Matthew
16:13-28
“When Jesus came into the coasts of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the
Son of man am?
And they said, Some say that thou art
John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
He saith unto them, But whom say ye
that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)
Jesus
traveled west to the Roman port of Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. The disciples had been in contact with a lot
of people, and Jesus asked who the people thought he was. Some were like Herod and thought he was a
reincarnation of John the Baptist.
Others thought he was Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets
come back to life.
Jesus then
asked the most important question, who the disciples thought he was. Peter answered without hesitation, that he
was the Messiah, God’s own son.
“And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew
16:17-18)
Jesus said
Simon Peter was blessed because he had heard when god stated that Jesus was his
son at Jesus’ baptism, and had believed the miracles Jesus did when others did
not. It was God who had caused him to
understand and believe. Hence forth he
would be known as Peter or Petros, the small rock. Christ’s church would be built on Petra, the
huge outcropping of rock and the gates of hell would never win against it. Romans
9:33 and 1Corinthians 10:4 make it clear the church is founded on Christ, not
on Peter. Peter is a little rock
alongside Christ.
“And I will give unto thee the keys
of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)
Just as a
father might give his keys to his son to unlock the house as a special
privilege, Jesus would allow Peter to unlock the door to the kingdom. Peter exercised that privilege on the day of
Pentecost, explaining how people could be saved in Acts 2. He exercised it again when he opened the door
for the Gentiles in Acts 10.
Everyone who
entered in through faith in that message would be saved and those who rejected
it would be lost. Jesus is in no way
saying that Peter or the church were authorized to decide who could be saved.
“Then charged he his disciples that
they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.” (Matthew 16:20)
Jesus
forbade his disciples to tell people he was the Messiah. He had a great deal to teach them and the
Pharisees and Sadducees would seize any such claim to attack him, creating a
distraction that would hamper their learning.
It was essential the disciples be fully trained before he ascended into
heaven.
“From that time forth began Jesus to
show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many
things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be
raised again the third day.
Then Peter took him, and began to
rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
But he turned, and said unto Peter,
Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not
the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23)
Once the
disciples were sure Jesus was the Messiah, he began to teach them about his
impending persecution and crucifixion.
Peter rebelled at the thought, insisting that could not be allowed to
happen. He still didn’t understand that
salvation was not possible without Christ dying on the cross. Jesus rebuked Peter, pointing out that his
attitude was Satanic, placing human logic and emotions ahead of God’s plan.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me. For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find
it. For what is a man profited, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in
exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)
For a person
to be a Christian, it is necessary he give up his own ideas and plans, and
concentrate on what Christ demands even though they are not popular with those
around. To insist on having things one
own way will prevent one from being saved.
The earthly benefits of having things your way will not amount to much
if it costs eternity in hell, no matter how much one gets on earth. The world has the attitude that the man who
dies with the most toys wins, but the reality is he died. His toys will no longer have value to him.
“For the Son of man shall come in the
glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man
according to his works. Verily I say
unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till
they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:27-28)
The Lord
will return, and when he does every person will be rewarded according to what
they have done. Some of the disciples
would not die until the Lord’s return.
After the crucifixion, when Jesus was questioning his love, peter
attempted to divert attention by asking what John would do, in John 21:20-23.
“Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved
following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is
he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and
what shall this man do?
Jesus saith unto him, If I will that
he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
“Then went this saying abroad among
the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him,
He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to
thee?
The
disciples clearly believed it was John who would remain until Christ’s return,
although John was less sure that is what he meant.
I enjoy the brief clarification about the statement Jesus made to Peter. It has of course become the colossal error that is Roman Catholicism. I agree completely with your assessment of the statement, and the accompanying Scriptures that verify it. How terribly sad that millions prefer to blindly adhere to tradition rather than permit the truth of the matter to clearly speak for itself. What a stumbling block!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ian.
DeleteIt is sad that so many have been decieved by that tradition, but what really worries me is how many times we have similarly substituted our traditions for God's word, with equally devastating effect.