The healing of the blind man at (passage PER187 : The blind man of Bethsaida) can illustrate two levels of understanding of divine things. The apostles saw Jesus as an extraordinary being but could not find the words to define him. It is Jesus' question, “But who do you say that I am?”, that clarifies their perception and helps them express what they see.
Peter makes this declaration: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Master answers Simon, son of Jonah, congratulating him: “Blessed are you, for it is not a human thought that revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”
Like the two-stage process by which the sight of the blind man of was restored, the apostles' spiritual understanding gradually became clearer. This attests the fulfillment of the divine work. The message is explicit: God's power is essential for grasping spiritual concepts (John 15.5).
We have carefully examined the passage of Matthew 16.17-20 in the appendix ANN114 entitled “I will build my church”. Therefore, we will not repeat here the complex analysis of these verses.
Concerning the passage of Matthew 16.20, our conclusions indicate that, given the work of the Messiah Jesus as Messiah and the knowledge they had about the coming of a Messiah, the people should logically have made the connection and recognized in Jesus the Messiah announced by the prophets.