Four Times Peter: Portrayals of Peter in the Four Gospels and at Philippi by Richard J. Cassidy

Four Times Peter: Portrayals of Peter in the Four Gospels and at Philippi by Richard J. Cassidy

Author:Richard J. Cassidy
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Published: 2015-07-19T16:00:00+00:00


It was noted above that when the disciples (including Peter) worshiped and acclaimed Jesus, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God” (14:33b), Jesus did not make any response. Now his response is spontaneously effusive. Is it Matthew’s sense that Peter’s prescient reply took Jesus by surprise? For seemingly there is a spontaneous dimension present in Jesus’ response. It is as though Peter’s acclamation is so well spoken that it immediately elicits from Jesus a highly affirmative response.

Jesus’ reply is initially illumined when reference is made to an earlier Matthean passage in which Jesus uses the image of a rock. At 7:24-25 Jesus recommends to his disciples the benefits of building on rock. If they do indeed build their houses on rock, these buildings will be able to withstand the onslaught of rain and floods and violent winds.

In the setting of Matthew 7, building on rock remotely references disciples who put Jesus’ teachings into practice and proximately references the conduct of a wise man. In Matthew 16 building on rock references Simon as the foundation rock for Jesus’ church. Clearly, the reference points for “rock” are different in each passage. Nevertheless, in each case the benefit of building on rock is the same: what is built (a house; a church) is capable of withstanding buffeting from external forces (floods and winds; the gates of Hades). Further, when Matthew’s paradigmatic readers consider the nuances of Matthew 16 in light of the nuances in Matthew 7, do they not interpret Jesus’ endeavor to build his church on a rock foundation as the enterprise of a “wise” man?

Especially when they are considered in the light of 7:24-25, there is a tight logic to the steps that Matthew portrays Jesus taking at 16:16-19. As the ultimate endeavor of his ministry in Part II of the Gospel, Jesus now announces that he will build a church and indicates that Simon will serve this church in two important ways. Further, because one of the ways in which Simon will serve is as a rock of foundation, it is Jesus’ desire that his name be changed to “Rock” (Peter).

Note that Jesus’ initial blessing of Simon contributes to the tight logic of this passage. Because Simon alone has received a special revelation from Jesus’ Father,17 it is logically “plausible” that Simon alone should be singled out for this role. There is also a demonstrable logic in the renaming of Simon that Jesus now implements.

The fact that Jesus begins by formally addressing him as “Simon Bar-Jona” serves to focus attention on the renaming that will now occur. This renaming is an auxiliary step that supports Jesus’ principal objective of establishing a church and his strategy of designating Simon as the rock foundation for this church. Giving Simon a new name that identifies his new role underscores the importance of the role.

If the words “you are Peter” were erased from Matthew’s account of this episode, Jesus’ initiative would still be intelligible: designating Simon to serve as the rock for Jesus’ church.



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