Jesus, says Luke, "opened your minds to understand the scriptures, " so that you could comprehend His suffering, death, and resurrection; and so they could undertake their resultant mission. What was it that Jesus said to them ? From Luke's perspective it may have been something like this: Why do you wonder, my brother's? Why do strange thoughts arise in your hearts? Is it incomprehensible that I should suffer, and rise from the dead on the third day? Jesus knew that when He was gone, their must be a leader; ( and Peter was chosen!)
The doctrine of the primacy of Peter and the supremacy of the popes which is derived therefrom, is insisted upon by the Catholic theologians with the greatest vehemence. " from the greatest fact of the existence of a supreme head in the Jewish Church.; from the fact that a head is always necessary for civil governments, for families, and corporations; from the fact, especially, that a visible head is essential to maintenance of unity in the Church., while the absence of a head necessarily leads to anarchy, we are forced to conclude, even though positive evidence was wanting, that, in the establishment of His Church, it must have entered into the mind of the lawgiver to place over it a primate invested with superior judicial powers. But, have we any positive proof that Christ did appoint a supreme ruler over His Church? To those indeed who read the scriptures with the single eye of pure intention, the most abundance evidence of this fact is furnished. The New Testament establishes no doctrine unless it satisfies every candid reader that our Lord gave plenipotentiary powers to govern the whole Church. The promise of the primacy, according to Catholic theologians, is found in Matt. 16, 16-19, and its fulfillment John 21, 15-17, the word "sheep" there being applied to the "Pastors, and "Lambs" to the lay people. we may say however, in passing" Strange that this single eye of pure intention" was lacking in the Church of the first centuries, that it took fully ten centuries for the Roman Bishop to establish his supremacy , and at no time did the entire Church recognize him as the vice-regent of Christ. One thing is established beyond a shadow of a doubt, namely, that the Pope cannot base his primacy upon the text Matt. 16, 13,18. to refer to the word "rock" to the person of Peter would mean indeed to call " our Lord's good grammar and common sense" into question. If He had intended to make Peter Viceroy here on earth, He would have said: Upon thee, or: Upon Peter. But he advisedly uses a word for "rock" which is employed throughout the entire New Testament to refer to Christ and His word as the foundation to the church. For the confession of Christ is His name, a part of his divine essence. It is interesting to know, in connection, that the passage in question was not always understood by the leaders of the Roman church. as referring to a supposed primacy of Peter. Without taking into account the many witnesses of the s sub apostolic age,we refer to only the one manuscript from Spain. It is a Latin manuscript, dating back to the Presbter Beatus, who lived in the eighth century. The text: reads: " I say unto thee," Upon this rock shall be built by the Holy Spirit, His disciples," and, this is the first Church that was founded by the Holy Spirit. This is the first Church that was founded by the Spirit upon the "Rock, Christ! And in a remarkable discourse on "Peter the Rock," found at Mount Sinai a few decades ago, their is a most elaborate argument, that the Church was founded, not on Peter, but upon Christ the rock.
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said , " you are the Christ, the son of the living God."
Jesus said to him, " Blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not reveal this to you, But my Father in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the 'Kingdom of heaven" Then He told his disciples not to tell anyone, that he was Jesus the Christ.
Here Jesus was sent by the Father to redeem God's people, and what is His reaction, and when Peter tells the other disciples that Jesus is the Christ; they hear . SHHH.
Don't tell anyone! Aren't they suppose to spread the good news, that God has broken into history? What is this great messianic secret, that Jesus wanted them to keep? Jesus knew how much time He had at the time ( was three years to teach 12 disciples, just what He wanted taught about his message, so that on Pentecost, they could continue about His message, in His name. You see, if it had gotten out that He was the promised Messiah, the people would have tried to make him King. For the Jews believed that when the Messiah came, He would destroy the enemies of Israel, and re- establish the Temple and rule for a thousand years. Everywhere they went for solitude, prayer and teaching, they were surrounded by the crowds. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, sought to build a kingdom that would last into eternity. The pole of power is greasy! The Roman Emperor Charlemagne knew that. An interesting story surrounds the burial of this famous King. Legend has it that he asked to be entombed sitting upright on his throne. He asked that his crown be placed on his head and his scepter in his hand. He requested that the royal cape be draped around his shoulders, and a open book be placed in his lap. That was A.D. 814. Nearly two hundred years later, Emperor Othello determined to see if the burial request had been carried out. He allegedly sent a team of men to open the tomb and make a report. they found the body just as Charlemagne. only now, nearly two centuries later, the scene was gruesome... but open on the skeletal thighs was the book Charlemagne had requested- the Bible. One boney finger pointed to ( Matt 16:26). " What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?"
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