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The actual Greek word order is
as follows,
You, who do you say I am? The Greek language places the most important word first in the sentence.
In this verse “you” occurs first. The emphasis of Jesus’ question
is upon “you.” He wants to know what His disciples thought
- not the crowds. What about you? Who do you think I am? Jesus wanted
to hear what they believed. In truth, Jesus already knew what they believed.
Luke 11:17 reveals that Jesus knew their thoughts.
But He knew their thoughts . . . Luke 11:17 (NAS95S) Furthermore, Peter had already stated in John 6:69 that
Jesus was the Holy One of God. The disciples had been talking amongst
themselves about Jesus. Now each one had to reveal to the others what
they were truly thinking about Him. It was also important for them to
articulate what they actually believed about Jesus. Peter went first,
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matt 16:16 (NAS95S) Notice Peter’s statement, “You are the Christ, the Son of
God.” Did we accurately quote Peter? Is that what he said? No!
We deleted the word “living.” Peter believed that Jesus was
the Son of the living God. Peter knew that our God is One who is alive
and not dead. We do not serve a dead God, but a living God. When Peter
said that Jesus was the Son of God, he declared that he believed Jesus
was God himself. A review of John 10:33 and 36 reveals that the meaning
of the phrase “Son of God” referred to deity. Notice, that
in John 10:36 Jesus stated that they had accused Him of blasphemy when
He said He was the “Son of God.” That is, “son of God” meant “God.” Therefore,
Peter declared that Jesus was God. Peter was correct and his statement
was powerful.
Truth Revealed. Only the gospel of Matthew
records Jesus’ reply to Peter. The other gospels are silent. Jesus’ reply
is unexpected and yet comforting.
And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Matt 16:17 (NAS95S) Peter did not discover this himself by observation and investigation.
No secular Egyptian scroll, Babylonian astronomer, Greek scientific genius,
or Jewish theology class revealed this truth to Peter. The Holy Spirit
was the one who revealed this truth to Peter. He opened Peter’s
mind so that he could understand and the Spirit must open our understanding
or we will never ever understand, Jesus (1 Cor. 2:12-14). Two of the
greatest proofs that a person is a Christian is what they say about Jesus.
First, is He God and, second, is He their Lord. Notice the message of
1 Corinthians 12:3.
Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 12:3 (NAS95S) Only those who have accepted Jesus as Savior are true Christians. What
do you think about Jesus? The proof that one is a true Christian is revealed
in their conduct (Matt. 7:21-23; James 2:26). The ultimate mark of true
Christians is revealed by what they do when they do not want to obey.
Next, Jesus warned them to not reveal this truth to anyone.
But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone . . . Luke 9:21 (NAS95S) Peter Rebukes Jesus. Then Jesus started
teaching the disciples about Himself.
And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31 (NAS95S) The words were clear and simple. Jesus had to suffer, die, and return
to life three days later. But Peter did not get the message. Even though
Peter understood that Jesus was “God” in human flesh, Peter
did not understand.
And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. Mark 8:32 (NAS95S) And Matthew 16:22 records Peter’s rebuke.
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” Matt 16:22 (NAS95S) Peter in his arrogance took Jesus aside and started rebuking Jesus.
Peter assumed that he knew everything. But Peter did not understand everything.
Like Peter, we sometimes assume that we understand everything too! Even
with the help of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12-14; 1 John 2:20), we have
difficulty understanding everything in the scriptures today. If someone
disagrees with this statement, consider the apostle Peter who stated
that there are some difficult things to understand in the Scriptures
(2 Peter 3:14-16); and he was an apostle empowered by the Holy Spirit.
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