Ceasarea Phillipi
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The Lord is Building His Church
The Lord is Building His Church
Matthew 16:13–20 (ESV)
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 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. 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. 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.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
Let’s talk about Caesarea Philippi. It was a beautiful location, perfect for a getaway, and following the death of John the baptist it may be that Jesus wanted to spend some time with His disciples in relative peace.
we need to talk about why Jesus went to CP. This was Jesus’ journey. He went from Capernaum to CP. I have done this 25 mile journey on a bus and let me tell you, its incredibly hilly, its not just the kind of place you walk to unless you have a reason to go there.
So first things first we need to recognize, Jesus chose to come here. Let’s get into why.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Jesus chooses this place, CP to as the disciples a question. Who do the people say that I am, He is the son of man. The original language suggests he asked this question multiple times to the disciples. Now it seems obvious to us that Jesus is the son of God and God himself but people back in the day were still trying to figure this out so each time they gave him an answer, some though he was JTB, some thought he was a prophet like a prophet from the old testament like Elijah or Jeremiah.
Now all of these answers were incorrect, and so Jesus now asks the disciples who they say Jesus is.
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Simon Peter declares that Jesus is the messiah, the son of God, God Himself.
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. 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.
Here is Jesus acknowledging that Peter is right. People say all sorts of things about Jesus today, they say Jesus was just a good prophet. He can’t be, a good prophet does not claim to be God. It’s like C.S. Lewis would say you can either believe Jesus is a crazy man who lied about being God or you can believe He is who He says He is, but he wasn’t just a good man or good prophet, that cannot be.
Let’s also talk about this, Jesus calls Simon, Peter which means rock and then He says on this Rock I will build my church.
Jesus is using a bit of word play here. Catholicism has long interpreted this to mean that Jesus was declaring Peter to be the first pope. This is an incorrect understanding of this passage.
When Jesus calls Simon “Peter” he uses Petros which means rock and then when he uses the word rock he chooses Petra which means collection of rocks. In response to the Catholic interpretation many protestant folks have interpreted Rock here to mean anything but Peter.
So catholics say Jesus is saying Peter is the rock on which the Church is going to be built, and therefore being the first Pope
Protestants often say Jesus is making two different statements saying, you are Peter, and on this physical rock I will build my church
The truth is probably more nuanced than this. Remember the word for Rock is petras, what is probably best translated as a rock among other rocks. So what I and many others think Jesus is saying is… on this rock quarry of disciples so many rocks I will build my church.
Matthew C. The Dawn of Understanding in the Disciples (16:13–20)
“On this rock quarry of disciples, I will build my community of believers.”
This does in line with what Paul says in Ephesians.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
And Jesus is using wordplay in here too, so he is probably saying a mixture of multiple things both saying Peter is going to play a key leadership role, not a pope, and that Peter is a rock among many other rocks whom God is going to use, AND it was on the physical rock that is ceasarea phillipi he will build his Church. Now let me explain this last piece.
Explain ceasarea phillipi
So when Jesus says he is going to build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail, he is standing at what the world thought was the gates of hell.
Jesus is making this audacious and bold statement I am building my church and nothing is going to stop it, and I am using my disciples to do it.
This is the message for us today. First, nothing is stopping God’s plan for his people and his Church. He will build his church and nothing, no political party, no world problem, no law, or world leader, nothing is going to stop God not even people throwing babies into a spring and not even the gates of Hell
And to build His church he is using His people. Peter, a fisherman, and you and me.
So there are two things to carry with you today, 1 the knowledge and confidence that God is doing His work of saving people and building His church and nothing is going to stop that. And 2 He is inviting you to be a part of it.