Matthew 16:13-28

Amen.

I think Paul asked me in passing in the early summer if I would come down and I didn't think he was serious so I think I foolishly said of course.

And then I should have realised one of two things. Either that he'd already asked the people who are really his best friends and he was kind of getting near desperation point.

Or he had this extraordinary Celtic prophetic gift and that he knew the nation would be in political crisis.

And being a Welshman ministering in England with an Irish wife had kind of limited the field of guest preachers for an occasion like this and he thought he would look after the barber.

And I do, it really is a tremendous honour. It's got a minor evangelical knighthood to be asked to be part of this service today.

And I realised earlier on this morning that Paul is actually preaching through Matthew's Gospel.

Thankfully for me he hasn't reached chapter 16 yet and my purpose is not to expound the whole of this passage.

He will do that I'm sure later on in the year.

But to draw your attention to the famous words of Jesus in verse 18.

You are Peter.

Peter has confessed that Jesus is the Christ.

On this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not be able to prevail against it.

Many of us I think have been praying that this weekend and the opening of this building,

which is obviously a decisive point in the history of this church,

will also be in God's providence a turning point in the ministry and fruitfulness of the church's life.

And it's really for that reason that I've chosen this text.

Because it is both a decisive point and a turning point in the Gospel.

It's a decisive point because this is the moment where Peter's eyes are opened by the Lord

and he confesses that Jesus is the Christ.

If Peter ever afterwards were asked to date the turning point in his life,

when he fully came into a confession of Jesus Christ,

having followed him but now confessing him,

undoubtedly this would be the decisive point.

But it's also, as you'd have picked up in the reading,

the turning point in the Gospel.

And so Matthew tells us it was from this time onwards

that Jesus began to emphasize very clearly to the Apostles,

and he does this on a number of successive occasions,

that because he is the Christ,

because he's going to fulfill the ancient prophecies

as the Messiah, as the suffering servant,

as the Savior.

It means he's going to Jerusalem,

he is going to suffer and be crucified,

and on the third day he is going to rise again.

And so this is very much a hinge point

in Peter's experience,

and it's a hinge point in the Gospel story.

It's a decisive point,

and it's a turning point.

And I want us to try and think

about the meaning of what Jesus says to him,

but also the significance of that for us

in our Christian lives,

but also perhaps especially in the story of this church.

And I want you to notice four things with me.

The first is, in some ways,

the most fundamental.

It is that Christ's building of the church

is the absolute focus of his ministry.

The statement he makes has a kind of,

well, it's almost got the ring of a manifesto.

This is his program.

And it, in the synoptic Gospels,

in Matthew here,

it has the ring of one of those

double amen sayings of Jesus.

Everything he says is true,

but there are some things that are,

as it were, centrally true,

that make sense of all the other things

that are true.

And you can sense that

in the way he addresses Peter here.

You are Peter,

on this rock.

Here is my own building program.

I am going to build my church.

Now, most of you know

that one of the strange things about this is

that the word church is mentioned

on only three occasions in the Gospel.

Mentioned here in Matthew 16.

It's mentioned twice in Matthew 18.

And it's often been a conundrum to people.

How can we say that the church

is the epicenter of Christ's ministry program

when he scarcely mentions the church?

The answer, I think, actually is

that it's pretty clear in this passage

that although Simon Peter and the others

confessed him,

they didn't understand him.

And until they understood

who Jesus really was

and what his ministry was,

there was no way under the sun

they would ever understand

what the church really is.

And that's still true, isn't it?

People who don't know

who Christ really is

think of the church

characteristically

in organizational, superficial ways.

And so there's a very clear reason

why it is that

Jesus infrequently mentions,

uses the term church.

But it's very evident

from his parables,

from the fact that he had chosen

these apostles,

from the fact that he was preparing them

for a future ministry,

that all the word occurs infrequently.

The idea is the big idea

in Jesus' mind.

That is to say,

Jesus did not come only

to redeem individuals.

Jesus came to create

a new community altogether.

He came not to save

one and then another,

but his vision was

to bring a glorious restoration

of what had been fragmented

and fractured

and virtually destroyed

in the fall.

And so Jesus comes

and he is going to build

his church.

He is going to create

this new community.

And it's clear

that the apostles

understood this.

Paul, in his letter

to the Ephesians,

again and again

speaks about how

Christ is the,

he's the head of everything,

but he's the head of everything

for the building

of the church.

And he's given gifts

in order that the church

might be built

and churches work properly

and build themselves up

when each part

is functioning

in the power of the Spirit

and the grace

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it's evident

that they understood

very clearly

after Jesus' resurrection

and the outpouring

of the Holy Spirit

that what Jesus

always had in view

in his coming

and teaching

and dying,

shedding his blood,

rising,

ascending,

now sending his Spirit,

was to create

this new,

ages long,

worldwide,

multi-ethnic,

new community

that here in Matthew 16, 18

he had described

as the church.

And so right

from the day of Pentecost,

the way in which

the apostles

think about

what is happening

is this,

that the Lord

adds daily

to the church

those who are being saved.

This is a

Christ-created,

spirit-endowed,

divinely planned,

new community.

And that reminds us

in a way

as we read through

the New Testament

that at the end

of the day

it is Jesus' church

that is his

greatest evangelistic

instrument

in the world.

And it is that.

And this is a very

striking thing

in the New Testament,

isn't it?

Very few

instructions

about how

to do evangelism.

Why are there

so few

instructions

about how

to do evangelism?

Because they

understood

that this new

community

that Christ

was creating

that caused

Peter,

you remember,

Peter says this

in his first letter,

people will ask

you

questions

about the

hope

that's in you.

Why would

people ask

them questions

about the hope

that's in them

when people

asked so few

questions

about the

organizational church

about the hope

that's in them?

Because they

had been brought

into this

glorious new

community.

And in many

ways,

in that day

and in our

day,

they lived in

a pre-Christian

era,

we lived

manifestly

in a post-Christian

era.

This was

what struck

people.

The early

chapters of

the Acts

of the Apostles

were told

on the one

hand,

people looked

at the church

and they

thought,

I'd run

rather than

think I

would join

them.

And then you

remember,

in the very

next breath,

Luke is

telling us

that people

were actually

crowding into

the church.

Why was

that?

Because they

saw the

reality of

the presence

of Christ

in the midst

of his

people.

And this

is surely

our prayer

for here,

that strangers

coming in,

as they might

have come into

the church

in Corinth

and sensing,

yes,

an atmosphere,

would find

themselves at

least inwardly

bowing down

and saying,

surely God

is in the

midst of

these people.

And this

is our

experience,

isn't it?

People come

to the funeral

of a believer

and they

find themselves,

for all our

sadness

and loss,

they find

themselves in

a world

they have

never seen,

of people

with joy

in the midst

of sorrow,

with hope

in the midst

of death.

And they

wonder why

it's so

different.

Or they

come in

from their

dysfunctional

families,

which are

in extraordinary

proportions in

our day.

And they

see the

family of

the Lord

Jesus

functioning,

and although

they have

no words to

articulate what

they see and

experience,

they realize,

love it or

hate it,

join it or

seek to

destroy it,

in whatever

sophisticated ways

that this is

how God

meant life

to be.

And there

is a taste

of it in

his church.

And this

is our

Lord Jesus

vision.

And when

you think

of it,

it's an

extraordinary

vision,

not just

because it's

an amazing

thing that

this was

the goal

of his

ministry,

but because

he makes

it very

clear here

and elsewhere

that he

intended to

build his

church with

people,

who were

marked by

tremendous

frailty.

And that's

really, you

know, you

all know

there are

great debates

about this

text, but

this is

really the

point of

this text,

isn't it?

This is

really the

point of

saying,

you are

Peter and

on this

rock I

will build

my church.

This is a

crumbling

rock.

And it

becomes

evident almost

in the next

sentences,

when Jesus

begins to

explain how

he's going

to do it,

Peter takes

hold of

him and

refuses to

take it

in.

It puts

his body

between the

cross and

Jesus.

And even

after Pentecost,

he still

struggles.

The point

here is

that the

Lord Jesus

is going

to use

stones

that have

cracks in

them.

to

work

them

together

in

order

to

build

his

church.

And it's

a message

that runs

through the

whole of

the New

Testament,

isn't it?

From here

right to

the end

of it,

that the

Lord delights

to use

broken,

fragile

people

whom he

is beginning

to mend.

People

with angles

and awkwardnesses

that he's

chiseling away

in order

to bring

them together

so that they

may encourage

one another.

And it's

an amazing

thing when you

think about it,

isn't it?

Whatever Jesus

means when he

says,

you're Peter

and on this

rock I'm going

to build my

church,

there is some

sense in which

Peter was the

key man,

wasn't he?

Every time the

apostles are

listed in the

New Testament,

Peter's the

first one to be

mentioned.

Every time the

three are listed,

Peter's the

first one to

be mentioned.

What's Jesus

talking about

here?

He'll build

his church,

he'll give

him the

keys.

Well,

he's talking

first of all

about that

moment on

the day of

Pentecost

when one

might say

the spirit

whispered to

Simon Peter,

you're the

one with the

keys in your

pocket,

get up and

preach.

And Peter

got up and

the doors of

the kingdom of

heaven were

swung open.

The sins of

thousands,

they experienced

forgiveness.

They were

baptized and

physically,

as it were,

tangibly

experienced this

symbol of the

washing away of

their guilt and

their sins.

And in the

very territory

where they could

point to the

place where

endless thousands

of sacrifices

had been made,

that they knew

could not

really take

away their

sins.

And Peter

flung open

the gates of

the kingdom of

God to them

and later on

in Acts to

the Gentiles.

it is an

amazing thing

that he takes

this proud

man with

so little

emotional

intelligence,

so little

real self-knowledge,

and in a

sense he

walks Peter

through his

being crushed.

Oh,

Peter,

Satan has

desired to

have you,

to sift you

like wheat,

and the

only reason

you'll survive

is because I

have prayed for

you that your

faith will not

fail, and

this is,

I remember

when I was a

teenager reading

this kind of,

I guess it was

meant as a

slightly funny

comment, but

it had its own

penetration of the

angels in heaven

watching this,

and then turning

to the father

and saying,

so what's

plan B?

that this

should be

plan A,

and you can

see why this

happens,

it is so that

none of the

glory will go

to Simon

Peter,

but that all

of the glory

will go to

the Lord

Jesus,

it's what

Paul says

in 2 Corinthians

4,

isn't it,

that he puts

the treasure

in earthen

vessels,

so that all

the glory

will be the

Lord's,

the joy

will be ours,

the thankfulness

will be ours,

but the glory

will exclusively

be his,

the older

Christians used

to think that

Paul was

referring to

Gideon and

the 300

there,

that you

could defeat

the Midianites,

remember the

Christmas prophecy,

it will be as

in the day of

the Midianites,

that it's these

frail vessels

broken open

and the

light shining

that brings

the victory

and the

triumph

so

marvellously,

this is a,

this is an

amazing statement

Jesus makes

and it's an

encouraging statement

for,

for us,

just look at

you,

look at

you,

the rich and

beautiful people

of Ealing

in the leafy

suburbs of

London,

no we're not,

we're,

we're nobodies,

most of us in

the room are

absolutely nobodies,

people pass us in

the street,

don't give us a

second look,

but Jesus is

building his

church,

through us,

and the gates

of hell,

says Jesus,

will not be able

to prevail

against it,

that's the third

thing I want you

to notice,

Jesus'

church building

lies at the

heart of his

ministry,

it's his

goal,

he's doing

it through

people who

are marked

by great

frailty,

and the

third and

important thing

is,

he's doing

this on

enemy

occupied

territory,

I mean,

what's happened

here in a

sense,

I'm not saying

the sisters

were the

enemy,

but what's

happened here,

land has

been reclaimed,

a new building

has been

built,

and this is

what Jesus

is doing,

he is

reclaiming

territory

from his

enemy,

the gates

of Hades,

he says,

will not be

able to

withstand,

actually,

that's the

same verb

that's used

in the

passion

narrative

about the

people

shouting

for Jesus'

crucifixion,

and their

voices

triumphing,

and Jesus

is saying,

no matter

how many

voices

call for

the destruction

of the

Christian

church,

what are

the people

around here

were saying,

you know,

these poor

people in

that strange

little

Presbyterian

church,

and they've

had to move

out,

and they're

meeting in

all kinds

of places,

that there

is no

chance that

they will

ever be able

to do

anything

here,

that you

see,

Jesus is

building his

church,

and nothing

can prevail

against Jesus

building his

church.

For my

own part,

I think

when Jesus

speaks about

the gates

of Hades,

he's not

just speaking

about darkness

and death,

or even the

place of the

dead,

I think he

uses that

expression,

gates,

because it

has a

certain ring

to it,

the gates

in antiquity,

of a city.

Those were

the places

of authority.

You remember

when Boaz

wanted to

marry Ruth,

where did

he go?

Where was

Town Hall?

He went

to the

gates.

You want

to look

at a

virtuous

woman,

then Proverbs

tells you

that her

husband will

be esteemed

at the

city gate.

Does that

mean she's

banished him

from the

house?

No,

it means

he's part

of the

leadership.

Part of

the

strategy

group of

the village

or the

town or

the city.

And Jesus

is giving

them and

us this

insight into

the fact

that he is

going to

build his

church on

territory that

the enemy

has come to

occupy from

Genesis 3

onwards.

words.

This is

why at

the end

of this

gospel,

Jesus

says,

now you

need to

know this,

all authority

in heaven

and earth

has been

given to

me.

Well,

didn't he

always have

all authority

in heaven

and earth?

No,

he didn't.

No,

he didn't.

He had to

deal with the

prince of the

power of the

air before

he won back

authority on

earth.

That's why

he's able to

say the

son of man

has authority

on earth

to forgive

sins because

of what he's

going to do

on the cross.

And this

is a powerful

thing that

Jesus is

saying.

We have to

go into all

the world

because he's

regained as

the second

man and the

last Adam.

He has

regained the

authority that

Adam lost,

created to

have authority,

to have

reign,

given dominion

and losing

the kingdom.

And now

Jesus has

overcome the

enemy.

And he's

got twelve

men and one

of them will

betray him.

And he's

down to

eleven.

And the

gates of

Hades.

You can

see that.

You can

see in the

gospel story

how

Satan's

strategy

against

Jesus

changes.

Early on

it's to

keep him

from the

cross.

Later on

it's to

get him

to the

cross,

outside of

the will

of God.

So he

will use

every hellish

strategy

to destroy

this kingdom.

But Jesus

prevails.

And from

then on

he prevails

everywhere.

he

will use

him.

But it's a

word of

counsel to

us,

isn't it?

That wherever

he builds,

the gates of

Hades will

seek to

withstand.

They will

seek to

shout down.

That's an

interesting metaphor,

isn't it?

Because it's

happening all

around us.

Just mention

the name of

Jesus or

say something

about the

Bible and

you're liable

to be

shouted down.

this is a

contemporary

ring about

it.

And I want

you to know

that this is

not just

some

future

prophecy

that Jesus

is giving.

These

very men

saw this

promise

and prophecy

come true

within

18 months.

They saw

Jesus building

his church

and then in

the early

chapters of

Acts,

what do

you discover?

You discover

all hell

being let

loose.

And

employing

Satan's

three

characteristic

strategies.

First of

all,

intimidation.

Seeking to

intimidate the

church from

outside.

And then

the seeking

of position

by individuals

inside,

Annias and

Sapphira.

And then

when both of

these strategies

fail,

then the

third

strategy is

one of

producing

internal

division,

isn't it?

In Acts

Acts 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

Get them

murmuring

against each

other.

These are

these three

characteristic

strategies.

He's always

using them.

He uses

them against

every Christian,

every church,

every fellowship

of God's

people.

But here is

the promise

to which we

anchor

ourselves.

Jesus is

building his

church.

And the

gates of

Hades will

not be able

to prevail

against it.

But my

dear friends,

we need to

have, we

need to have

the wisdom

that we get

from the

Lord Jesus

to keep our

eyes open

for those

strategies

as he

builds

his church

here.

And that

leads to

the fourth

thing.

Jesus

building the

churches at

the center

of his

ministry.

Jesus

builds this

church with

people like

ourselves,

marked by

great fragility.

Jesus

is ongoingly

building his

church in

enemy-occupied

territory.

And Jesus

is always

building his

church on

the pattern

of his own

destiny.

Church

architects are

really interesting

people.

And some

of them are

really strange

people.

For example,

it's a very

unusual church

architect who

knows how to

build a pulpit.

You go to

the lecterns,

the lectern

architects

design, and

they're designed

for architects,

not for

preachers.

But I want

you to notice

this.

When Jesus

is the

architect, he

builds the

church on

the pattern

of his

own destiny.

I wonder

if that's

why ye

oldie,

worldie

architects,

when they

built

churches,

they

characteristically

built churches

with the

ground plan

of the

cross.

And the

rest of

this narrative,

as you will

find out in

however many

weeks'

time,

is a

narrative that

tells you

that when

Jesus builds

his church,

he molds

his people

into the

shape of

his own

destiny.

And so he

speaks here

about his

crucifixion and

his resurrection,

and he goes on

to speak about

the fact that

the disciples are

going to share

in that

crucifixion by

taking up the

cross, and

they're also

going to share

in that triumph,

because they will

see the Son of

Man coming in

his glory, and

they get a

little glimpse

of that, three

of them, on

the Mount of

Transfiguration

later on, but

they're all

going to see

that.

And you see,

he's advising

them from the

beginning, although

only later on

would they

understand it,

that since the

Father used a

cross-shaped

model in the

life of his

Son, he will

of course continue

to use that

model as he

builds the

church.

And so the

whole pattern

of our

individual

Christian lives,

as the

apostles make

clear, and

the whole

pattern of

the life of

our church is

going to be a

sharing in the

sufferings of

Christ.

I long to

fill up, says

Paul, what's

still lacking in

me of my

fellowship with

Christ and his

sufferings.

I want to

share in the

fellowship of his

sufferings so that

I can share in

the triumph of

his resurrection.

It's the shape of

the Christian life,

and it is the

shape of the

church.

And a glorious

new building, and

the more you look

around this building,

the more interesting

it becomes.

A glorious new

building will not

change the pattern

that Jesus is

using.

There will be

suffering.

suffering.

There will be

apparent setbacks.

There will be

disappointments.

There will be a

tremendous sense of

our own weakness, and

not knowing what to

do or how to do it.

But if Jesus

continues to build

his church here, as

we pray and believe

he will, there will

also be those

marvelous moments

when we sense we

are sharing in the

fruit of his

suffering and in the

power of his

resurrection.

And we see people

coming in who have

never been to church

in their lives.

People who have

begun to read the

Bible.

Strangers and

sometimes strange

people.

And we discover

perhaps that Satan

creates conflicts

within, and we

need all to flee to

Jesus, the

crucified and

risen one, and

cling to his

promise that he

will build his

church.

Calvin says so

beautifully in his

commentary on 1

Peter from the

very beginning,

Christ has shaped

the church to

share in his

death and in his

resurrection so

that death would

be the way to

life and the

cross the way

to victory.

This is a little

share in the

resurrection, isn't

it?

I mean, we

wouldn't be here

unless Jesus were

risen.

But we've come to

know him in the

power of his

resurrection and we

will share in the

fellowship of his

sufferings, become

like him in his

death.

But yes, we will

share here and

hereafter in the

glories of his

resurrection.

He is our church

builder, our risen

Lord, our glorious

king.

and as long as our

eyes are fixed upon

him, then all will

be well because he

and not we, he is

the real church

builder.

When Paul asked me

for a text and a

title, I did

actually answer his

email, incidentally.

I said to him, you

know, it would be

fun to call it

build and they

will come.

But then I said,

that won't do.

Call it Christ the

church builder.

And then I noticed

it's called build and

they will come.

That won't mean

anything to you.

And I'm not a great

movie watcher.

But there is a, there's

a Kevin Costner movie.

Some of you will have

seen Field of Dreams.

It's very American.

I know, I've been

there.

And it's very, you

know, it's almost

new age-ish.

This man in Iowa

or somewhere, he

hears this voice

saying, build and

they will come.

And so he builds a

baseball field because

he's had this voice

saying, build and

they will come.

And it costs him

up the earth.

I think he mortgages

the farm.

People think he's

off his rocker.

And then towards

the end of the

movie, all these

great baseball stars

who incidentally

are not grown men

wearing pajamas.

You want to see a

ball being hurled

at you a hundred

miles an hour and

being able to hit

it.

And all these great

baseball stars from

the past come because

he's heard the voice

build and they will

come.

Of course, it's

sheer fantasy.

fantasy.

But this is reality.

Because he is the

builder.

So keep your eyes

fixed on him for

this reason.

He's both the

architect and the

builder.

More, he's the

son and he owns

the house.

thanks be to God

for him, for this,

for you, for these

children who should be

in the choir of the

year competition.

Either that or this

room has fabulous

acoustics.

Both I suspect are

true.

May God bless this

church to his

glory.

Let's pray.

Our heavenly

father, we thank you

for the grace of our

Lord Jesus Christ.

We think of the

sacrifice that has

been made that we

might sit in this

room.

We know it has all

without any

diminution been

because of his

great sacrifice for

us.

Where would we be?

We would not know

each other.

We would not love

each other.

We would not have

walked together

through this journey.

we would not have

the hope of the

gospel.

We would be

separated from God

and without hope

in this world.

But you have shown

such grace to us

in your son.

We thank you for

the thrill of

living in his

reclaimed world

and seeing his

kingdom extended.

And we pray

earnestly,

father, that you

would guard this

family of yours

here.

That you would

wonderfully use

them for your

glory.

That their number

may increase.

That you will add

to the church

here.

And that we will

be able to look

back on this day

as a decisive

day because so

much of the work

is now completed.

But also a day

of turning when

it seemed as

though the

windows of heaven

were opened and

you poured out

new blessings

upon your

people.

Hear us, we

pray, and receive

our thanks in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.