Beyond Bread: Living On The Rock

Secular -

A pastor was walking down the street when he saw a group of neighborhood boys surrounding a stray dog.

"What are you boys doing?" the pastor asked.

One of the boys looked up and said, "We found this dog, and we all want him. So we decided that whoever tells the biggest lie gets to keep him."

The pastor was shocked. "Boys, boys! When I was your age, I never told a lie. In fact, throughout my whole life and my ministry of sharing the Gospel, I have always spoken nothing but the absolute truth."

The boys looked at each other, sighed, and handed him the leash.

"All right, Pastor," they said. "You win the dog."

Historical/Cultural Context -

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 16:1–20 NKJV

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed. Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 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?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to 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 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. And 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.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - Using Your Faith & Trust In Jesus Build The Church On The Rock, Rightly Dividing The Word.

Life Point- Use Your Faith, Trust In Jesus

Exegetical -

Matthew 16:1–4 BSB

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

Homiletical -

Well the Pharisees and the Sadducees are up to their old tricks. They have heard about and even seen the miracles Jesus has performed and yet they wish for another sign from heaven. Now this doesn’t sit well with Jesus.

How many times have we been just like this? God I have seen you move in the past but instead of taking that and applying to the future I am going to get frustrated and mad at you and demand a sign so I know it is you. No, we take our faith in God from the testimony of the Bible and previous personal experiences with God.

Now just because you had an experience doesn’t make it Biblical. A lot of times people will attribute something to God that just wasn’t God. It may have been last night’s Kielbasa, not God.

All experiences that we have need to be weighed by scripture. Scripture above all else. That is called Sola Scriptura. Why? Because it is the Holy Word of God. Remember we can be deceived and we can deceive ourselves.

That being said, as Christians we should be having faith building experiences in our personal life with God too.

Well pastor, how do I know which is me? Which is the Devil? And Which is God? Very simple, does what I have experienced line up with scripture? If I don’t find it in scripture then the experience is either from me or the devil. So I best not trust it.

The only way to know if an experience lines up with scripture is to know the scriptures! You gotta spend consistent time with scripture.

Signs from God are nice and good, but we don’t demand them. We seek God in faith and when God moves we praise Him.

Jesus says that only a wicked generation seeks a sign and none would be given them except that of Jonah, who spent 3 days in the belly of a fish! Jesus spent 3 days in the belly of the earth and then he rose again. That was the ultimate sign that was given and it still resonates down throughout all the years since it happened.

Illustration -

During the time of the Roman Empire, many Christians faced persecution for their beliefs. One story recounts a young believer who, when faced with execution, remained steadfast in his faith. Instead of renouncing Christ, he prayed, trusting in Jesus for strength. Miraculously, he was unharmed by the sword, and his firm belief inspired hundreds to convert. This historical testimony reminds us that even in our darkest hours, using our faith and trusting in Jesus can lead to incredible outcomes and inspire others.

Life Point - Rightly Divide The Word

Exegetical -

Matthew 16:5–12 BSB

When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we did not bring any bread.” Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Homiletical -

So the disciples forgot to bring some bread after they crossed to the other side. So Jesus takes their circumstance and uses it as an opportunity to teach them something about the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

What do these guys do? They discuss it amongst themselves and conclude Jesus is talking about actual bread. When He isn’t.

He calls to their remembrance the two times that He has performed a miracle with loaves and fishes. To show that if He wanted bread it would be no great thing for Him to produce bread.

He is telling them to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

There is a lot of teaching out there that can get you in trouble. That is when we draw on our knowledge of the works of God as found in the scriptures.

2 Timothy 2:15 BSB

Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.

Isaiah 55:11 BSB

so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.

Then we draw on our previous knowledge of what God Has done in our lives and what we know to be true.

Don’t just accept what a man tells you about scripture. Search it out and see if what he says is true. This is important stuff. Life and death stuff and we don’t treat it as such when we really should.

Acts 17:11 BSB

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

This should be our response to anyone’s teaching, including my own. I am a man and I can err.

Illustration -

On a journey through the ancient town of Ephesus, where Paul admonished believers to handle the Word carefully, one can visualize the weight of responsibility carried by early Christians. They understood that misinterpretation could lead to confusion and division among the faithful. This responsibility is ours as well. We must approach Scripture with reverence, asking the Holy Spirit to guide us in understanding and living out its truths.

Life Point - Build Christ’s Church On The Rock

Exegetical -

Matthew 16:13–20 NKJV

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?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to 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 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. And 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.” Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Homiletical -

Now Jesus comes to Caesarea Philippi. Now He wants to gauge their understanding and to bring out that He is indeed the Messiah. The long awaited saviour to the Jews and the World.

So He asks them a series of questions. (1) Who do men say I am. (2) Who do you say I am?

Peter when answering the second question, always being quick to answer, says something right. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

By the way the term Christ and Messiah are interchangeable. Messiah is Hebrew and Christ is Greek but both mean Saviour.

Jesus says blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. Because Peter’s name was Simon Bar-Jonah. He says this revelation didn’t come from you but from the Father in heaven.

Now Jesus basically changes His name to Peter like he does later with Paul. He says he will build the church on this revelation and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Jesus is actually doing word play here Peter is Petros in greek and means Rock and when he says that he will build on the rock it is the greek word Petra which means bedrock.

So Peter because of the revelation given to him is called the rock and on that bedrock of revelation the church will be built.

There are some who will point to this verse and say this means Peter was the first Pope. But that is a misunderstanding of the scripture.

It is the Rock of the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah that is in view here. This revelation is the foundation of the Church.

On this revelation the Apostles and the Church have the ability to Bind and loose.

So what are we binding and loosing? The ability to come into the kingdom of God. How are we doing this? Through preaching and teaching the revelation that Jesus is the Son of God.

Through the message of the Gospel we bring freedom in Christ. It is up to us to bring that message to those around us.

Illustration -

Ancient cities often featured massive stone walls built on solid rock to secure their borders. In the same way, building Christ's church is about establishing strong spiritual safeguards against the chaos of the world. Our faith acts as those stones, creating barriers that protect against doubt and despair, while inviting others to find shelter in the love of Christ.

Life Principle– Using Your Faith & Trust In Jesus Build The Church On The Rock, Rightly Dividing The Word.

Call to Action – altar call….