We Can Be Sure that Jesus Will Build His Church! - Part 1
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 16:13-23
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared August 30, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 16. Today we will begin to focus on the sure truth that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is going to build His Church. And we will start reading in vs. 13, but before we do, let me set the scene.
*Verse 13 tells us that Jesus and His disciples came to the region of Caesarea Philippi. They were coming apart for a special time of instruction and fellowship. By now, Jesus was well into the third and final year of His earthly ministry. J. Vernon McGee estimated the Lord was only six months away from the cross. Evil scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians had united in their murderous hatred of Jesus. Normally, the scribes and Pharisees were bitter rivals of the Sadducees and Herodians. These scribes and Pharisees radically enforced their man-made additions to God's Law. Sadducees rejected those laws. The divide was so bitter that in Acts 23:10, Paul was almost pulled apart during a clash between these two groups.
*The scribes and Pharisees were also bitter enemies of the Herodians, because they were supporters of the non-Jewish family appointed by Rome to rule Palestine. But most in all four groups radically rejected Jesus. They were obsessed with His destruction, and had been plotting His death for months. (1)
*William Barclay explained that "the cross was coming closer, and Jesus needed some time alone with his disciples. He had so much to say to them and teach them, although there were many things which then they could not bear and could not understand.
*In this crucial timeframe, Jesus withdrew to the region of Caesarea Philippi. It was 25 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. The people there were mainly non-Jewish, like the soldiers of the Roman Empire. Locals worshiped in temples dedicated to the demonic gods of the Syrians and Greeks. Caesarea Philippi also had a giant, white marble temple that was built to worship the Roman Emperor as god. Here among the false gods, Jesus tested His disciples to see if they realized that HE is the one true Son of God." (2)
*Perhaps Jesus also picked this scene, knowing full well that His Church would include people from all over the world. Revelation 5:9 tells us that up in Heaven we will sing Him a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." Praise the Lord!
*With this background in mind, let's begin by reading Matthew 16:13-23, and as we read, please think about the fact that Jesus Christ is surely going to build His Church.
MESSAGE:
*Do you ever get discouraged about God's church? If you love His church, then it's natural for you to get discouraged at times. The Apostle Paul certainly did. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul gave a summary of the many hardships he went through for the cause of Christ.
*Then in vs. 28 Paul said, "Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches." The Living Bible says "Then, besides all this, I have the constant worry of how the churches are getting along." And the New American Standard says, "Apart from (such) external things, there is the daily pressure on me (of) concern for all the churches."
*If we love God's church, it is natural for us to get discouraged at times. But Jesus Christ will build His Church! And the Scripture today reminds us that we should be confident about the Lord's Church. Let's look into God's Word and see why.
1. FIRST: WE CAN BE SURE THAT JESUS WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH, BECAUSE HE IS THE CHRIST.
*Jesus IS the promised Messiah, the Christ, the only begotten Son of the living God, and the only Savior of the world. Listen to Peter's bold proclamation in vs. 13-16:
13. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?''
14. So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.''
15. He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?''
16. And Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.''
*It was an amazing claim. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" This claim would be preposterous, if it wasn't true. But it is true!
*That's why C. S. Lewis wrote, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus. That is: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.'
*That is one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of thing Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.
*You can shut Him up for a fool. You can spit at Him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (3)
*Peter answered Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" And yes, this claim would be ridiculous, if it wasn't true. But it is true! So, Christians: We do humble our hearts before Jesus and call Him our Lord, our Savior, our God, and our King!
*From everlasting to everlasting Jesus is the only begotten Son of the living God. That's the truth. And your eternal destiny will hinge on this one thing only: Do you believe the truth about Jesus Christ? Do you believe in who He is? Do you believe that He died on the cross for your sins? Do you believe that He rose again from the dead? Do you believe enough to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Whether you spend eternity in Heaven or in hell hinges on this one thing: Do you believe the truth about Jesus Christ?
2. WE CAN BE SURE THAT THE LORD WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE CHRIST, AND BECAUSE THIS TRUTH COMES FROM GOD THE FATHER.
*Christians: God the Father Himself has given us the revelation of the truth about His Son Jesus Christ. The Lord explained this to Peter in vs. 17, when Jesus said, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah (or Son-of-Jonah), for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
*God the Father revealed the truth about Jesus to the Apostle Peter. Did the Father speak out loud to Peter? It's certainly possible. The Father had already spoken out loud to people about His only begotten Son. It happened at the baptism of Jesus.
*Matthew 3:16-17 tells us that when Jesus had been baptized, He "came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'''
*As far as I can tell, Peter wasn't there for that revelation. But about a week after this Scripture, Peter, James, and John will see Christ's glory revealed at the top of a mountain. And there, all 3 of them will hear God the Father speak. Matthew 17:5 says, "a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!'''
*Maybe the Father spoke privately to Peter, but most of the time God reveals the truth to us through His Holy Spirit. Either way, the truth about Jesus was certainly a divine revelation, and it still is today. James Merritt explained that "this was not a matter of human reasoning; It was a matter of heavenly revelation. You don't come to Jesus by figuring. You come to Jesus by faith.
*We are to preach the truth, teach the truth, and try to reach others with the truth. But only God can reveal the truth. That is just as well, because anything that I can talk you into, somebody else can talk you out of. But anything that God talks you into will be yours forever.
*Only God can open the eyes of the spiritually blind. Only God can open the ears of the spiritually deaf. Only God can give life to the spiritually dead."
*Psalm 127:1 tells us, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it" In Matthew 11:25 Jesus prayed to the Father and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes."
*That's why John 1:12-13 says this about people who are saved: "As many as received Him (that's Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
*The truth about Jesus Christ comes from God Himself. This is also why in John 6:44 Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day."
*James Merritt stressed that, "Yes, God uses preachers, and God uses preaching. 1 Corinthians 1:21 says, 'It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.' But people are not saved by the sermon. They are saved by the Holy Spirit.
*Preachers, teachers, and witnesses can get the message into your head. But only God can get truth into your heart. You are not saved through your head. You are saved through your heart. And all true Christians are part of God's Church, because of our God-given faith." (4)
3. WE CAN BE SURE THAT THE LORD WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH BECAUSE THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS COMES FROM HIS HEAVENLY FATHER. WE CAN ALSO BE SURE BECAUSE JESUS IS CONFIDENT IN HIS WORK
*Jesus Christ is fully confident in the work He is doing to build His Church. Listen for the Lord's strong confidence in vs. 18. There Jesus told Peter, "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."
*Lord willing, we will focus on the "rock" more next time. But Jesus said, "I will build My church," and there is not a hint of doubt in His voice. Church: We can be confident because He is confident! Hebrews 12:2 tells Christians that we should be "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
*In other words: When Jesus died on the cross, He could already see beyond the cross. Jesus could already see His glorious resurrection. He could see His triumphant return to Heaven. He could see where He would sit at the right hand of the throne of God. And Jesus could see His glorified Church, including everyone who would receive Him as their Lord and Savior.
*Jesus has been building His church for 2,000 years now, and He is certainly going to finish what He started. The Lord's confidence stands on the rock-solid foundation of His infinite goodness, knowledge, and power. And His confidence should be a great encouragement to us!
*When you go to the hospital, you don't want to hear the nurse say, "Gee, I hope I can hit this vein." -- Right? When you get your car out of the shop, you don't want your mechanic say, Gee, I hope those brakes will work." And who wants to get on the plane when the pilot says, "Gee, I hope I can land this thing."? Not me!
*Jesus is not like that at all. The Lord is as sure as sure can be. And again in vs. 18 Jesus said, "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."
4. WE CAN BE SURE THAT JESUS WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH, BECAUSE HE IS CONFIDENT IN HIS WORK, AND BECAUSE HE HAS GIVEN US THE KEYS TO HEAVEN.
*Our keys to Heaven are spiritual keys, and the Lord told Peter about these keys in vs. 19. There Jesus told Peter, "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."
*Church: These words couldn't have just been for Peter, because he has been in Heaven for almost 2,000 years. Jesus spoke these words to all of His Church! So, we're not supposed to be just living in this world for ourselves. We all have a big part in God's work in our world.
*And we have no idea of all the great things God will do, if we will just do our part for the cause of Christ. Someone very wise once said, "We may be able to count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed." (5)
*And only God knows what will happen when we do our part, so take up the spiritual keys that God has given to us, and do all you can for the cause of Jesus Christ. But what are these spiritual keys? Certainly, they include the power of prayer, the Word of God, and the spiritual gifts that God has given to each one of us.
5. WE CAN BE SURE THAT JESUS WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH, BECAUSE HE HAS GIVEN US THE KEYS TO HEAVEN, AND BECAUSE HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR US.
*Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of us! And the Lord began to talk about His cross in vs. 20-21:
20. Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
21. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
*Without the Lord's death on the cross, the church would have never been born, and all of us would be lost forever! Everyone would be lost forever! But Jesus did go to Jerusalem. He did suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes. He died on the cross for our sins, and 3 days later, Jesus rose again in everlasting victory over death.
*Think of the love that took Jesus to the cross for us. There is no greater love. As Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
*We can see a picture of the Lord's love in a 42-year-old dad named David Saunders. On Thursday, October 19th, 2000, David was waiting in the driveway of his home in Hanover, Michigan. Their 4-year-old daughter, Danielle, was due to get off her school bus, and a pickup truck was stopped behind the bus. David crossed the street to meet Danielle at the bus. Then they crossed the street together and stood in their driveway.
*Suddenly David noticed a car coming up behind the bus, and that car was going way too fast to stop in time. The car swerved to miss the pickup, and headed right into the Saunders' driveway. That runaway car was racing straight toward David and little Danielle. But David grabbed his little girl by the arm, and tossed her away from danger to a safe spot in their front yard.
*Tragically, there was no time for that father to escape. David was hit and pronounced dead at the scene. And that little girl may never know her dad in this world, but she will always know how much he loved her. (6)
*Church: We can always know how much Jesus loves us! David Saunders died to give his daughter earthly life. But Jesus Christ died to give us everlasting life!
6. WE CAN BE SURE THAT JESUS WILL BUILD HIS CHURCH, BECAUSE HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR US, AND BECAUSE THE GOOD NEWS IS CLEAR.
*Verses 21-23 tell us that:
21. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!''
23. But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.''
*Verse 22 shows us that Peter didn't understand the good news on that day. None of the Lord's disciples understood the cross until after Jesus rose again from the dead. And tragically, most people don't understand it today.
*But the good news is clear. The good news about our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ is clear to everyone who will receive it by receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior..
*Here is part of a testimony from Pastor Jerry Vines: "A number of years ago I was in a home in this city, witnessing to a man. I recall that I gave him God's simple plan of salvation. I took the man through the Roman Road of salvation."
*Church, that road begins at Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Then Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." And Romans 10:9, 10, and 13:
9. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
13. For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''
*Jerry Vines said, "When I completed the Roman Road, I will never forget it. The man looked at me and said, 'That sounds wonderful, but it's too simple.'
*I asked him, 'Do you have some grandchildren?' (I knew that he did.) 'Do you love those grandchildren?' I asked. He replied, 'I love those grandchildren with all my heart.'
*I said to him, 'Suppose they were over here. And you had something in your kitchen that you really wanted them to have. If you really wanted them to have it, and it was in your kitchen, what would you do? Would you build barricades at the kitchen door? Would you take what you want them to have, and hide it in the kitchen? Would you make it very hard for them to find it?'
*He said, 'Oh, no. I'd put it up on the table. And I would tell them that right there in the kitchen is something I want you to have.'
*I said to him, 'That is exactly what God has done in this great offer of salvation. Jesus has already done the hard part on the cross. He has put the cup of salvation on the table. All you have to do now is just reach out and take it.'" (7)
CONCLUSION:
*Church: Jerry Vines is one of the most fruitful Southern Baptist preachers of the last 50 years, and that was a great presentation of the good news about Jesus Christ. But sadly, that man was not ready to receive the Lord.
*I hope he did before it was too late. But God was trying to reveal the truth to him, and He wants to reveal the truth about Jesus to everyone! So, if you have never received the Lord, if you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, you can do it today!
*Our Risen Savior is going to build His Church. He wants you to be a part of it. He wants everyone to be a part of His Church. And Christians: Jesus wants us to do everything we can to help build His Church.
*Let's talk to God about these things right now, as we go back to Him in prayer.
(1) Sources:
-WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT by Archibald Thomas (A. T.) Robertson - Published in 1930-1933 - Matthew 12:14; Mark 3:6
-Got Questions: Who were the Herodians? - https://www.gotquestions.org/Herodians.html
-Got Questions: Who are the various Herods mentioned in the Bible? - https://www.gotquestions.org/Herods.html
-Got Questions: What was Herod's temple? - https://www.gotquestions.org/Herod-third-temple.html
-GotQuestions.com - "Who were the Scribes?" - https://www.gotquestions.org/scribes-Jesus.html
-https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jesus/Scribes-and-Pharisees
(2) Adapted from BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES - NEW TESTAMENT by William Barclay - Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - "The Scene of the Great Discovery" - Matthew 16:13-16 - https://bibleportal.com/commentary/section/william-barclay/the-scene-of-the-great-discovery-matthew-1613-16
(3) Adapted from C. S. Lewis, MERE CHRISTIANITY, pp. 55-56
(4) Adapted from Sermons.com sermon "The Church Is Alive and Well" by James Merritt - Matthew 16:13-18
(5) Original source unknown
(6) Sources:
-"Man saves daughter, then is hit, killed by car" - by Associated Press Jackson County, Michigan
-"Father saved his child" - "Preaching Today" online illustration - 07/27/2005
(7) SermonSearch.com sermon "AMEN! COME!" by Jerry Vines - Revelation 22:17-21 - 08/11/2002
