Reading: Matthew chapter 16 verses 15-23.
(1). Background:
(a). Geographically.
• Jesus and his disciples are in the region of Caesurae Philippi.
• Caesarea Philippi lies about twenty-five miles Northeast of the Sea of Galilee.
• This region was outside the domain of Herod Antipas (who was ruler of Galilee),
• And he was outside the domain of the Jewish religious rulers (120 miles from Jerusalem)
This area was very much a safe place for Jesus:
• The population was mainly non-Jewish,
• Therefore he would not be pestered, pressured by people looking for the Messiah.
• In many ways;
• This was the perfect place for Jesus to get alone with his disciples,
(b). Spiritually:
• Jesus could not have chosen a more distracting place for his disciples;
• Than Caesarea Philippi.
• This region was strongly identified with a whole host of different religions:
• Ill: It was ‘a Glastonbury’ type situation.
(a). It had been a centre for the old Syrian Baal cult,
ill:
• Thompson in his book; “The Land and the book”
• Enumerates no fewer than fourteen such temples in this area.
(b).
• The Greek god Pan (the Greek god of nature) had shrines there;
• In fact, this was said to have been his birth place.
• The ancient town actually bore his name “Panias”.
• And to this day it is called “Banias”.
(c).
• Herod the Great had built a massive temple made of white marble;
• He built it to honour Augustus Caesar,
• Herod’s son, Philip changed the name of the town.
• He renamed the place Caesarea in honour of the Emperor,
• And he added his own name Philip,
• To distinguish it from the other Caesarea on the coasts of the Mediterranean.
In this great white marble temple:
• A man, the emperor of Rome was worshipped;
• And declared to be god, master of the world.
Notice:
• It was in the midst of this ‘heartland’ of pagan superstition:
• A who’s who of ancient religion, that Jesus asked an incredible question.
Just picture the setting again:
• Here is a homeless, penniless carpenter from Nazareth,
• With 12 very ordinary common men.
• In the south of his country;
• The Jewish leaders are planning and plotting to destroy him.
• He stands in an area littered with temples to Syrian gods.
• In a place where ancient Greek gods looked down,
• A place where Caesar worship dominated the landscape and compelled the eye.
• And it is here, of all places,
• This amazing carpenter stands and asks his men a question;
• “Who do they believe him to be?”
• And he asks the question, expecting an answer!
• He is forcing from his disciples a response! Demanding they make a decision!
Jesus has deliberately set himself against the background of world religion:
• This area is their stronghold, their history, their influences, their splendour.
• And Jesus demands to be compared with them, and to get the verdict over them!
(2). A Question (Verse 13b):
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
Jesus is in every sense a man on a mission:
• Soon he will be heading south and heading towards the cross,
• The disciples will also play a major part in God’s plan for the world.
• They have no part in the issues of sin and salvation,
• That alone can only be achieved by Jesus Christ.
• But they will play a huge part in proclaiming the message;
• Of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus needs to know whether the disciples have yet grasped who he really is.
• Wisely, to get the disciples willing to talk; he asks them about other people.
• No pressure involved on the disciples, non-threatening question.
(1). Public Opinion
• The disciples have no problem answering that question;
• We are told that there were three popular opinions concerning Jesus:
(A). John raised from the dead.
• John the Baptist was such a powerful and charismatic figure;
• That many people, like Herod, thought Jesus was John raised from the dead.
(B). Elijah.
In comparing Jesus to Elijah, they were saying two things:
• First: Jesus was as great as the greatest prophets.
• Elijah always seemed to be viewed as their most powerful and important prophet.
• Second:
• They were also saying that Jesus was the forerunner to the Messiah.
• Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would come again (Malachi chapter 4 verse 5),
• And some thought that this prediction was being fulfilled in Christ.
• We know of course that it was fulfilled in John the Baptist;
• Who came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke chapter 1 verses 13-17).
(C) Jeremiah:
Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet.
• His tender heart was broken at the sight of the decay of the nation.
• Certainly this attitude was seen in Jesus, the Man of sorrows.
• There were also many Jewish legends and fables (Apocrypha – inter historical period).
• Which have Jeremiah linked with the coming Messiah.
(2). personal opinion?
• The disciples were no doubt quite happy to answer what other people thought of Jesus,
• But I can imagine an embarrassed silence, when Jesus asks; “What about you?”
• Once again Simon Peter is the one brave enough to express publicly his belief;
• Once again out of all the disciples it is peter who will demonstrate his faith publicly.
In Matthew’s gospel:
• Peter uses three amazing titles.
• Each of each is full of meaning.
(A). Son of Man (verse 13).
This title has the experts straining their brains;
• It weakest meaning literally just means “I”.
• A bit like me saying; “Who do people say I am”.
• It’s strongest meaning is much more profound;
• It is linked to Daniel chapter 7 verse 13-14 – and clearly refers to the Messiah!
Quote:
The ambiguity of the title matched the ambiguity of the person of Jesus.
That is why he liked it;
It could mean nothing - it could mean everything.
(B). The Messiah (verse 16).
• Messiah – in Hebrew or Christ in Greek.
• Both mean the same: ‘Anointed one’.
In Judaism it meant the one who would come and fulfil the hopes of the nation.
• Traditionally three sorts of people had been anointed with oil;
• Prophets, priests and kings.
Notice: Jesus did in fact fulfil all the expectations of these three roles.
• As a priest:
• He perfectly put people in touch with God.
• As a prophet;
• He proclaimed God’s message.
• As a king;
• He had royal authority - he was always in charge in each and every situation.
(C). Son of the Living God.
• When Peter first encountered Jesus,
• He was a carpenter turned preacher.
• After spending time in his presence;
• He understood him to be a prophet, more than just a man.
• But here Peter displays a remarkable insight;
• This man; fits into no category of human grouping, he surpasses them all!
He was the Son of the Living God:
• Therefore he was the fulfilment of 2 Samuel chapter 7 verse 14:
• “The one who would establish David’s throne for ever”.
• He was the fulfilment of Psalm 2 verse 7:
• “The king who really was the Son of God”.
There are no higher titles than these!
(3). A Promise (verse 17:).
“Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
In response to Peter;
• Jesus says that no human insight gave him this knowledge.
• He had not figured it out by his own intellect, this truth had been revealed to him by God.
ill:
Matthew chapter 11 verse 25-27.
“Jesus once prayed: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike.
• Note: this revelation was not the result of Peter's own investigation.
• As Jesus Himself explained in verse 17.
(1). A unique confession:
There had been other assertions of faith prior to this one.
• ill: Nathaniel had confessed Christ as the Son of God (John 1:49),
• ill: The disciples had declared Him God's Son after He stilled the storm (Matthew 14:33).
Question: Why did this confession differ from those that preceded it?
Answer: 3 reasons.
(a). Jesus himself explicitly asked for this confession.
(B).
• This was not an emotional response from exited people who had just seen a miracle,
• This was not a spur of the moment response.
• This was the carefully thought through, sincere statement;
• Of a man who had been given insight God.
(C). Jesus needed to hear this confession,
• It would be a major building block in the discipleship of these twelve men,
• Now the Lord could carry on building further blocks of truth.
• The time invested in these twelve men had not be in vain,
• All of the Lord's ministry to His disciples had been preparing them for this experience.
(2). A Prediction (verses 18-19).
8And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
There has been and continues to be much acrimony (hostility) among Bible scholars regarding these next verses:
• Catholic scholars see the rock (verse 18) as Peter himself,
• And try to develop the argument that Peter was the first pope from this passage.
• Protestant scholars argue that it is not Peter the man,
• But Peter’s confession, his statement of faith that the Church is built on.
Now in the limited time we have this morning I am not going to try and unpack these verses in detail;
• My aim this morning is not to disprove Peter was the first pope.
• But to try and learn something from the life of Peter;
• Not to prove a doctrine;
• But for us to end up with a greater appreciation of Jesus Christ.
Verse 18: Jesus’ words are actually, a play on words:
• In both the Greek language (New Testament.),
• And in the Aramaic language (which Jesus and the disciples spoke):
• There is deliberate a play on words.
• The words translated as Peter and rock are almost identical (1 letter difference)
• Jesus is purposely saying:
• “You are a rock, and on this rock I will build my Church”.
4 interpretations regarding what Jesus meant:
(1). The rock referred to Jesus himself.
• Augustine took it to mean this.
• Jesus is saying: “You are a rock, and on myself as the rock, I will build my Church.
(2). The rock is the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God.
• Peter received this truth by revelation, it was given to him by God.
• And this truth is taught again and again in the New Testament letters.
• But this view does not really bring out the play on words,
• Theologically it is true, but not a good expository study of the passage.
(3). The rock is Peters faith.
• On the faith of Peter the Church is founded.
• His faith was the spark which would ignite the world wide church,
• Peter’s statement was the initial impetus,
• Which would one day bring the universal church into being.
(4). Peter is the rock, but in a special sense.
• He is not the rock on which the whole church is founded,
• That rock is Christ.
• But he is the first stone of the whole church.
• Because he was the first man to discover who Jesus Christ was and is.
• Everyone else who makes this same discovery,
• Are also stones added into the edifice of the Church of Christ.
• In other words; Peter became the first member of the church,
• And in that sense the whole church is built on him.
Verse 18: as I see it, is this:
• Jesus has found in Peter a real believer,
• He has publicly confessed his appreciation of Jesus Christ.
• The faith he demonstrated and the confession he made in verse 16;
• Is what made Peter a rock.
• He was the first person to understand fully who Jesus was and is.
• And as result was the first stone in the Churches construction.
• Peter’s great honour is that the church began with him as the first believer,
• And no-one can take that from him.
These verses contain key expressions:
(1). The key word is Church (Verse 18).
• This is the first occurrence of this important word in the New Testament.
• It is the Greek word ekklesia (ek-klay-SEE-uh);
• From which we get our English word "ecclesiastical,"
• Referring to things that pertain to the church.
Notice 3 things:
• The project is Christ’s: “I will build”.
• He is the architect, the sustainer, he builds according to his specifications not ours.
• The Church belongs to him “My Church”.
• He over rides anyone or anything
• The Church will survive regardless “Gates of Hades will overcome it”
• As long as there is planet earth there will be a church.
(2). The key words are the Gates of Hades (Verse 18).
• Some versions say "Gates of Hell."
• The better translation is the "Gates of Hades."
“Hades” in the New Testament (“Sheol” in the Old Testament):
• Both Mean the world of the dead.
• Or the place of the dead.
• According to Revelation chapter 20 verse 11 verse 15
• Hell will be the final destiny of all unsaved people after the judgement of the great white throne
Gates (verse 18):
• "Gates" represent authority and power. in the Bible,
• The city gate was to a Jew what city hall is to people in the Western world.
• Important business was transacted at the city gate (Deut. 16:18; 17:8; Ruth 4:11).
• "The gates of Hades" then would symbolise the organised power of death and Satan.
• By His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ would conquer death,
• So that death would not be able to hold any of His people.
(3). The key words are the Keys of the kingdom (verse 19):
• In the Bible a key is a badge of authority;
• Many examples of that (Isaiah chapter 22 verse 15 & 22; Luke chapter 11 verse 52).
Ill:
We use keys to open doors.
• Peter was given the privilege of opening "the door of faith"
• To the Jews at Pentecost (Acts chapter 2),
• To the Samaritans (Acts chapter 8 verse 14),
• And to the Gentiles (Acts chapter 10).
Noting:
• That the other apostles also shared this authority;
• Matthew chapter 18 verse 18 is almost word for word the same.
• And Paul had the privilege of "opening the door of faith";
• To the Gentiles outside of Palestine (Acts chapter 14 verse 27).
(4). The key words are the Binding and loosing (verse 19):
This was a very familiar phrase to the Jews:
• Their rabbis often spoke of "binding and loosing,"
• It meant “To allow or to disallow behaviour according to the Torah”.
• In other words
• A persons conduct was judged in the light of the first 5 books of the Bible.
To loose and bind were very common Jewish phrases for taking decisions in regard to the law.
I believe Jesus is saying to Peter;
• You are going to have great responsibilities laid upon you,
• You will have to make decisions that will affect the whole Church.
• You will be a guide and director of the infant church.
• And your decisions would have far reaching consequences.
Note:
• The words of Jesus in verse 19 refers to Peter.
• But the same words are repeated in chapter 18 verse 18 and include all of the disciples.
(5) A problem (verses 20-28):
(1). A warning (Verse 20):
Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
• The disciples had at last realised that Jesus was God’s Messiah,
• But they had not yet realised what kind of Messiah he would be.
• Like their fellow country men they were looking for a warrior king,
• Some one to kick out the Romans and ushering God’s kingdom.
Had the disciples gone out telling folks the Messiah had come:
• It could easily have led to a tragic rebellion.
• So Jesus warns the disciples not to tell anyone who he is.
(2). An explanation (Verses 21):
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
• Having declared His person, Jesus now declared His work;
• The two must go together.
• He would go to Jerusalem, & suffer at the hands of the “elders, chief priests and scribes”,
• These three groups of men made up the Sanhedrin who would condemn Jesus.
• Jesus said his suffering would lead to death.
• This was His first clear statement of His death,
• Although He had hinted at this before; i.e. John chapter 2 verse 19; chapter 3 verse 14)
• Now he was stating the matter plainly.
(3). An objection (Verse 22):
Peter said; "Never Lord” he said, “This shall never happen to you!“
• Peter was shocked by this statement of Jesus;
• The other disciples no doubt felt the same.
It was hard for any Jew at this time in history to imagine the Messiah:
• Suffering, rejection and death.
• This was a picture of weakness not power.
• The nation were looking for a powerful Messiah,
• One who would kick out the Romans and set up his earthly kingdom.
• No wonder Peter was aghast,
• This description of the Messiah given by Jesus did not fit his understanding at all.
(4). A rebuke (Verse 23):
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
• Jesus turned and said to Peter,
• "Get behind Me, adversary! You are a stumbling block to Me!" (literal translation)
• Peter the "stone" who had just been blessed (v. 18)
• Became Peter the stumbling block who was anything but a blessing to Jesus!
I think Jesus spoke to Peter:
• Not in anger but in sadness.
• Peter’s words had wounded Jesus in his heart.
• Peter was doing exactly what Satan himself tried to do in the wilderness temptation.
• He was trying to get Jesus to avoid the cross.
• Only these words of temptation came not from an open enemy like in the wilderness,
• But from a friend, someone Jesus loved and cared for.
(5). A challenge (Verse 24-26):
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
• The words that follow emphasise the cross.
• Jesus presented to the disciples two approaches to life:
deny yourself live for yourself
take up your cross ignore the cross
follow Christ follow the world
lose your life for save your life for
His sake your own sake
forsake the world gain the world
keep your soul lose your soul
share His reward and glory lose His reward and glory
• To take up the cross simply means;
• To identify with Christ in His rejection, shame, suffering, and death.
• But suffering always leads to glory, this is why Jesus;
• Ended this short sermon with a reference to His glorious kingdom (vs 28).
5 lessons from this passage.
(1). We must choose between world religions and Jesus.
• Jesus is not one of many gods,
• He is the only true God made flesh.
(2). We are called to public confession regarding Jesus.
• Personnel but never private.
• “Believe in your heart, confess with your mouth”.
(3). Dont limit God.
• The Pharisees looked for a Messiah that would fit their pre-conceptions.
• Jesus is always bigger than our theology.
(4). Following Jesus involves engaging in a constant battle.
• A battle with self and self ideas.
• A battle with the enemy himself.
(5). It is costly to follow Jesus.
• It will mean suffering.
• It will mean taking up the cross.
• It will mean losing our own lives, so that we can find them.
