Peter’s declaration about Jesus (Matthew 16: 13–20)
This event at Caesarea Philippi revealed Jesus as the promised MessiahThe word means ‘the anointed one’. The Messiah is the one believed to be sent by God to be humanity’s saviour. Many Christians believe this person to be Jesus..
The story is a conversation between Jesus and his disciples in which he openly questions them about his identity.
We can see the Jewish people thought that Jesus was John the BaptistFor Christians, the person who came to prepare the way of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and who baptised him in the River Jordan., ElijahA Hebrew prophet who rescued the Jewish faith from being corrupted by worship of the false god Baal. Many Jews believe that Elijah will return to Earth before the coming of the Messiah. , JeramiahOne of the major prophets of the Old Testament and the author of the Book of Jeremiah. or another prophet.
Peter, Jesus' closest disciple, was the one to speak up when directly asked “Who do you say that I am?” Peter’s response shows a clear knowledge of Jesus’ identity, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus then ordered the disciples not to tell anyone about what happened. This is an example of the messianic secret.
Peter plays a key role in this story. We know that he became the first Pope, so this event would have given Jesus confidence that Peter was following him for the right reasons. Jesus calls him the rock on which he will build his church. Peter’s name was changed from Simon as the name Peter means ‘rock’.
