Peter’s calling of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God
(Matthew 16:16) was confessing that the Jesus who stood there before the disciples was the promised, and only, Messiah. Here in Matthew 16:16, the disciples also use the title Christ for the first time, and apart from Matthew 2:4, this is the first time in Matthew that someone uses that title. Through their instruction, the apostles now saw in Jesus the prophesied Messiah. Think here of passages such as Psalm 2:2; Psalm 84:10; and Psalm 89:39, Psalm 89:52; and Habakkuk 3:13, though not all interpreters see all these passages as messianic prophecies. Calling him the Christ
confessed that God had now sent the Promised One (Isaiah 61:1), which the people did not recognize.
Peter also not only confesses Jesus as Messiah, but also calls him the Son of… God,
implying the Trinity, the foundation of the faith. Peter also calls God the living God
: the God who truly lives and stands in contrast to the idols of the nations (see Psalm 115:3–8, Psalm 135:15–18; Jeremiah 10:3–10; Daniel 5:23). Peter thus both confessed Jesus as the Messiah and reveals his messianic nature. Comparing his confession with earlier ones (Matthew 8:27; Matthew 14:33) shows the progression in the apostles’ understanding of Jesus.
Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God
(Matthew 16:16) meant acknowledging that the Jesus who stood there before the disciples and the promised Messiah are one and the same person. There is no other Messiah; Jesus alone fulfills that role completely. Here in Matthew 16:16 the disciples also use the title Christ for the first time, and apart from Matthew 2:4, this is the first time in the Gospel that someone refers to the title. Through the special instruction they had received, the apostles had now come to recognize in Jesus the promised Messiah in whom the prophecies were fulfilled. One may think here of passages such as Psalm 2:2; Psalm 84:10; and Psalm 89:39,Psalm 89:52; and Habakkuk 3:13, though not all interpreters recognize all these passages as messianic prophecies. By calling him the Christ,
the apostles acknowledged that God had now sent the Promised One, and unlike the people, they recognized and believed this (Isaiah 61:1).1
Yet Peter’s confession entails even more. It is possible that, as in our own time, there were also Jews then who were willing to say that Jesus was a Messiah (one representative of a messianic movement), but not that he was the one and only unique Son of God. Peter’s confession is decisive, however, as it implies the Trinity and forms the foundation of the Christian faith. Peter confesses God as the living God
—that is, the one true God who truly lives and stands in contrast to the idols of the nations (see Psalm 115:3–8, Psalm 135:15–18; Jeremiah 10:3–10; Daniel 5:23)—the God of Israel. As such Peter not only declares that Jesus is the Messiah but also reveals the true nature of his messiahship. When this confession is compared with earlier ones from the apostles (Matthew 8:27; Matthew 14:33), we can clearly see how they have progressed step by step in their understanding. Here, they finally see Jesus as he must be seen.2
16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”