Two Sides of Peter: Rock and Satan - with God's Mind, without God's Mind

The Gospel Reading for the 21^st Sunday, Cycle A (Matthew 16:13-20) and the Gospel Reading for the 22^nd Sunday (Matthew 16:21-27) are one set of narrative. In the flow of the narrative, focusing on Peter, you may wonder what Peter is, the rock or Satan, as Jesus called Peter the rock to build his Church on (Matthew 16:18) but also called him Satan to get behind (Matthew 16:23) on the same occasion. And, it was the occasion that Jesus confronted his disciples to assess their understanding of who he is for the first time in his public ministry ever since he recruited them – so that he could foretell his death and resurrection to them. Jesus wanted to make sure that his disciples understand that he is the Messiah and that he has to die and resurrection to complete his Messianic mission on earth.

Around the midpoint of his 3-year-span public ministry, in the region of Caesarea Philippi (Mathew 16:13), six days before his transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), Jesus asked the disciples, first, who they think people see he is (Matthew 16:13), then asked them who they think he is (Matthew 16:15). The disciples indicated that people do not really know him as people’s perceptions of Jesus varied (Matthew 16:14). On the other hand, when Jesus asked the disciples who they think he is, it was Peter who answered that he is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). To this Jesus rewarded Peter with the keys to his Kingdom, sharing his authorities with him to loose and bound what is on earth and what is in heaven (Matthew 16:19). And, he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell people of his true identity as the Messiah and about the keys given to Peter (Matthew 16:20). It was not a time for the general public to know Jesus’ Messianic identity – yet, as his Messianic identity was to be fully revealed to the public on the Cross. So, the Messianic secret about Jesus had to be kept among the inner circle: Jesus and his direct disciples. And, for this reason, Jesus began foretelling his death for the first time (Matthew 16:21), as to indicate that his Messianic mission is to fulfill the fourth servant song of Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). Based on this Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus, the Messiah, needed to die and to rise from his death in order to complete his mission. Identifying Jesus as the Messiah is the first step. And, understanding that his Messianic mission comes with his death and resurrection is the second step.

Though Peter did well with the first step in identifying Jesus as Messiah, he did not with the second step. Why did Peter well with the first step in identifying Jesus as the Messiah but he failed with the second step in understanding the Messiah’s mission? In fact, this is a very important question to answer why Jesus called Peter the rock but also called him “Satan” on the same occasion.

When Peter did well with the first step in identifying Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16), it was not really Peter to answer but it was because God the Father made a Christological revelation on Jesus to Peter (Matthew 16:17). On the other hand, when Peter reacted to Jesus’ foretelling of his death and tried to forbid Jesus from heading to Jerusalem for his fear of Jesus being killed, Peter was not in the mindset of God but of men (Matthew 16:23). Given what Jesus said in Matthew 16:17 and 23, Peter deserved to be called the rock for Jesus to build his Church on when his mind was in touch with things of God, including what God reveals, but he is entitled to be rebuked as “Satan” when his mind was not but with full of mere human things.

Of course, when Jesus called Peter “Satan”, it was rather a hyperbolic expression to make a powerful teaching against being a stumbling block (Matthew 16:23) to Jesus’ Messianic mission. In this context, “Satan” is synonymous to anything that can disrupt the Messianic mission of Jesus, as Satan exists as anti-Christ and the primary forces against Jesus’ mission.

As human beings, we would react as Peter did if we had been with Jesus when he foretold of his death, as he did to his disciples in Caesarea Philippi. Who would want our Lord to be killed? So, we would try to stop him from heading to a risky place to prevent him from dying. This is a thinking of human minds. However, the mind of God, His Son, has to suffer and die and resurrect, as prophesized in the fourth servant song of Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). Because now the disciples became aware that he is the Messiah as God the Father made this Christological revelation to Peter and he professed it (Matthew 16:16-17), Jesus felt that it was time also for them to know what the Messiah is really about – to fulfill Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Yes, this is counter-intuitive to minds of humans. But, it is what is in the mind of God. And it is for us – our salvation. For us, our of the love of God for us, Jesus, the Messiah, has to suffer and die as the sacrificial ultimate Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:1-7,21-27; John 1:29). Resisting to this means being a stumbling block to Jesus’ Messianic mission for our salvation and protesting the will of the Father.

Peter needed to be with God – with God’s revelation, as well as the mind of God, to be right with Jesus. When Peter was with God, Peter was good enough to become the rock for Christ’s Church to be built upon and to have his share of Christ’s authorities to bind and loose what is on earth and what is in heaven, symbolized with the keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:17-19). However, when he was not with God, he only thought as humans or the general public, who could not understand Jesus as the Messiah, and even tried to act as Satan desires for becoming a stumbling block to Jesus’ Messianic mission.

A lesson for us to take from Matthew 16:13-27, the Gospel readings for the 21^st and 22^nd Sundays, Cycle A, in focusing on Peter, is that we need be with God so that we are with the mind of God. If not, we, too, risk ourselves to become “Satan”, becoming stumbling blocks to Jesus’ evolving Messianic mission, which will continue until his return at the end of time.

Also remember Peter when he saw Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). To see if it was really Jesus or a ghost, Peter asked the man walking on the water to command him if it was really Jesus, his Lord, when Jesus said not to be afraid but to take courage (Matthew 14:27-28). Peter was testing Jesus as Satan did (Matthew 4:1-11). But Jesus did non rebuke Peter at that time though he was acting as Satan did for putting him to a test. So, Jesus commanded Peter to come, and Peter was able to walk on the water – until his attention was disrupted by the wind and let fear dominate his mind (Matthew 14:28-30). Peter’s mind was with God in Jesus when was able to miraculously walk on the water, just like Jesus, but he immediately became a man of little faith (Matthew 14:31) as his human mind lost Jesus and let fear take over and doubt.

In juxtaposing how Peter was in Matthew 14:22-33 and 16:13-27 – Peter walking on the water but began sinking and Peter being called the rock but also called “Satan”, we learn how important it is to keep us in the mind of God – what the mind of God may reveal to us to remain as disciples of Jesus.  And, the Gospel reading for the 22^nd Sunday (Matthew 16:21-27) is about what it means to be his disciples.