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Section 046 · The Turning Point

Peter’s Confession at Caesarea Philippi

Away in the north, at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks the question the whole Gospel has been driving toward — “But whom do you say that I am?” — and Peter answers for the Twelve: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus blesses the confession as revelation from the Father, names Peter, and promises him the keys of the kingdom — then charges them all to tell no man.

Matt 16:13–20; Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–203 of 5 accountsReading: CCE

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Study — reading text with parallel accounts; changes available.
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The reading is the Covenant Christian Edition — the Joseph Smith Translation reading — carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the CCE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.

JST
Green — Joseph Smith Translation. Where the Covenant Christian Edition departs in substance from the King James text and the change is in the JST (confirmed against the parallel-column edition). Modernized English (“has” for “hath,” “you” for “thou”) is not marked.
CCE
Burgundy — Covenant Christian Edition. Where the CCE’s reading departs from the King James but the change is not in the Joseph Smith Translation — the CCE’s own editorial reading (e.g. “this day I have begotten you” at the baptism).
DS
Plum — Testimony of St. John. The TSJ (a separate scripture text) and Denver Snuffer’s later commentary share the plum mark.
MatthewKJVMatthew 16:13–20CCEMatthew 9:1NT 1NT 2

13And when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? 14And they said, Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. 15He said unto them, But whom do you say that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you, but my Father who is in Heaven. 18And I say also unto you that you are Peter. And upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you shall set loose on earth shall be set loose in Heaven. 20Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus, the Christ.

MarkKJVMark 8:27–30CCEMark 5:1NT 2

27And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And by the way, he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets. 29And he said unto them, But whom do you say that I am? And Peter answered and said unto him, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 30And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

LukeKJVLuke 9:18–20CCELuke 7:4NT 2

18And it came to pass, as he went alone with his disciples to pray, he asked them, saying, Who do the people say that I am? 19They answering said, Some say John the Baptist, but others say Elijah, and others that one of the old prophets is risen again. 20He said unto them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ, the Son of God.

Cross-references · other works
John 6:68–69 — to whom shall we go? you are that Christ↗Matthew 11:27 — none knows the Son but the Father↗Isaiah 22:22 — the key of the house of David upon his shoulder↗Helaman 5:12 — build upon the rock of our Redeemer↗1 Corinthians 10:4 — that Rock was Christ↗
Joseph Smith on the Confession

What Rock? Revelation.

Upon This Rock — “What Rock? Revelation.”

Preaching on John the Baptist and the kingdom of God, Joseph Smith came to Jesus’ promise at Caesarea Philippi and answered the old quarrel over “the rock” in two words: not Peter, not a place, but revelation — the very thing by which Peter had just confessed the Son of the living God.

Discourse, 22 January 1843, Nauvoo · History, 1838–1856, vol. D-1, 1457 (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 274; DHC 5:256–259) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗

Christ was greater than John, because he held the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood and kingdom of God, and had before revealed the priesthood of Moses; yet Christ was baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness; and Jesus in his teachings says, “Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” What rock? Revelation.

Again he says, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God;” and, “heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” If a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he can get into the kingdom of God.

Hugh Nibley

“The Rock Was Revelation” — the Earliest Witnesses

Surveying the patristic evidence, Nibley arrives at exactly Joseph Smith’s answer: the all-important phrase is not “thou art Peter” but “the gates of hell,” and the oldest and best witnesses say the rock was revelation — the confession that Jesus is the Son of God.

Apostles and Bishops in Early ChristianityCollected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 15 — “The Office of Bishop in Rome”
From the Christian point of view, Protestant as well as Catholic, the important passage is not “thou art Peter,” but “the gates of hell shall not prevail.”… Just what is meant by the peculiar expression, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”? That is the all-important question for both Catholics and Protestants — a question which they never examine.
Apostles and Bishops in Early ChristianityCollected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 15 — “The Office of Bishop in Rome”
What was meant by “the rock”? Two of the most distinguished theologians of the fourth century, Hilary and Basil, both say the rock was revelation — the others do not mention it. Hilary writes: “Peter confesses that Christ is the Son of God. This faith is the foundation of the church… This faith holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven. This faith will bind in heaven and earth. This faith is the guarantee of revelation from the Father… this is the eternal security.”
Apostles and Bishops in Early ChristianityCollected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 15 — “The Office of Bishop in Rome”
Strack and Billerbeck give what scholars consider the most likely rendering of Matthew 16:18 in the original Aramaic: “Upon this rock (upon the fact of my Messianic calling and my being the Son of God) I will build my society.” “This interpretation is strengthened,” Olof Linton tells us, “by the fact that elsewhere in the primitive church it is always Christ and not Peter who is the foundation of the church.”

Ellipses mark omissions within Nibley’s own text; the bracketed names are the scholars Nibley cites.

Points to Ponder
  • For days the crowds have called him John, Elijah, a prophet returned. Jesus lets all that stand, then turns it on the Twelve: “But whom do you say that I am?” Why does the whole question finally come down to who *they* say he is?
  • Jesus tells Peter that flesh and blood did not reveal the confession — “but my Father who is in Heaven.” If the rock the church is built on is revelation, what is the difference between knowing *about* Christ and having the Father reveal him to you?
  • The keys, the binding and the loosing, are promised in the same breath as a charge to “tell no man.” Why is the great disclosure of who he is sealed up at the very moment it is given?