Beware when you hear someone say: “I have it all figured out, I understand it completely.” I always find that right after I have “mastered” a subject I realize there is much more that I do not know or understand. Peter shows his understanding and his lack of understanding in today’s Gospel. Jesus puts two questions to his disciples. The first question is simple: “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples give some of the rumors and answers floating around: John the Baptist, the prophet Elijah, or one of the other prophets. The second question is more important and more personal: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answers correctly and with insight: “You are the Messiah.” The Hebrew or Aramaic title Messiah, means the Anointed One, translated into Greek as the Christ.
Peter now understands who Jesus is, but he still does not have complete understanding. Jesus teaches the disciples that he is to be a suffering or crucified Messiah. Peter did not understand this and refused to accept this teaching of Jesus. “Then Peter took him [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke him.” Jesus challenged and rebuked Peter: “At this Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Peter was thinking of a powerful earthly Messiah or King, like the Old Testament King David and so could not accept Jesus’ teaching. Jesus refused to conform to this human understanding of the Messiah. This understanding might be the way human beings think and act but it was not God’s way. Jesus was to be a humble Messiah: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45). Peter shows both his understanding and lack of understanding of what it means to call Jesus the Messiah or Christ. It is only after Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, that Peter will come to a full understanding.
Jesus puts two questions to each of us today. The first questions are: Who do people say that Jesus is? What have we learned in religion class and through the church’s teachings? The second question is the more personal and the more important: “Who do I say that Jesus is?” Like Peter Jesus invites us to have a personal encounter with him each day and to come to a deeper understanding of who he truly is.
Image: “Jesus on a Cross” by Thomas Hawk is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.