Peter’s Declaration
Notes
Transcript
Our text today falls in a section of Matthew where there is discussion about who Jesus is, what people say about him
Earlier Jesus gives a warning about following the teaching and example of the Pharisees, which they understood to be something to with not bringing bread.
In contrast to last week great faith — Matthew 16:8
8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread?
He declares his disciples to have little faith.
Now he takes them on a journey and turns his attention to what people are saying — Matthew 16:13-20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
This is the word of God…
What was being said of Jesus
What was being said of Jesus
Some were saying the he was John the Baptist
Some were saying he was Elijah — Malachi 4:5-6
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
Some were saying he was Jeremiah — There was a tradition that Jeremiah would comeback and reveal the location of where the ark and sacred vessels were concealed.
Or one of the prophets — That he was another prophet sent with a message for the people, but apparently no one thought about the Messiah
You know its no different today — Develop
The Confession of Simon
The Confession of Simon
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
This a statement of reality for Peter, this is the reality of who Jesus is to Peter at this moment.
For his confession Simon gets his named changed to Peter (petras) — pebble
Then Jesus then points out the foundation or Rock (petra) of faith is Peter’s confession.
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The bedrock of faith is the confession that Peter just made
Making Jesus the foundation of our faith — 1 Corinthians 3:11
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Jesus also declares that Peter will open the kingdom with keys
This is fulfilled twice!
He gave the first Gospel sermon in Acts 2
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
2. Peter opened the kingdom to the Gentiles — Acts 10
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,
47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”
48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
The Gates of Hades
The Gates of Hades
Caesarea Philippi at the base of Mt. Hermon— Gates of Hades and the spring Develop this image; Pan was worshipped here
Ancient Greeks believed Pan could emit a sudden, terrifying shriek or cause unexplained, overwhelming terror in lonely places, inspiring the Greek term panikos ("fear caused by Pan")
This is where we get our word panic — a sudden, strong feeling of fear that stops clear thinking and triggers a fast fight-or-flight body reaction.
Notice something Jesus says — Matthew 16:18
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
The confession will be the foundation of the faith that Jesus established
I always wondered about the gates.
What are gates? they are a defense to protect a city from attack!
Satan is not the one attacking, he is the one behind the gates.
A defense from what?
The marching forward of the declaration of faith that people will give, and the advance of the gospel cannot even be prevented by the gates of Hades
Onward Christian soldiers!
Faith in Jesus will overcome the fear and panic created by mythology and paganism of the world.
Things influenced by Satan, even the gates of the Hades can not prevail against the gospel!
Conclusion
The confession of faith made by Peter is one that is shared by every convert to Christ.
It is the foundation of everything we believe!
Even today the gospel and faith in Jesus can overcome the fear and panic created by the lies of the world we live in!
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
Peter was the first to declare it!
Have you made the confession?
