Today’s passage continues to be the pinnacle of Jesus’ teaching and the climax of the disciples’ understanding. It’s the climax because of Peter’s confession. It is with Peter’s confession that Jesus has two primary roles: The first is that Jesus is the long-awaited Savior/Messiah/Christ. Jesus is the only one who can save mankind from sin—why? Since man sinned, it must be a perfect man to pay the full price for man’s sin. The second role is Jesus’ divinity—Jesus is God—the second person of the Trinity—thus, Jesus is perfect and is the only one who can save.

The name of Jesus says it all:

Jesus — “God Saves”

Christ— “Through His anointed One.”

With Pete’s confession, Jesus now unveils His plan for the Twleve and every disciple to follow. In other words, Jesus unveils the plan for His Church. So, the question before us today is of the utmost importance—“What is the Church?”