¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"
¹⁴ And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
¹⁵ He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

• Right after this conversation with the disciples, Jesus predicted His passion. Six days later He took Peter, James and John to the mountain and He was transfigured before their eyes
• Caesarea Philippi is about 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, on the southern slope of Mount Hermon. It was constructed by Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great, about 2 BC to commemorate the Emperor Augutus. It was an entirely Gentile community.
• (v.14) In general, the people of Israel did not know for certain who Jesus was, even when they wanted to elevate him to be King of Israel (Jn 6:14). They did not realize that His real mission was to save humankind, and that He is the Son of God.
• (v.16) Christ is from the Greek word "christo," which means "messiah" in Hebrew. It means the "anointed one." This is the first time that one of Jesus' disciples used this term to refer to Jesus.
• (v.18) According to the popular perception among the Israel at that time, the "powers of death" was the place to hold the death (Numbers 16:33). It refers to the power of evil that Satan would use to tame people into sins, and keep them there eternally.
• (v.18) Jesus implied two things: (1) the Church shall not only withstand the attack of Satan, (2) but most importantly, it would attack Satan to free man from sins.
• (v.19) Peter is portrayed as the prime minister in the kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. His exercise of the power to bind and loose will be confirmed by God. However, the content of the power and authority of Peter is not completely clear.

Confessing that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of the living God is an important turning point for discipleship.

1. Perhaps you have recited so many time the Creed of the Apostles (or the Nicence Creed), for you who is Jesus?
2. Right after the confession of Peter about Jesus, He predicted for the first time His passion, His death on the cross. Within this pretext, reflect on Jesus' mission and your own mission. Does your mission also follow the way of the cross as Jesus' did? As Jesus said to Peter that it was the grace of God the Father that revealed to him the true mission of Jesus, pray for the grace to discern your mission in the will of God the Father.
3. Now, with a better concept about the mission of Jesus and yours, let us go back to the first question and re-examine your confession about Jesus. Listen to the words that Jesus reveals in your heart: who do you believe that I am?