mortal being or to make a point about biological offspring or relatives. That said, in saying to Peter that “flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,” Jesus was applying that expression differently, a difference that held for them, as it does for us today, a profound spiritual truth. You see whether or not they fully understood the implications of that statement, Jesus was telling them that the way that Peter came to know Jesus for who He was, was that God Himself revealed it to Peter. Now appreciating that moment as those outside looking in is one thing, but knowing that that truth holds true for us today is another thing entirely.
It might help us to appreciate this moment even more by properly accounting for that word reveal, specifically through the language in which it was conveyed. You see reveal in the Greek describes God’s gracious act of unveiling truths, events, persons, and destinies previously hidden. It’s application throughout the New Testament consistently points to God, not humanity, as the ultimate revealer of hidden truths. So within the context of Peter’s words Jesus is saying that it was neither Peter’s insight nor intellect that inspired His certainty, it was the Father who through His Holy Spirit revealed to Peter, Jesus for who He was.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” — John 15.26 ESV
If that was true for Peter, then we must accept it as true for us today, that our own correct knowledge of Jesus is revelation acquired through the Holy Spirit – it’s God-given. It’s really quite incredible to think that though we can’t know the mind of God, He doesn’t consider us so finite as to entirely exclude us from knowledge that He possesses.
- Pastor Ariel
