8 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16: 18-23 ESV
Matthew 16: 18-23 The Church
So we left off in the last post discussing Petros, or Peter, the little stone, and Jesus saying "on this Rock (Petra) or big Rock, I will build My church". The confession of Petros was the knowledge of Who Christ is, that is the Petra, Christ is the foundation, the Cornerstone, the stone of stumbling and offense.
I will build My church - Recall prior to this Jesus asked the disciples, "who do you say that I am?" Peter's answer was that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God, not the dead gods, as are those idols that many worship. Jesus tells Peter that he is blessed in this knowledge, why? Because, knowing Christ is tantamount to the gospel. There were many opinions about Him floating around, but this is Who the Father says He is. This was not born of Peter's massive intelligence, his degree in divinity, no, he's a simple fisherman. Peter's answer comes from the revelation of Christ given to Him by the Father, through the working of the Holy Spirit. And we know that the Holy Spirit uses the word of God, for "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." I don't think most evangelical churches understand this today, that it is Christ's church, His body, and that He builds His own church. It is not a building made with hands, but a body of those, who, like Peter, came to believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, that He is Lord. To give some perspective on this, please remember that Judas is also here in their midst, like the tares sewn in among the wheat. He is walking next to the same Jesus, and he is being taught the same doctrine, yet he doesn't believe unto saving faith. You may get people to come into a building, say a prayer, even convince them to share conservative values similar to yours, and yet later find them to be a Judas. I have talked to many today that believe they have built churches, brought people to salvation by getting them to repeat a prayer, and even tried to justify to me what boils down to their teaching another gospel, a more worldly, materialistic, pragmatic, man centered gospel. I won't disagree that you built something, but it's not the church, that belongs to Jesus, it is to His glory alone. Salvation is of the Lord. A load off my back.
…46With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2: 46-47
The gates of hell shall not prevail against it - The ruler of this world is coming to the end of his power, the cross will break the power of sin, the hold that Satan has upon those in this world. The wages of sin is death, and that is all that anyone born of man deserves, yet Christ, Who alone is righteous, His death will be sacrificial because He knew no sin, His death will atone for our sin.
“The gates of Hades” symbolize death. MacArthur says "Hades is the place of punishment for the spirits of dead unbelievers. The point of entry for such is death. This, then, is a Jewish phrase referring to death. Even death, the ultimate weapon of Satan (cf. Heb 2:14, 15+), has no power to stop the church. The blood of martyrs, in fact, has sped the growth of the church in size and spiritual power." (MacArthur Study Bible). The blood of martyrs, in fact, has sped the growth of the church in size and spiritual power. By His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ conquered death, and so gave victory over death to any who have built their future upon the Rock.
Jesus was thus telling the disciples His death would not prevent His work of building the church. Later (Mt 16:21) He spoke of His imminent death. He was therefore anticipating His death and His victory over death through the Resurrection.
Michael Andrus on gates of Hades - The church which Christ will build will not be overcome by the gates of Hades, meaning “the place of the dead.” We have often misunderstood this to mean that Satan and His forces will attack the Church but will not prevail because God will defend his Church. But please realize that gates are not offensive weapons but defensive ones. The picture is not of Satan attacking the church but rather Christ’s church literally banging down the gates of Hades. Its gates are not strong enough to withstand the church. It seems to me that the point is that sin and death have been conquered by Christ, that He will raid the place of the dead and raise up His saints to be with Himself. (Sermon) - Precept Austin
Whatever you bind on earth - Error abounds on this topic, and when I was involved with the charismatic movement it was a part of their stage theatrics, which was so much of their doctrine. Satan would be bound, and then somehow get loose during the week and then need to be bound once again. I will go into more detail on that later, and I have written a lot already on the charismatic movement, but I would encourage anyone who is in that or lacking discernment from the outside about it, to read J Mac's book Strange Fire. It is a real eye opener, but here are some good statements about this text and scripture that applies well here. It is the gospel that has been handed down to us to preach, it is the Holy Spirit that convicts and brings men to repentance. We are to contend for the gospel, and as you will see in the scripture below, this is also a question of church discipline.
And if I may put it this way, it's as if He turns to Peter and says, "The work of the kingdom has been started; and I'm about to go now. Until I return for you, you—and all of the people who believe on Me because of your testimony—are going to be here while the work of the spread of the kingdom goes on. Here are the keys." Think of it! The very keys of the kingdom of heaven! What great authority it is that our Savior and Lord has entrusted to His church on earth! (Sermon)
Keys represent authority, and here Christ gives Peter authority to declare what was bound or loosed in heaven.
15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. 17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”… Romans 1: 15-17
Then He said it to the whole duly constituted assembly of redeemed people. You mean we (BELIEVERS TODAY) can go into the world and say your sins are bound on you, your sins are loosed from you, your sins are forgiven, your sins are not forgiven, you can do that, you can’t do that? What authority. That’s right. That’s right. You say, “Well, now wait a minute. Where did we get that authority? How in the world can we have that authority?” I’ll tell you how. Very simple. Where is all of the truth needed to apply to every situation? It’s in the Word of God, isn’t it? It says what you’re doing shall have already been done where? In heaven. You want to know how we can know what heaven is approving and disapproving? It’s right here, isn’t it? I have the authority, if a person comes up to me, I can say to that person, “Have you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” If he says yes, I say then your sins are forgiven, your sins are loosed. If someone says to me, “I have never received Jesus Christ,” I have the authority based on the Word of God to say to that individual your sins are retained, your sins are not forgiven. And I have the authority to know that what I said to that individual, heaven has already said because heaven has revealed it right here. That’s that authority. It is not some authority isolated from the Word of God. That’s why the promise of the keys came on the heels of a divine revelation from the Father. As long as the Father is giving you the Word on the basis of the revelation of the Father, you have the authority. And I can say to a person you are forbidden to do that. Why? Because the Bible says so. I can say to another person you’re free to do that because the Bible says so. So that Peter had that right. The disciples had that right. So does the church because we have heaven’s word on the matter. You understand? So it isn’t some authority based on title. It isn’t some authority based on office, or some human worthiness, or some elevation, or some intelligence level, or some wisdom level. It is that the authority of the church lies in the fact that the church has heaven’s word on everything and it can take heaven’s word and make it authoritative in the lives of people.....So the church is the authority of the world. That’s right. And those who are in the church are authoritative in the world as long as they enforce the Word of the living God revealed to them through the Spirit. And so we have authority. And we don’t worry about what the world says, we’re not going to change our message. We’re not going to compromise. Our reason to exist in this world is to glorify God and we glorify God when we hold up the standard of His Word, don’t we? - J Mac
1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. 2And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship the man who did this? 3Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.…
…4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus, 5hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord. 6Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?… 1 Corinthians 5: 1-6
Jesus began to show His disciples - This is a hard lesson, for they are still bound up on earthly things, concerned with a kingdom of their own design, after the image they have been so long taught and desired. Now Jesus is going to describe for them what the prophets spoke of in Psalm 22 and in Isaiah, especially Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12. The picture is an old one of the serpent bruising Messiah's heal, of the wages for sin being death, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. They are still cloudy regarding their understanding of God's holiness, as we all must grow up into that from first being babes. This is the gospel though, God's story of redemption, made possible by the sacrifice of His Son and the working of the Holy Spirit. Even after His resurrection, Jesus has to go back over these things, showing the disciples Himself in the Old Testament, all that was said about Him.
25Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.… Luke 24: 25-27
Far be it from You Lord - Peter probably means well, in fact I am sure he thinks this is from a good place, because he has come to love Christ, to know that He is the Messiah, the Son of God. It must seem unfitting, unjust for Jesus to die at the hands of wicked men, and certainly it is the only time in history that one can say it is unfair for a man to die, because death entered the world by sin, yet Christ is without sin. This is the gospel though, this is why He came, all the other sacrifices were but a shadow of this reality.
…4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.… Hebrews 10: 4-6
Get behind me, Satan, you are a hindrance to Me - Wow, Peter just had that rapture like experience of hearing Jesus call him blessed, and now He is calling him the devil. Jesus calls it like He sees it, and He sees clearly, unlike us who are blinded by the power of sin, He sees this as having a Satanic influence. It is an attack on the gospel. This also gives us a very clear understanding of Satan's view of the cross, he does not want Christ to go there. Jesus going to the cross means victory over sin and death, and this is why Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he knows why the Son of God is here, and he does not want Him to succeed. We know how the story ends though, that Christ does go to the cross, and that He is buried and rises on the third day, so now what do you think is the devil's ploy? That's easy, he wants to make light of the cross, to deny the efficacy of the cross, to deny the necessity of the cross, to deny Christ as the only way, and so he continues to attack the gospel today.
…32He spoke this message quite frankly, and Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But Jesus, turning and looking at His disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” 34Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.… Mark 8: 32-34
17Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.… Romans 16: 17-18
…22Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.… 1 Corinthians 1: 22-24
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