Posted on 10/26/2007 2:12:33 PM PDT by WileyPink
Matthew 16:13 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?
Matthew 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
Matthew 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Matthew 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Matthew 16:17 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.
Matthew 16:18 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 16:19 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 16:20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Matthew 16:21 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.
Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Matthew 16:24 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.
Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:26 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 16:27 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.
Matthew 16:28 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.
The church of the 21st century faces many challenges to the commitment of being fully devoted followers of Christ. Among the most significant of those challenges is the practice of compartmentalization by many Christians. Compartmentalization is the tendency of many Christians to treat their relationship with Jesus Christ as a component of their lives along with other components such as family, work, and finances (Kenneth Boa, Conformed to His Image). For those Christians who treat their relationship with Jesus Christ as merely one component of a full and fulfilling life, Jesus is an important part of their lives, but not the center of their lives.
What is the benchmark of a Christ-centered life? A Christ-centered life is a cross-bearing life. A life which embraces Christ as the center must also embrace the demands of cross-bearing. Cross-bearing is the daily practice of confessing Jesus as Lord and denying self. Cross-bearing is the daily exercise of forfeiting your “inalienable rights” and enslaving yourself to the cross of Christ. Simply put, cross-bearing is discipleship. The hard fact of the matter, which has long been forgotten, is that authentic discipleship is rarely comfortable, rarely convenient, and never about us. In practice, we boldly confess that Jesus is the Christ, while at the same time refusing the cross of Christ. If this indictment is hard to stomach, take some solace in the fact that we are in good company. In the lesson passage for this week, we find the Apostle Peter confessing Jesus as the Christ at one moment and refusing the cross at the very next moment.
1. Peter Boldly Confesses that Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus posed a question to his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is” (Matthew 16:13)? With very little contemplation, the disciples responded with the prevailing opinions of the day — Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the Prophets. Jesus wanted to test the hearts of the disciples who had abandoned all to follow him. “But what about you…Who do you say that I am” (Matthew 16:15)? Without consulting the group, Peter blurts out loud and clear: “You are the Christ!” “You are the Son of God!” Peter’s spiritual insight is rewarded by Jesus with a pronounced blessing: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). With self-confidence and bold assurance, Peter confessed what he knew in his heart to be true: Jesus was the Christ. Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ was a declaration that Jesus was God’s promised Messiah. Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ was also a declaration that Jesus would facilitate God’s plan for the nations as revealed by the Prophets of old. In other words, Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ with the anticipation that Jesus would “fit” into the long held tradition of who the Messiah would be and what the Messiah would do.
2. Peter Boldly Rejects the Cross of Christ.
Jesus’ warm words of affirmation and blessing were still ringing in Peter’s ears when he espoused another bold opinion. Upon Jesus foretelling his own suffering and death, Peter boldly declares that suffering and death could not befall the Messiah: “Never, Lord!” “This shall never happen to you” (Matthew 16:22). With self-confidence and bold assurance, Peter rebuffed the notion that the Messiah could suffer and die. With this bold confession, Peter betrayed his idea that the Messiah would be a conquering hero with political finesse and military prowess sent by God to rid Israel of those pesky Romans. In Peter’s mind, the Messiah would defeat the Romans, not die for sinners. In Peter’s mind, the Messiah would sit upon a throne of gold, not be nailed to a cross of wood. Jesus as a suffering savior did not “fit” into Peter’s notion of Jesus as a conquering hero. In response to Peter’s second confession, Jesus’ warm words of blessing ignited into fiery words of condemnation. Peter learned the hard lesson that a Christ-centered life is a cross-bearing life.
Michael Smith is pastor of Bethel Church, Monticello, MS.
Dear Heavenly Father, shine Your light of truth in the direction that leads us to a Christ centered and Christ filled life. In Jesus’ Name we pray…
I had the opportunity to meet a new friend this past week who is also a brother in Christ. We work for the same company and during a meeting, he asked me about my CB handle…which, by the way, is “Heaven Bound”. I don’t try to push Jesus on anyone, but if the opportunity arises, I take it. He had seen my handle on some of my personnel paperwork. The first question he asked, “Well, Are you?” We had a good conversation in Christ after that. How refreshing that someone has Christ so much in the center of their life that even in the middle of a work meeting, they were still concerned with my soul. I’ve heard said, “If Christ is not your Lord of all, He’s not your Lord at all.” How true. We are bound to our earthly lives in our work and every day living. But, at the center of all of this, Christ must be our foundation as is the foundation on which His Church is built!
Being born-again Christians, we have all answered Jesus’ question in verse 15; “But whom say ye that I am?” the same way Simon Barjona answered it in verse 16; … Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. But if you are not born-again, your answer might be more on the lines of verse 14; a prophet, a good man, a good teacher, etc. Christ was pleased with Simon’s answer though, so much so that He gave him a new name, Peter.
Peter’s name in the Greek is Petros or “a piece of rock”. I have heard some argue that Jesus was calling Peter the rock on which the church would be built. But, if we look at this through text and context, we see it differently. When Jesus said, “…and upon this rock I will build my church”, the word rock here is Petra or “a mass of rock”. I believe that our foundation is built upon a mass of rock as opposed to a piece of rock. Psalms 18:31, “For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?” Psalms 62: 1 – 2, 1 “To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. Ephesians 2:20-21, “20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord:” There are many other Scriptural references that we can make but clearly, Jesus is THE rock on which His church is built.
I’ve got to be honest with you; verse 19 is challenging, to say the least, for me. So, your prayerful and studied input is welcome. Having said that, from my studies I see that we as Christians have the authority (the keys) to say what is and isn’t sin according to the Word of God. PLEASE, correct me if I’m wrong. I am very open to your Godly counsel on this.
Jesus goes on to tell His disciples not to tell others that He is the Christ. The New Covenant of His resurrection was not yet ready, but that is what Jesus is readying His disciples for. This of course is when Peter pipes up again trying to tell Jesus what is and is not going to happen. Peter thought that they now had their king to rule over Israel. Now Jesus was telling him that soon, the elders, priest, and scribes of Jerusalem would suffer Him many things, including His death then to be followed by His resurrection. Peter wasn’t thinking eternally, he was thinking ‘here and now’.
By the way, if Peter is “the rock” the church was to be built on in verse 18, here in verse 23, Peter is now Satan? Obviously, Jesus is saying that the way Peter is thinking is the way Satan wants him (and us) to think. We must follow God’s will and plan, not ours. Peter was trying to make and follow his plans, not God’s plan for His Son’s sacrifice on the cross.
I am humbled when I hear of persecuted Christians in other countries who truly have taken up the cross of Christ and denied themselves for Him. I’m bad to complain when things don’t go ‘just my way’. That is centered in pride. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” We must hate these things that God hates. Keeping Christ in the center of our lives will help direct us in all of our ways. Luke 6:22 says, “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.” When people hate us because we separate ourselves for Christ’s sake, we are on our way to denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Jesus.
Finally, verse 28. I will not pretend to know all of the arguments on this one. I have studied many of the explanations and am left with this… “I’ll ask Jesus when I see Him.” I Googled “Matthew 16:28” and there were at least 662,000 results. I fear there may be just as many opinions about this verse and others of eschatology. I’ve seen many of them in other threads but I choose not to debate on things that I honestly don’t know about. I accept this verse as being part of inerrant Holy Scripture. Otherwise, I’ll leave this verse to them unless any of you wish to opine respectfully on this.
Thank you for your participation. I pray for God’s guidance to keep us centered and focused on Jesus, and to make Him the center of our lives.
In Christ,
WileyPink
Sunday School Bible Study Ping
” I have heard some argue that Jesus was calling Peter the rock on which the church would be built. But, if we look at this through text and context, we see it differently. When Jesus said, “…and upon this rock I will build my church”,”
I think we need a moderator to determine whether this stays caucus or not.
The “some argue” possibly opens the door, but I bow to the moderator’s opinion.
Hope that your truck is ok, and thanks for the lesson.
Maria
I have given Scriptural evidence for my statement. It’s hard to state my side of an argument if I didn’t say that I have heard another side. If you would like to discuss and debate this matter with love and respect through the Scriptures, I’ll be glad to, but only in reference to “Baptist Sunday School” Bible study.
In Christ,
LoL, Yes, my truck was given a proper burial! And, you’re welcome.
Thanks, but I’ll wait for the Moderator’s call.
I think verse 19 explains 18.
I don’t understand the rules of this caucus stuff.
I don't understand why we can't study God's Holy Word. I just want to worship with Christ in the center of my study and my worship. Period! I'm considering removing all of these posts and doing it via e-mail. The Lord will lead in the direction He wants it to go. Pray for His will. In Christ
Amen! I'm always amazed at the spiritual depth of other believers in the most anti-religious, anti-freedom, anti-capitalistic countries in the world.
I believe that in God's eyes, conforming people to the image of Christ is the most important item on His agenda, more than whether America has a conservative government or not. Considering how liberal the Church has become, it would not surprise me to see more and more of our freedoms disappearing. It may be the only way that God can get us to grow.
Therefore, that is why I do not fear who ends up in the White House, or Congress. God is in control. He will put whoever He needs to to accomplish His will, that is, conforming us to Christ's image.
On the other hand, non-believers should be afraid, be very afraid.
>I think we need a moderator to determine whether this stays caucus or not.
>The “some argue” possibly opens the door, but I bow to the moderator’s opinion.
If biblical references, historical references or anything else can allow a caucus to be broken, there will be no such thing. I am sure you can understand, assuming you still want to have a caucus, devotional or such to study your denomination’s doctrines.
Otherwise I will be doing what you are doing in every single Catholic thread which decides to poke its heretical doctrines into an article.
Now GIT!
Bible Study book mark
Jesus was basically saying that upon this basic gospel truth that Jesus IS the Christ ( THE ROCK of AGES , the ROCK ) who God sent into this sinful world, and must suffer and die for our sins and be raised up on the 3rd day.... and that is the gospel in a nutshell and on that, he will build his church on this basic truth.
AMEN! What ever it takes to get us (U.S.) on our knees and make Him (Christ) the center of our lives.
For now, either both of you can agree "enough said" and drop it - or I can pull post #1 and you can repost it without comparisons - or I can drop the caucus protection.
I'll wait to hear from both of you.
I made no reference to another belief. My statement of "some argue" is no more than saying, "Verse 18 is controversial". It is and probably always will be. I did not then nor will I ever make comparisons. But, It's hard to state my belief and translation of Scripture if I don't say that there is another side. I guess it will be OK for me to say, "This is the way it is...no other opinion."???
I have offered for OpusatFR to opine in reference to this scripture. As a matter of fact, throughout my entire post, I have asked for opinion and input. My belief can stand up to debate, it is base in Scripture and is referenced as so.
For now, either both of you can agree "enough said" and drop it - or I can pull post #1
I have nothing to drop. I have already said that I didn't compare anything. It seems that this "situation" began last week and is now being carried on by another.
Finally, If this post is being threatened by the removal of caucus protection, I would suggest that ALL such protection from other posts be removed. Who would have thought that the freedom to worship in the manner I choose is being threaten on a "conservative" website.
In Christ,
WileyPink
I would hope that the caucus designation would be dropped as long as the comparison remains.
If the comparison is dropped, I have no objection to it remaining a caucus.
Many thanks to you both.
“Otherwise I will be doing what you are doing in every single Catholic thread which decides to poke its heretical doctrines into an article.”
Your posting history suggests you already do, a lot.
In Christ
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