Read and Believe in Jesus.

“Who do YOU say that I am?” Matthew 16:15

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REVIEW –  Jesus was again harassed by two sects of religious Jews, the strict Pharisees and the elite, liberal Sadducees, both demanding a supernatural sign from Heaven to “prove” Jesus was who He said He was. A multitude of healings of every kind of illness and condition, raising people from the dead, and explaining the Scriptures better than ANY of their wise men was just not enough.

Perhaps this was another instance where Satan used these men to tempt Jesus, as he himself had done in Matthew 4:5-7, when Jesus had answered that temptation with, “It is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’.”

One sign only. That of Jonah. Go read your prophet!

As Jesus and the disciples sailed away, Jesus warned His men about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Huh? They thought He was mad at them because they’d forgotten to bring bread. (A great big sigh from Jesus.)

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Matthew 16:13-17.

After docking on the northeastern side of the Sea, Jesus and the 12 walked two long, 15-mile days northward to the area of Caesarea-Philippi in the foothills of Mount Hermon. Finally, on a windy hillside, with no crowds around them, Jesus gathered His men close.

He asked them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is? What have you heard?”

“Some say John the Baptist.”

“Others say, Elijah or Jeremiah.”

“Or one of the other prophets.”

A pause, then Jesus asked, “But who do YOU say that I am?”

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

“Blessed are you, Simon, bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

Unlike the stubborn religious leaders who refused to believe what they saw and heard about Jesus, these men had opened their hearts and minds to Him in faith. And God had given them special revelation.

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Matthew 16:18-20.

And then those mighty words of Jesus. But what did they mean?

“I tell you, you are Peter (Petros, a stone), and on this rock (Petra, bedrock), 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 (forbid) on earth shall be bound (forbidden) in heaven, and whatever you loose (permit) on earth shall be loosed (permitted) in heaven.”

Although many think that Jesus meant to “build His church” on Peter, who was later revered as the first Pope in Rome, and on top of his “believed” grave the largest church in the world – Saint Peter’s Basilica – is built. This is not so.

Jesus meant that, upon the truth of Peter’s statement that Jesus is ‘the Son of God, the Christ’, the church would be built. On that TRUTH. Not on the fallible MAN, who, by the way, was never a pope.

Later in his first letter to the “elect exiles,” Peter says that JESUS himself is the Cornerstone (1 Peter 2:6-7), and that the rest of believers are “living stones” built up in Him.

As for the “gates of Hell,” this speaks of Satan’s ultimate weapon – Death. Those in Christ will never see death in that way, but will, in an instant of leaving this earthly body, be present with the LORD.

(NOTE: In Rome, you can easily tell the many statues of Peter and Paul apart. Paul always holds a scroll, and Peter a big ring of keys.)

With those “keys of the Kingdom,” Peter later opened the door for the first NON-Jews to enter the church, when he – led by the Spirit of God – visited the Roman Centurion’s house in Caesarea to preach the Gospel. Cornelius and his whole house were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Of course, Jesus had a special, chosen Messenger to the Gentiles – Saul/Paul – but that would come a bit later.

Binding and loosing, or forbidding and permitting, concerns the church’s authority in discipline. Strong measures are to be taken – according to God’s word – by the leadership. (See also John 20:21-23)

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And then, curiously, Jesus “strictly charged the disciples to tell NO ONE that He was the Christ.”

WHY NOT?

I’ve always wondered about that. Isn’t this exactly what Jesus wanted? Yes, but Jesus wanted heart-transformations. He did not want huge, out-of-control crowds pressing Him to be King right now!! He had a greater work to accomplish first – the cross. And in fact, in the very next verse (tomorrow), Jesus will begin to show them that He HAD to go to Jerusalem to suffer, be killed, and die. (And be resurrected!)