Word Surprises

Matthew 16:15-19 15 He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” When Jesus spoke these words to Peter, He was not just only saying that Peter was: Blessed  because his confession came from the Father Himself (verse 17), but also that he was: Identified. When Jesus used Peter's full Hebrew name (Simon Bar-Jonah), He was identifying Simon Peter as a person with a unique Hebrew identity before God and a son of the prom...