The Confession of Christ's Body

ME (A hook):

Does anyone recognize any of the three men laughing together on the bench in this picture?

That is former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill on the left.

Former U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson.

Aaaand former Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin.

They are smiling because of an alliance the three of them had formed.

Yes, America and Britain formed an alliance with the Soviet Union during the dictatorship of Stalin.

Why would these two democratic nations align with this dictatorship?

Especially Britain and the Soviet Union,

Two nations with well known tensions,

And deep-rooted differences?

Because all three nations shared a common enemy in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.

Make no mistake,

Neither Britain and the Soviets,

Nor America and the Soviets fully trusted or agreed with one another.

But once Germany began preparing to invade the Soviet Union,

Stalin embraced the philosophy,

That the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

He knew that he needed to cooperate with Britain and America to succeed against Germany.

And that is how these unlikely nations became allies.

Slide

In the first half of Matthew 16,

We see another unlikely alliance form against Jesus.

Two religious groups that had well-known tension,

And deep-rooted differences team up hoping to succeed against Jesus.

Because they both saw Jesus as an enemy.

So, they embraced this idea that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

But in the second half of ch. 16,

Jesus teaches the Confession of His Body.

Slide

These two parts form a natural outline:

Christ’s Enemies Align (vs. 1-12)

Christ’s Body is Established (vs. 13-28)

Christ’s body is God’s people proclaiming Christ’s gospel by God’s grace.

This chapter includes one of the most critical events in all of Matthew,

Jesus instituting His church.

It is the first time in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus explicitly refers to the church.

So, as members of Christ’s body,

This morning,

We are going back to our roots.

Where Jesus teaches His founding members,

About His life, death, and resurrection.

So, this chapter has huge implications for understanding who we are,

And what we are to do as Christ’s members.

WE (Why does this matter to us?):

Last week,

Ch. 15 ended with Jesus in a Gentile region,

Healing many Gentiles,

And miraculously feeding thousands more Gentiles.

Slide

After that,

Jesus gets into a boat,

And returns back to a Jewish region.

As soon as He does,

The narrative picks up with Jesus being greeted by some Pharisees and Sadducees.

The background of these two groups is helpful to understand the significance of their united front.

These two were the main religious groups in Israel during this time.

But they did not get along well with one another.

Because they disagreed on some major theological and political views,

They were very different in terms of their beliefs and practices.

For example,

The Sadducees did not believe that angels existed.

They also denied the resurrection,

In fact, they ridiculed the idea of it.

They believed there was no life after death.

Because of this,

They lived with this mentality,

“That since this life is all there is,

Let’s live it to the fullest.”

So, they were marked by a self-indulgent lifestyle.

They sought to please themselves however they could.

Twisting rules to benefit themselves.

Because most of the Chief Priests were Sadducees.

So, they were a predominately wealthy class,

With both social approval and political power.

Many made a fortune on temple concessions,

Money-changing charges,

And fees for ritual sacrifices.

The Pharisees, however,

Were characterized by their high morality.

They were the central figures in the Jewish synagogues.

Unlike the Sadducees,

They were much more conservative.

They strictly observed both God’s law and their traditions.

As we saw last week,

They actually elevated their teachings to the place of God’s Word.

Even their title, Pharisee,

Means ‘separated ones.’

They set themselves apart from others by their rigid devotion to God’s law,

And their teachings.

They saw themselves as righteous before God.

Because of their obedience to the law and their tradition.

So, while the Sadducees were marked by self-indulgence,

Pharisees were marked by self-righteousness.

And it is easy to criticize these two groups.

But we would be wise to recognize a reflection of these same tendencies in our own hearts.

On one hand,

There is a temptation to adjust the rules to fit our own preferences, priorities, and worldly pursuits,

Like the Sadducees.

On the other hand,

There is a temptation to keep all the rules,

And take great pains to do everything according to our traditions,

Like the Pharisees.

If we are being honest,

We are susceptible to both these extremes.

Some of us love the pursuit of self-indulgence,

Others of us do our best to be self-righteous.

At the end of the day,

Both these approaches,

Miss Jesus and His gospel.

And in turn, oppose Him and His gospel.

As we see here,

Despite these two groups being so opposite,

These enemies unite together,

Because of their mutual hatred for Jesus.

They were alarmed by His growing following.

So, they are able to stand together,

As a united front against Jesus.

The enemy of their enemy became their friend.

In their united front,

They ask Jesus to show them a sign from heaven.

They want Him to do a miracle for them.

As if He hasn’t already done enough miracles.

But before we’re even told that,

Matthew reveals how their intentions are not pure,

They only asked this question to test Him.

So, in vs. 2,

Jesus oddly talks about the weather,

To give them a literal sign from heaven,

The sky.

He says,

When evening comes,

They know it will be good weather,

Because the sky is red.

But in the morning,

They know it will be stormy,

Because the sky is red.

So, Jesus is giving this example,

To show how they can skillfully read and interpret the signs of the sky,

But they can’t understand the more obvious signs happening right in front of them.

So, their problem is not from lack of evidence,

It comes from an unwillingness to accept what they have already seen.

Jesus has already done multiple signs,

And yet they still do not believe.

These guys, who supposedly had a vast knowledge of God and His ways,

Were missing everything God was doing right in front of them,

Through their promised Messiah!

God has broken into the world,

As a man,

Healing the sick,

Raising the dead,

Casting out demons,

Calming storms,

And bringing salvation!

Demonstrating God’s victory over sin, suffering, the Devil, and death!

All right in front of the Pharisees and Sadducees...

And they ask Jesus for a sign...

Slide

So, Jesus ends His response,

Saying for the second time in Matthew,

That an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign,

But no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.

Jesus is talking about the OT prophet,

Who was as good as dead after being swallowed by the great fish.

But then was restored to life 3 days later.

So, likewise, Jesus will rise from the grave,

Three days after His own death.

And this will be the greatest sign!

But even this sign will not be enough for some.

His victorious resurrection from the tomb will not convince these hard-hearted,

Self-righteous and self-indulgent religious leaders.

So, don’t miss the warning for us here.

Self-indulgence and self-righteousness will blind you from knowing Jesus.

Slide

Jesus warns in vs. 6,

How it is like a little bit of leaven that spreads throughout all the dough.

Just a little bit of these heart attitudes will spread throughout your entire being.

So, be on guard.

This idea of self-indulgence or self-righteousness may seem insignificant.

But it can have an enormous influence.

The disciples hear Jesus,

But they don’t understand this warning.

They completely missed His point!

They are thinking Jesus is talking about literal leaven.

They were looking around at each other like,

“I didn’t bring any bread,

Did you bring bread?

No! I didn’t bring any bread either.”

They are sitting here having this conversation with one another.

So, Jesus rebukes them in vs. 8,

For being ones of little faith.

Slide

Then, asks them,

Don’t you remember how I fed five thousand with five loaves?

Don’t you remember how I fed four thousand with seven loaves?

And how much food was left over that you collected?

After seeing Jesus miraculously feed thousands two times,

They should have faith that He could provide bread if that’s what He was talking about.

But apparently,

It seems these miracles made little difference in their faith.

They were still putting their faith in how much bread they had,

Rather than Him.

Slide

So, Jesus graciously continues in vs. 11-12,

Asking how they don’t understand He is not talking about bread.

He’s using a parable,

This is His thing!

So, He warns them again.

Then they understand He was talking about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

How their false teaching can quickly permeate and corrupt a person,

Just like a little leaven subtly permeates and transforms a large mass of dough.

In Luke 12, Jesus calls their leaven hypocrisy.

Because they asked for a sign,

Even though they reject His ministry,

And all the signs they have already seen Him do.

Slide

After reading this,

If we’re being honest,

The disciples seem a little thick-headed, right?

It is tempting to get so frustrated,

And wonder how they could be so clueless!

Especially considering everything they are seeing Jesus do,

And hearing Jesus teach.

You would think it would sink in, right?

But then I take a step back.

And I think about myself.

And how many times God,

In His mercy,

Has had to teach me the same truths,

Again…and again…and again.

Just this past week,

Three different times,

While I was trying to prepare this sermon,

I was struggling with this feeling of anxiousness,

My stomach was in knots,

I couldn’t get my mind to focus on God’s Word,

Because I kept being drawn mentally to some genuine struggles in this world.

But every time these feelings crept in,

I just tried to muscle through,

And keep working on the sermon.

But it was not working.

So, God, in His grace,

Reminded me of the truth I needed from His Word each time in a different way.

A daily Bible verse notification on my phone,

A cross-reference during my sermon prep,

A reminder of my devotional earlier in the day.

Each time,

It was the same truth that God brought to my attention from different parts of His Word,

“The Lord is My refuge.”

God graciously and repeatedly reminded me that He is always faithful.

And yet,

I still doubt Him.

I still get anxious.

I still find myself focusing on the things of this world.

And I am certain the same is true for you.

So, we thank God for His mercy,

And His patience toward us.

For He His faithful, even when we are faithless!

Just as we see Him demonstrate with His beloved, hard-headed disciples.

GOD (Teach the text):

After the disciples understand this warning,

Slide

Jesus establishes His body,

With those same little-faithed disciples.

Giving us a glimpse at the fruit of His grace, patience, and faithfulness,

As we see Peter confess that Jesus is the Christ.

From there,

Jesus teaches what it means to be His members.

Unlike the religious leaders,

Christ’s members are not marked by self-righteousness or self-indulgence,

We are marked by self-denial.

We crucify ourselves for the glory of God.

Because by losing your life,

You actually find life.

But this is not the case with the religious leaders.

Indulging yourself,

Or trying to earn God’s favor by following the rules,

Are certain ways to lose your life.

If you want to know God,

Want to truly taste and see that He is good,

If you want to experience eternal joy and peace,

Then, Jesus says,

Deny yourself,

Take up your cross,

And follow Him.

This is what it means to be a member.

This is what it means to be a part of His body.

This is what it means to be His church.

YOU (Response):

Slide

So, vs. 13-14 begins this shift to focusing on the identity of Christ.

Jesus begins,

By asking His disciples who people say that the Son of Man is.

The disciples list several common answers.

Many of the people recognized that Jesus had some sort of prophetic role.

Back in ch. 14,

Herod suspected that Jesus was John the Baptist back from the dead.

Others thought He might be the prophet Elijah,

Because so many of His miracles were similar to Elijah’s.

Others thought He was the prophet Jeremiah.

Because like Jeremiah,

He preached about judgment but was rejected by many.

Notice, however,

That none of the answers were that Jesus was the Messiah.

People thought He was a good man,

A godly man,

A powerful teacher,

But no one seemed to think that He was God in the flesh.

Slide

So, Jesus turns the same question on His disciples,

“Who do you say I am?”

He was confronting each one of them with this critical question.

Then, on behalf of all the disciples,

Peter confesses two rich truths about Jesus.

First, he says Jesus is the Christ.

Christ is the Greek word meaning anointed.

It is a title that refers to the Messiah.

Who was promised throughout the OT to be a righteous servant of the Lord,

Fulfilling all three anointed offices of prophet, priest, and king.

A promised savior who will rescue humanity from sin,

Bring about God’s eternal kingdom on earth,

And provide peace and security for all of God’s people.

This is who Peter says Jesus is.

This is the first time the disciples call Jesus the Messiah,

The first time they truly confess Who Jesus is.

The second thing Peter says about Jesus,

Is that He is the Son of the living God.

This reflects Jesus’ unique relationship to the Father.

Something the Father already declared earlier,

That Jesus is His beloved Son.

But the fact that Peter uses the term, “living God,”

Contrasts Him against the lifeless gods that are worshiped in Caesarea Philippi.

Slide

After Peter’s confession,

Jesus responds in vs. 17,

Explaining how this understanding was given from above.

They could not have figured this out on their own.

Not even Peter could have grasped the full significance of what he just said.

Everyone else missed that Jesus is the Messiah,

But Peter was able to recognize this,

Not by flesh and blood,

But from God’s revelation.

This means,

A true recognition of Christ cannot come from human understanding,

But only from God’s revelation.

You can only behold the beauty of Christ by the grace of God.

As Jesus says in John 6:44,

John 6:44 (ESV)

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.

In our own power,

You and I are blind.

Just like the Pharisees,

Just like the Sadducees.

Jesus says in John 3:19 that we love the darkness!

But God,

In His mercy,

Opens your eyes to see Jesus,

To know Jesus,

To trust Jesus,

And to confess,

As Peter did,

That Jesus is the Christ,

The Son of the living God.

This is the testimony of every member of Christ’s body.

As we just heard,

During Christ’s time,

There were a lot of people who believed good things about Jesus.

And it is not that different today.

Lots of people would say Jesus was real,

Or Jesus was a good person.

But Jesus specifically confronts every one of us with the question,

“Who do you say I am?”

That is the question you need to answer.

Because your answer determines how you will follow Him.

If you think He is a good teacher with good ideas.

You will listen to those good ideas here and there.

If you think He is a good person who lived as a good role model.

Then you will try to be a similarly good person.

But if you believe that Jesus is the promised Savior,

Who came to earth to save you from your sins,

To conquer death,

And reign over everything as Lord.

Then that changes everything about how you follow Him.

So, who do you say Jesus is?

All who say He is the Christ,

The Son of the living God,

Together, form the community that lives to proclaim Him confidently,

The Church.

That is what Jesus says to Peter in vs. 18.

He says,

“You are Peter,”

Which is the Greek word for rock,

“And on this rock,

I will build my church.”

This is the first time Jesus explicitly uses the word church in Matthew.

Slide

So, it will be helpful to pause here,

And step back to understand this verse,

Because it has caused all sorts of questions and controversies throughout church history.

What specifically is Jesus calling the foundation of His church?

Is it Peter’s Gospel confession?

That Jesus is the Christ.

Or is Jesus the foundation, Himself?

Peter later writes in 1 Peter 2 that Jesus is the cornerstone,

Upon which each member is a living stone being built up as a spiritual house.

But here,

Jesus calls Himself the builder of the church,

Not the foundation.

So, is just Peter the foundation then?

Or is Peter a representative,

And all the apostles are the foundation?

Because Eph. 2:20 says,

The church is...

Ephesians 2:20 ESV

built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

So, then what is the foundation?

It seems,

To a certain degree,

Slide

All these things are the foundation.

The gospel, Peter, Jesus, the apostles.

The Bible seems to teach that they all are the foundation.

Here, Jesus does acknowledge some kind of foundation in Peter.

But Jesus also says that Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ by God’s grace alone.

So, He is building upon Peter,

And His gospel confession.

Martin Luther rightly said,

“All who agree with the confession of Peter here are Peters themselves setting a sure foundation.”

So, we proclaim the same gospel as Peter today.

The rock of the church,

Is God’s people,

Proclaiming Christ’s gospel,

By God’s grace.

But Peter is the first apostle who makes this declaration.

Thus, he is the apostle upon whom much of the church’s foundation is built.

In Acts 2,

Peter proclaims the gospel in Jerusalem on Pentecost,

And around three thousand people trust in Christ.

Immediately after that, however,

Peter and the other apostles dedicate themselves to the teaching of the Word,

And it says, thousands more trusted Christ.

So, make no mistake,

Jesus was, and is, building His church.

Peter and the apostles played a central role in the foundation.

But it wasn’t like Peter was perfect.

I mean, Jesus calls him Satan just a few verses later.

The reason this passage has been so controversial,

Is the way Peter,

And future leaders after Peter,

Get exalted.

Regarding Christ’s declaration here,

The Catholic Church teaches:

“The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the ‘rock’ of his Church. He gave him the keys of his church, and instituted him the shepherd of the whole flock. The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head. This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church’s very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.”

To put it simply,

The Catholic Church believes Peter was given a special authority as the first pope,

That gets passed down to popes that came after him.

While Peter’s role is certainly instrumental,

And his confession is certainly foundational to the church,

We must simply disagree with what the Catholic Church teaches about this.

I will give you three reasons this passage is not about a pope.

Slide

First, because it is about a Savior.

Jesus builds the church.

Peter’s confession and authority are tied to Jesus’ authority as the Christ,

As the Son of the living God.

Jesus is the only one exalted in this passage,

His Word is the authority.

So, it is not about a pope,

Because it is about a confession.

The confession of Christ’s body.

Wherever this confession is made,

The church is built!

Therefore,

Thirdly, this passage is not about a pope,

It is about a mission.

There is no need for a pope to speak new revelation from God.

We proclaim what God has already revealed.

That God saves sinners like us through Christ!

This is the only message that has Christ’s authority to save people.

This is why the church is the community that proclaims Christ confidently.

Throughout history,

Christ has built His church with all whom the Father has given Him,

All who are new creations,

Who derive their identity and mission from Jesus.

The church is the true community of God,

All throughout the world.

The NT describes the church as both a body and a family to express our deep unity in Christ.

Who vividly portray the gospel,

By observing baptism and the Lord’s Supper,

Until Christ returns,

And we receive all God’s saving promises in their fullness, forever.

Because the church,

Joined and knit together by the Holy Spirit,

Is built by Jesus,

And the gates of hell cannot overpower it.

Death and the grave can do nothing against Christ’s body.

Jesus proves this by physically rising from the dead.

But just as death could not stop Christ,

It cannot stop His members.

Slide

Jesus continues in vs. 19,

That because we are His body,

He has given us His authority,

The keys to His Kingdom.

With this authority,

Is the power to bind and loose,

To lock and unlock.

Jesus is talking about proclaiming the gospel.

When we proclaim the gospel,

It is done with Christ’s authority,

With His authority to save or judge.

Any person who makes the same confession as Peter will be saved.

Heaven will be opened to them.

This is a guarantee based on Christ’s authority.

But at the same time,

Any person who does not make this confession will face judgment.

Heaven will be locked off to them.

This is a guarantee based on Christ’s authority.

So, Jesus is saying He has entrusted both sides of this message to the church,

To be proclaimed by His body.

We tell people how they go to heaven or hell by Christ’s authority,

Revealed in God’s Word.

That is why being a member of Christ’s body is not just about being a member of a club.

The confession of Christ’s body is extremely important.

It has eternal ramifications.

As His body,

We speak with the authority of Christ.

Therefore, it is urgent we proclaim the gospel.

Because the gospel is the key that opens heaven to the world.

Slide

Then, in vs. 21,

The tone completely shifts,

Marked by the phrase,

“From that time.”

Matthew used the same phrase in Matt. 4:17,

When Jesus transitioned from a time of preparation,

To begin His public ministry.

Here, Jesus is turning from publically preaching in Galilee,

To careful and intimate instructions for His disciples about the necessity of suffering.

He predicts for the first time a detailed description of His death and resurrection,

Saying these things must happen.

And just when it seemed Peter was starting to understand things,

He finds himself unable to accept Jesus’ prediction.

Suffer and die?

Not his Messiah!

Not on his watch!

So, he steps forward and attempts to rebuke Jesus,

The one he just called the Christ,

The Son of the living God.

So, we see Peter quickly go from a foundational rock,

To a stumbling block.

Slide

The cross is central to Christ’s work on earth.

And Peter is essentially trying to tempt Jesus to avoid the cross.

In doing so,

He unknowingly became a spokesperson for Satan.

Therefore, Jesus says to him in vs. 23,

Get behind Me, Satan!

This seems like strong language,

But it echoes what Jesus already said to Satan back in ch. 4,

When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert.

You see, Satan’s desire is to seduce God’s Son,

So, that Satan can seize Christ’s rule and authority.

Here, he deceives Peter to try and deter Christ from going to the cross.

But Jesus knows He must go.

He knows He must fulfill the Father’s will.

It is this path of obedience that Jesus takes that accomplishes salvation for us.

Slide

But the question for us is,

Will we follow Him?

Now that He has suffered once for all,

Will we willingly follow Him into suffering in this world?

Or will we be a stumbling block like Peter?

We are all confronted with this question in response to Christ’s teaching in vs. 24.

He says following Him,

Being a member of His body,

Requires us to die to ourselves.

We must put aside self-righteousness,

Put aside self-indulgence,

Put aside everything that is ours;

Our desires, ambitions, thoughts, dreams, and our possessions.

Put it all aside,

He says,

And take up our cross.

During this time,

If someone was carrying a cross,

They were marching toward their own crucifixion,

They were a dead man walking!

So, taking up our cross means our lives as we once knew them are now over.

We are figuratively sentenced to be crucified over our decision to follow Christ.

So, we must be prepared to give our lives to Him and for Him.

He says we must deny ourselves,

Leave behind sin and self,

Take up your cross,

And commit to follow Him.

Stop relying on yourself,

And instead rely on on Him.

Follow His example in His Word by His power.

Emulate His character by His Spirit in you.

As Paul says in Gal. 2:20,

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Slide

This is the call to membership.

If you do this,

It sounds crazy,

But Jesus promises you will find true life,

Life eternal,

Life to its fullest!

But if you try to get true life on your own in this world,

You will lose it,

And instead,

You will experience eternal death.

This is the great reversal of expectations.

Live for you,

You get death.

Die to self,

You get life.

Slide

Eternal life that is immediate,

But is not yet in its fullness.

Currently,

We live with this eager expectation that Christ will come.

Jesus says in vs. 27,

That the Son of Man will come and reward people according to what they have done.

And He can come at any moment!

So, we must be prepared.

Jesus closes in vs. 28 saying,

Some standing with Him will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Jesus ends with another confusing verse.

But the coming of the Son of Man,

Seems to relate to the entire process by which Jesus receives dominion,

Including His resurrection,

Ascension,

And sending of the Spirit.

Followed by the spread of the gospel in the early church.

Which happened by the power of the Son of Man.

So, Jesus’ point seems to be,

That some of these disciples get to be a part of that,

The manifestation of Christ’s body,

The church,

Expanding throughout the world,

To the ends of the earth.

Something we continue to be a part of today.

WE (Paint a picture of the future):

Slide

This is all part of the confession of Christ’s body.

We are God’s people proclaiming the Christ’s gospel by God’s grace.

In light of this.

I want to apply this passage with a series of questions for each of us to consider.

Have I died to myself?

Have I taken up my cross?

Am I following Jesus,

The Christ,

The Son of the living God?

Have I found my life in Him?

Or am I trying and hoping to save my life in this world?

Am I eagerly proclaiming the good news of the gospel as I await the return of Christ?

These things are what it means to be a member.

These things are what it means to be a part of Christ’s body.

These are all included in the Confession of Christ’s Body.

Headlined by the declaration that Jesus is the Christ,

The Son of the living God!

Pray.