Text:

13 And when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do people say that I am, the Son of Man?” 14 They said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “And you, who do you say that I am?” 16 Then Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for it was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I say to you again: You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he charged his disciples not to say to anyone that he was Jesus Christ.

the explanation:

“When Jesus asked, Who do people say I am? They said: Some people are John the Baptist, others are Elijah, others are Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. This answer is wrong. Then Jesus added: And you are the ones who say that I am calling them with his second question to think more and to understand that the first answer is much lower than the truth. He asks them for an opinion other than the opinion of the masses who saw the extraordinary miracles and thought that Jesus was a man who appeared from the dead, as Herod also said (Matthew 14:2).

Jesus posed the question again to the disciples as if he was saying to them: And you who have always accompanied me and seen me perform wonders and you have done great works in my name. Who do you say I am?

Then what did Peter, the most zealous apostle and leader of the choir of apostles, say? When everyone asks, he answers. When Jesus asked the people's opinion, everyone answered the question. When he asked the apostles’ opinion, Peter rushed ahead of them and said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

What did Jesus say to him? Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for neither flesh nor blood revealed this to you. Certainly, if Peter had not acknowledged that Jesus was truly born of the same Father, his words would not have been a divine declaration... Peter’s words may seem to people to be the words of a person who loves Christ, words of friendship and praise, but Jesus appeared to have made the words resonate in Peter’s soul to let you know that even though Peter spoke In truth, it is the Father who guided him to believe that the saying is no longer just a human opinion, but a divine doctrine.

Why did Jesus not declare himself to be the Christ, but rather demonstrated this with his questions, making the apostles acknowledge that he was the Son of God? Because this way was better at that time for them to believe in. Have you seen how the Father reveals the Son and the Son reveals the Father? Because he said: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.” Therefore, no one can know the Son except from the Father, just as no one can know the Father except from the Son. In this way, the Father and the Son show that they are of the same essence and in the same dignity.

Then what did Christ say? You are Simon, son of Jonah, and you will be called Cephas (Rock), because since you declared my father’s name, I will name the one who begot you. That is, just as you are the son of Jonah, I am the son of my father. Otherwise, it would not have been necessary for Jesus to say, “You are the son of Jonah” - Jesus knows the name of Peter’s father - but Christ wanted to emphasize that he is a son of God, just as Peter is the son of Jonah, that is, of the same essence as the one who begot him. Therefore, he added: And I say to you: You are Peter, and on this account. The rock I will build my church, that is, on the faith that Peter confessed. In this way, Jesus made it clear that many would believe, and he raised the spirit of Peter and made him a shepherd. “And the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” and of course they will not prevail against me (i.e. Christ); Therefore, do not be disturbed, Peter, for you will soon hear that I will be delivered up and crucified.

Then Jesus mentions another honor: “And I have given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” But what is the meaning of “I gave you,” that is, as the Father gave me, I give to you. He did not say: I will ask the Father, but rather say, I will give you the keys of heaven, so that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Did you see how Jesus Christ led Peter with the two promises he made to him to raise his mind and know that Christ is the Son of God? He promised him power that belongs to God alone (forgiving sins, strengthening the church in the face of attacks, and showing a fisherman who is stronger than a rock, even if the whole world fights him). Jesus promised to give all of these, just as God said to Jeremiah that He would make him like an iron pillar and bronze walls for one nation, while Peter for the whole world.

Ask those who want to belittle the dignity of the Son: What are the greater gifts: what the Father gave to Peter or what the Son gave him? The Father gave Peter the revelation of the Son, and the Son gave him to sow the revelation of the Father and the Son throughout the world. And He gave a mortal man authority over everything in the heavens. He gave him the keys of the heavens. He is the one who extended the Church to the whole world and said about it that it is stronger than the heavens, “For heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” How do you make the one who gave these gifts and made these things the lowest in rank?

Saint John Chrysostom
Sermon 54 of the Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew
Quoted from my parish bulletin
Sunday, June 28, 1992 / Issue 26