8-27-23 Sermon "Solid Rock" 16 Minutes

Matthew 16:13-20

This morning I'll be reading Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 through 20. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Matthew 16:13-20 In the verses that we will look at this morning,,, Jesus questions the disciples about who people say that Jesus is,,, and then,,, after receiving the answers about what others think,,, he wants their answer as to what they think. Matthew 16:13–20(HCSB) 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” 17 And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.” 20 And He gave the disciples orders to tell no one that He was the Messiah. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Romans 11:1-2, 29-32,,, and seen that Paul reminds the Gentiles that they should not become arrogant or conceited in their ability to be saved by Jesus because this was brought about,,, in part,,, by the Israelites rejecting the saving grace of Jesus Christ,,, and to especially remember,,, they weren't any better than the Israelites,,, simply because,,, they both needed God's mercy and grace.

Hopefully this will help us to remember that we aren't any better off than anyone else that needs God's saving grace either,,, since we are all sinners in God's eyes.

Just because we have been faithful in coming to church,,, we still need God's grace every day just to get through the day.

We couldn't make it each day without the Holy Spirit helping us and we need to remember to pray that others can see that as well!

We also learned about the way that Paul tries to set the record straight that God will never abandon them if they will accept Jesus as their Savior.

Remember that promise is the same for us,,, even if the sins are bad,,, if we just do as the Israelites did over and over when they had sinned and fallen short,,, and that was to recognize that fact and ask forgiveness and turn back to God!

We just need to remember that God will never forsake us,,, that is something that only we can do,,, so we must keep our focus on the Holy Spirit,,, so that we can stay on the right path.

This morning we will look at these verses in Matthew 16:13-20,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 13-14 said: 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

As I said at the beginning,,, Jesus ask the disciples,,, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

And they give the answers that they have heard from others,,, the list of names that I just read.

And,,, it seems that to the average person,,, He was one among many.

Good,,, but not the Best.

Great,,, but not the Greatest.

A prophet,,, but not the Prophet.

This view would never do.

My commentary says,,, that this was a turning point in Jesus' teachings of His disciples.

He has spent time teaching them who He is and now that He has heard what others are saying,,, He wants their answers.

___________________________________ Verses 15 - 17 said: 15 “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” 17 And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven.

Speaking for the disciples,,, Peter spoke his now-famous words,,, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”

Through Jesus Christ,,, all the promises of God to the nation are fulfilled.

And as the Old Testament made clear,,, the Messiah is more than a human being; He is God (Isaiah 9:6; Jeremiah 23:5–6; Micah 5:2).

Peter,,, by stating these words,,, acknowledged Jesus’ deity as the Son of the living God.

The disciples had come to this conclusion as they observed Jesus during this time period that they had spent with Him,,, as they witnessed His miracles,,, and heard His words.

Peter’s words brought a word of commendation from Jesus.

Peter was blessed because he understood who Jesus was!

But,,, Jesus told him though,,, that this was not a conclusion Peter had determined by his own or others’ ability.

God,,, the Father in heaven,,, had revealed it to him.

Peter was living up to his name,,, (it means “rock”),,, and,,, he was demonstrating himself to be a rock.

When Jesus and Peter first met,,, Jesus had said Simon would be named Cephas,,, which is Aramaic for “rock”,,, or Peter,,, which is Greek for “rock”; as seen in John 1:41–42.

And these words that Peter spoke about who Jesus is,,, led to a declaration of what was coming in the days ahead for Peter.

___________________________________ Verses 18-19 said: 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.”

My commentary said,,, Peter,,, or,,, Petros,,, a masculine form of Greek,,, was strong like a rock,,, but Jesus added that on this rock,,, or petra,,, which is a feminine form of Greek,,, He would build His church.

Because of this change in Greek words,,, many conservative scholars believe that Jesus is now building His church on Himself.

Others say that the church is built on Peter and the other apostles as the building’s foundation stones,,, see Ephesians 2:20 and Revelation 21:14.

Still other scholars say that the church is built on Peter’s testimony.

It seems best to understand that Jesus was praising Peter for his accurate statement about Him,,, and was introducing His work of building the church on Himself (1 Corinthians' 3:11).

Building His church was a yet-future work of Jesus Christ,,, since this work doesn't start until after His death,,, resurrection,,, and ascension into heaven.

He said,,, I "will build" (future tense),,, My church,,, but He had things that needed to be completed for the nation of Israel before anything else could be set in motion.

This is probably why Jesus said,,, not even the forces of hades would overcome this program.

Jews would understand forces of hades to refer to physical death.

Therefore,,, Jesus was telling the disciples His death would not prevent His work of building the church.

Later in Matthew 16:21,,, He spoke of His imminent death.

So He was anticipating His death,,, and His victory over death through the Resurrection.

His church would then begin to be built,,, starting on the day of Pentecost,,, and Peter and the other apostles would have important roles in it.

He declared that Peter would be given significant authority,,, the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

And a “key”,,, was a sign of authority,,, for a trusted steward kept the keys to his master’s possessions and dispensed them accordingly,,, (for example,,, “the keys of death and hades” found in Revelation 1:18 and “the key of David” found in Revelation 3:7,,, which Jesus possesses).

Peter was told he would possess the keys and be able to bind and loose people.

These were decisions Peter was to implement as he received instruction from heaven,,, for the binding and loosing occurred there first.

Peter simply carried out God’s directions.

This privilege of binding and loosing was seen in Peter’s life as he had the privilege on the day of Pentecost to proclaim the gospel and announce to all those who responded in saving faith that their sins had been forgiven,,, see Acts 2.

He was able to do the same thing with the household of Cornelius (Acts 10–11; cf. Acts 15:19–20).

The same privilege was given all the disciples (John 20:22–23).

___________________________________ Verse 20 said: 20 And He gave the disciples orders to tell no one that He was the Messiah.

After making this great declaration about His future church,,, Jesus told the disciples not to tell anyone that He is the Christ,,, the Messiah.

Jesus knew that it was too late for the nation to respond to His offer,,, and,,, His rejection was drawing near.

So there was no reason for His disciples to be trying to convince a nation that had already turned away from Him.

___________________________________ When Jesus ascended to heaven,,, Peter,,, and the other disciples,,, were given the job to build the church!

Today as Christians,,, we have been given this job as well.

They,,, the disciples I mean,,, were tasked with building the church with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone.

Using the help of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all that God wanted them to do.

Again,,, as Christians today,,, we share in this same responsibility!

Going forward we must be sure that no matter what happens,,, we keep our relationship in the Lord strong enough that we hear Him leading us in the way that we should go!

Because if we aren't able to hear His directions,,, we will never accomplish the job that we have,,, and the church will never grow!

But I want you to know,,, (Praise God!!!),,, that if we listen,,, and obey when He speaks,,, nothing will hold us back,,, we will do the job that God has for us,,, and there is nothing that satan or anyone can do to stop it!

But we must remember that this is God's church,,, not our church,,, not any denominations church,,, but God's!

And if we stand with Jesus the way that Peter and the disciples did,,, during the early days of the church,,, nothing will stand in our way,,, because with God on our side,,, with Jesus Christ as our foundation,,, our "Solid Rock",,, we have nothing but better days,,, ahead!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------