The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 2 — Section 150

Vers. 13-17.-TM great confession. Jesus had now reached a crisis in his ministry. A way from the scenes of his earlier labours, at the beautiful Roman colony by the foo~ of Mount Hermon, close to the famous altar of Pan, where the Jordin springs from the mountain-side, he suddenly called upon his disciples to give a do.finite expression of their thoughts concerning himself. I. THE MOME1'"Tous QUESTION. This was preceded by a Iese important inquiry-as· to the various opinions of the world about Christ. Then the discifles were brought face'. to face with the question for themselves, "Whom say ye that am?" We must be able to furnish an answer to this question. The whole weight and worth of the. gospel bangs upon it. The special character of the gospel is that it is immediately; concerned with its Founder. The Christian ethic and the Christian theory of tha universe will neither of them redeem the world. Beneath and before all else comes the Person of Christ. To know him is to know the gospel. If he is not what he.'. claims to be, all our faith rests on a delusion. But if his claims are true, all else is of secondary importance. II. THE DIFFICULTY OF ANSWERING TIIIS QUESTION. The Jews were much pee-: plexed. They could not but be impressed with the greatness of Christ, yet they failed· to recognize his high claims. It would not have been surprising if the disciples also· had been perplexed ; indeed, many were troubled, and many forsook the great Teacher'1 (John vi. 66). Jesus had not fulfilled the hopes of the people; the religious leaders of the nation had definitely rejected him; he was now in voluntary exile, deserted byl the crowds that had once followed him with enthusiasm. If some of us find it difficult: to believe in him to-day after his great work has been completed, and we see the fruits• of it in history, is it wonderful that many felt the difficulty in his lifetime? IIL THE TRUTH co:r."FESSED. St. Peter does not hesitate or doubt for one moment. He knows that his Master is the Christ, the Son of God. His confession contains two: ideas. 1. The office of Christ. 'l.'he apostle saw that Jesus was the long-expected' Messiah. This truth means to us that he is the Saviour of the world. 2. The nature.. of Christ. The apostle also saw that Jesus was "the Son of the living God." How.'. far these words expressed a faith in the essential Divinity of Christ we cannot say.' The Church was not very slow in perceiving that tremendous truth, for we find that the earliest heresy was not a denial of the Divinity, but a denial of the humanity, o! our Lord. IV. THE SECRET OF THE co:O."FESSION. How did the apostle come to see this great truth under the most unpropitious circumstances? Jesus says it was a revelation.' We need not understand by that term any direct heavenly voice. The revelation was inward. Some such revelation is always needed. Until the eyes of our hearts are opened, we cannot perceire the trne character and nature of Christ. In the spiritual world this is para.lie! to the fact of daily life that we can only understand a man when' we are in sympathy with him.-W. F. A. Ver. 18.-The rock on which the mw,rch is bui1t. This famous sentence, which is' emblazoned in great letters of gold round the interior of the dome of St. Pater's at Rome, has been a centre of controversy in the Church for generations. It would be beside our present need to discuss the history of that controversy, Leaving out of account the angry arguments of polemical th1;ology, let us ~ee what positive ~ru~h our Lord is here teaching us; for too often the Jewel of truth 1s lost by both parties 1n a quarrel while they are contending as to who has a right to the possession of it. ! l. ST. PETER'S CONFESSION IS THE BOCK ON WHICII THE CHURCII 18 BUILT. Acceptin" this idea as the most probable outcome of a fair exegesis of the passage, let us see what its renl significance is. 1. The Church is built on Christ. He is its AuthoE, its original Foundation (1 Cor. iii. 11), and its chief Corner-stone (Eph. ii. 20). When we abandon faith in Christ we forsake the grounds of our faith. 2. The Messiahship ar.d Divinity of Christ are essential to the stability of the Church, 'J'.hese two facts were the contents of St. Peter's confession. The Church cannot rest on vague senti- ments concerning Christ. Exact philosophical definitions may not be e.ttainable; the history of theoloo-y shows that the effort to form them nearly wrecked the Church. llut the great ce;tral truths themselves are essential. 3. The C()'Tljession of these truth, is rquisite in order that tlu: Church ma!J be firml!J planted. It looks as though our  on. xv1. 1-28.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 153