8 August 2024 Matthew 16:13-23
“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Matthew 16:16
Why was it only Peter who confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God? If the others didn’t think that, then why were they following Jesus? If the others did think that, then why do the three gospelsthat mention this story (Matthew 16:13-23, Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21)give only Peter the credit? Why do none of the gospels say, “And so said they all”?
It seems likely that what set Peter apart is not that he was the only one who thought Jesus was the Messiah, but that he was the first person to say so out loud. Some things are only thinkable when someone has the courage to say them out loud. It is hearing them from someone else that gives some people permission to think certain things, certain bold things, certain controversial even problematic things. Outside-the-box ideas don’t sound so crazy once someone has had the courage to say them out loud.
This applies to bad and good ideas alike, which is no doubt why Jesus “sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah” (16:20). The authorities and the crowds had their own ideas about who the Messiah would be, and what the Messiah would do, and if word got out that the charismatic healer rabbi from Nazareth was calling Himself the Messiah it would start a roar of conversation that would very likely make it harder for Jesus to advance His own agenda. When people start saying the quiet part out loud, it’s hard to control what happens next. Peter became Exhibit A of that very thing just moments after he acknowledged Jesus as Messiah. Jesus was explaining about His suffering and death, and Peter “began to rebuke Him, saying ‘God forbid it, Lord!’” (16:22). Jesus had to use remarkably strong language (“Get behind me, Satan!”) to get His own people back in line. Even friends can become problems once they start saying the quiet part out loud. On 15 April 2024 on his show Real Time,host Bill Maher said about abortion, “[Pro-life absolutists] think it’s murder. And it kind of is. I’m just ok with that. I am. I mean, there’s 8 billion people in the world. I’m sorry, we won’t miss you. That’s my position on it.” Pretty brutal stuff. There was no clapping or cheering at that, but just an awkward silence, like Bill’s fans were whispering, “Uh, I don’t think Bill was supposed to say that….” Even friends can become problems when they say the quiet part out loud.
After the Resurrection, Jesus didn’t tell the apostles merely to go and say the quiet part out loud. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” baptizing and teaching everything that Jesus taught (28:18-20). He told them to go and form communities that embody His teaching, because it is only in such communities that the quiet part can be properly understood. Even friends can be a problem when they say the quiet part out loud. The Truth can be missed when the quiet part is not explained correctly, is not lived correctly. The Truth we are to proclaim is always an embodied Truth, embodied first in Jesus, embodied now in the Church.
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