One event, four witnesses
Peter's Confession
At Caesarea Philippi Jesus asks His disciples who they say He is, and Peter confesses Him as the Christ. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this turning point; Matthew alone adds the words about Peter and the keys.
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?”Matthew 16:13
“And 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?”Mark 8:27
“And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?”Luke 9:18
The event
The event. In the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks His disciples who men say that He is. They report the popular opinions: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Then He presses the question home: "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter answers for them all, confessing Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus commends the confession and, in Matthew, pronounces Peter blessed, for flesh and blood did not reveal this but the Father in heaven. He declares that upon this rock He will build His church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and He gives the keys of the kingdom, with authority to bind and to loose. Then in all three accounts He charges the disciples to tell no one that He is the Christ, and from this point He begins to teach plainly that He must suffer, be killed, and rise again. The confession marks the hinge of the Gospel narrative, where the disciples' recognition of who Jesus is opens the road toward the cross.
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs. All three Synoptics agree on the setting, the question, the popular opinions, Peter's confession, and the charge to secrecy, followed by the first prediction of the passion. The wording of Peter's confession varies slightly and complementarily: Mark has "Thou art the Christ"; Luke has "The Christ of God"; Matthew has the fullest form, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." These are not rival versions but different lengths of the same confession, Matthew preserving its full expression. The significant difference is that Matthew alone records Jesus' reply naming Peter blessed, declaring "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church," and giving the keys of the kingdom. Mark and Luke move straight from the confession to the charge of silence, omitting this saying. This is a matter of selection, not contradiction; Matthew, with his strong interest in the church and the kingdom, preserves words the others pass over. There has long been earnest discussion among Christians over exactly what the rock refers to, whether Peter, his confession, or Christ Himself, but that is a question of interpretation, not a conflict among the accounts. The core, that Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ and Jesus enjoined silence and foretold His suffering, is identical in all three.
What it shows of Christ
What it shows of Christ. This scene reveals Jesus as the Christ, the promised Messiah and Son of the living God, confessed at last by human lips yet only because the Father unveiled it. He is the foundation and builder of a church that death itself cannot overpower. Matthew, the Gospel of the King and the kingdom, uniquely draws out the church, the keys, and the authority Christ confers, showing the Messiah establishing a people. All three Gospels then bind the confession immediately to the passion: no sooner is He owned as Christ than He teaches that the Christ must suffer and die and rise. This corrects every triumphalist expectation; the Messiah reigns through the cross. The charge to tell no one guards the confession until it can be understood in light of that suffering. Christ here accepts the highest titles and at once defines them by the road to Calvary, revealing a Savior whose glory is inseparable from His obedience unto death.
Questions people ask
Why does Matthew alone include "Thou art Peter" and the keys of the kingdom?
Matthew has a strong interest in the church and the kingdom of heaven, and he preserves these words of Jesus that Mark and Luke chose to omit. This is selection, not contradiction; the other Gospels move directly from the confession to the charge of silence, while Matthew records the fuller reply of Jesus to Peter.
Does the slight difference in the wording of Peter's confession matter?
No; the three forms are complementary. Mark's "the Christ," Luke's "the Christ of God," and Matthew's fuller "the Christ, the Son of the living God" all express the same confession. Matthew preserves its complete form, while Mark and Luke give it more briefly. The substance, that Jesus is the promised Messiah, is one.