Matthew 16:13 - 20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 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.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Questions:
ReplyDelete- Why couldn't have Peter figured this out on his own?
- Is Jesus giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, or all of us?
- What does it mean to bind something? And how will it be bound in heaven?
- Why did Jesus not want His disciples to tell anyone that He was the Messiah?
https://bible.org/seriespage/24-peter-s-confession-and-christ-s-church-matthew-1613-20 says:
ReplyDeleteMark and Luke do not include “Son of Man” in their report. The title “Son of Man” was clearly Messianic in Daniel; but it could be used of the prophets as well (as in Ezekiel).
Only Matthew includes Jeremiah, the first of the latter prophets in the canon. Perhaps some people had been struck by the authority of Jesus and His suffering as well at the hands of the leaders. Or, He was considered a prophet of doom like Jeremiah.
No group was openly confessing Jesus as the Messiah. People might have thought Jesus was the Messiah, but still had misgivings about it.
Therefore, Peter was speaking on behalf of the disciples when he answered.
since in the Old Testament the Davidic King was to be called God’s Son (Ps. 2; 2 Sam. 7), it is likely that Peter meant just that. He was convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the coming king who would miraculously heal the people and drive out the oppressors in the land. . . . “Son of God,” however, is filled with meaning, and will go beyond His description as king to His description as one who is the same as the Father. But Peter would not yet know all that, judging from the things that he said and did after this event.
nd so the revelation of the Son to Peter, with all the authenticating signs and miracles, was received. Such knowledge cannot originate in flesh and blood, that is, it cannot originate from mortal flesh. It has to come from above (see 1 Cor. 15:50; Gal. 1:16; Eph. 6:12; He. 2:14).
Now, this is not the first time that he and the disciples were made aware of the Messiahship of Jesus. In fact the disciples followed Jesus, believing that He was the Messiah. But their understanding of what Messiah was to do was still weak. What made Peter’s confession so important was the fact that it came against the backdrop of all the confusion and false teachings about Jesus. His confession of faith was so strong that Jesus could begin talking about His death on the cross.
Second, Jesus announced that He was about to build His Church (18). This verse and the next have been at the center of controversy for ages. In verse 18 Jesus declared, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” The saying relies on a pun on the name of Peter.
Or, others argue that the rock on which the Church will be built is the confession that Peter just made, the revealed truth about Jesus. But both these views have probably been developed mostly in reaction to Roman Catholic teachings based on this passage. However, and this is important, to say that Christ was going to build his church on the foundation of the apostles does not in any way teach an apostolic succession, papal infallibility, or exclusive authority for successors of Peter. Those doctrines were developed later. All the text would be saying is what the rest of the New Testament affirms, that Christ established His Church on the apostles. Their teaching, their writing the Scriptures, their establishing and organizing the Church, all were the necessary ways that Christ began to build His Church.
The metaphor of the rock is consistent with other uses in Scripture. Here Jesus will build his church; but elsewhere Paul and the apostles build it (1 Cor. 3:10). Jesus is the foundation of the Church (1 Cor. 3:11); but the apostles and prophets are also the foundation (Eph. 2:19,20; Rev. 21:14). Peter has the keys here; but in Revelation 1:18 and 3:7 Jesus has the keys.
https://bible.org/seriespage/24-peter-s-confession-and-christ-s-church-matthew-1613-20 continued:
ReplyDeleteSo here in Matthew 16 Jesus is the builder of the Church. The foundation will be the apostles. Peter was the first to make this profound confession, and so he is prominent in the early church.
The Church is known as the assembly of the people of the Messiah. But the Church is not completely identical to the kingdom either. The Church is a form of the kingdom in that Christ rules over his Church, and people who become believers and enter the Church also enter the kingdom. But the kingdom for which we pray will be a new order in which Christ will put down all enemies and rule over the whole world. So there is overlap between the terms and the times they cover; but there are distinctions as well. Jesus announced here that he was going to build His Church, indicating clearly that the Church was a future program and not a continuation of Old Testament assemblies.
It is tied to the coming kingdom of God. And so the gates of Hades cannot prevail over it. “Gates” is figurative for the power or the powerful leaders of Hades (in the Hebrew literature “gates” could be substituted for those who sit in the gates). Thus it would represent Satan or Satanic forces, the powers of Hell, who inflict death and destruction on the human race.
The Church may seem at times to be weak, divided, and ineffective. But that is usually the result of human leaders and institutions creating problems; the Church itself, the company of the people of Jesus, will be victorious, because Christ has overcome the world. Even death, a weapon of Hell, cannot destroy the true Church. It may ruin denominations or local churches that lose sight of the vision; but the universal body of believers, the universal Church, will be victorious.
The king was still sovereign; but whoever had the keys had authority over the house. What then was the binding and the loosing?
The meaning of the binding and loosing in the verse probably refers to people and not to teachings (see 18:18 for “whatever”). The keys then speak of the permission of entering the kingdom or being excluded from it. The meaning of this idea is clarified by the teaching of Jesus in Luke 11:52. There Jesus denounced the teachers by saying that they had taken away the key of knowledge and had not only failed to enter the kingdom themselves but had hindered others from doing so. This meant that by their approach to Scripture they were making it impossible for people under their teaching to accept the revelation about Jesus and enter the kingdom. In strong contrast, Peter, by confessing Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, had received the revelation and so was to be given the “keys.” The metaphor of the “keys” refers then to the clear teaching about Christ and the proclamation of the Gospel. Peter, by proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, which by revelation he was understanding more and more, would open the kingdom to many and shut it to others.
By making the proclamation of the Gospel, the message of the kingdom, Peter would be binding and loosing what heaven had already bound and loosed. Peter would preach the Gospel, and that preaching would be the means by which those bound in heaven would be bound, and those loosed in heaven would be loosed. As long as Peter proclaimed the true Gospel, he would be binding or loosing what had been bound or loosed in heaven—he would be using the keys to the kingdom properly.
https://bible.org/seriespage/24-peter-s-confession-and-christ-s-church-matthew-1613-20 continued:
ReplyDeleteThere is a strange use of these expressions among Christians today for a commanding, authoritarian form of praying. In it people say they bind or loose evil spirits in people when praying for healing. There is no warrant for that use of the words; the context clearly ties the keys of the kingdom to salvation, who enters and who does not, and the authority to grant entrance and announce exclusion comes only with the proclamation of the Gospel already revealed. When the Gospel is preached, it appears that it brings some into the kingdom and repels others. But the Gospel being preached is only the earthly manifestation of the heavenly process.
Are these keys given to Peter only, or to the apostles only, or to all Christians? If the keys refer to the proclamation of the Gospel to the world, then they are the possession of all believers, because that is the task for the church.
Their message will include and exclude. But the passage in no way teaches that they, or the apostles, have a direct pipeline to heaven, or even worse, can make the final decision of who is bound and who is loosed. God does that, has done that; and we by our preaching the Gospel will see it all work out, what has already been bound or loosed in heaven. The passage is not concerned with Peter’s power or infallibility, but rather the role that he and the disciples of Jesus will play in the building of the Church. Since his proclamation is the basis of preaching about Christ, it precipitated Jesus’ teaching about how the Church would be built.
Finally, Jesus safeguards the method of the kingdom by forbidding publicity (v. 20). Jesus was not trying to keep the message quiet, or his identity a secret. He was refusing to bow to the demands of the people to declare himself with a sign. He wanted people to come to faith in Him as Peter and the disciples had done, through the response of faith to the revelation. He wanted to make sure that they would come to Him by faith, and not because of messianic zeal without true repentance. And He wanted to ensure that the steady progress to the cross would not be hindered by full disclosure. After the resurrection there would be complete proclamation to the world. The disciples were beginning to understand how all this was to work, but they still were unclear on the death and resurrection (see 16:21-23).
Blog format reminder:
ReplyDeleteThe format of this blog is: - A section of scripture - A list of questions about the scriputure. - Various mainstream views about that section of scripture/questions. These are listed to show various viewpoints and may or may not be correct. - Sometimes my opinion is added. It starts with "My 2 Cents" - The blog authors will add information, opinions and responses (which will be clear by their name. For all the previous things they will usually be under the name, "Bruce").
http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/preparing-to-receive-christ-something-more-than-flesh-and-blood says:
ReplyDeleteEvery person who has ever been converted to Christ was converted on the basis of a limited understanding of what was really happening. So don't be surprised that there may be biblical descriptions of what happened to you that you may not yet understand. It takes a lifetime to grasp the depth and wonder of the miracle of conversion to Christ.
So I pray that what you will do with the rest of this message is first test yourself to see if this has really happened to you, and then, if it has, let your trust in God ripen into a deeper affection and zeal because of his tremendous love to you described in this passage.
What is being denied when Jesus says, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you"?
1 Corinthians 15:50 (speaking of the resurrection body), "I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable."
So when Jesus denies that "flesh and blood" has revealed his true identity to Peter, he is saying that mere human powers by themselves cannot recognize the true glory of Christ. Neither your humanity nor anyone else's has opened the eyes of your heart to recognize the truth and beauty of Christ.
Because (as Paul says) apart from the Spirit of God we inevitably assess heavenly things as "foolish." Apart from the work of God in our hearts we don't like the humiliating implications of Christmas:
that we are under a curse and need a Savior,
that we are dirty and need a Purifier,
that we are lost sheep and need a Shepherd,
that we are sick and need a Physician,
that we are rebels and need a Mediator and Reconciler.
The inevitable reflex of our natural antipathy toward this truth is blindness. Why can't flesh and blood see the light of the glory of God in Jesus Christ? Jesus said in John 3:19, "Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." We inevitably love darkness; that's why we can't see the light. No one is blind against his will. The blindness of fallen flesh and blood is simply this: fallen flesh and blood hates the light.
http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/preparing-to-receive-christ-something-more-than-flesh-and-blood continued:
ReplyDeleteHow does God reveal the true identity of his Son to an individual person?
Is this the way God revealed the Son to Peter? Was Peter looking at the work of Jesus and the listening to the teaching of Jesus and seeing nothing but a prophet and a rabbi and a friend until God came to Peter in a dream or a vision and said that, contrary to all appearances and evidences, this Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God? And was Peter's confession then based on this new information so that it meant something like this: "Jesus, personally I don't see the marks of divinity in you and I don't see the works of a Messiah or any evidence that you are the Son of God, but on the basis of last night's dream I believe it anyway. You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God"?
If that is what happened, then the confession of Peter is not much credit to Jesus, is it? If the recognition of Jesus' true dignity and glory as the Son of God is based on some separate information than what we see in him, then our confession doesn't glorify Jesus.
My answer is this: the absolutely indispensable work of God in revealing the Son both then to John and Peter and now to me and you is NOT the adding to what we see and hear in Jesus himself, but the opening of the eyes of our hearts to taste the true divine glory of what is really there in Jesus.
When people have doubts about the truth of Jesus, don't send them away to seek special messages from God. Point them to Christ. Tell them what you have seen and heard in his life and teachings. Why? Because this is where God breaks in with his revealing power. He loves to glorify his SON! He loves to open the eyes of the blind when they are looking at his SON!
How shall you prepare your heart this Christmas to receive Christ? Fix your gaze on him in his Word. Look to Christ! Consider Jesus. And pray, beyond your own flesh and blood, that God would give you eyes to see and ears to hear that you might cry out with Peter, "You are the Christ the Son of the living God!"