Peter's confession about our Lord Jesus

Today’s gospel gives us the roots of our Catholic faith. It is about Peter’s confession about his Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very interesting exchange that all Catholics must learn or even better, put to heart. You can read it in your Bible in Mark 8:27-35.

“37 Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am? 28 They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am”

Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33

At this he turned around and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” 34 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whosoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

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This scripture passage is similar to Matthew 16: 13-20, which is actually more complete than the version of St. Mark, where, after the confession of Peter about our Lord Jesus, the next verse, was the Lord warning his disciples not to tell anyone about him. But in Matthew there is a passage in between this and you can read it in your Bible in Matt. 16: 17-19, so allow me to reprint that for emphasis.

“17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 18 And so I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

So now that we’ve completed this scripture passage, perhaps you might ask, “Why did our Lord Jesus Christ change the name of Simon to Peter the Rock or Petros?” If you revisit Genesis, you will also see that God also changed the name of Abram to Abraham. Read Genesis 17:5,  “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. Abram means “exalted father, while Abraham means, “Father of a multitude.” God also changed the name of Sarai to Sarah, which means “noblewoman.”

In changing Simon’s name to Peter, Jesus Christ reveals his authority to change a name, an authority that comes only from God. His purpose in changing Simon’s name to Peter was to bestow upon him his “authority” so he could point out his new destiny.  

It is for this reason why I had to complete today’s scripture passage from Mark to include that of Matthew. This is why Peter was given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, where whatever sins he forgives will be forgiven and those that he will not forgive, even heaven cannot forgive. This is a clear authority given to Peter, the first Pope in a long line of Popes all the way to the present Pope Benedict XVI.

But just as our Lord Jesus Christ granted Peter authority over his church… suddenly in the following verse, when our Lord revealed for the first time that he would be rejected and killed and would rise up in three days, Peter immediately rebuked him, saying “God forbid that this would happen to you Lord.” The reply of our Lord Jesus is quite striking, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Did our Lord Jesus Christ just called Peter “Satan”? Yes he did. But this was not Satan the deceiver or the Devil. The word “satan” in Hebrew means one that opposes. So the Lord was merely telling Peter to get behind him and obey his teaching. It makes you wonder how many “satans” are with us today, like those Catholics endorsing the RH Bill that the Church denies.

Finally, the last paragraph of today’s gospel comes from our Lord Jesus Christ who said, “Whosoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” It is this passage where priests have to take an oath of poverty, chastity (which means denying oneself), and obedience. What about you? What is your confession as to who our Lord Jesus Christ is in your life?

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