Our Gospel today gives us Luke’s account of a conversation we recently heard in Matthew: Jesus asks His Apostles, “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answers, “You are the Christ of God.”
Matthew tells us that Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, and Jesus responds by declaring Peter is the rock upon which He will build His Church. Luke tells the same story, but his emphasis is much different. After Peter’s profession of faith, Luke points toward the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Why the difference?
First, we should remember that Christ and Messiah are the same title. “Christ” is Greek for “anointed one,” while “Messiah” is the Hebrew equivalent.
That indicates Matthew and Luke were addressing different audiences.
Matthew was writing primarily to Jews. His Gospel constantly connects Jesus to the Old Testament, showing how Jesus fulfills the promises and prophecies God had given to Israel. His readers already knew the stories of Abraham, Moses, David, the Temple, the sacramental life of the Old Covenant, and the promises of a coming Messiah.
Luke, on the other hand, was writing primarily for Gentiles. At the beginning, he addresses Theophilus (which means "lover of God" in Greek). Throughout his Gospel he explains the Jewish customs and emphasizes that Jesus has come not only for Israel, but for all nations.
Matthew is speaking to people who have been waiting for the Messiah for generations.
Luke is introducing people to the concept of the Christ.
Luke tells us that Jesus began to speak about His passion, His death, and His resurrection. And then (the very next verse following our Gospel) He tells His disciples: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
This reminds us that the Messiah is not the king who conquers through worldly power. He is the King who conquers through sacrifice.
That distinction is especially important for Luke’s Gentile audience. The Jewish people already had a sacrificial framework through the Passover. They understood that sacrifice was connected to covenant, forgiveness, and reconciliation with God.
The Gentiles needed to learn this.
They needed to learn that the crucifixion was not simply a bloody execution of an innocent man.
They needed to learn that Jesus Christ on the Cross is the pivotal moment of salvation history.
They needed to learn that Jesus offers Himself as the perfect sacrifice and in the process establishes the New and Everlasting Covenant.
And this is where Matthew and Luke come together.
Matthew emphasizes the Church. Luke focuses on the Crucifixion. The reality is that we cannot have one without the other. The Catholic Church is born from the sacrifice of Christ.
The Mass is not simply a memorial service where we remember something Jesus did long ago. The Mass draws us into the one sacrifice of Christ. At this altar, we unite ourselves—our joys, our sufferings, our struggles, and our own sacrifices—to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
That is why the Cross is at the very heart of our faith. That is why Saint Paul says we preach Christ crucified.
Peter answered correctly when Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?”
Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus is the Anointed One.
Jesus is the King.
But Jesus is a King whose throne is the Cross, whose victory comes through sacrifice, and whose Kingdom is made present through the sacramental life of His Catholic Church.
If we truly believe that, then Jesus’ command to us is clear:
“Take up your cross daily and follow me.”
The Christian life is not about avoiding the Cross.
It is about following Christ to the Cross—and through the Cross to the Resurrection, which is the Paschal mystery that we participate in at every single Mass.
Let us ask for the grace to take up our own crosses, to unite them to His, and to follow Him all the way to the promise of the Resurrection.
Through the Mass, we as the Church of Jesus Christ cry out, “Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!”
Thanks be to God!
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