Breaking the Word

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. (Mt 16: 13-20)

Man in his search for God, does not arrive at God completely. His search is limited. His search also is limited by his own knowledge of the past and the other religious person. This is the reason why people consider Jesus to be Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Their search could lead them till there only. Search is always limited and a search will never arrive at the complete truth.

Peter replied Jesus saying that he was the Messiah. This knowledge is the result of the revelation. It is not the fruit of his search rather it is given from above, from the Father. Jesus also affirms Peter and tells him that this knowledge is from God. When one possesses God’s revelation then he becomes the rock on which God’s activities are established.

The kingdom is built on the faith which rooted on revelation. Faith and revelation together form something like a rock which cannot be shaken. Any person who has his faith on the revelation is the person on whom the church is built. A man with faith on revelation cannot be overcome by any force. Nothing can prevail him. Such a person will be like an entry point into the kingdom of heaven. He will be the link between heaven and earth.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.  (Mt 23:1-12)

Jesus is talking to the disciples and the crowds. The disciples and the crowds do belong to those who follow him. The disciples follow him closely: they live with him and work with him. The crowds do follow him but not so closely like the disciples. These are opposed to scribes and Pharisees. The scribes and Pharisees preach similar principles but they do not follow them.

The scribes and Pharisees are leaders. As leaders they present the crowds with lots of rules, regulations, and traditions. But they themselves do not practice those rules etc. They multiply external practices. They believed that the external practices will reveal the internal dispositions. But in their cases the externals only revealed the internal pretentions.

Followers of Jesus should all be brothers. They should all belong to one family to which God is the only father and they do not impose rules on others and play the role of a master. There is only one teacher and that is Jesus the Messiah.  Service is the only way to express all these. Service to the other is the only thing that links the followers of Jesus with one another.