afca, flesh and blood) i.e. any man whatsover ; flesh and blood are put by metonymy1 for body and soul : see Eph. vi. 12 ; Gal. i. 16. No mortal at that time knew this truth before Peter; see ver. 14. — OVK a-re/caXu-4/e, hath not revealed) The knowledge of Christ is not obtained except by Divine revelation ; see ch. xi. 27. — o ttarttp Mov, x.r.X., My Father, etc.) By these words the sum and substance of Peter's confession is repeated and confirmed. The heavenly Father had revealed it to Peter by the teaching of Jesus Christ, and thus inscribed it on the apostle's heart.
18. 2i) s7 Herpo;, thou art Peter) This corresponds with great beauty to the words, Thou art the Christ.2 — ttsrpos, Ksrpa, Peter — rock) virpos elsewhere signifies a stone ; but in the case of Simon, a rock. It was not fitting that such a man should be called u'erpa, with a feminine termination ; on the other hand, St Matthew would gladly have written ra-/ rob™ r& Ktrpu, if the idiom would have allowed it ; wherefore these two, VST pa and virpos, stand for one name and thing, as both words are ex pressed in Syriac by the one noun, Kepha. Peter is here used as a proper name ; for it is not said, Thou shalt be, but, Thou art ; and yet the appellative is at the same time openly declared to denote a rock. The Church of Christ is certainly3 (Rev. xxi. 14) built on the apostles, inasmuch as they were the first be lievers, and the rest have been added through their labours ; in which matter a certain especial prerogative was conspicuous in the case of Peter, without damage to the equality of apostolic authority ; for he first converted many Jews (Acts ii.), he first admitted the Gentiles to the Gospel (Acts x.4) He moreover was especially commanded to strengthen his brethren, and to feed the sheep and lambs of the Lord. Nor can we imagine that this illustrious surname, elsewhere commonly attributed to Christ
Blessed is the man, not he who attributes aught to himself on his own autho rity, but whom the Lord pronounces to be blessed. — V. g.
1 See explanation of technical terms in Appendix. — (I. B.)
2 Christ addresses His own, and Christ's own address Him most becom ingly throughout the whole of Scripture. — V. g.
3 Eph. ii. 20.— E.B.
* And the same apostle, in this very passage, was superior to the rest of the disciples in the fact of his knowledge and his confession, seeing that it is probable that none of them would have answered at that time with so great alacrity as did Peter. — V. g.