The scriptural argument that Jesus built His Church upon Peter is itself built upon a single Bible verse without context: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). What is lost in the argument, whether from Patristic writers in antiquity or medieval theologians or modern Roman apologists—and yes, even some Protestants—is that Jesus said this to Peter in the aftermath of the two miracles of the loaves: the Feeding of the 5,000 and the Feeding of the 4,000. The events immediately following those miracles concluded with Jesus posing two different but related questions to the apostles: “Whom do men say that I am?” and “Will ye also go away?” Peter’s answers to those questions revealed that he had finally believed Who Jesus was, and in fact was the last of the apostles to do so. Only then did Jesus utter those famous words, “and upon this rock I will build my church.” By studying and harmonizing the loaves narratives, it becomes clear that the two questions Jesus asked arose concurrently and were answered at once. By understanding those questions, Peter’s answers, and Jesus’ response, we may also understand that “the rock” upon which Jesus would build His church was neither Peter, nor his confession, but something else entirely.

Peter’s Tardy Confession

Three of the gospels testify that the miracles of the loaves took place soon after Jesus received the news of John the Baptist’s death (Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:7-9). Leading up to the first miracle of the loaves and fish, and throughout the loaves narrative, various parties, including the apostles, each arrive at the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah, until finally, Peter himself comes to that same conclusion.

John the Baptist, of course, knew early on, and testified, “I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34). Two disciples, one of whom was Andrew, were within earshot when he said it, and they too believed. Andrew then ran to Peter and delivered the news: “We have found the Messias (which is, being interpreted, the Christ)” (John 1:41). But Peter did not yet confess.

Phillip and Nathanael also were early convinced of Jesus’ identity, freely confessing Christ as the Son of God:

Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” … … Nathanael answered and saith unto [Jesus], “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:45, 49).

As we proceed into the loaves narratives we find believers among the witnesses to the miracle who concluded among themselves, “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world” (John 6:14). Then, when Jesus had walked on water, the rest of the apostles—save Peter and Judas—appear to have understood the significance:

Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, “Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)

Neither Judas joined with them in that confession since he did not possess faith (Jn 6:64), nor Peter who had just returned to the ship full of doubt (Mt 14:31). It is true that the rest were “troubled” (Mt 14:26; Mk 6:50) and “afraid” (Jn 6:19) at the sight of Jesus, and that “their heart was hardened” as to the meaning of the multiplication of the loaves (Mark 6:52), but they at least concluded together what Phillip, Nathanael, Andrew and at least one other had individually already known for some time. But Peter’s epiphany would have to wait.

Once they landed on the opposite shore, Jesus healed and taught many, and then proceeded toward Tyre and Sidon. There the Canaanite woman confessed, shouting after Him, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David!” (Matthew 15:22)

Only then, after many healings, and two multiplication miracles, and many trips back and forth across the Sea of Galilee, were Peter’s eyes at long last opened to the truth:

“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

“Thou art the Christ.” (Mark 8:29)

Peter answering said, “The Christ of God.” (Luke 9:20)

“…we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:69)

Peter finally understood and believed what John the Baptist, the Canaanite woman, the witnesses to the Feeding of the 5,000, and ten other apostles had already concluded. He was the last to know.

We link John 6:69 contextually to Matthew 16:16, Mark 8:29 and Luke 9:20, because a simple harmonization of the Gospel accounts requires it. Peter’s confession in the Synoptic accounts was of singular significance, as evidenced by Jesus’ response to it: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” It makes no sense therefore to interpret the Gospels as if Peter had made multiple such confessions throughout Jesus’ ministry, but some commentaries suggest two or possibly three different confessions. For example, Ellicott’s commentary suggests “successive confessions” by Peter in Matthew 14:33, John 6:69 and Matthew 16:16. Peter is presumed therein to have joined the others in the ship who said “Of a truth thou art the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33), and then to have confessed Christ again in the John 6 narrative, “you are the Holy One of God,” and then yet again in Matthew 16:16, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Another commentary says similarly that Peter’s successive confessions “increase in fulness, as we might expect.” Yet another suggests that Peter’s confession in John 6 was the third of three, the last occurring after the Transfiguration. However, a survey of such proclamations in the Scriptures shows that they are not progressively more significant at all, and are rather substantively equivalent. See for example Martha’s confession, “thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world” (Jn 11:27) and Peter’s own rebuke of the men of Israel: “his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied … ye denied the Holy One and the Just” (Acts 3:13-14), and Paul’s reference to Psalm 16:10, “Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 13:35). If Peter’s confession was as significant as Jesus’ response indicates it was, then we must necessarily exclude Peter from the confession of the apostles in the boat (Matthew 14:33) and see his explicit Synoptic and Johannine confessions as a singular epiphany. Because Peter’s confession takes place within the broader context of the Miracles of the Loaves, part of the work necessary to harmonize the accounts of Peter’s confession is first to harmonize the Synoptic and Johannine loaves narratives.

Peter’s Confession in the Synoptics

The Synoptic Gospels have Jesus Feeding the 5,000 on the eastern shore, then walking across the Sea, meeting the Apostles part way across on their way to Gennesaret and Bethsaida of Galilee on the western shore. There Jesus heals many and argues with the Pharisees about tradition. He then travels north to Tyre and Sidon, then turns walking eastward back toward the distant shore of the Sea of Galilee, healing the multitudes there and Feeding the 4,000. After the second miracle He and the apostles travel across to the western shore again where the Pharisees ask for a sign from heaven, and Jesus refuses. He immediately departs across the sea to the eastern shore and warns the apostles of the leaven of the Pharisees. From there He proceeds north to Bethsaida and heals a blind man, and thence to the towns of Caesarea Philippi where He asks the Twelve, “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter responds that Jesus is the Christ of God. In these narratives, Peter’s confession occurs well after the Feeding of the 5,000, and even after the Feeding of the 4,000 and still then, only after multiple journeys across the Sea and finally to Bethsaida and then north to the towns of Caesarea Philippi. In the Synoptic narratives, Peter’s confession appears to occur weeks after the Feeding of the 5,000.

Peter’s Confession in John

By way of contrast, John’s account of Peter’s confession appears on a cursory reading to place it the day after the Feeding of the 5,000. Jesus feeds the 5,000 on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:1-15), then sends the disciples across the sea to Capernaum on the western shore, meets them halfway across the Sea on foot, and sails the rest of the way across with them (John 6:16-21). Some of the 5,000 returned the next day to the site of the miracle but did not find Him, and crossed the Sea “to Capernaum, seeking Jesus” (John 6:22-24). He rebukes them for following Him only to have their bellies filled (John 6:26-29). There follows a conversation in which the Jews request a sign like that of Moses who fed the Israelites with “bread from heaven,” but Jesus refuses, for He himself is the sign, “the true bread from heaven,” “the bread of life” (John 6:30-40). The Jews grumbled and disputed among themselves about Jesus’ sayings—”How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” and “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”—and yet Jesus insists it is so, saying “whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me” (John 6:35-58). John says He taught these things in the synagogue at Capernaum (John 6:59). Some disciples turn away at His teaching, so Jesus asks the Twelve if they, too, will turn away. Peter says they cannot, for Christ has the words of eternal life and besides, they all believe He is the Holy One of God (John 6:59-69). On its face the narrative very much appears to suggest that Peter’s confession occurred in Capernaum the day after the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000. In fact, one commentary has the entire chapter taking place in the span of “a few hours.”

A closer analysis of the Johannine narrative, however, shows that it did not occur over the span of a single day, or even in a single week. John provides the additional detail that the Feeding of the 5,000 took place as the Passover was near (John 6:4). That is an important detail because the miracle occurred as Jews were gathering in Jerusalem for the feast—a two week commitment—but the following narrative in Capernaum has Jesus interacting both with people who had been fed by Him but also with Jews who had been in Jerusalem at the time of the miracle. As the Passover was approaching (John 6:3-4) Jesus was alone with the Twelve on a mountain and “lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him” (John 6:5), notably a company comprised of Gentiles. The Jews would have gone on to Jerusalem six days early to purify themselves for the Passover (John 11:55-12:1) and then spent another eight days at the festival, one on the 14th of Nisan for the Passover (Leviticus 23:5) and then seven more from the 15th to the 22nd for the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6). The first exchange in the dialogue in Capernaum comes from those who “had seen the miracle” (John 6:14), but the second comes from Jews who had not: “What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee?” (John 6:30). Although the narrative at first appears to be a continuous exchange in a single setting, considerable time would have elapsed between the several conversations John records. Thus, it is clear that the dialogue in John 6 does not take place on a single day, but over the course of several weeks.

Additionally, John reports that upon hearing Jesus’ teaching, many of His disciples “went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66). The Greek here says much more than the English suggests. The Greek, ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, is literally “went away back”, returning to their previous locations. They “walked (περιεπάτουν) no more with Him” has the meaning of no longer traveling about with Him throughout the region. Indeed, Mark attests that while on the western shore, He did not stay in only one place, but traveled “into villages, or cities, or country” (Mk 6:56). Such a description implies a passage of time as disciples struggle to accept His teachings, give up following Him about from place to place as they had been doing, and turning back to their own villages, cities and towns. Thus, while part of the narrative describes the things Jesus said in the synagogue “as he taught in Capernaum,” it is clear that the sequence of events described in the chapter took place over a lengthy span of time and occurred as Jesus walked about with His disciples, visiting different towns, interacting with the people who had just seen the miracle, and appearing in the synagogue to interact with the Jews who had been away in Jerusalem when He multiplied the loaves. With that knowledge, we can construct an integrated, harmonized narrative of the Miracles of the Loaves and Peter’s confession at their conclusion.

Harmonizing the Loaves Narratives

Upon hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus assembled the Twelve (Mk 6:30; Lk 9:1) and departed by ship to a “desert place” near Bethsaida on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee so they could rest (Mt 14:33; Mk 6:32; Lk 9:10; Jn 6:1). It is the first crossing of the narrative. Up on a mountain (Jn 6:3) Jesus performed the first Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, feeding 5,000 with only “five barley loaves, and two small fishes,” and the apostles collected twelve baskets of leftovers (Mt. 14:13-21; Mk 6:30-44; Lk 9:10-17; Jn 6:1-13). Many people believed because of the miracle (Jn 6:14-15), though the apostles did not yet understand its significance (Mk 6:52). Departing from the site of the miracle, Jesus instructed the Twelve to proceed ahead of Him, their second trip across the Sea. Their destination this time was “Bethsaida” (Mk 6:43) on “the other side” of the Sea (Mt 14:22)—clearly referring to “Bethsaida of Galilee” on the western shore “toward Capernaum” (see Mk 1:29, Mt 8:14; Jn 1:44, 6:17; 12:21)—in “the land of Gennesaret” (Mt 14:34; Mk 6:53). Seeing their distress, Jesus walked behind them on the water, joining them mid-journey (Mt 14:22-32; Mk 6:45-52; Jn 6:16-21). Upon arrival, not only did diseased people from “all that country round about” come to Him to be healed (Mt 14:35; Mk 6:55), but He also traveled about “into villages, or cities, or country” and healed the sick where they lay (Mk 6:56). Those who had witnessed the miracle of the loaves sent looking for Him the next day at the site of the miracle on the eastern shore (Jn 6:22), and finally caught up with Jesus on the western side, only to be rebuked by Him for traveling so far for a free meal. Drawing from Isaiah 55:2, he implored them to “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life” (Jn 6:22-27).

Throughout this time, Jesus made appearances at the synagogue of Capernaum nearby. The Passover and Unleavened Bread festival now complete, the Pharisees had come up from Jerusalem to Capernaum where Jesus was teaching (Jn 6:59). They criticized His disciples for violating tradition (Mt 15:1-9; Mk 7:1-13), for which they were roundly corrected by Jesus Who instructed the multitude that a man is not defiled by eating bread with unwashed hands, but is defiled from within (Mt 15:10-20; Mk 7:14-23). Venturing north on foot to Tyre and Sidon, Jesus encountered a believing Canaanite woman and healed her daughter (Mt 15:21-28; Mk 7:24-30), and then circling back eastward and southward toward the Sea of Galilee, He healed the “lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others” (Mt 15:29-31 ), and then to Decapolis on the eastern shore where He healed a deaf man with a speaking impairment (Mt 7:31-37).

It was there on a mountain (Mt 15:29) that he performed His second miracle of multiplication, this time feeding 4,000 with seven loaves “and a few little fishes,” with seven baskets left over (Mt 15:32-39; Mk 8:1-10). He then dismissed the multitude, and for His third crossing “took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala” (Mt 15:39) in “the parts of Dalmanutha” (Mk 8:10) on the western shore south of Capernaum. The Pharisees and Sadducees took the opportunity to challenge him during one of his many visits to the synagogue, this time asking for “a sign from heaven” (Mt 16:1-4; Mk 8:11-13). Other Jews, too, had come up from Jerusalem and they, too, wanted to see a sign from heaven:

What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” (John 6:30-31).

“A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign,” Jesus responded (Mt 16:4). The bread they should have been seeking was not the manna of Moses, but Jesus Himself, “the true bread … which cometh down from heaven” (Jn 6:32-49). Puzzled as they were by such a claim, Jesus pointed them to Isaiah 54:13, saying:

It is written in the prophets, “And they shall be all taught of God.” Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. (Jn 6:45)

Refusing them a sign, He confounded them further with a “hard saying” (Jn 6:6) that even some of His followers could not accept (Jn 6:66): “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and … he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” (Jn 6:54-57). The only sign such a generation would receive, rather, was “the sign of the prophet Jonas” (Mt 16:1-4; Mk 8:11-13), a cloaked reference to His death and resurrection (Mt 12:40). He then returned to “the other side” (Mt 16:4-5; Mk 8:13), the fourth trip across the Sea of Galilee. It is here, upon their arrival on the eastern shore, that the disciples realized they had forgotten to eat (Mt 16:5) and had no more than one loaf between them in the ship (Mk 8:14). Focused as they were on their hunger, they misunderstood Jesus’ warning to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Mt 16:6) and “of Herod” (Mk 8:15), assuming He was referring to their shortage of bread (Mt 16:7; Mk 8:16). Jesus chided them for their “little faith,” lack of understanding and hard hearts, forcing them to ponder the significance of the superabundant provisions He had made on the eastern shore:

When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? (Mk 8:19-21, c.f. Mt 16:9-11)

Upon further reflection on the miracles, they realized “that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Mt 16:12). They shortly encountered a blind man at Bethsaida, whom Jesus healed (Mk 8:22-25) and thence journeyed north to “the coasts” and “the towns of Caesarea Philippi” (Mt 16:15; Mk 8:27).

The Two Questions

Many miracles had been performed since the Feeding of the 5,000 (when witnesses confessed Jesus to be the Prophet (Jn 6:14)), and the miracle of walking on water (when the apostles confessed Christ to be the Son of God (Mt 14:33)) and the healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman (who called Him Son of David (Mt 15:22)). Since then He had healed the “lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others” near the Sea of Galilee (Mt 15:29-31) and the deaf man at Decapolis (Mt 7:31-37) and had even fed another 4,000, but no explicit confessions of Jesus’ identity are recorded. Certainly the apostles would know what the people had been saying. Thus while journeying from town to town in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus posed the question, “Whom do men say that I am?” (Mt 16:13; Mk 8:27; Lk 9:18). After the apostles named several possible candidates—John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or perhaps another prophet—Jesus asked another more probing question: “But whom say ye that I am?” (Mt 16:15; Mk 8:29; Lk 9:20).

But there was another conversation taking place concurrently. Many disciples had responded poorly to Jesus’ controversial teaching in Capernaum that “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56). This was a “hard saying” (Jn 6:60) and after hearing it “many of his disciples went back” to their homes and stopped following him from village to village throughout the country (Jn 6:66). Thus, at the time Jesus asks “Whom say ye that I am?”, He also asks them if His sayings are too hard even for them: “Will ye also go away?” (Jn 6:67).

Matthew, Mark and Luke record only the first question with Peter’s answer: “Thou art the Christ” (Mk 8:29, c.f. Mt 16:16; Lk 9:20), while John records only the second question, but includes both answers, showing that the two questions were addressed at once:

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God. (Jn 6:68-69).

Each gospel writer included what the Spirit inspired him to record, and together they tell the whole story. Harmonizing the four accounts and the many journeys across sea and land, it is not difficult to see the two conversations unfolding together in Caesarea Philippi at the conclusion of the loaves narrative. After the first miracle of the loaves on the eastern shore with a crowd of Gentiles, the apostles traveled to the western shore where they faced the criticism of the Pharisees for eating bread without washing their hands. Venturing through Tyre, Sidon and the Decapolis, the apostles witnessed more healings and a second miracle of the loaves, returning again to the western shore to face the Pharisees and Sadducees. The “hard saying” of eating His flesh that He would give for the life of the world (Jn 6:43-64) was in response to their demand for bread from heaven after the example of Moses. Instead, He insisted that He himself was the true bread from heaven, and would Himself be the sign after the pattern of Jonah. Departing again for the eastern shore, He warned the apostles of the leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians, imploring them to discern the meaning of both miracles of the loaves. The crowds thinning because of the “hard saying” (Jn 6:66), and with no recorded confessions in the gospel accounts since the Syrophenician woman near Tyre and Sidon (Mt 15:21-28; Mk 7:24-30), both questions were pertinent: “Will ye also go away?” and “Whom do men say that I am?”

The “Devil” Judas and “Satan” Peter

Upon receiving Peter’s answers—”To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” and “You are the Christ”—Jesus returns to Isaiah 54:13, and rejoices that Peter, too, had been “taught of God” as the other apostles had been, saying: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Mt 16:18). Then, in a rather poignant denouement, He immediately observes, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” (Jn 6:70). It is an observation that Peter had finally been granted by the Father the same faith that ten others had already obtained, though Judas would not, as if to say, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and only eleven have believed?” Peter had been the last to figure it out, and Jesus knew that there would be no more conversions in His inner circle, a point to which He would return in His high priestly prayer:

I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. … those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition. (John 17:8-12)

At this point the Synoptics and John take separate directions, making it difficult to establish an exact timeline after Peter’s confession. Matthew, Mark and Luke focus on the Transfiguration and Jesus’ interaction with people during His travels, while John focuses on Jesus’ interactions with the Jews in Jerusalem, though all four have Him ultimately retiring east of the Jordan to prepare for His final journey. After Peter’s confession in John, Jesus thenceforth “walked in Galilee” to avoid the Jews (Jn 7:1), and discreetly attended the feast of Tabernacles in the fall (Jn 7:2-53), and returned for the feast of Dedication in the winter (Jn 10:22). Throughout this time He exercised caution to avoid arrest and trial, until he finally returned to the place of His baptism east of the Jordan (Jn 10:40) to await His final journey to Jerusalem for His last Passover (John 11:55-12:1). By then, a full year had gone by since the Feeding of the 5000.

Meanwhile, after Peter’s confession in the Synoptics, Matthew indicates “from that time forth” Jesus began to teach His disciples the difficult task awaiting Him in Jerusalem (Mt 16:21; Mk 8:31; Lk 9:22). Evidently the disciples were slow to grasp His meaning even on the second (Mt 17:22-23; Mk 9:31-32; Lk 9:44-45) and third explanation (Mt 20:17-19; Mk 10:32-34; Lk 18:31-34). Peter may have been the first to realize the significance, but none of the apostles were sufficiently astute to grasp it in a single hearing. Therefore, Peter’s initial rebuke of Jesus—”Be it far from thee, Lord” (Mt 16:22)—as well as Jesus’ rebuke of Peter—”Get thee behind me, Satan” (Mt 16:23)—could not have been the immediate aftermath of Peter’s confession. Peter’s understanding of Jesus’ coming death, and therefore his rebuke of Jesus, came slowly. Having rebuked Peter, Jesus then told each that he must “take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mt 16:24-28; Mk 8:34-38; Lk 9:23-27). About a week “after these sayings” (Lk 9:28) Peter, James and John witnessed Jesus’ Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-9; Mk 9:2-10) during which Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus of His soon departure in Jerusalem (Lk 9:28-36). Thereafter followed the healing of the lunatic (Mt 17:14; Mk 9:17; Lk 9:37), a passage through Galilee (Mt 17:22; Mk 9:30-32; Lk 9:44-45), an argument in Capernaum about who was the greatest (Mt 17:24; Mk 9:33; Lk 9:46-48), and finally, as in John’s account, they all retired east of the Jordan to await His final journey to Jerusalem to die (Mt 19:1; Mk 10:1; Lk 9:51-52 (implied)).

Jesus’ retirement east of the Jordan with His apostles is the first time since Peter’s confession that all four gospel accounts align, after which they all document His slow steady progression toward Jerusalem for the Triumphal entry, where they align again (Mt 21; Mk 11; Luke 19; John 12). While the exact timing of the Transfiguration in the timeline is difficult to establish, we know that it occurred when Jesus’ death was imminent because Moses and Elijah spoke of His death “which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Lk 9:31), and we know that Peter’s rebuke had occurred only a week before that. John, on the other hand, has more than six months elapsing between Peter’s confession and Jesus’ death. We can at least say therefore that Jesus’ words “one of you is a devil” referring to Judas (Jn 6:70) and “Get thee behind me, Satan” referring to Peter (Mt 16:23) were spoken at different times on different occasions, months apart and in that order. That is because Jesus’ words “one of you is a devil” were spoken in direct response to Peter’s confession prior to the feast of Tabernacles, while His rebuke of Peter occurred only a week before the Transfiguration when the time of His crucifixion at Passover was fast approaching. Those two events were months apart.

The Fruit of Harmony

From this harmonized account emerge several clarifying truths that contextualize Jesus’ teachings and the meaning He had in mind when He taught them. We learn what it means to eat “the true bread from heaven”; we learn why Jesus insisted that the miracles of multiplication were the antidote to the leaven of the Pharisees, and thus what it means to “eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood”; we learn the context and meaning of Jesus’ response to Peter, “upon this rock I will build My church” and what it means that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”; and with a biblical eschatological time frame, we may also discern what it means to receive the keys of the kingdom and the power to bind and loose on earth that which has been bound or loosed in heaven.

We will continue on that theme in our next entry.