Upon This Rock

Finances

Diane - Women’s Ministry Director

Recap

For the last 15-1/2 chapters of Matthew we’ve seen the Holy Spirit speak through the author Matthew as he describes the biblical account of Jesus birth and ministry. He’s found his 12 disciples and challenged them to all follow Him. Along the road to this point Jesus has been revealing who He is to them and to anyone that was willing to see and hear the truth with a humble and open heart.

The disciples have followed pretty faithfully but honestly wavering at times on fully believing or fully trusting that He is who He says He is. They definitely struggled to see clearly what He was there to do as many had misconceptions of what the Messiah was their to do and be.

Tonight we cover verses 13-20 of chapter 16. They are probably among the most well known verses in the NT because of the questions asked and the revelation that takes place. The question that is asked in these verses is the same question that every person that has ever lived must answer. How we answer this question could change the rest of our lives.

The Question of Others

Jesus has just found some alone time with the disciples and again has warned them about the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Who and what we listen to will effect our faith because our faith is based on what we know and believe about God, Yahweh, and equally important, what we believe and know about Jesus Himself.

It’s getting down to the wire in Jesus earthly ministry and the disciples have spent a lot of time with Jesus. They’ve observed what they have and heard from His lips the things he’s said. They’ve also heard all of the whispering and rumors regarding what others were saying about who Jesus was.

So, what did they believe?

Matthew 16:13–14 ESV

13 Now when Jesus came into the district 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 say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

This term “the Son of Man” is used by Jesus all throughout the book of Matthew. On the surface it seems like an odd way for Jesus to describe himself seeing that he is the Son of God, God with us, God in the flesh, fully God and fully Man, but there is a reason he does this.

Remember Matthew is purposefully writing his gospel account to the Jews and this title meant something to them.

This biblical usage really spells it out.

Son of Man - used by Christ Himself, doubtless in order that He might intimate (which means to suggest or hint at) His Messiahship and also that He might designate Himself as the head of the human family, the man, the one who both furnished the pattern of the perfect man and acted on behalf of all mankind. Christ seems to have preferred this to the other Messianic titles, because by its lowliness it was least suited to foster the expectation of an earthly Messiah in royal splendour.

What Jesus is asking is what’s the word on the street? We’ve been at this for a while now, spreading the message that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, I’ve been performing miracles, healing people, casting out demons, feeding thousands from mere crumbs, so what is the perception out there amongst the people we are trying to reach?

John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah and other prophets. Why did people think this about Jesus?

Some thought Jesus was a herald of national repentance, like John the Baptist and some thought Jesus was a famous worker of miracles, like Elijah. Some thought Jesus was someone who spoke the words of God, like Jeremiah and the prophets.

Perhaps in seeing Jesus in these roles, people hoped for a political messiah who would overthrow the corrupt powers oppressing Israel.

All these answers was to underestimate Jesus; to give Him a measure of respect and honor, but to fall far short of honoring Him for who He really is.

The Real Question for Us

Matthew 16:15–16 ESV

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Who do you say that I am?

This is the question placed before all who hear of Jesus; and it is we, not He, who are judged by our answer. In fact, we answer this question every day by what we believe and do. If we really believe Jesus is who He says He is, it will affect the way that we live.

I love how Charles Spurgeon puts it: “Our Lord presupposes that his disciples would not have the same thoughts as ‘men’ had. They would not follow the spirit of the age, and shape their views by those of the ‘cultured’ persons of the period.”

You are the Christ, the Son of the living God?

Christ means: Anointed One, Chose One. Kings were anointed and Jesus was sent from God the Father to be King of Kings and the Deliverer of mankind.

Living God: Peter understood that Jesus was not only God’s Messiah, but also God Himself. The Jews properly thought that to receive the title “the Son of the living God,” in a unique sense, was to make a claim to deity itself.

“The adjective living may perhaps have been included to contrast the one true God with the local deities (Caesarea Philippi was a centre of the worship of Pan).” (France)

Our God is not a carved image of a nonexistent god. We don’t bow before a statue of someone or something that has eyes that just stare at us, a mouth that says nothing or arms that stay at their side. We have the one true and only God, who sees us, speaks to us and reaches out to us. Our God is a LIVING God!

The Blessing

Matthew 16:17–20 ESV

17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

The Revelation:

Peter spoke by divine inspiration. In this sense he truly was blessed, both through the insight he received and how it was received.

We too often expect God to speak in strange and unnatural ways. Here God spoke through Peter so naturally that he didn’t even realize it was the Father who is in heaven that revealed it to him.

“If you know no more of Jesus than flesh and blood has revealed to you, it has brought you no more blessing than the conjectures of their age brought to the Pharisees and Sadducees, who remained an adulterous and unbelieving generation.” (Spurgeon)

The Rock:

The Roman name Peter does mean rock. Many over the centuries have tried to look at this statement and say that God would build his church on the person. Jesus’ church will be built on the truth the ROCK spoke by the revelation from the Spirit of God.

Peter had a long way to go personally. He would go on to tempt Jesus to walk away from the Father’s plan for him. HE would also go on to deny Jesus three times before his crucifixion. Even after he set out to fulfill the ministry God had for him he still gave in to the temptation to please others.

We should not look to any human and idealize them. We should also not condemn them when they mess up. We need to look to Jesus as our example and then look for people in our lives that chase after Jesus and try to follow Him faithfully and join them in the pursuit.

Peter, by His own testimony, did not see himself as the rock on which the church was founded. He wrote that we are living stones, but Jesus is the cornerstone. We could say that Peter was the “first believer”; that he was the “first rock” among “many rocks.”

1 Peter 2:4–5 ESV

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

His Church:

Jesus said that He would build HIS church on this truth. This is the first mention of the word “church” which is the greek word ekklesia. The meaning of this word means something very different than what we have in our minds in 2024 in the United States of America. We’ve seen the church for centuries as buildings that are erected, a holy place for christians to gather, when in all actuality it is those that are called out from the world to assemble together in unity to steward the mission and purpose of Yahweh.

Gates of Hell:

the gates of Hades : “All the power and policy of hell combined.” John Trapp

Jesus offered this as a promise — that the forces of death and darkness can’t prevail against or conquer the church. This is a valuable promise in dark or discouraging times for the church.

Hebrews 2:14 ESV

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

Keys of Heaven:

Some believe and have promoted that Peter would be the of great authority in heaven. This is where people got the idea of Saint Peter standing at the pearly Gates of Heaven allowing people to enter in.

The Roman Catholic Church saw and sees Peter as the first Pope and views the keys as having been passed down from one Pope to the next. The Papal insignia of the Roman Catholic Church is made up of two prominent keys crossed together.

No doubt Peter was special to Jesus and His kingdom.

He was listed first in most lists of the disciples. He Opened the doors to the Jews on the day of pentecost in Acts 2 and opened the doors of the kingdom to the gentiles in Acts 10.

Stew Webber

Matthew C. The Dawn of Understanding in the Disciples (16:13–20)

Jesus declared that to Peter (and the disciples) he would give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. It is likely that Jesus was referring to the keys commonly held by the scribes as a symbol of their teaching function. They were the “teachers” of Scripture. In this sense, Jesus was appointing the disciples as the initial teachers in his church. As elsewhere in Matthew, “heaven” is a euphemism for “God,” so “kingdom of heaven” means “kingdom of God.” Those who were the teachers of Scripture were the gatekeepers for all humanity. They were at the threshold of God’s expanding kingdom as revealed in his Word.

Binding and Loosing:

Part of the job of the church, the called out assembly, is to govern and rule. It probably seems odd to say that. Too often churches, local assemblies like ours, will look to the government and bow more to fall in line with what the government says we can and can’t do. We look to our culture and want to accommodate them in hopes that they will maybe come to our church building and be a part of what we are doing, or feel loved and approved of, or some how follow what ever version of Jesus we’ve cooked up in our heads based on our own feelings and not his word.

Here I, We, are committed to looking to God’s word and allowing that to govern our lives instead of us picking and choosing what we want to abide by.

To bind something means to forbid it or decide that it is not allowed.

To loose is to allow or to permit something.

As the pastor of this church part of my job is to equip the body, those that God has called out of this world to assemble to gether, for the work of ministry with the goal that we would all grow to maturity, “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”. I attempt to do this by preaching the truth of God’s word and not making accommodations for sin in any shape or form. That includes the preaching I do to myself as well.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Teaching - it teaches us us the doctrines of God, the truths of what HE SAYS IS THE STANDARD.

Reproof - A proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested. Conviction of the truth comes from reading and believing the very word of God.

Correction - A straightening up again. God states what is right. We go against it, but then read god’s word and it brings us back to being straightened up again.

Training in Righteousness - Correction that nurtures a life given to righteous living.

WHY?

So that the man or woman of God may be complete, adequate based on God’s standards, and equipped or ready for EVERY good work that God has planned for us to walk in it.

“Today the Lord continues to back up the teaching and acts of his sent servants, those Peters who are pieces of the one Rock. The judgments of his Church, when rightly administered, have his sanction so as to make them valid. The words of his sent servants, spoken in his name, shall be confirmed of the Lord, and shall not be, either as to promise or threatening, a mere piece of rhetoric.” (Spurgeon)

This passage has everything to do with who do we believe Jesus to be, and what role will He have in our everyday lives. Will he rule in our lives as our Lord, not just our savior, and will we operate as the called out assembled body of believers, using His word to determine our lives? That is the question for everyone in the world, let alone those who claim to be Christians!

It may feel like I’m being a little blunt or even pushy with my views or my opinions. As a created being by almighty God, Yahweh, called to equip you based on His word, i don’t have the option to change, alter, or even sugar coat HIS WORD. I love you all enough tell you the truth and to call you up to live by it! May we all rise to the occasion!

Let’s pray!