Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
The Lutheran Difference: Law and Gospel • Sermon • Submitted
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· 126 viewsMemory Verse: “Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:16).
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Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God was a key event in Jesus’ ministry. To confess Jesus as Savior and Lord is also essential in every believer’s life.
Some Christians will remember the very moment this first happened. Other Christians, baptized in infancy, have made this confession again and again in worship and daily life.
Like Peter, none of us can by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel (SC, p. xxxvii):
I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my LORD or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine and those of all believers… This is most certainly true.
As royal priests of God, we “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1Pt 2:9).
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
word of life
word of life
Read Matthew 16:13-14.
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.”
People are talking about Jesus and his identity. He has performed miracles, healed the sick, and taught with authority. How could people not be talking about him? Jesus asks the question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13 NRSV) Jesus began with the assumption people knew he was the Son of Man, but he wanted to know what else was being said about him.
1. How do the disciples respond to the question of Jesus?
People in Jesus’ day expected the reappearance of some notable prophet, but opinions differed as to who this would be (cf. Dt 18:15; Mal 3:1; 4:5–6).
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
2. What might be additional answers to his question?
3. Do you think Jesus was primarily concerned with what “others” thought about him? Why or why not?
Jesus’ point in pressing this question of His identity is to get the disciples to recognize and acclaim Him as the Messiah.
Read Matthew 16:15.
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
This dialogue among Jesus and the disciples seems to be a warm-up for the real question, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) It is one thing to converse about the faith of others; it is something quite different to confess faith in Jesus Christ for oneself.
Read Matthew 16:16 .
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter is the first to speak up as he confesses his faith. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 NRSV) Messiah is Hebrew for the Greek word “Christ”. It means “anointed one”. Yet Peter recognizes that Jesus is not anointed by a human, but by God, one who is living and active in the world.
4. What do you think of the quick response of Peter?
Not the plural, Ὑμεῖς.
“Peter is the representative of the entire assembly of apostles, as appears from the text itself. Christ does not ask Peter alone” (Tr 23).
5. What is your overall impression of Peter?
6. What do you make of the silence of the other disciples?
Matthew clearly identifies Jesus as the promised Messiah (Matthew 1:1, 16, 18).
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist questioned whether Jesus was the Christ (Matthew 11:2–3).
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
After Jesus came walking on the sea to His disciples, they confessed that He was the Son of God.
Emphasizes that God is the source of life, as later evidenced in Christ’s resurrection.
Bede:
“He calls Him the ‘living’ God by way of distinction from the false gods which heathendom in its various delusions made to itself to worship, either of dead men, or—greater folly still—of insensate matter” (VB, p 151).
This passage is the climax of chs 4–16.
Read Matthew 16:17-18.
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.
Jesus responds to Peter with a blessing, acknowledging God at work in Peter’s life, stirring the right response at a time of testing. Peter’s confession did not result from his request for a sign (Matthew 16:1) or his own superior understanding.
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
He was one of the “little children” to whom the Father had revealed this truth (Matthew 11:25).
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
Hilary of Poitiers:
“The Father revealed to Peter that he should say, ‘You are the Son of the living God’ [Matthew 16:17]. Therefore, the building of the Church is upon this rock of confession. This faith is the foundation of the Church” (Tr 29).
Just as Peter proclaimed, “You are the Messiah”, so Jesus responds with a parallel phrase “You are Peter.” To understand the weight of the statement made by Jesus, a person needs to realize “Peter” means “rock”.
7. What does it mean to be called “Rock”?
Peter’s rocklike confession of faith was the solid foundation on which Christ would build His Church (Matthew 7:24–27; Eph 2:19–22).
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
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.
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope:
“Certainly the Church has not been built upon the authority of a man. Rather, it has been built upon the ministry of the confession Peter made, in which he proclaims that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (Tr 25).
John Hus:
“Christ is therefore the foundation by whom primarily and in whom primarily the holy catholic church is founded, and faith is the foundation with which it is founded—that faith which works through love” (The Church, p 73).
The Church is the assembly, or gathering, of all believers. Christ is the builder of the Church, and each individual member is a living stone (1Pt 2:5).
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.
This passage and Matthew 18:17 are the only times “church” is used in the Gospels.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Against this is the gates of hill. This is a figure of speech, meaning what causes a person to enter hell (Ps 9:13; 107:18).
Be gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
Bede:
“The gates of Hell are wicked doctrines, which seduce men and bring them to Hell” (VB, p 154).
Death will not overcome the Church because it rests on the living Son of God (1 Tim 3:15).
if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
FC SD XI 8:
“God’s eternal election does not just foresee and foreknow the salvation of the elect. From God’s gracious will and pleasure in Christ Jesus, election is a cause that gains, works, helps, and promotes our salvation and what belongs to it. Our salvation is so founded on it that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18)”.
Read Matthew 16:19-20.
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.
Jesus intends to build his church based on these words uttered by Peter with the help of God. Biblical scholars have debated the meaning and implications of this well-known confession of Peter. The Roman Catholic Church believes Peter to be the first pope with the church being built upon him as a person.
The reformers understood the church is built upon the faith of Peter. Thus congregations can grow wherever faith in Jesus is expressed. Surprisingly, Jesus gives to the church the privilege and responsibility to forgive and not to forgive sins.
Keys are used to lock and unlock doors (cf. Is 22:22).
And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
The door of heaven is opened through the forgiveness of sins.
AC XXV 3:
“Our people are taught that they should highly prize the Absolution as being God’s voice and pronounced by God’s command.”
SA III VII 1:
“The Keys are an office and power given by Christ to the Church for binding and loosing sin.”
Tr 23:
“These words show that the Keys are given to all the apostles alike and that all the apostles are sent forth alike.”
Bede:
“Without the slightest doubt it is given to the other Apostles also. Christ Himself bears witness to this, for after the triumph of His Passion and Resurrection He appeared to them, and breathing on them said ‘Receive the Holy Ghost [Jn 20:22]’ ” (VB, p 156).
8. When might the church not forgive sins?
Scripture itself gives us a striking example of this use of this Key. A member of the congregation in Corinth began living in incest with his father’s wife—probably his stepmother. Apparently, this fellow would have been content to continue living in this sin. By his impenitent lifestyle, he trampled Christ’s blood underfoot. He spat upon the cross, figuratively speaking. St Paul warned the congregation, “Purge the evil person from among you” (1Co 5:13).
God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
The wake-up call worked. It shook up the entire body of believers in Corinth and brought the sinner to his knees in grief and fear (2Co 2:5–11).
Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Jesus makes it clear that we have enough “logs” in our own eyes and need not go snooping around to discover “specks” in the eyes of fellow believers (Mt 7:4).
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?
Nevertheless, some sins compel us to confront the sinner. Just as compassion compels a doctor to care for an injured person who has fallen unconscious, so believers must deal in compassion with those in their fellowship who live in sin, seemingly oblivious to its consequences.
First of all, we pray for those who show no concern for their own souls. We visit with them about the danger, following the directions Jesus gives in Mt 18. We work patiently to win them back. Sometimes, erring brothers or sisters are brought back to Christ in repentance and faith. This brings us joy, even as it evokes a celebration in heaven! (Lk 15:7).
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
At other times, heaven weeps over sinners who refuse to acknowledge their sin and who continue to reject God’s Word. Such people may even come right out and say, “I do not believe anymore.” In cases like this, we must tell the truth. Since they reject Christ and the salvation He has won for them, the gate of heaven is locked to them. If they die in their unbelief, they will be lost forever. Nevertheless, if such individuals repent and return, Christ’s heart is open to them—as are the hearts of everyone in His family.
Someone may object, saying that only God can look into someone’s heart to judge whether penitent faith lies within. That is clearly true. But Jesus has directed us—commanded us—to deal with the facts as we know them. We have no choice but to obey Him. This use of this Key serves as the strongest possible warning that no sinner dare take sin lightly or treat it flippantly.
9. How do you understand Jesus’ reference to building the church on a rock?
10. What surprises you about this passage?
word among us
word among us
The summer vacation in Oregon was almost over, but the Jones family had not conquered “the Rock”. From the first moment the family had seen the boulder outside their hotel window, they were determined to climb it. Yet, it seemed to be an almost impossible feat. Instead, the family would often pause near the boulder and someone would weave a story involving the great adventures of this boulder. There was only one rule to the storytelling – each story had to end by explaining how the boulder ended up behind the hotel.
On the last day of the visit, a work crew started work on the back wing of the hotel. Someone in the family asked to borrow a ladder and several pieces of scaffolding. With no time at all, the family had created a scaffold and climbed the boulder. They had conquered the impossible. Once on top of the boulder, the family danced, laughed, and celebrated life.
1. Take a moment to remember great rocks in your life. Describe the biggest boulder which you have every seen.
2. How do rocks stand the test the time?
Peter was called “Petros”, a word which means “rock”. He stood firm in his confession of Jesus as the Messiah, God’s anointed. Jesus blessed him in his confession, but acknowledged his words came from God.
3. Describe faith which is steadfast like a rock.
4. Who in your life has faith like a rock?
5. What have you learned from people who are steadfast in their faith?
The text of the well-known hymn “The Church’s One Foundation” was written by Samuel J. Stone, a man who lived between 1839-1900. Take a moment to prayerfully read through the first verse:
The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is his new creation by water and the word.
From heaven came and sought her to be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, and for every life he died.
Hopefully, we have been blessed by others of faith who bear witness to a life built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Let us pray we have served as such a witness to others.
6. Recall when you have sung that hymn. What images does it spark?
7. How are the images associated with “foundation” and “rock” similar or different?
8. How have you tried to build your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ?
9. What would have to change in your life for you to have faith like a rock?