Peter and His Rocky Confession

By Rev. George Borghardt

The glorious thing about the Lord’s words is that they are certain and sure, even when we may not be. Take St. Peter and his confession. He gets it right and has no clue what he said really means!

You have to love St. Peter. He’s like the guy in class who always blurts out the answers. Sometimes he’s right, but other times he’s dead wrong.

So when Jesus asks His disciples at Cæsarea Philippi, “But who do you say that I am?” you know St. Peter has an answer. He always has an answer. You almost want to cover your eyes. Here it comes. Here he goes again. Brace yourself. You never know what’s going to come out of Peter‘s mouth.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” says St. Peter. That’s an answer so good it’s divine. Jesus even says so.

“Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father in Heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter (petros) and on this rock (petra) I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not overcome it” (Matthew 16:17–18).

Jesus gives Simon a new name, Petros, which is the Greek word for a stone that is off by itself. A petra is a giant rock that is so big it can be used as a foundation for a building. Peter is petros, a movable stone. He has his good moments and his bad moments. Peter may be movable, but his confession is petra. It cannot be moved.

Peter’s great answer shows us that all the good answers in Bible class don’t come from us and our brilliance. They come from God the Father. Peter spoke the words of the confession, but they weren’t his words. The words flowed from the Father in heaven.

Peter, all by himself, would have just messed it up. That’s what we sinners do when we rely on our own ideas. When Peter repeats what’s given to him by the Father, his words are unshakable. They are rock solid.

“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matthew 16:21).

None of this should have been news to the disciples after that immovable confession by St. Peter. “You are the Christ”means” You are the Messiah” or “the anointed one.” Jesus is God’s Messiah, His King. Jesus is the Suffering Servant, the One born to save us from all our sins.

But Peter just had to pipe up again. Upon hearing what was to take place, he takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him. Peter actually thinks he should correct the Christ, the Son of the Living God. “Not you, never! Never the cross, Jesus!” Only Peter would have that kind of gall.

Peter had such a good answer before; it was an answer that flowed from the Father. But this answer came straight from Peter. Peter, out of his great love for Jesus, would not have Him go to the cross. Unfortunately, any answer that would keep Jesus from the cross is an answer that is against the Father. The Father is all about saving you from your sins. Only Satan would want Peter and you to believe otherwise.

So, why celebrate St. Peter’s confession when he didn’t even know what he was confessing? Because the confession of St. Peter is still rock solid, even when St. Peter himself isn’t. Jesus is still the Christ. He still took upon Himself the Law and punishment for your sins. He still died the death you deserve. And for your salvation, Christ was buried in a tomb hewn out of a petra. Then, after three days, He rose from the dead.

St. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, is no pebble. He’s a rock. Peter was so rock solid that Jesus built His Church on the preaching that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. And the gates of hell shall not overcome His Church.

You and I are the proof of that promise, aren’t we? We weren’t at Cæsarea Philippi or Jerusalem, yet we also confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

St. Peter’s confession was his confession even though it flowed from the Father, and the same goes for your confession. They are all His words and not yours. It’s your confession because it’s your mouth speaking it, and the words are certain and sure because they aren’t your words but the Father’s.

This year, the celebration of the Confession of St. Peter (January 18) falls on a Sunday. Remember it by confessing Jesus to those around you—in the Word, in the hymns, and in the creed.

Jesus is the Christ. He’s the Son of the Living God. Peter got it right, even when he had no clue how right he was. You have to love that about St. Peter. Jesus did and does.

Rev. George F. Borghardt III is the Assistant/Youth Pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe, TX. His e-mail address is revborghardt@ higherthings.org. T he glorious thing about the Lord’s words is that they are certain and sure, even when we may not be.Take St. Peter and his confession. He gets it right and has no clue what he said really means!