Declared By Peter
Matt.16:13-23
February 14, 2010
Matthew 16:13-14
V13-14 Caesarea Philippi was saturated and greatly influenced by Greek and Roman culture, and pagan temples and idols where everywhere. And much like our society today there were different opinions circulating as to who Jesus Christ is. Some say one thing and others another and because of the varying opinions about the Person of Christ, there would be conflict among the people, just as it is today, which is why Jesus said Matt.10:34-38. Now when the events of this lesson began Christ had been involved in public ministry for more than two years and His disciples had been w/Christ long enough by now to have drawn some conclusions as to who Christ Jesus is and so Christ ask v13b , and not because He wanted to hear His own praise, but that His disciples including you and me today could witness and testify about Christ, who He is and what He is like, and speak of Him w/conviction and authority and that we may also be aware of the varying thoughts about Christ in our society. Let us not forget we are ambassadors in this world for Christ 2nd Cor. 5:18-21. The disciples answer v14, w/the common view that Jesus was one of the great prophets come back to life and this belief may have come from what God had said in Deut.18:18. Many men of different minds are ready to give their opinion about Christ, but those who are not willing to accept Christ as The Christ, wander in an endless maze, chasing after the wind of every uncertain guess and wild hypothesis. Note: Christ’s Doctrines and miracles proved Him to be an extraordinary Person, but because of the meanness of His appearance, so different from what they expected, they would not accept Him as The Messiah, but would grant Him to be anything other than The Messiah.
Matthew 16:15-16
Now, Christ in v15, this question was personal and soul-searching. Like some of us today the disciples had been better taught than others and enjoyed more intimacy w/Christ and therefore it is expected that they and us who enjoy these advantages should have a clearer and more distinct knowledge of the things of God than others and should be able to give a better account of Jesus than others. The question in v15 should be asked of all preachers and also those who profess saving faith in Christ, for how can any of us witness, minister, or testify about Christ, except that we know whom He is. Now Peter answers v16 and this confession of the Christian faith, that Jesus Christ The Son of God in the flesh, is Al-Mighty God Himself. To say that Christ is The Son of The Living God is to say that Christ is of the same nature as God, Consider Col.1:19 and 2:9.
Matthew 16:17-18
Note: Those who know and can say that Jesus Christ The Son of God in the flesh is God Himself have the evidence in our hearts that we have truly been born again by The Spirit of God and have Eternal Life, for no one can know that Jesus is God except God reveals Himself to them in their heart v17 and God only reveals Himself to those who have truly been born again by The Holy Spirit. Consider 1st Cor.12:3- 1st Tim.3:16 – 1st John 4:1-3 and 2:7 – John 8:23-24. Now beginning at v18 we have Christ prophecy of His Church and now calls Simon Barjona v17, Peter in v18, and the word for Peter is Petros, which means a small stone. Peter is also referred to a Cephas John 1:42. The rock on which Christ would build His Church has been identified as (1) Jesus Himself in His work of Salvation (2) Peter the 1st great leader in the Church at Jerusalem (3) the confession of faith that Peter gave when He said v16, and this is the faith that all believers must express to become a part of Christ Church, for Faith that Jesus is The Son of The Living God is what Christ would build His Church upon. Faith is the foundation of Christ kingdom which is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets w/Christ Jesus as the Chief cornerstone Eph.2:20-21, and believers as living stones 1st Peter 2:4-5. And Jesus says v18c nothing and no one can destroy His Church. In fact the more The Church (believers) are persecuted the more The Church Shall grow in strength and size and spiritual power Acts 1:8 and 8:1-4 and remember what God prophesied in Gen.3:15 .
Matthew 16:19-20
The keys v19 represent authority which Christ gives Peter and by extension all other believers to declare what was bound or loosed in heaven. According to John 20:23 Christ gave His disciples authority to forgive or retain the sins of the people, but this must be understood in the context of Matt.18:15-17 where Christ laid out specific instructions for dealing w/sin in The Church. This means that a constituted body of believers acting in accord w/God’s Word, has the authority to declare if someone is forgiven, declaring the judgment of Heaven based on the principles of God’s Word, and then The Church can be sure Heaven is in accord, and God agrees. Jesus commands His disciples v20, because they did not yet fully understand the kind of Messiah He had come to be, for unlike many had wanted, Christ did not come as a military commander or a conquering king to deliver them from Roman oppression, but Christ in His 1st coming came as a suffering servant to set up His Spiritual kingdom in the hearts of all who trust Him.
Matthew 16:21-23
Because they needed to come to a full understanding of Christ and their mission as disciples, before they could proclaim Him to others in a way that would not cause a rebellion, Christ v21 gives His disciples a more realistic view of what the road to His kingdom entailed. And He tells them of His death and resurrection and this would be the 1st of 3 times Christ predicted His death and resurrection. Because of their preconceived idea of what the Messiah should be they did not understand Christ true purpose. And this is why Peter v22, but if Christ had not suffered, died and resurrected from the dead Peter and all of us would have died in our sins. Note: Great temptations can come from those who love us and seek to protect us, therefore let us be cautious of those who try to steer us away from what we know God has called us to. V23 Christ rebukes Peter harshly, for Peter was allowing himself to be used by Satan. No doubt Peter did not understand that Christ death was all a part of God’s Sovereign plan for humanity Acts 2:22-24 – Isa.53:10 – Rev.13:8. Note: Let us be careful that we do not put the things of man before the things of God, no matter how difficult and painful the challenges may be.
In Jesus Name Amen
