The Confession of St. Peter
Written By Blake Plympton
“I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” For many of us, this line should sound extremely familiar. If you do morning and/or evening prayer, this finds itself right in the center of that rhythm. In our worship together, we say these words in response to the sermon and reading of scripture. For centuries, Christians have said these words of the Apostles Creed right before their baptism. Of all the things we say, this is the one thing that pits us against the world.
In the gospels we have an account of Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ.
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)
We can often easily look at this moment in scripture and just skim over it. I mean, Peter is just confessing what we know already, that which has been told to many of us since we were young: Jesus is the Christ. But ponder with me Jesus’ question that started this conversation with his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Word was spreading of this man who was disrupting all of society. Jesus flipped the tables in the temple, he was walking around healing the sick and the blind, he was feeding thousands of people at a time, and he was teaching of the kingdom of God. Each one of these moments was an enactment of the kingdom of God that was ushered in with his birth, but no one could fully grasp the level of impact for the world that these events would have.
At the same time, Israel had seen false messiahs before Jesus. There were several people who had come to “rally the troops” to overturn the Roman empire and had failed along the way. The lack of change after their deaths would only cement this conviction for the Jews that the true messiah had not come. So, the fact that Peter would make this claim about Jesus is quite significant.
Immediately after Peter’s confession, Jesus confirms his words: “17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17). Jesus does not take this moment to brag about himself and his work. It would be easy enough for him to do that considering all that he had done up to this point. Rather, he affirms the claim Peter makes by pointing to the Father.
As we fast forward 2000 years, we make this same claim. We claim that Jesus is the one who saved the world at his death. This means our first allegiance is no longer to our nation, family, friends, or any ideology of this world (such as consumerism, narcissism, racism, etc.) but rather to Christ. Our confession at baptism intimately unites us with Christ and his life, ultimately changing us to be more like him. The claim of Jesus as Lord and Savior can only have lasting effect if it comes from the prompting of the Spirit.
There are many of people who would claim to accept Jesus as the Christ and yet their life shows no fruit to that end. It is almost as if their claim means nothing. However, our claim to believe in Christ as our king necessarily means that we must listen to the promptings the Spirit is giving us since we now have the freedom to choose good. Upon our confession and baptism, we are no longer slaves to sin, following the powers and principalities of this world, but we are freed from them in order that we might fully live into the image of God for all to see.
Collect for The Confession of St. Peter (BCP 2019, p. 626)
Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Reflection
1. How has your life changed from the time you took seriously your faith?
2. In what ways do you still struggle understanding the “already” kingdom of God and your allegiance to it?
3. How would your life look different if you took more seriously the loyalty you profess to have to Christ our king?
4. Who in your life needs to hear again that Christ is the Son of God who has come to redeem this world?
Resources
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession_of_Peter
2. https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/the_calendar_response.php?id=220118
3. https://forallsaints.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/the-confession-of-saint-peter/