Sermon Tone Analysis

Matthew 16:13‑20

All About Rocks

 

/When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”/

/They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”/

/ //“But what about you?” he asked.

“Who do you say I am?”/

/Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”/

/Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

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.

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.”

Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ/.

Jesus enjoyed laughter, and one of the great conflicts within Christendom arises over a play on words as He addressed His disciples.

Jesus seized upon an occasion as the disciples related the speculation of the populace.

He sought to provide instruction concerning the work in which He was engaged.

The verse is well known, though the meaning is controversial.

I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.

/You are Peter/, Pevtro", /and on this rock/, kai; ejpi; tauvth~/ th'~/ pevtra~/, /I will build my church/.

The name /Peter/, Pevtro", refers to a stone.

/Simon Bar-Jonah/ might well be called Rock Johnson today.

His given name was /Cephas/, but the Lord gave him the nickname /Peter/.

When He made the pun, Jesus used Peter as a foil and then employed a different word to speak of the rock on which He would be building His church.

Pevtro" is masculine, clearly used here as a name for the Apostle Cephas.

When Jesus spoke of a rock, he used the feminine form of the word, pevtra~/, referring to a great rock, much as we see displayed in the mountains surrounding the town site.

He was impetuous and impulsive.

Outspoken in his claim to boldness, he was at turns craven and brave.

A married man [cf.

*Mark 1:30*], he often took his wife along with him when he travelled on business for his Master [*1 Corinthians 9:5*].

Influential, he readily swayed others by his own decisions, though those decisions were too often made with insufficient information to permit wise judgement.

A natural leader, he willingly deferred to others as they ascended in influence among his peers, his motive being to permit the work prosper.

His pastor was newer in the Faith than he himself.

The brother of our Lord, James, became Pastor of the Jerusalem church with which Peter worshipped.

Though respected, the Big Fisherman was swayed by cultural passion and on occasion was rebuked by none other than the Apostle to the Gentiles because of this instability.

At the last, he fulfilled the prophecies spoken by the Risen Lord – strengthening his brothers [*Luke 22:32*] and ultimately giving his own life as one of Christ’s martyrs [*John 21:18,19*].

Peter was all this … and more.

What he was not, was pope.

No such critter as a pope is found in the Word of God, nor is warrant for such a position discovered therein.

Neither does the text before us give us warrant to assign Peter a position superior to the other Apostles.

Join me in exploring the text that together we might learn all about rocks.

*/Peter’s Confession/* – /You are the Christ, the Son of the living God/.

Jesus’ question to the disciples preceding Peter’s confession inquired about the rumours swirling about Him.

Who do people say the Son of Man is?

The Master was asking the disciples not only what the current gossip might be, but it was intended to draw out their own understanding of the One whom they followed.

It served as a platform on which to build through teaching them of their call and of the One who had called them.

The disciples spoke of what people were saying.

Some thought Jesus was perhaps John the Baptist, raised from the dead after Herod had ordered him executed.

Some thought Jesus was Elijah, sent back before the judgement of God.

Others thought He was perhaps Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.

They equated His ministry to that of the prophets.

Jesus did not permit His disciples to remain at the point of merely relating what others had to say, but He moved quickly to the vital issue of their personal belief system.

But what about you?

Who do you say I am?  On the subject of Jesus, we dare not remain at the point of idle speculation, but we must each answer the question for ourselves.

We should not think Jesus’ question idle conversation.

Numbered among the disciples was Judas Iscariot, the one who would betray the Master.

The Word informs us that Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him [*John 6:64*].

The question Jesus posed was a gentle confrontation for Judas Iscariot, though it no doubt served to encourage and affirm each of the other disciples.

What is taught as dogma concerning the Son of God among some religious bodies of this day is far from what is given us in the revealed Word of God.

Jesus is a teacher, the greatest Teacher ever, since the lessons He presents lead the student to liberty.

Jesus is a healer, the Great Physician who heals broken hearts, raises the dead to life, causes the deaf to hear and gives sight to blinded eyes.

/Those walking in darkness have seen a great light/ and /on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned/ [cf.

*Matthew 4:16*].

However, if He is only a teacher or a physician, we are fools to worship Him.

In my earliest days of ministry I preached each Sunday afternoon except for once each quarter, to inmates serving their sentences in an east Texas prison farm.

Every fifth Sunday a Methodist minister would come to that same prison and minister to the inmates.

He would sing songs and briefly speak to them, telling them that they were really good men who needed but to try harder and they would make something of their lives.

Roland was a pleasant man who pastored two Methodist churches nearby and conducted this service to the prisoners once each quarter.

Over the course of time I had opportunity to get acquainted with him.

We were intrigued with one another in part because we represented such diverse religious traditions.

One cold November day following his time with the men I stood in the cold, speaking to him through his open car window.

I was astonished as we spoke to discover that we had so very little in common other than the fact that each of us was engaged in a form of religious work.

He did not believe the Bible to be inspired anymore than Shakespeare’s works were inspired.

He did not accept that anyone needs salvation, since no one is a sinner.

Heaven and hell was what you made of your time on earth, in his estimate.

Jesus was not God anymore than you or I are divine.

He did not accept that Jesus was raised from the dead, but rather His disciples thought he was alive in their hearts.

He rejected every tenet which John Wesley, Charles Wesley, Peter Cartwright, and a host of good Methodist people have held dear throughout the years since that movement was founded.

I remember especially his insistence that Jesus was a good man and a great teacher.

I said then, and I say now, if Jesus is not God, He is not a good man.

If He is not uniquely the Son of the Living God, He is not a Great Teacher … rather He is a liar.

Jesus elicited from Peter the confession that He was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Peter first asserted that Jesus is the Messiah – the fulfilment of prophecy, the Hope of Israel.

He is the One who fulfilled prophecy.

He is the One who brought salvation to mankind.

He is the One who provided a perfect sacrifice that all who look to Him might live.

He is the Lamb of God, given that man may live.

If He is not God, He is not good.

Even more pertinent to us as sinners, according to Peter’s testimony Jesus is /the Son of the Living God/.

He is uniquely the God-man – fully God and fully man.

As man, He can /sympathise with our weakness/ since He has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin [*Hebrews 4:15*].

As God He can also /do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself/ [*Hebrews 9:26*].

*/The Source of Peter’s Confession/* – /Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven/.

How does anyone know the reality of or the reliability of the Gospel message?

How does anyone know who Jesus of Nazareth is?  Though I should be ever so persuasive both in speech and in logic, and though I should be powerful in rhetoric, no one believes the message of life in Christ the Lord because they are convinced through my words or the words of any mere mortal.

I recall an occasion when I had delivered a lecture on the campus of the University of British Columbia.

The subject of the lecture was scientific reasons for determining the validity of the models for Creation and Evolution.

Among those in attendance were a number of faculty members from the Department of Zoology.

They had come with the openly stated intention of shutting the mouth of this renegade scientist.

Also in attendance that day was the religion editor of the Vancouver Sun newspaper.

When I concluded the lecture, I opened the meeting to questions.

Silence reigned for about the space of a full minute, and at last one faculty member ventured a question.

There are two creation accounts, he asserted.