Click here for the Matthew 16:17-20 PODCAST
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. ~ Matthew 16:17-20
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 16 where the Apostle Peter has just said of the Lord Jesus that He is "the Christ the Son of the Living God." This was the first time anyone other than a demon acknowledged the Lord Jesus as the Christ which is Greek for Messiah. Messiah literally means "to smear." It comes from the days when kings were smeared on the head with oil, thus, they were the anointed one. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's Anointed One, the One chosen by God to take away the penalty of mankind's sin.
In v.17 of today's passage we read, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"
After Simon Peter acknowledged the Lord Jesus as the Christ the Lord Jesus reminded him that he didn't arrive at that on his own. This was a revelation that came to Simon Peter's heart from the Heavenly Father. I find it striking that all of Simon's life experiences led him to that discovery. Preceding this moment, Simon Peter had many encounters with the Lord, most of which he knew not. When I look over my life, I realize that it took many experiences, namely, the death of my mom when I was five years old and the death of my dad when I was seventeen years old to come to the realization that the Lord Jesus Christ is the real pursuit of all of my heart's desires. It just took a lot of pain and hardship to get me to entertain the right questions and to run to the right One with those questions.
In v.18-19 of today's passage we read, "18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
While our Catholic friends believe this passage teaches that Simon Peter was the first Pope and that the church was built on his primacy, the Bible puts forth a different understanding. In the book of Acts we quickly learn that Peter was not in charge of the early church. In fact, it was James who was noted as the leader of the church at Jerusalem and Peter submitted to his leadership. Then, it is noteworthy that Peter was rebuked by Paul in the book of Galatians for racism.
This is the first mention of the church in the New Testament. This passage includes all the markings of the church, primarily, the confession that the Lord Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." The foundation of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ and it is not built on anything other than a right view of the nature and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is on the example and confession of Simon Peter that the Lord Jesus builds His church. No man builds the church which is made up of "born again" people not buildings. The example of humility and dependence upon the Lord Jesus as indicated in the mention of the name "Simon Peter" that drives this point home. The construction of the name "Simon Peter" illustrates that he was a changed man who was utterly dependent upon the Lord Jesus. It was out of that posture that enabled him to conclude the Lord Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
When the Lord Jesus told Peter and the other disciples that day that He was going to build His church, He meant that His "called out ones" would assemble together throughout history, not on Simon Peter but on the conclusion Peter made about the Lord Jesus. The church is made up of those people who confess and believe the Lord Jesus to be the Christ sent by the Heavenly Father. And, even though Peter's name means "rock," God has always built His church on the Only One who is the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 3:11 God tells us that there is "no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." The church is built on the Lord Jesus Christ and everyone who confesses that He is the Christ has been made a part of the church, the family of God. The Lord Jesus granted Peter and the other disciples the keys to the kingdom. A key is a symbol of authority, if you have the key you can get into something. You can also lock something up. You have control of it or better yet, you're a steward of it. In Revelation 3:7 the Lord Jesus says, "I have the keys of David and I open what no man can shut and I shut but no one can open."
It was Peter on the day of Pentecost who opened the doors wide as 3000 souls confessed the Lord Jesus to be their Savior. Peter opened that door by preaching his first sermon about the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter never urged anyone to believe in him. No, he consistently pointed others to the Lord Jesus. It was Peter who went to Cornelius and opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. The key or the stewardship was given to Peter and the other disciples. The church has never been built on Peter but God used Peter as a steward to open wide the door of faith for Jews and Gentiles to enter the Open Door who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And, we join Peter every time we share the gospel with the unsaved and they believe.
In v.20 of today's passage we read, "Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ."
The Lord Jesus gave to His disciples this warning for two reasons. The first, it could have been dangerous for the disciples to do so. It could result in the crowd starting a revolt against Herod and the Romans. Also, the crowd had already tried to make the Lord Jesus a king by force. Oh, He will be the King one day, but this wasn't the time for Him to wear a crown, this was the time for Him to bear a cross.
Second, is that He wants everyone to come to this revelation for themselves. Just as Peter and the other disciples had been led by the Holy Spirit who always works in tandem with God's Word to draw us to the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus referred to Simon Peter in v.17 as "Simon Bar-Jonah," He was reminding Peter that flesh and blood had not enabled him to see this greatest truth of all. No, It was God Himself who revealed it to him.
