Matthew 16 - Why The Church Can't Fail!

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What Happening in Matthew 16

Welcome to week #3 of reading through the New Testament in a year. This week we will be reading chapters #16 - #20. As we near the ultimate purpose of Jesus' coming to earth, the battle with the Pharisees intensifies.  Peter goes from being the first one to deny Jesus to being the first one to confess his true identity. 

Jesus will for the first time talk about the "Church" and its power. Finally, Jesus will break the news that his time on earth is limited and ultimate purpose is drawing nigh. 

The Demand for a Sign

Although the Pharisees and Sadducees demand a sign from Jesus, one could almost say they were seeking one. Or, one could say they were just trying to trip him up and make him look bad. 

My Grandpa owned a cottage on a lake in Northern Michigan. The back patio overlooked a large portion of the lake, where you could see both the sunrise in the east and the sunset in the morning. My Grandpa said all the time, 

"Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning sailors take warning." 

This saying came from these verses in Matthew 16. If you read up on it, generally speaking this is true meteorologically. Jesus says that the people are good at noticing the signs in nature but not so good at seeing the spiritual signs he arrival has brought. 

This passage shows the combination of the Pharisees and Sadducees in opposition to Jesus is in itself a remarkable thing. 

Their working together showed a deep fear among the religious leaders. The Sadducees and Pharisees were long-standing enemies, and the fact that they came together against Jesus shows they regarded Him as a serious threat. - Guzik

Here is a summary of the differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees.

· The Pharisees lived according to the smallest points of the oral and scribal law; the Sadducees received only the written words of the Hebrew Scriptures.

· The Pharisees believed in angels and the resurrection; the Sadducees did not (Paul used this division in Acts 23:6-10).

· The Pharisees were not a political party and were prepared to live under any government that would leave them alone to practice their religion the way they wanted to; the Sadducees were aristocrats and collaborated with the Romans to keep their wealth and power.

· The Pharisees looked for and longed for the Messiah; the Sadducees did not.

Yet for all these differences, Jesus brought them together. Not in a good way – they came together in opposition to Jesus, but they came together nonetheless. Guzik

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

In the bible generally "yeast" is characterized as a bad thing, though yeast was vitally important in making bread in Jesus' day. The disciples mistakenly thought Jesus was talking about having enough bread to eat. Jesus reminds them that he just solved that problem with the multiplication of the fish and loaves. This is one of those times Jesus must have gotten a little inpatient with his disciples. I can imagine him saying like we sometimes do, "Really?" 

Interestingly he cites both the stories of the feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000, which we went over last week.  This refutes the thought the bible had mistakenly included the same story twice. His purpose was to point out the yeast of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which was working its way through the whole dough. I.e. the people. 

As noted previously in the parable of the leaven (Matthew 13:33), leaven is consistently used as a picture of sin and corruption (especially in the Passover narrative of Exodus 12:8, 12:15-20).

Jesus impressed the importance of being on guard against false teaching, especially that in the service of religious hypocrisy.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

Someone once describes Peter, "Ole' foot in the mouth Peter!" And, it's true that Peter's impulsivity got him into a lot of trouble. But on this occasion he gets it right. And he gets it right with the most important question Jesus will ever ask them. Jesus has spent a long time, probably years at this point, with his disciples and taught them about the kingdom and showed them many supernatural signs of its coming through him.   

Jesus does a little "check in" to take the temperature of the disciples. Do they have a clue regarding his true identity as the Son of God, the Messiah? Peter nails it when he states, 

"You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!" 

How did Peter connect the dots when the others did not. Jesus reveals why Peter understood and confessed who Jesus was. It was revealed to Him by the Father. When we come to believe in Jesus as our Savior, it is not something we deserved or discovered by our own intelligence. Faith is a gift of God. 

Then, Peter says something which is of ultimate importance us. Jesus says to Peter, 

And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.

Jesus is using a wordplay, as Peter's name in the Greek, "petros", is also the word for "rock". Jesus makes a promise to Peter and by application to us. Upon Peter's confession of faith in Jesus the church stands or falls. Our churches are not built by brick and mortar but on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. Note that Jesus builds the church and we don't. 

Sometimes we get prideful about our church growing or looking up to the large megachurches because they are so big and have so many people. There is nothing wrong with quantitative growth, as it represents new people coming into the Kingdom, but we need to make sure that growth is coming a results of Jesus being our foundation. The gospel of Jesus is the foundation for our preaching, teaching, sacraments, and everything we do in our life together as a community. 

Peter understood that Jesus was not only God’s Messiah, but also God Himself. The Jews properly thought that to receive the title “the Son of the living God,” in a unique sense, was to make a claim to deity itself.

This is one of only times the word "church" is used by Jesus. The Greek Word is "ekklesia", which essentially means, "the called out ones".

Peter understood that Jesus was not only God’s Messiah, but also God Himself. The Jews properly thought that to receive the title “the Son of the living God,” in a unique sense, was to make a claim to deity itself.

The ancient Greek word "ekklesia" was not primarily a religious word at all; it just meant, “group” or “called-out group.” In describing the later group of His followers and disciples, Jesus deliberately chose a word without a distinctly religious meaning.

What does the phrase "I will give you the keys to the kingdom" mean?

This idea of Peter holding the keys of the kingdom of heaven has captured the imagination (and theology) of many Christians throughout the centuries. In artistic representation, Peter is almost always shown with keys.

i. Some people think that this means that Peter has the authority to admit people to heaven, or to keep people out of heaven. This is the basis for the popular image of Peter at the Pearly Gates of Heaven, allowing people to enter or turning them away.

ii. Some people think that it also means that Peter was the first Pope, and that his supposed successors have the keys that were first given to Peter. Indeed, the Papal insignia of the Roman Catholic Church is made up of two prominent keys crossed together.

The bigger question is what do these word mean, "Whatever we bind or loose being bound or loosed in heaven." Clearly Jesus is giving the church power and authority to act in His name. But how much power? 

The Catholic church uses these verses as support for the power of the pope and Catholic priests. When the pope speaks to the whole church, he speaks for God. It is authoritative and binding. This is why in a local Catholic church the priest has the power to marry or not marry a couple. Or, determine who can receive communion or not receive communion.

We should understand this as Jesus giving both the permission and the authority to the first-generation apostles to make the rules for the early church – and indirectly, the inspired writings that would guide all generations of Christians. The authority that Peter carries is “not an authority which he alone carries, as may be seen from the repetition of the latter part of the verse in Matthew 18:18 with reference to the disciple group as a whole.” (France)

Jesus Predicts His Death

Jesus takes this time to reveal more about why he came to this earth. He told the disciples that he would be killed by the religious leaders and then he would rise again. This wasn't part of Peter's master plan for Jesus and he made it known to everyone. 

After Peter made his comment Jesus said to him, "Get behind me Satan. You are stumbling block and you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns." 

Wow! Peter goes from the front of the class to the back of the class. Granted part of Peter's reaction was out of concern for his master teacher. But Jesus makes it very clear that Peter would not be used by the devil to distract Jesus or get him off purpose. 

The word "Satan" literally means "obstructer" or "blocker". Satan still tries to block Jesus' plans through us today. The human concerns Jesus is talking about was the earthly kingdom all of the disciples were hoping Jesus would bring. Their view of the Messiah was shaped by the world and history around them. The Jews had been ruled by the Romans throughout the last several centuries, so that the Messiah's main goal would be to deliver them from their enemies and give them their land and temple back. 

In contrast to this notion, Jesus explains to them what it would mean for them and for us to follow him. Jesus said, 

"“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"

This is pretty much the classic definition of what it means to be a Christ-follower. 

Anyone who became a disciple of another teacher had to make certain sacrifices to follow him. To follow Jesus meant to "deny yourself" and "take up your cross". All the men would have known what he meant by the word "cross". A cross was an executioner's instrument to inflict so much public pain upon a convicted criminal that others watching it would be deterred from similar behavior. 

Jesus says it in another way, "Whoever wants to save their life will lost it, but whoever loses it for him will find it!" 

You can see it each challenge to follow him is a choice we make. Picking up your cross to follow Jesus is not an easy one. Losing our life creates fear. Following Jesus is a risk. It is not a decision one should take likely. But let's also remember faith is a gift of God.  And Jesus' calls us to follow Him and gives us the Holy Spirit to do this. So it is not like it is all on us. 

"Whatever God calls you to do, he will equip you to do it!"

Although at least one of his disciples met their fate in the form of the cross, The word cross once again is a word for suffering. Jesus is warning the disciples, and us< that there is a cost to following Him. Not everybody in the world will be sympathetic to you being a Christian. In fact some might downright oppose it.

Jesus said quite bluntly, "If the world hated me, it will hate you!" John 15:18

Although we should not go around looking to bring on persecution, when we are living a life of radically following Jesus, there are bound to be those who will oppose you both directly and indirectly. Why? Because you represent a threat to them. When you lead a moral life or refuse to get involved in certain activities, others will wonder why. It might cause them to reflect on why you are doing it. 

When you use or quote the bible someone might call you a "holy roller". Most of us have not received a direct threat of persecution, but the bible warns that in the end times there might be a price to be paid for identifying ourselves as Christians. 

Yet, we have the presence of the living Christ who lives inside us. We live in His power and strength. Paul says in Philippians 4:8, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." And again, "If God is for me who can be against me!" Romans 8:31

What's Coming Up Next in Matthew 17

Three of Jesus' inner core of disciples are in for a treat, as Jesus leads them up a mountain called, "The Mount of Transfiguration". Jesus is going to reveal himself them in a way they will never forget. 

See you tomorrow!