A truly happy person is someone who knows Jesus correctly,
makes a proper confession of faith, and lives a right life of faith.
On His journey through the villages of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples two questions: (1) "Who do people say I am?" and (2) "But what about you? Who do you say I am?" The disciples' answer to the first question was, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." Peter's answer to the second question was, "You are the Christ" (Mark 8:27-29, Korean Modern Bible). In a similar passage in Matthew 16 (Ref.: Luke 9:18-21), when responding to the first question, the disciples added, "Some say Jeremiah or one of the prophets," and to Peter's answer to the second question, he said, "... the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:14, 16, Korean Modern Bible). Additionally, in Matthew 16, there is a statement Jesus made to Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (vv. 17-19, Korean Modern Bible). "Then Jesus warned His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ" (v 20, Korean Modern Bible; Ref.: Mark 8:30, Korean Modern Bible). As I meditate on this passage, I have several thoughts:
(1) Why did Jesus ask His disciples, “Who do people say I am?” in the region of Caesarea Philippi, among so many other places? I was able to speculate on the reason by referring to the Chokmah commentary: "The inhabitants of this area were mostly Gentiles and idol worshipers. Among them, the natives worshiped Baal, and the Greek-speaking people built a temple to the god Pan, who was considered the god of the forests and wild beasts. Herod also built a temple to the emperor Augustus here to flatter him. In this land of idols, Jesus required His disciples to make a proper confession of faith" (Chokmah).
(2) Why did people say Jesus was "John the Baptist," "Elijah," or "one of the prophets" (Mark 8:28), "Jeremiah" (Matthew 16:14), or "one of the old prophets who has come back to life" (Luke 9:19)? When I consider that some people said Jesus was "John the Baptist," I am reminded of King Herod. When he heard rumors about Jesus, he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has come back to life, and that's why he has the power to perform miracles" (Matthew 14:1-2, Korean Modern Bible). "The Jews confused Jesus with John the Baptist because, like the Tetrarch Herod Philip (14:1-2), they remembered the power and explosive spirit of John’s ministry when they saw Jesus' ability and the works He performed. This confusion also stemmed from the mistaken resurrection belief held by the Jews, who thought John the Baptist had come back to life" (Chokmah).
(3) Why did Jesus ask His disciples, “But who do you say I am?” I believe the meaning behind this question is that Jesus was indicating that the responses from the people—“John the Baptist,” “Elijah,” “Jeremiah,” “one of the prophets,” or “one of the old prophets who has come back to life”—were all incorrect. That is why Jesus asked His 12 disciples, “But who do you say I am?” Similarly, I believe that today many people still do not truly understand who Jesus is and are mistaken about Him. Even those who attend church may not fully know who Jesus is. That is why I was led to reflect again on Philippians 3:7-11 in Korean Modern Bible: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."
(4) Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16, Korean Modern Bible). This confession of faith by Peter is “one of the most perfect confessions about Lord Jesus, and it is the core of the Christian creed. The reason is that this confession includes both the humanity of Jesus (“the Christ”) and His divinity (“the Son of God”), the purpose of Jesus coming to this earth, and His essential identity” (Chokmah). Jesus promised to build “His church” upon this confession of faith made by Peter (Matthew 16:18, Calvin). However, the Antichrist and liars deny that Jesus is the Christ (His humanity) and that Jesus is the Son of God (His divinity) (1 John 1:22). Today, the spirit of the Antichrist, the enemy of Christ, the spirit of lies [“the spirit of deception” (Korean Modern Bible)] does not acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh (4:2-3, 6).
(5) To Peter, who made this confession of faith, Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17, Korean Modern Bible). Truly blessed is the person who knows Jesus correctly, makes a proper confession of faith, and lives out that faith correctly. Our Father in heaven has revealed to us who Jesus is, and the Spirit of truth leads us into all truth (John 16:13). Therefore, as we are taught by the Holy Spirit, we should always live in Christ, as the Holy Spirit guides us (1 John 2:27).
(6) Jesus said that He would build His church on the revealed truth about Christ, who is the rock (1 Corinthians 10:4), and because of this, "the gates of Hades" will not overcome it (Matthew 16:18). Here, "the gates of Hades" refers to "the power of death" (Chokmah). The reason is that Jesus rose again from the dead. "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). God will receive us and save our souls from the power of death (Psalms 49:15).