From: Luke 9:18-22
Peter's Confession of Faith
[18] Now it happened that as He (Jesus) was praying alone the disciples
were with Him; and He asked them, "Who do the people say that I am?"
[19] And they answered, "John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and
others, that one of the old prophets has risen." [20] And He said to
them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ
of God."
First Prophecy of the Passion
[21] But He charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,
[22] saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the
third day be raised."
Commentary:
20. "Christ" means "anointed" and is a name indicating honor and
office. In the Old Law "priests" were anointed (Exodus 29:7 and
40:13), as were "kings" (1 Samuel 9:16), because God laid down that
they should receiving anointing in view of their position; there was
also a custom to anoint "prophets" (1 Samuel 16:13) because they were
interpreters and intermediaries of God. "When Jesus Christ our Savior
came into the world, He assumed the position and obligations of the
three offices of priest, king and prophet and was therefore called
Christ" ("St. Pius V Catechism", I, 3, 7).
22. Jesus prophesied His passion and death in order to help His
disciples believe in him. It also showed that He was freely accepting
these sufferings He would undergo. "Christ did not seek to be
glorified: He chose to come without glory in order to undergo
suffering; and you, who have been born without glory, do you wish to be
glorified? The route you must take is the one Christ took. This means
recognizing Him and it means imitating Him both in His ignominy and in
His good repute; thus you will glory in the Cross, which was His path
to glory. That was what Paul did, and therefore he glorified in
saying, `Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ' (Galatians 6:14)" (St. Ambrose, "Expositio Evangelii Sec.
Lucam, in loc.").
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.