St Matthew Chapter XVI : Verses 13-20
Contents
- Matt. xvi. 13-20. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
- Additional Notes: Reason of our Lord's retirement ; Opinions concerning our Lord.
Matt. xvi. 13-20
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| Whom do men say that the Son of man is? J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Venit autem Jesus in partes Cæsareæ Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis?
14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis.
15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?
Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis?
16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.
Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi.
17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in cælis est.
18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portæ inferi non prævalebunt adversus eam.
19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
Et tibi dabo claves regni cælorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in cælis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in cælis.
20 Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
Tunc præcepit discipulis suis ut nemini dicerent quia ipse esset Jesus Christus.
Notes
Combining the three narratives we find that—
(a) Jesus went with His disciples into the towns of Cesarea Philippi.
(b) He retired for a time and was alone praying (St Luke).
(c) His disciples then rejoined Him.
(d) Jesus began to question them in the way (St Mark).
Note. — Probably they found Him engaged in prayer, which He interrupted to question them. Jesus might have retired to pray while the apostles were resting awhile, and when they came to Him, He interrupted His prayer and continued the journey.
Whom do men, etc. ? This question served as an introduction to the direct question. Whom do you say that I am ?
the Son of man. The other Synoptists give : Whom do men say that I am ?
14. But they said: Some John, etc. The apostles give three different opinions held by the people, namely —
(1) He was John the Baptist risen from the dead,
(2) He was Elias who had been taken up in a fiery chariot
(3) or. He was Jeremias, or “one of the prophets” risen again. None of them con¬ fessed Him to be the Messias, but all agreed in accepting Him as the forerunner of the Messias. In answering this question, no reference is made to the Pharisees, who had decided that Jesus was an impostor. Our Lord inquired what opinion the people in general had of Him.
16. Simon Peter answered, etc. His faith was more ardent than that of the other apostles, as seen by his demand to walk upon the waters. Moreover, he was naturally impetuous, and his deep love prompted him to anticipate the reply of the others. Possibly he feared lest his companions should not give our Lord His true title ; in any case, his answer was a repetition of that, which he made when Jesus asked the Twelve, Will you also go away ? And Simon Peter answered him : Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that thou art the Christ, the Son of God (St John vi. 68-70).
Thou art Christ the Son, etc. The Anointed One, the Messias. The words the Son of the living God do not merely mean a holy man, but the Son of God, — i.e. God the Son, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. It is possible that St Peter did not fully realize all that his confession implied, since at this time, the apostles had not a clear conception of the doctrine of the Trinity. We see from our Lord’s question to St Philip, about a year later, that their knowledge was imperfect. Philip saith to him : Lord, shew us the Father .... Jesus saith to him : Have I been so long a time with you, and have you not known me ? Philip, he that seeth me, seeth the Father also. How sayest thou. Shew us the Father ? (St John xiv. 8, 9).
St Peter’s faith was, however, strong enough to recognize Jesus, in all His lowliness and humiliation, as “ the Son of God. ” The old error of a Messias, who should have a glorious reign on earth, did indeed reveal itself again later, on more than one occasion, but the germ of the truth was at last taking root in his soul.
Note. — Verses 17 to 19 have no parallels.
17. Blessed art thou, etc. St Peter had proclaimed the dignity of Jesus, he had confessed Him to be the Son of God, and Christ dignifies His faithful apostle by making him the “ rock ” on which the Church of Christ was to be established. “ Where Peter is, there is the Church ” (St Ambrose). In the fourfold promise made by Clirist to St Peter, we have a certain proof that the Church is the one Infallible Guide for all time.
(1) St Peter and his successors, the Popes of the Catholic Church, form the “rock’" on which the Church is built.
(2) “The gates of hell ” (i.e. “ the devil ”) shall not prevail against it.
(3) To St Peter and his successors are given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, that is, the power to open or to close heaven; which is effected by the sacraments, indulgences, excommunications, and interdicts.
(4) Finally, to the Church is confided the power of binding and loosing, i.e. of absolving from sin, properly called “ the power of the keys.” This gives the Church her authority.
20. tell no one. There were reasons for this prohibition.
(1) It was not yet time for the Divinity of our Lord to be revealed ; this truth was to be unfolded gradually, and St Peter proclaimed it with all boldness after the Ascension. (See Acts ii.31-36, iv. 8-12.)
(2) Jesus wished to remove the idea of the temporal greatness of the Messias.
(3) He willed to suffer for our salvation, and had the Jews known Him to be the Son of God they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory (1 Cor. ii. 8)
Additional Notes
Reason of our Lord’s retirement. We may conjecture that Jesus wished to be alone with His disciples in order to instruct them further, and to prepare them for His approaching Passion and Death. Jesus had been rejected by the Jews, and after His discourse at Capharnaum “ many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him ” (St John vi. 67). There was a powerful coalition formed against Him, and He would now test His own disciples and see how far they had profited by the two years’ training which they had had, or whether they would leave Him and return to their old masters the Pharisees. It was an important crisis in their life ; they were asked to state their opinion concerning Him. It is the first recorded occasion on which Jesus questioned His disciples about Himself. Since they had witnessed His miracles and heard His teaching, it was natural that they should have had their own convictions about His Divine Person. Only on condition of their firmly believing Him to be the Messias, could He reveal to them the mystery of His Passion, which was now near at hand. St Luke tells us that before asking His disciples this important question “ he was alone praying,” as He had prayed in solitude before the calf of the apostles, and again before His Transfiguration.
Opinions concerning our Lord. As far as we can gather, these different opinions each rested on a certain foundation.
(1) Christ was believed to be St John the Baptist. This opinion would naturally have originated with Herod, who feared it might be so. The Galilean people would have heard of their tetrarch’s opinion and adopted it.
(2) The Jews in general took Him for Elias. We see this from the disciples’ question. “ And his disciples asked him, saying : Why then do the scribes say that Elias must come first ? ” (St Matt. xvii. 10). They believed Elias would return to earth before the coming of the Messias. This view was based on the prophecy of Malachias iv. 5. The multiplication of the loaves and fishes would have reminded them of the miracle which Elias wrought for the widow of Sarephta when “ the pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished ” (3 Kings xvii. 16).
(3) Some say Jeremias. In 2 Machabees ii. 5-7 we read ; “ And when Jeremias came thither he found a hollow cave : and he carried in thither the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door. Then some of them that followed him, came up to mark the place ; but they could not find it. And when Jeremias perceived it, he blamed them, saying : The place shall be unknown, till God gather together the congregation of the people, and receive them to mercy.” From these words the Jews concluded that Jeremias would return and reveal the hiding-place of the ark before the coming of the Messias. This universal opinion was strengthened by the apparition of Jeremias to Judas Machabeus : — “After this there appeared also another man, admirable for age, and glory, and environed with great beauty and majesty. Then Onias answering said : This is a lover of his brethren, and of the people of Israel ; this is he that prayeth much for the people, and for all the holy city, Jeremias the prophet of God. Whereupon Jeremias stretched forth his right hand, and gave to Judas a sword of gold, saying: Take this holy sword, a gift from God, wherewith thou shalt overthrow the adversaries of my people Israel” (2 Machabees xv. 13-16). “Jeremias’ freedom and boldness in denouncing the crimes of the Jews, of his own day, was so like the line of conduct pursued by our Redeemer in this respect ” (MacEvilly).
(4) One of the prophets: risen again. This opinion was based on Deut. xviii. 15. That the two last opinions expressed were current among the Jews is proved by the questions put to St John the Baptist : “ And they asked him ; What then ? Art thou Elias ? And he said : I am not. Art thou the prophet 1 And he answered : No ” (St John i. 21).
All these opinions are in harmony with the teaching of the Pharisees, who taught “that a just man can easily return to life” (Josephus). They probably heard the Pythagorean doctrine of the transmigration of souls, for it was certainly believed by some of their writers that the spirit of Jeremias had passed into Zacharias, and hence all agreed in taking Jesus to be an ancient prophet, now incarnate for the second time.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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