Lectionary: Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ | August 23, 2026

Well, good morning and welcome to Trinity.

If I haven't met you before, my name is Mike, and I'm one of the pastors here, and I'd like to invite you this morning to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, please don't hesitate to hop up and grab one from the stack in the back.

You can find Matthew chapter 16 on page 771 in the church Bibles.

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

For the type A among us who really like to know where we're going, here's where we're going this morning.

First, Jesus asks two big questions.

Second, we've got Peter's one big declaration in response.

And lastly, we've got Jesus' three-part reply that points to what's to come.

Three truths, reminders for Peter and for the church that speak to the future of the church.

But before we tackle this together, let's pray.

Gracious God, thank you for this morning, for the chance to gather and to worship, to pray, to hear from your word.

I pray now that as my words line up with your words, that they would fall on ears and hearts, ready to receive them and respond.

And gracious God, if I say anything that isn't from you, I pray that those words would quickly be forgotten.

And I pray all these things through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Text this morning starts with two big questions.

These are the sorts of questions that can change a life.

See, right here verse 13, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

My mother who taught English would say, this is a terrible sentence.

You're ending with is, but that's just the challenges of modern language being translated from Greek.

Who do people say that I am?

Jesus is asking.

And it's the first question Jesus asks.

Who do others say that I am?

Now it's worth noting that up until this point, in Matthew's gospel, Jesus has preferred to teach about the kingdom of God rather than teaching about himself.

And when he has taught about himself, it's been rather obtusely.

But here, finally, in the 16th chapter of Matthew, he gets direct.

He's not asking about the kingdom of God.

He's asking about himself.

What do the people say John the Baptist?

Others say Elijah John the Baptist, Elijah and Jeremiah.

There all is a prophet.

One like John the Baptist.

I think that he's someone who speaks from an insight.

Our neighbors, I think it was Jesus.

But for the most, of course, for an ancient Jew, John the Baptist, perhaps generally even live their lives.

Jesus.

An important team.

Important things that are worth listening to.

Then Jesus turns a corner.

He starts, who do the Christ big question that I am.

If you've got a Bible, oh perhaps the most it's a sort of question that changes.

Because if Jesus is merely a prophet acquired, no real commitment, there's no cost per se question.

In the Greek, the you is mfu.

Say that I am being asked of us this morning.

You someone else also are the Christ.

Son of the living God.

In his confession, you are the Christ since the angels at Jesus' birth.

There's no I think you're the Christ, or I think you're the Christ, or there's a conviction to his declaration.

Do you notice what else is missing?

This is important.

There's no first-person reference for Peter at all.

He doesn't say, I believe you are the Christ, or even I know you're the Christ.

No, it's a declaration not of Peter's own faith, even primarily, but of Jesus' identity.

Jesus, you are the Christ, the Messiah.

No mere prophet, but the promised king who would come to set his people free, the very Son of the living God.

The world might say that Jesus was a good moral example.

An influential teacher, an important historical figure worth learning about, perhaps even a prophet.

It's not the same thing as declaring he is the Christ.

He's the king.

If that's true, if he really is Christ, the promised Messiah, the King, the lineage of David.

Kings demand allegiance.

Wholehearted allegiance in a way no moral teacher or even a prophet can.

Same question for us today.

Who do you say that I am?

Do you treat Jesus like a prophet?

Someone with some good life advice.

You'll follow when you need it or when it's convenient.

Or the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Now look at how Jesus responds to Peter's declaration.

About a three-part reply that points to what's to come with three reminders for the church.

And I must confess, as I studied this text, there was a significant part of me that was screaming to start talking about the doctrine of the church, to untangle some of the points that theologians and fathers and experts have made, argued about for 2,000 years.

There's a part of me that likes screaming that this text needs serious theological precision.

And that's something generally that I take very seriously.

I write basically every word I say up here, because I think theological precision matters.

And yet there has been so much ink spilled over these three verses that we would never get to lunch.

And I know you all want to get to lunch.

So if you would like to unpack some of the finer doctrinal points of the next few verses, please come find me at lunch.

I'd be happy to talk about it.

In the meantime, I do think that there are three kind of big things, there are implications to Peter's confession here for us.

It doesn't end there.

And what we see here is Jesus propelling Peter into the next season and phase of his life as a disciple.

And it's the same for us.

When we declare Jesus, you're the Christ, his response to Peter is relevant for us.

It's not the end, the beginning.

And his response to Peter is a response for us that ought to propel us into a life of discipleship.

Okay, so if you want the nitpicky theological droct tunnel points, find me at lunch.

For the sake of the next 15 minutes, we're gonna go big picture.

What are the implications of a confession?

Look at it with me, starting in verse 17.

The first thing Jesus does here, Peter makes this big confession, and Jesus immediately reminds Peter of the supremacy of grace.

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.

Jesus is about to say in verse 18 something remarkable to Peter about his role in the future church.

But first, he gently reminds him that his role in the church, his future role in the church, isn't because he's so great.

There's not something intrinsic to Peter that leads to this.

No, no, no, no.

It's not because he's particularly intelligent or insightful.

It's not because of his great faith, which in like 10 chapters is going to fall apart anyway.

But it's a gift from God.

Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven, it's the Father who's revealed Jesus' identity as the Christ to Peter, not his own flesh and blood.

It's not because of his remarkable insight, but it's God's gracious initiative, taking a step, revealing himself to Peter.

And this is a truth that he'll need to remember in the future.

As he both leads and as he fails.

The same is true for us.

When life seems to be falling apart, we're reminded that God is God.

The messiness of our lives is no match for grace.

It's not up to us to be awesome.

Praise the Lord.

And while all seems to be going perfectly on the flip side, there's a reminder here that it's God who's done it, not us.

As Jerry Bridges once put it, I love this quote: our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace.

And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the needs of God's grace.

And right here, at the beginning of Peter's ministry, Jesus reminds him of the supremacy of God's grace.

He's gonna experience both the best of days and the worst of days, if anyone would, Peter would.

And we'll need to remember grace comes first.

Okay, second, and this is the verse that's among the most hotly debated and frequently discussed verses in all of Scripture.

In fact, it is the most written about verse in all of Matthew.

Jesus says, and I tell you, you are Peter, which literally means rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Okay, here's the theological question in brief.

Is Peter himself the rock on which Christ will build his church?

After all, the name Peter literally means rock.

Or is it Peter's confession of the Christ?

Is that the rock on which Jesus will build his church?

As Bruner puts it, is it the rock is the rock, the person Peter, or the pointing Peter?

Is it the man or the confession?

And like I said, if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of this, find me at lunch.

In short, I'm an Anglican.

I think it's both.

The via media, the middle way.

Jesus would use Peter, the very one who'd go on to betray Jesus when he was arrested, tried, and killed on a cross.

He would go on to use this Peter in extraordinary ways to build the church.

It would be Peter who first preached the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection, recorded in Acts chapter 2 in Jerusalem.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

It's the day we celebrate as Pentecost, when God sent his spirit to empower the church for his mission.

And the Bible tells us thousands were saved.

It would be this Peter who'd first bring the gospel to the Samaritans, those despised half-breeds in Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

And then it would be Peter, who would bring the gospel, who first invited the Gentiles, those who were not Jews, to repent and believe in Jesus when he went to the Roman Cornelius in Acts chapter 10.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

Peter.

God would use Peter to do all of that, to build his church.

Tradition tells us that Peter would be the first bishop in Rome, that he led the early church until he himself was crucified in Rome, upside down, tradition tells us, because Peter did not consider himself worthy to die in the same way as Jesus.

And this, friends, is grace.

It's grace.

God using an ordinary man in extraordinary ways to reach those who are far from God and to invite them into his kingdom.

This is Christ building his church.

And Peter, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, a part of it.

God is still doing this today.

He's still using ordinary people to reach those far from God and invite them into his kingdom.

Peter, the person, would be used in extraordinary ways.

But it's also Peter's confession, his pointing to Jesus and declaring, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God on which Christ builds his church.

After all, the scripture teaches us, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.

Jesus himself, Christ the King, the Son of the living God, is the foundation.

He's the cornerstone, just as he himself is the builder.

And in all this spilled ink over Peter, it can be easy to miss what I think is perhaps the most important point.

Would serve as a reminder for Peter and his peers in the years to come, just as it ought to be a reminder for us today.

Jesus says, I will build my church.

This is reminder number two.

The church belongs to Christ.

It's his church.

It's not gonna be Peter's church, but his church.

And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It is really easy to look at the world and get all doom and gloom.

It's really easy to look at the church and get all doom and gloom.

And yet here we have Christ saying, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Peter would need to remember this in the years to come as he failed and as he led, right?

As he served and as he pointed, and he would remember it.

Christ builds his church.

And even for Peter, in the face of martyrdom, the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

Trinity is almost three years old now.

It was almost exactly three years ago that we had our first practice services here in this space.

And it's been amongst the greatest privileges in my life to help start this church, to serve here.

It has been such a gift.

Trinity isn't my church.

Praise the Lord, what a disaster that would be.

No, it's Christ's.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

When I took my first pass this past week of this text, I literally scribbled in my margin, what does this mean?

And it's this verse actually that gives us the image of Peter at the pearly gates deciding who gets into heaven.

Have you seen those cartoons?

You know what I'm talking about?

Like every joke, right?

A priest, a bishop, and a rabbi show up at the pearly gates, and Peter's waiting for them.

I don't actually have a joke, it's just jokes start like that.

Is that what Jesus is doing here?

Is he placing Peter at the pearly gates, saying you get to decide who's in and who's out?

I don't think so.

I do think he's giving Peter real authority here, though, over things that really matter.

And he is talking about eternity.

There are implications here for authority in the church.

But for today, let's keep it really simple.

To do so, it might be helpful to jump forward just a bit to Matthew 23, verse 13.

Matthew 23:13

In that chapter, Jesus is lambasting the scribes and the Pharisees.

And here's what he says: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, for you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.

For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

Scribes and Pharisees, with your actions you lock people out.

And here in Matthew 16, Jesus looks at Peter and says, You will let people in.

So is this the pearly gates?

Peter deciding who's in and out?

No, not literally.

Jesus is quite clear that he is the gate.

It's John 10.

He's the way.

It's John 14, the way in.

And that he's the judge.

We'll say it himself in Matthew 25, that he decides amongst the sheep and the goats.

But hear this: Peter's preaching.

Peter's pointing to Jesus.

Peter's evangelistic energy.

Peter's servant leadership in the church, his openness to the work of the Holy Spirit in him and through him would, just as our words, in people from Jesus.

Or and in doing so, number three, you play a role.

You play a role in matters of eternal consequence.

Jesus is reminding Peter as he steps into this news.

Peter, you remember with your words and actions, you can or you can shut the door.

What we do with our lives matters.

Who we point to Jesus and who he is reminded first and foremost that it's all grace.

That Jesus it's grace.

He builds the church, but we participate, and it matters, and it's a mystery.

This sort of life.

Which brings us to verse 20.

He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

The messianic secret, if you've been at a secret for now, who could tell me?

His terms.

Exactly.

It's not yet time for Jesus on his terms and in his timeline.

He's got to make sure that they understand what kind of King he is.

It's going to be a king on a cross.

We'll get to that next week.

It's what happens the very next section, Matthew.

Okay, so what?

We're gonna land the plane, we're almost done.

First, regardless of where you are spiritually this morning, whether you've been a Christian for decades or you're not entirely sure where you stand, or somewhere in between, there's an invitation in the text to answer the question that Jesus asks, Who do you say that I am?

Not just what do you have to say about Jesus, but does that line up with how you live your life?

Is there alignment there?

And if not, why not?

What needs to change in your life?

Maybe you say Christ is king.

It's in like your Twitter bio or something, but your life actually looks a bit more like he's a prophet.

Worth listening to from time to time, but not worth orienting a life around.

Many of you have heard me say this before.

The Christian life is a constant call to repentance.

Matthew invites us, Jesus invites us here again to consider what we believe about Jesus and whether it lines up with what our life actually looks like.

And where those things aren't in alignment, he invites us to repent, change direction, bring those places into alignment.

Peter responds by declaring, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And how Jesus responds has implications for us today, too.

It's not the finish line, it's the starting line.

He reminds us as we move into a new life with him, a life oriented around his lordship, where he's the king.

We need to remember first, it's God's grace that has led us to this place.

It's God's grace that has brought us to knowledge of him.

It's God's grace that keeps us in relationship with him.

It's God's grace that empowers us to live a life participating in his mission.

It's all a gift.

Reminds us that he's building his church.

And that he uses us to do it.

What a miracle.

We get to participate in this, just like Peter did.

And he reminds us in that we play a role in eternity.

Our words, our actions, our lives can either lock people out or open the doors to the kingdom of heaven for them.

Oh, and what a gift all of that is.

A mystery.

Life in Christ by the grace of God.

Will you stand and pray with me?

Oh gracious God, I need your help for any of this.

Even here in just a moment, where we'll confess our faith with the church, declare you as King and Lord, I need your help to do that.

And so I pray, come, Holy Spirit, would you soften my heart?

Would you soften our hearts?

Would you help us to earnestly ask that question?

Who do you say that I am?

To take stock.

Oh, and gracious God, would you remind us and empower us by your Holy Spirit to participate in your life and work and mission as you build your church?

Pray, God, that our lives might point to you.

That those we know and love who do not know you yet might enter the kingdom of heaven.

And I pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.