“You are the Christ” (v 29),[1] Peter proclaims boldly in the villages surrounding Caesarea Philippi. So certain a declaration coupled with so little understanding. Who is this Christ that Peter follows? Does Peter grasp the implications of his statement? More pressing still, do we? Do we grasp all that it means to follow this Christ? “And he began to teach them” (v 31). Jesus begins to expound all that his messianic office entails. To be…
