April, with all the other things going on and a couple weeks of looking at the life of Peter, we're going to begin a study in the book of 1 Peter. And as a historian, I think it's important that we sometimes look at the background to a book. And the background, I think, of the book of 1 Peter is the person Peter. So if you were to pick just two events, that's what I've done, two events in the life of Peter, which two would you pick? There's a lot to choose from. You could look at the transfiguration and the wonder and the glory that he saw along with James and John. You could turn to the time when he walked out of the boat onto the water to try and meet Jesus before sinking in doubt. You could look at many different experiences in the life of Peter. But a historian would often want to look at his birth. We don't know anything about Peter's birth, at least physically. But I think we do know some things about his spiritual birth. In fact, this birth narrative, a good thing, is here. Matthew chapter 16, verses 13 through 20 give us the first profession of faith publicly that describes Jesus as Lord and Savior. Stand with me if you would as we read this portion of God's Word in the life of Peter, but directed to Jesus. 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. He said to them, but you, who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 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. 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. Before you sit, let us bow briefly in prayer. Lord, grant us wisdom from this your word. Grant us a wonder and a glory and an awe of who you are and what you have done. We pray that we might have ears to hear your word today and hearts that understand it, that we might not only benefit from it, but be able to explain it to others. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Now the question that Jesus asks initially in this passage, who do people say that I am or that the Son of Man is, the phrase that he uses for himself, it could be asked today, couldn't it? We could ask hundreds of people in the society around us, who do you think Jesus is? We're going to get a lot of answers, aren't we? Some people will say, well, he was a great fictional character many years ago. Some people are going to say he was a great teacher or a moral leader. And I still think that a common answer would be, even among some unbelievers, would be that he was a prophet. And yet, these similar responses don't get to the heart of the matter. You see, if we take seriously who Jesus claims to be, and who Peter says that Jesus is, it is exclusive. Either you take it as truth, or you don't. This is one of these either yes or no passages. Is Jesus really the Christ, the Son of the living God, or is he not? But you would get various different responses, even to churchgoers, about Jesus. and who he is. The Gaithers wrote a hymn a long time ago now called, There's Just Something About That Name. When you mention Jesus, people that are responsive to that in a good way, there's a reaction. If you mention the name of Jesus to an antagonistic group, there is a reaction. When you say that there is only one name under heaven and earth by which men must be saved and that it is Jesus Christ, you're bound to get a response. Just who is Jesus? You see, the answer to this question is perhaps the most important answer for all of humanity for all times. Here is what the answer is in this text. Again, picking it up, Jesus says in Caesarea Philippi, to his disciples, who do people say that I or that the Son of Man is? And of course they give this answer. They're talking about the identity of Jesus. And so he says, or they say to him rather, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Now this speculation of men is given and it's kind of interesting what the speculation is. The first response was John the Baptist. Now this was a contemporary response because John the Baptist was just recently walking amongst them and giving them some words of God. You remember the words, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. And of course also the words that I am just a messenger, John would basically say, the one who is coming after me is greater than me and whose sandals I am unworthy even to untie. And so when they say John the Baptist, they're thinking of somebody who is proclaiming the necessity of coming with humility before God. But also someone who gathered great crowds. And someone who is able to address all facets of the population. He was a strange man, yes. And in some ways, so was Jesus. He was not wealthy. He was not the one who stood up in the synagogue teaching all the time. In fact, that was his hardest audiences when he would do that. He was out in the streets appearing to all the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor, and even the untouchables, like the prostitutes, the lepers, and the tax collectors. You see, when they said, this is John the Baptist, they said partly because his teaching was so incredible and unusual. But John the Baptist was also considered a prophet. The next response, they say, is Elijah. Now, when they say Elijah, they're talking about another prophet. They're thinking not about his teaching, but they're thinking of the great miracles that Jesus is doing. Elijah and Elisha after him were associated with these great miracles, even the raising of the dead of some individuals. And when they think of Elijah, they think of a powerful prophet with great miracles, and even able to stand up to the most evil and wicked leaders of the day, like Ahab and Jezebel. And yet again, here's Elijah, a prophet, someone who gives the Word of God. They say others say Jeremiah. Jeremiah, why Jeremiah? After all, Jeremiah was a guy whose life we know was kind of awful. He was persecuted. At one point he was thrown in a well. He was thrown in chains in another part. He was dragged off to Egypt and we assume he died there, just as he prophesied many of them would. And yet what did Jeremiah do? He pronounced judgment on the people. While Elijah was known for the great glory and wonder of a prophet who had the very word of God to tell the people and the miracles, Jeremiah was associated with doom and gloom and judgment for sin. And so some people considered Jesus to be a doom and gloom prophet. And then others say one of the prophets. In other words, when they're looking at the people around them, they're saying, everybody seems to be saying, Jesus, you are some kind of prophet. You have very important things to say. You may even have the words of God to say. But then Jesus asks this question, who do you say that I am? Now, if you were to ask a hundred people out in society, and I would guarantee that No one here today is going to risk doing that. When you think of that, go out in the streets, ask 100 people who they think Jesus is, how embarrassing that is in our land today, how difficult that would be. You see perhaps a few people, there's a guy named Ray Steadman that asks questions like this. He would go out on the street and he would ask people questions about the gospel. What do you think about this? And of course they're shocked that somebody would be asking those things at a Walmart or a parking lot or someplace on the boardwalk at the beach or something. Do it sometime. Maybe you might even get the police to come up and talk to you. Who knows? But think of what the answers would be He was a great leader. He was a purveyor of wisdom. He might have been some ethereal God-like guy who actually had some great teachings to give. But how many people are going to tell you Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? You see, this status of being a prophet can be afforded all kinds of people of all kinds of religions, even other religions call Jesus a prophet. Even those who would not say Jesus is the Son of God would say, well, he was a great teacher, a great prophet, a great leader, someone who had wise things to say and great proverbs. But how many are willing to say that Jesus is more than a prophet? You see, here is what Peter says. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. It's interesting, Jesus had asked him, but you, he emphasized the you. He actually says it twice, once in the verb and once specifically in a pronoun. He says, but you, who do you say that I am? In other words, there's a distinction here. It doesn't matter what everybody else says. It matters what you say. Who do you say that I am? This speculation of men turned into revelation of the Father. Because when Simon Peter answers, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus says in verse 17, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. In other words, he's saying, Peter, you couldn't come up with this on your own. I don't think he's saying, Peter, you're not smart enough. I don't think he's saying, Peter, you're not good enough, you're not talented enough, you're not able by your own ability to do this. He's saying it's impossible for people to come to this conclusion without the power of God working in their life. It's impossible. You can go out with those same hundred people, and if 98 of them are willing to admit that Jesus is a prophet, the only ones who are willing to say that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and really understand what that means and mean it in their heart, are those by whom the Holy Spirit is working. Because after all, what is Peter saying? First of all, he's saying, you are the Christ, Messiah, the Savior. We read that Old Testament passage that talks about God, the Lord, the covenant God of Israel being the Savior, and that in Him, or through Him, all the nations of the earth shall bow their knees. And of course, tongues confess. Did you know that was in Isaiah and not first in the New Testament? Peter is basically saying, you are the one by whom this will take place. God's promise of salvation can only be found in you. The thing that we have waited for as a people, Israel has waited for as your people, for all the history of our people, we've been waiting for the Savior. not just who will take away our sins temporarily through the sacrifices, but will once and for all take care of our sins forever as the Christ and Messiah who will reign on the throne of God forever. So when he says the Christ, this is the most important person that has ever or will ever walk the face of the earth. The Christ. Then he also says this, and this is a kicker to many, the son of the living God. In other words, he's saying, you are divine. You are more than a man. You are God incarnate. And of course, Jesus wisely says, you couldn't have come up with this on your own. After all, these are the same people who would ask the question when they're in the boat and Jesus calms the waves and the water and the wind and they say, who is this guy? That even these things obey Him. They're the same ones who see all those miracles and all the things that they're doing and they're constantly amazed at what He's doing and shocked. They have no idea that He can do such powerful things. And there are those around them that they hear, like the Pharisees, that say, who is this guy who even claims to be able to forgive sins? And so these people, when Peter says this, I don't think he's even fully aware of what he's saying at this point in life, because this is the same Peter that's going to deny Jesus three times. The impact of what he's saying can only have been revealed by the Father, that He is the Son of the living God. What is the difference of what Peter's saying than all the other people around them are saying about Jesus? First of all, he's saying Jesus is divine. He's God. When Philip said to Jesus, he said, tell us or reveal to us the Father. We want to see Him. Jesus has said, you see Him. I'm here. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. He's saying, I am divine. This is the claim of Jesus. Take it or leave it. He really is God or He's not. Was He truly God in the flesh? The Word come to dwell amongst us or not? You see, if you've seen Jesus, you've seen God. The second thing Peter is saying is Jesus is the Christ. He's saying, basically, what we'll come across in Acts 4.12, there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. There's nobody else. You are the Christ, Jesus. You, Jesus of Nazareth. You, Jesus, the Son of Mary. You, not just some individual out there that happened to be in the area, but this particular individual, Jesus is the Christ. Christ is not his last name. Christ is his title. When we use that title unworthily, shame on us. when we hear it around us, unworthily shame on us. It is the title that tells us that Jesus is the most significant person who ever came because He saves us from our sins. He is the Christ. Imagine this. Sometimes I wish I could have been Peter or James or John or Philip or Nathanael or the others and see Him in the flesh walking with us. Don't you wish sometimes that He was right here preaching the sermon instead of this awful pastor up here? He's the Christ. He's the Savior. He's the one person that we can worship and adore because He's worthy of it. You can't worship a preacher. You can't worship a leader. You can't worship somebody in your family and adore them the same way you can worship Jesus. Jesus is the Christ. He's also the Son of the living God of all the Gospel writers, the three that indicate this particular event in the life of Jesus and Peter, this one is the only one that gives the expanded answer that he is the son of the living God. And why is this important? It's because they're recognizing there are other gods around them, those that would consider them to be local deities and temporary gods, in a sense. This is not some passing god or fad. This is not a localized deity. This is the God who made the heavens and the earth. This is the God of eternity. This is the God of all time. The all-powerful, all-knowing God. Jesus is His Son. So when Peter says these things, I don't think he's even aware of the impact. He is saying the first profession of faith in Jesus Christ that history has ever known. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And when you see the identity of Jesus, then you see, in the next response that Jesus gives to Peter, the authority of Jesus. Remember what he said. Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. The first aspect of authority is to recognize the authority of others. You see, for Jesus to see the origin of this confession, indicates that he has inside information. He is able to recognize something that is given from the Father, from the true God of heaven and earth and all eternity. And he recognizes because he has that authority given to him by the Father to see spiritual things. And he recognizes, when Peter says this, that this came from his dad, from the eternal God. But also he says this, I tell you, verse 18, that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Not only is the authority of Jesus seen in the origin of the confession that he's able to see this, but in his authority to build the church. Jesus is going to build the church. The church, they're not a building. It's Ekklesia, that word we hear, and I think there's even a church out in 501, a new building out there that has the name Ekklesia on it. And that church, that word means those who are called out, the people of God. He's going to build together, person by person, soul by soul, individual by individual, He's going to build the church. And what's He going to do? He's going to build it on the rock. Now, there's all kinds of interpretations of this passage. Perhaps you know the traditional Roman Catholic interpretation that this rock that he's talking about is actually Peter, and that Peter represents the office of every pope who would come after Peter, and so they embed the authority of Jesus in that office of the pope. I don't think that's what's going on here. Others will say, this is still on Peter, but it's on some other aspect of authority in the church. But the traditional Protestant translation or interpretation has been this. From the time of Chris Hostom, way back in the early days of the church, the rock is the confession of Peter, the confession of faith. In fact, it fixed the grammar very well. It would have been nice for us to actually have the video feed of Jesus saying these things so we could see where he pointed when he pointed to the rock. Did he point to Peter? Did he point to something else? He pointed to Jesus himself as the cornerstone of the faith. But it's interesting, grammatically, the word for Peter is the masculine form The word rock there in Greek is actually a feminine word, but Peter's name is masculine because he's a man. So that is Petros, but the word is Petra. On this rock I build the church. And it's interesting, it's not here in the text, but the word for confession is a feminine noun. So I think it's completely legitimate to interpret this passage to say that he's actually talking not about Peter himself, but upon his profession of faith. It's on this truth, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, that I will build the church. Everyone who professes faith, actually that's what Paul says, isn't it? Everyone who with his mouth says that Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart. You know, these things are so true. On this rock, this profession of faith, he will build the church. Everyone who's a member of our church has to confess that they are sinners in need of a Savior and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. But he's also telling them the foundation. The foundation here. is on a realization of who Jesus is. Jesus is the cornerstone, the chief cornerstone. He's saying, on this truth that I really am the Christ, on this truth I will build the church. The foundation of the church is Jesus himself. There's no other foundation. There's no other way by which men must be saved. And then he talks about the permanence. We remember this. Unfortunately, I think a lot of Christians remember this next part because of Martin Luther more than because of the Scriptures. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. This is the permanence of the church. Nothing, absolutely nothing can withstand the truth about who Jesus is. There are those who try, aren't there? This very moment, there are believers in jail, suffering, being tormented, because others don't like what they've said about Jesus Christ. They're jealous of the authority of Christ in somebody else's life. They're jealous of the influence that Christ makes in the lives of others. They're jealous about how the church makes a difference in the world. And if we're not making a difference, there's a problem. We can withstand anything. And yet what happens? A lot of Christians are cowering in their houses and in their corners thinking, look at the world around us, how awful everything is. Everything is going against us and so forth. We don't have a spirit of fear and timidity. We have a spirit of a living God, of power. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1, rather than being so concerned about all the things that could happen to the church and could happen to us, that could happen to us if the laws are changed in our country. And there will change. And there will come times. In fact, there's a bill now in Congress that suggests that if we stand on some of the truths of Scripture, if that bill passes, we could be breaking the law by saying these things we're saying in the pulpit this morning. But why should we be afraid of that? Nothing can withstand the church. Jesus has promised that gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The profession of faith is the bedrock of the church. And this profession reminds us that Christ is more powerful than anything the devil can throw against it. And then he says these strange words, verse 19, 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. He has authority to give the keys of heaven. Think of that. What are these keys? My keys are in a drawer in the office. You can get my car going by them. You can have access to the church. You can get access to my house at home. There are all kinds of keys there. I probably don't even remember what one or two of them are for. What are the keys of heaven? Again, why is he giving these keys of heaven to them? Because he has professed faith in Jesus Christ. And that profession of faith, told to other people around the world, opens the doors of heaven. You see, Peter is the first porter. He's the one carrying around the keys because now he has the gospel. Pretty soon the gospel is going to be written on pages called the Bible. And when people read that Bible, they're given the very Word of God and the access to heaven through Christ. But these individuals at the beginning had only the spoken Word of God. Peter and the other apostles were the porters carrying around the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And then at Pentecost, what happened? Peter proclaimed the gospel and thousands of people entered heaven for the first time, professing faith in Christ. Peter went to the house of Cornelius, the Gentile, and unknown to them, the gospel was for them too. And so Peter opened the doors of heaven by proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles, and Cornelius and others now went in, just like you and me. was to open the way to heaven through the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. We are now loosed from the chains of sin and death because we believe in Jesus Christ. You know, people have said there are those that are powerless to stop the cycle. And you know what the cycle can be, the cycle of poverty, the cycle of recidivism, going back to jail again and again, the cycle of despair and addiction and depression and all those things. There have been all kinds of programs, haven't there? We have welfare programs. We have non-profit organizations that help. We have educational methods. We have training methods. We have programs. We spend billions of dollars every year trying to help people get out of their position of poverty, sin, depression, whatever it is. But you know the most effective way is when someone comes to Jesus Christ, recognizes their sin, and in humility says, you are Lord. Christ, Savior, Lord, and King. People who are built upon the rock and loosened from the bonds of sin. You see, until that sin takes its grasp away, that sin that chains us and bounds us and as Hebrews says, clings so closely to us, until that is removed, we cannot win. What is the most momentous moment of Peter's life? Of all the experiences that he had, I tend to think this is it. This is it when he professed faith in Jesus Christ and Jesus said to him, God Himself, the Father, revealed this to you and upon this I shall build my church. This is the most momentous thing that has ever happened in the face of the earth. Someone has finally come and said, Jesus is here. He is Christ. He is the Son of the living God. It's all about the identity and authority of Jesus. You see, what is the most momentous thing in your life? It's not something you accomplished. It's not something that's gained you a reputation. It's not something that has gained you wealth or notoriety because those things will all pass away. It's when you were connected to Jesus Christ for the first time. That is the most momentous moment of your life. When we talk about Peter, and we talk about his personality and all the different things, that he was a guy who put his foot in his mouth at times and spoke his mind and all those other things, but the defining characteristic of Peter is this. He trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The pronouncement of the saving plan of God through the mouth of Christ is the most powerful instrument by which this earth has ever seen. No force has been able to stop it. In fact, the people who strive the most to stop the confession of Jesus as Christ are the people who have been overwhelmed in history by the response that has been given. I think when we go into the hearts and homes of those in other places around the world, whether it's in China today, whether it's in all these refugees that are fleeing to Europe, and we recognize that there they are ripe for the harvest, they're coming to Christ in dozens and droves, because Christ is King, and He is the Savior. What about you? When you write a biography of your life, what gets the title page? what gets the apex of your life. If it's not Christ, your book is worthless. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for Peter and for the things he will tell us, inspired by your Spirit over the next few months. But Lord, we thank you more for Jesus. He is our Christ, our Savior, and our King. Let us worship him with our mouths, and let us be bold in telling others the gospel, that they too might be released from the chains and bondage of sin. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.