Matthew 16:13-20

Matthew 16, and I want to speak from verses 13 to 20, it's the turning point of Matthew's gospel.

But it's also the single most important turning point we could ever come across in a discussion of religion.

The first time the question is asked is in verse 13.

You can see it's asked in really general terms.

Jesus asks, who do people say that I am?

Who do they say the Son of Man is?

What's the word on the street?

It's an out there kind of question.

But the second time he asks a question in verse 15, the house lights drop, and the spotlight shines into their eyes,

and Jesus makes everything far more personal.

And he says, what about you?

Who do you say that I am?

And I don't know what your own answer is to that question.

You don't need me to tell you that there's a wide variety of answers.

If you look at the kind of various popular and theological works of recent times, you can find Jesus the intellectual,

Jesus the Mediterranean cynic, Jesus the proto-hippie, Jesus the androgynous feminist, Jesus the clever messianic pretender,

Jesus the peasant very revolutionary, Jesus the gay magician.

There's a range of options out there about who Jesus is, who he was.

And that's the question for us this morning.

And whether you realise it or not, it is the most significant question that any of you will ever face.

I would go as far to say that your answer to this question will do more to shape your ambitions in life,

and your career, and your marriage, and your family life.

It will shape your leisure, it will shape your retirement.

It will shape even the way that you face death.

More than any other question in the world.

And that's before, isn't it, any thought about our eternal destiny.

And so the question itself, firstly, and then the answers that are given, and then the promises with which Jesus responds.

Number one, the question.

Up until this point in Matthew, we've had ringside seats.

And we've watched the way that the crowds have responded to Jesus at different points.

And we've seen that the crowds have been filled with awe.

They've been amazed at him.

They praised the God of Israel because of him.

And news about Jesus, well, it's spread like wildfire through the whole region.

And some people have taken offence at him.

But up until now, Jesus hasn't put anyone on the spot like this.

He's not asked them to nail their colours to the mask.

But now it's decision time.

And from a purely historical point of view, the identity of Jesus is really fascinating.

There's a poem that reads,

All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed,

all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that have ever reigned,

put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth,

as much as that one solitary life.

And if you want to know anything about the history of art,

or the history of music,

or the history of law,

or the history of Western civilisation,

sooner or later, you've got to engage with the question of who is Jesus of Nazareth.

But the question isn't just interesting.

But it's also the defining question for the world's religions.

When you ask who is Jesus Christ,

and you're not asking the question about opinion,

you're asking the question about objective historical fact,

about a man who really lived.

And each of the world's major religions gave a different answer.

So if you look at Judaism,

it will say that Jesus is a heretic.

In Islam, he is thought to be a sinless prophet.

In classical Hinduism,

he is one face of God amongst millions of others.

In Buddhism, he is a truly enlightened man,

but he's no different.

In potential for the rest of us.

In popular culture, you could say,

I think today,

Jesus is a good man,

a great man,

a profound teacher,

he's a charismatic leader,

that sort of thing.

That's pretty much what our culture would say about it.

But only in Christianity

is Jesus accepted as God on earth.

And that is important,

because when I come to have a clear mind on Jesus' identity,

I not only decide what I think of Christianity,

but what I think of everything else.

And so, let me ask you,

does the evidence point to Jesus being a prophet,

but no more than a prophet?

Well, if he does,

well then Islam is right.

And Christianity is definitely wrong.

Does the evidence point to Jesus being a good man,

but no more than that?

Well, if that's the case,

popular culture is right,

and Christianity is definitely wrong.

But if we just suggest that Jesus is in fact unique,

and not just a man,

but more than a man,

and not just a prophet,

but the son of the living God,

then by answering this one simple question,

you'll have demonstrated,

in this respect at least,

that Christianity is right,

and every other view of the world is inadequate.

So it's important historically.

And it's really important when you're discussing

the issue of world religions.

And even when we come to Christianity,

this is the key question.

I don't know whether you've,

we've got anyone here,

and they're looking into the Christian face,

maybe for the first time,

or they've begun to look into it.

And probably if you're looking into Christianity,

you've got thousands of questions

about all sorts of things.

And it can be kind of very hard

to know where to begin.

Try and get your whole,

your head around,

a whole different way of thinking,

a whole different view of the world.

But actually,

this question this morning

is the best place to start.

This question is the domino

that sets all the other dominoes

into place.

Work out what you think about Jesus,

and who Jesus is,

and it won't be easy,

but sooner or later,

you'll find that other things fall into place.

That's why in our evangelism,

we want to talk primarily about Jesus,

and who he is,

and what he's done,

because that is the big issue.

You get that issue right,

and other things will fall into place.

If Jesus is just a man this morning,

then Jesus' opinion about your career,

and about your sex life,

and about your family life,

it matters very little indeed.

But if he is God,

if he is the God man,

then when he speaks to us

about the suffering that we face,

and when he speaks to us

about the money that we have,

and when he speaks about

the meaning of life,

well, we would do very well to listen.

And so the question is absolutely fundamental.

And if you're looking in from the inside this morning,

make this your question

before any others.

What about me?

Who do I say that Jesus is?

Secondly, let's look at the answers.

The question, and then the answers.

Let's do it.

And the first answer is spectacular,

but inadequate.

Spectacular, but inadequate.

Verse 13.

Jesus came into the area of Caesarea Philippi,

and he asked his disciples,

who do people say the Son of Man is?

That's Jesus' way of referring to himself.

They say, some say John the Baptist,

others say Elijah,

others Jeremiah,

or one of the prophets.

And we need to realize

that these different possibilities

that people are putting on the table,

they are not disrespectful to Jesus at all.

They're not meant to be.

These are the crowds

bringing Jesus down a peg or two.

In fact, by saying

about these people,

they are holding Jesus

in the highest of the seat.

So John the Baptist

is a national celebrity.

He's the first prophet

after 400 years of silence in Israel.

He's the man

that the whole of the area

went out to meet.

Elijah probably was the greatest

of the Old Testament prophets.

Jeremiah probably the most revered

and respected.

And so these three men,

they are national heroes.

They're every bit as much

of heroes to the Israelites

as English heroes are from the past.

Winston Churchill.

King Arthur.

Lord Nelson.

They are celebrated.

They are revered.

They are respected.

And if you were to open

a Sunday newspaper in Palestine

and they'd written an article

on the top ten heroes

of the Jewish faith,

you'd be pretty sure

that these three would be

at the top of the list.

And now the crowds

have come to the conclusion

that the ministry

of the son of the carpenter

is on a par with

the greatest people

in history.

And they are saying,

Jesus, we think that you

are the one of the most defout,

one of the most spiritual,

and one of the most important men

that God has ever sent

into the world.

Bravo.

And it's high praise.

But even that level of praise

does not do Jesus

sufficient justice.

So he turns to his disciples

and he asks them,

well, do you share

the popular opinion?

Do you?

Or do you think

something different?

What about you?

Who do you say that I am?

And it's very, very personal.

Jesus, Matthew,

switches here to the present tense

to make it more dramatic.

You is literally

the first word of the sentence.

You.

What do you think?

And it's really ramping up

the intensity of the moment.

And the question is addressed

to all of the disciples

but it's Peter

who's the first to speak.

And Peter says,

doesn't he,

verse 16,

you are the Christ.

The son of the living God.

That's news.

News for us as readers

but not new news.

Five times

in Matthew's introduction,

in chapter 1 and chapter 2,

Jesus is introduced to us

as the Christ.

Five times in chapter 1 and 2.

But with one exception,

the title,

Christ,

which means God's

anointed king,

has been absent

since chapters 1 and 2.

And so this is a key moment.

For the very first time,

somebody says out loud

the truth,

the voice,

which they dare to believe.

the truth that has dominated

Matthew's gospel

up until this point.

And there are two parts

to Matthew's answer,

Peter's answer.

When Peter says,

Jesus is the Christ,

every word

in that little clause

matters.

And so he's saying,

you,

you,

Jesus,

and nobody else

are the Christ.

Christ,

and you are

the Christ.

It's not,

might be the Christ.

You're not,

could be the Christ.

You're not,

one day,

you may well be the Christ,

but you are the Christ,

present tense.

And you are,

the Christ.

You're not,

one among many,

but you are the one

and only.

You are the only Christ.

Christ.

And Christ is not

a surname,

but a title.

The Messiah,

God's anointed king.

The king of the universe.

The one whom the prophets

had spoken about.

And whom God's faithful people

have been waiting

thousands of years.

The one who will bring in

God's new age.

You are the Christ.

The second part of Peter's answer

is no less significant

in acknowledging Jesus

as the son of the living God.

He's making a statement

not just about

Jesus' office,

that he is the king,

his role,

but also about this person

who he is.

Are you right?

That he's realised

Jesus is not just

the anointed king,

but he is the divine

and eternal son

who alone knows the father

and has come from the father.

And if this all sounds like,

well,

theology that uses fine words,

but it's quite distant

from real life,

I want you to see

that Peter's confession

comes laden with deep

and practical circumstances.

Consequences.

And the key,

which I've not really seen before,

is where it happens.

Matthew's quite keen on geography.

And where did it happen?

Look at verse 13.

It happened in Caesarea Philippi.

And Caesarea Philippi

was right in the north of Israel.

Right on the boundary line

between Israel

and the rest of the world.

Kind of overlook

the rest of the world.

And it's as if Matthew

is nudging us.

It's as if Matthew

quietly is pointing us,

isn't it?

To the end of the book,

isn't it?

Where all authority

in every place

is given to the Lord Jesus

over everywhere.

Do you realise

he's saying

what is about to happen?

But what is about to happen

to the Lord Jesus

is not of significance

just for the people of Israel

to one little group

in the Middle East

and one little place

but it's for the whole world.

And Matthew's readers

would have known

what we're not so familiar with

that Caesarea Philippi

had been a centre of worship

to the Syrian god Baal.

There'd been a great temple there,

a big temple

and the Greek god Pan

was worshipped there.

And the city was called Panea.

Not long before this time.

But the city had been

recently renamed

to honour Augustus Caesar,

the Roman emperor.

And to honour

Herod's son Philip.

And so in a place

which used to worship Baal

and was called Panea

after the great Greek god

and now would be renamed

in honour and adoration

of Caesar

and Herod's son Philip.

Peter says it's in that region.

In that particular place,

Jesus,

you are the Christ,

the son of the living God.

And his words come with

inevitable religious

and political traits

because Peter is saying there,

Baal is not God.

and Pan is not God.

And Caesar is not God.

And Philip is not God

because Jesus of Nazareth,

you are God.

And you are alive.

And I hope that that begins

to explain some of the relevance

of Peter's confession.

Because it's not just

a little personal truth

for me and you,

but it is truly cosmic

and global in its scope.

because it announces

that Jesus Christ

is Lord of all.

Perhaps it would help us

to think of different places.

Where you're from.

The Dutch theologian

Abraham Kleiker famously said

there is not a square inch

in the whole domain

of our existence

over which Christ

who is sovereign over all

does not cry.

mine.

Think of different people.

Think that by the end

of this century

we're told that the global

population will have reached

11 billion.

And whether or not

that is right,

every single one of us

will belong by right

to Jesus.

The earth is the Lord's

and the fullness thereof

and all who dwell in it.

And on a much more personal level

you can think of the different

parts of your life,

couldn't you?

Your ambitions.

And your hobbies.

And your me time.

And your family.

And your friendships.

Here's Kuyper again.

wherever man may stand,

whatever he may do,

to whatever he may apply

his hand in agriculture,

in commerce,

and in industry,

or his mind in the world

of art and science,

he is,

in whatsoever it may be,

constantly standing

before the face of God.

is employed in the service

of his God.

And he has strictly

to obey his God.

And above all,

he has to aim

at the glory

of his God.

And that's the inevitable

implication of what Peter is.

Of what Peter is saying.

that if Jesus

is the Lord

of all,

then he has to be

the Lord

of my all.

I'm thinking in those terms,

it's added some real bites

to Jesus' question

for me this week.

I've known for a while,

42 years actually,

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of the Living God.

But do the details

of my life reflect that?

Does my diary reflect

the Lordship of Christ,

which means that Jesus

is in charge,

and Jesus is Lord,

and Jesus is Father?

The things that I choose

to do with the time

that is my own.

Does my parenting,

my bank account,

my plans

for the future,

are they marked

by the Lordship of Christ?

It's a little bit

like a watermark,

isn't it,

on a banknote.

You know a banknote,

isn't it?

And you hold up a banknote

and there's a watermark

in it.

There's

a picture of

Jane Austen,

isn't it,

on the £10 note.

And so,

how do you know

whether it's a proper

banknote?

It's not so good,

but you hold it up

to the light,

and you see there's

a watermark of Jane Austen

on one side,

and the Queen

on the other.

Because the watermark

shows that it's genuine.

It's authenticity.

And so,

the Lordship of Christ

should be the watermark

that runs through our life.

It might not be

immediately obvious

to people,

but actually,

as they dig a bit of detail,

and they see our lives

in the light,

they see Jesus Christ

as Lord

in everything.

It should be obvious

in everything I am

and everything I do,

but what about you,

Jesus says?

What about you?

Who do you say

that I am?

Have you got a

compartmentalized

little Jesus,

isn't it?

Jesus is certainly

in the morning

Sunday mornings,

you're here.

What about school?

What about school

those children

and young people

that are in school?

Does the Lordship

of Christ,

do people see it?

Or is Christ,

no,

God of school?

What about our work?

What about our homes?

And if Jesus Christ

is not Lord

of all,

he's not Lord

at all.

What the question

for the answer?

Thirdly,

let's see the promises.

It's only found

in Matthew

and he includes it

to show us

that Peter's confession

is not only right,

but it also is

the foundation stone

on which the whole

church of Jesus Christ

and his mission

is to stand.

I'm going to come back

to this again

at another time.

But there are

three promises here.

There's one promise

about Peter,

there's one promise

about the church,

and there's one promise

about the church

and the gospel.

So first up,

verses 17 and 18,

Peter is given

a unique role

in the church.

Verse 17.

You are the Christ

and Son,

the living God,

and Jesus answered him,

Blessed are you,

Simon Barjona,

for flesh and blood

has not revealed this to you,

but my Father

who is in heaven.

And I tell you,

you are Peter,

you are the rock,

and on this rock

I will build my church

and the gates of hell

shall not prevail against it.

Peter is given

a unique role

in the church.

The point of Peter's

confession in verse 17,

his answer in verse 16,

it's not only telling us

something about Jesus,

which it has,

but it's also telling us

something about Peter.

It's also saying,

it's that only God,

the Father,

can give the secrets

to the kingdom of heaven.

We know that,

don't we,

because we've read

Matthew's Gospel,

chapter 13,

has said that.

Only God,

the Father,

Son,

and the Holy Spirit,

can open someone's eyes

and help them

to see who Jesus

really is.

So when Peter gets it

right in verse 16,

it is proof that God

is at work in him.

And it authenticates him

as someone who is fit

to play a key role

in the early days

of the New Testament church.

Now,

you will know

that 16 and 17,

if you know the Bible

and you know church history,

it's probably the most

disputed verse

in all of the New Testament.

And there's an argument

about which rock

Matthew is talking about.

And Roman Catholic

commentators want to say,

well,

Peter is the rock himself.

And that Jesus

is here

appointing Peter

as the first

in a long line

of popes.

Protestant commentators

have said,

no,

the rock is not Peter,

but his confession

of Jesus the Messiah

in the words

that he said.

I think

we need to look

very closely

at the text.

The verse

is not legitimising

the ongoing

office of

the papacy,

the Pope.

I can't see

how you can get that.

I can't find that

in there at all.

But I do want to say,

and I think Protestants

will underplay this,

I think it is clear

that Peter is being

given a unique role

in salvation history.

And that is what

happened.

It was Peter

who preached

the sermon

that led to the

conversion of

3,000 people

in the establishment

of the church

in Jerusalem

at Pentecost.

It was Peter

who in Acts 10

when God

poured out the

Spirit on the

Gentiles.

It was Peter

who was preaching

along with the

other apostles

that Paul describes

as the foundation

of the church

in Ephesians 2

with Jesus himself

as the chief

cornerstone.

So that doesn't

mean that Peter

never made another

mistake.

It can't.

We know Peter

made lots of

mistakes,

don't we?

He made plenty.

It doesn't mean

that Peter

had an authority

that could never

be corrected

or challenged

because we know

that happened too.

But it does mean

that just as God

the Father

revealed him

the true identity

of his son

Jesus

so he entrusted

to Peter

a key role

in his church.

That's promise

number one.

Promise number two

is about the church.

Verse 18

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.

The gates

of Hades

the gates

of hell

it's better

in the gates

of death

the powers

of death.

So this

remarkable promise

is that

Jesus

here

is promising

that he

personally

will establish

and build

the community

of his followers.

And he will do

that in such a way

that not even

death will be

able to

afford it.

It may well

be that

two thousand

years of

church history

and gospel

advance

slightly obscures

to us

the magnitude

of what

Jesus

is saying

here.

The statement

as he

said it.

Remember that

when Jesus

was speaking

he had a

band of

followers

who were

not only

limited

in number

but certainly

in ability.

and in fact

Peter's

confession

is quite

shocking

in Matthew's

gospel

because it's

the first

thing

that the

disciples

have got

right.

they've

been great

to kill

things

wrong.

And you

can add

into that

that Jesus

knew that

soon he

himself would

be killed

as we'll

see next

week.

And that

is the

context.

And if you

are a

betting

person you

would not

put a lot

of money

on the

success of

Jesus'

enterprise

at this

moment in

history.

And yet he's

making a

promise that

despite his

imminent death

that despite

the incompetence

of his followers

he personally

will work in

sovereign power

and he will

turn this

bunch of

half-baked

disciples into

a movement

that will be

more powerful

than death.

And it

makes that a

truly staggering

promise.

And once again

history proves it

true.

Where are we

now?

We're just

under 2,000

years on

from that.

We're over

3,000 miles

away from it

and yet when

Jesus said

these words

here we are

today.

What are we

about 140

or so this

morning?

Gathered

together to

listen to

his words.

And no

one has

made us

come.

We're here

freely.

And there's

groups like

this meeting

all over the

world.

Some of them

won't be as

big as us

but many

of them

lots of

them will

be much

bigger and

there will

be hundreds

and hundreds

of millions

of people

in church

today worshipping

the Lord

Jesus Christ

as the

son of the

living God.

And the

world has

changed

beyond recognition

in 2,000

years.

You think

about transformation

even brought

about by the

advent of the

printing press.

You think

of the advances

in modern

medicine,

modern

transportation.

You think

of the empires

that have

come and

have gone

but the

church of

the Lord

Jesus Christ

has stood

firm.

I've told you

the illustration

of mine so

many times

you're bored

of hearing it

but let me

tell you

again about

Lord Reith,

the first

general director

of the BBC

and he goes

into the

director's

meeting and

they're talking

about it.

Lord Reith was

a professor

and Christian

and they're

gathered around

the table

and they

be quiet.

He says,

what are you

talking about?

They wouldn't

tell him.

What are you

talking about?

They wouldn't

tell him.

And then somebody

says, we were

planning a BBC

programme on

the funeral

of the church

and Lord Reith

fangs his

hand on the

table and

says the

church of

Jesus Christ

will stand

at the

graveside of

the BBC.

And it

will.

And you

can think of

the future

can't you?

And there's

so many that

want to write

the obituary

of the church

and there are

certain grave

threats to it

today.

Chief among

them are

heresy from

within and

opposition from

without.

And new

threats emerge

all the

time but

for as

long as

Jesus

delays,

his church

will stand.

The final

promise very

briefly is about

the power of

the Christian

message.

Look at

verse 19.

The power

given to the

church.

I will give

you the

keys of the

kingdom of

heaven and

whatever you

bind on

earth shall

be found

in heaven and

whatever you

loose on

earth shall

be loosed

in heaven.

And then he

strictly charged

the disciples to

tell no one

that he was the

Christ.

The last

bit is because

they haven't

really fully

understood who

Jesus is yet.

The idea is

much the same

as chapter 10.

He says to

them whoever

receives you

receives me

and what he

means is as

the church

proclaims the

gospel message

that you

proclaim the

apostolic

gospel and

as people

receive that

message from

you, they

are receiving

Jesus Christ.

And so he's

building on that

idea, this

gospel I am

now appointing

you to

proclaim is

very, very

powerful.

And if

someone were to

accept it,

God as it

were will

unlock the

gates of

heaven and

allow them

to enter

in.

But if

they reject

the message

you proclaim

then God

will bar

the doors

and lock

the gates

and ensure

that you

never gain

entry.

it's a

promise that

is made

in the

first place

to Peter

and then

the apostles

but it

holds to

the preaching

of the

gospel today.

And so

realise afresh

what we

do here

Sunday

morning and

Sunday

evening,

Sunday by

Sunday

is

significant.

What do

you do as

God gives

you the

opportunity to

speak with

your friends

about Jesus?

And it's

very easy

isn't it to

think about the

biggest decisions

in life.

What are

they?

What are

they going

to be

about?

What would

be the

big decision?

What job

do you

do?

Who you

marry?

The house

that you

buy?

Though by

far and

away the

most

significant

will be

how you

respond to

the question

of who

Jesus is.

And that

means that

as we talk

to people

about the

Christ,

the son

of the

living

God,

it's our

privilege

isn't it to

be involved

with them at

the most

significant

point of

their whole

eternity.

Because as

we proclaim

the gospel

found in

the Bible,

written by

the apostles,

inspired by

Jesus,

so we

hold before

our friends

the gates

of heaven

and hell.

And the

way that they

respond to

that message,

not in one

conversation but

in life,

will determine

whether they

walk through

and some

will be set

free,

some will

be loosed

from their

sins and

others will

be bound

in their

sins forever

to the

judgment of

God.

Christ,

but it

will turn

on what

they make

of Christ.

I think we

do need to

apply this

more corporately

because it's

spoken to the

church through

Peter.

It makes

what we do

Sunday by

Sunday more

significant.

what we do

Sunday by

Sunday is

more significant

than any

golf tournament

or any

football game

or any

social

engagement.

But what

happens Sunday

by Sunday,

you see the

keys of the

kingdom are

used to

unlock the

door of

heaven to

speak the

message.

church or

you reject

the message

of the

gospel which

you've

heard this

morning and

you've sung

this morning

and you've

confessed this

morning,

you reject

that and

the door is

locked.

The

confession says

the keys of

the kingdom

are given to

the offices

of the church.

That's what

we're doing

Sunday by

Sunday.

We're

opening up

and closing.

It demonstrates

to you how

important Jesus

is.

For hundreds

of years,

God has been

promising the

arrival of the

one who will

reign over the

whole world

forever,

who would

destroy evil,

who would

establish God's

new heaven and

new earth,

a place without

pain or

suffering or

tears or

death,

and the

faithful people

of Israel

had longed

for his

coming.

They'd longed

for the

Son who

would be

called

Wonderful

Counselor,

Mighty

God,

Everlast,

and Father,

Prince of

Peace.

And now

Peter realised

he was

here.

You are

the Christ,

the Son of

the living

God.

But now

this morning

the spotlight

turns away

from Peter.

And on to

us.

And it's a

very, very

personal question

isn't it?

And it's the

most important

question that you

will ever answer.

What about you?

Who do you say

that Jesus is?

Let me do some

prayer.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.