Peter said to Jesus: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus replied: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.

The writers of the Gospel show us quite plainly that Peter had his faults and
failings. His denial of Jesus at the time of the crucifixion is well documented.
And. Like the other apostles, he frequently does not get it when Jesus
teaches.

But this passage shows us that God calls whom he will and is ready to work
with any weaknesses or failings. When Jesus posed the question “Who do
people say that the Son of Man is?” to the apostles, they gave him a list of
dead men: “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” All dead.

Then Jesus makes the question personal “But who do you say that I am?”

You can imagine the awkward silence that followed this question as each
pondered how to answer. Realize they had been with Jesus for about 2 plus
years at this point.

Peter inspired by the Father blurts out plainly “You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God.” Jesus had not claimed to be the Son of God prior to this - so
Peter’s answer is from Peter and from the Father. It is important to
recognize that Peter alone mentioned life: “You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God.” This is the key to the Kingdom of heaven. It is to see Jesus as
“the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus then acknowledges that not only has He chosen Peter, but the Father
confirms His choice.

A few questions to consider for today - and for this week:

1) How do we answer Jesus’ question “But who do you say that I am?”
2) As we reflect on our relationships, are we looking to the dead
prophets or the prophets walking among us – who are they?