Jesus Christ. No man has caused more controversy
than this man, Jesus Christ. Throughout the world, no man
has caused more controversy, has been the subject of more
conversations than this man, Jesus Christ. No man has been written about
more than this man, Jesus Christ. He's the subject of this whole
book. The Word of God. He is the subject
of this whole book from Genesis to Revelation. He's the subject
of it. No man has been more loved or more hated than this man,
Jesus Christ. Everywhere he went, sinners were
saved and sinners were made mad. Some were glad and some were
sad and some were mad. Just stirred things up. Caused division. I'd say no man
has caused more division than this man, Jesus Christ. He said,
I came not to send peace on earth with a sword. Who is this man? Peter gave the
correct answer. To give the answer quickly, Peter
gave the correct answer. Thou art the Christ. Thou art
the Anointed One. Thou art the Messiah, the Son
of the Living God. He put them both together. Thou
art the Christ. the Son of the Living God, more
than a man. He is the Christ, He is the Anointed
One, He is the Appointed One that God appointed before the
world began to come into this world and save sinners. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sin. That's our greatest
need, is to be saved from our sins. He is the Christ. He's the Messiah. He's the promised
seed. He is the fulfillment of the Word of God. He's the reason
you and I are here this morning. We are here to worship and preach
and honor and glorify the name of Jesus Christ. Are we not? We're not here because it's just
Sunday. We're gathered here to worship
Him. He is God in all that that name means. He is Almighty God,
the Creator, the Sovereign. He's it. He is God manifest in
the flesh. That's who He is. He's more than just a man. See,
that was probably their biggest problem. They couldn't get past
His manhood. Those Pharisees and Sadducees,
they couldn't get past it. He's more than just a man. He
is the God-man. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Christ said, You have seen Me,
you have seen the Father. You have seen, you are looking
at God Almighty. You believe Me, you believe God. To believe Christ is to believe
God. Abraham believed God, it says.
Abraham believed Christ. He believed the Son of God. The
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, walked among us. John
said over in 1 John, we've touched Him. We've seen Him. We've handled
the Word of life. We've handled Him. He's God. Although, by looking at Him,
you wouldn't believe He was the Christ. By looking at Him. You
would not, just by looking at him with these physical eyes,
you would not believe this is God. This is the living God. This is the Creator. This is
the Sovereign. This is the one we are to worship.
This is Almighty God, this man. You wouldn't know it just by
looking at him. There was no beauty. There was no beauty that
would make you think There was something special about this
man or that would catch your attention. You wouldn't be drawn
to him. Not outwardly, not just if he
walked in the room here. You wouldn't recognize him. Not at all. He had no earthly
credentials. No long list of pedigrees. He didn't have those things.
His family. His family, this is God now,
this is the living God. His family that he was born into
was as poor as dirt. They were poor. Poor. He became poor. Though he was rich, he became
poor. He was born to a poor family. And he always caused division.
Among the religious Pharisees, among the religion of that day,
the leading religion of Jerusalem, he always caused division. The
Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes, they all hated him.
They despised him. If this were God, surely those
men would recognize him. They studied the Scriptures.
They read the Scriptures. Surely, if this is the Christ,
they would recognize him first. But they hated him. They rejected
Him. He was despised and rejected
of men. No man has ever lived on this
earth that was more despised and more hated than Jesus Christ. None. But what they could not see,
what they could not see was His Godhead. You remember the tabernacle
the tabernacle in the wilderness. It looked like all other tabernacles,
didn't it? It looked like a tent. It was
just a tent. But you know, inside that tent
was the Shekinah glory of God. Everyone walked by. They just
saw that tent. It looked like all the other
tents, and they just walked on by. But inside that one tent,
that tabernacle that stayed with Israel, was the Shekinah glory
of God. God was in Christ. God's in that
man. That man is God. That man is
God. They couldn't see his Godhead. They could not see past his flesh. They couldn't get past his poverty.
They couldn't get past his outward appearance. They could not do
that. They couldn't get past his family.
We know you. You're the carpenter's son. No,
He's God's son. He's God's son. That's who He
is. He is God. And as God, He is
sovereign. He is the sovereign Christ. He
quickens whom He will. He's holy. Scripture says He
knew no sin. That's because He's God. He's
immutable. He has, this man has all power. There was no limit to his power.
All things belong to him. He's Lord of all. He's omnipotent
and he's omnipresent. This is beyond human comprehension. He's omnipresent, yet he's a
real man. Hunger. Thirst. Subject to time and space. Yet
He's God. Omnipresent. Yet He's a man subject
to time and space. What a man. Who is this man?
A man that's bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. He was made
flesh. He didn't just look like flesh.
Made flesh. Skin just like I have. Blood
flowing through his veins. He had to eat. He had to eat. Just like you and I have to eat.
Had to. He's a man. Peter gave the correct
answer. He said, Thou art the Christ.
Thou art the anointed of God. You're the Messiah that we have
been looking for. Thou art the promised seed. The
promised seed that We've spoken to Eve and Abraham. He's it. This is why we, along
with angels, along with the heavenly hosts, are commanded to worship
Him. Let's read Hebrews 1. Let's read
Hebrews chapter 1. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, and the expressed
image of his person, he is God. And upholding all things, this
person, this man, Jesus Christ, upholds all things by the word
of His power. When He had by Himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
there is a man in glory seated there ruling and reigning over
all things, who is a real man and who is truly God. That's
who this man is. Now let's look and go back here
to verse 13. He said to Peter, or he said
to his disciples, he said to his disciples, whom do men say
that I am? Now, it's not like he didn't
know what they were saying. But whom do they say that I am? Well, some think you're John
the Baptist risen from the dead. Herod thought that. He thought
that Jesus was John the Baptist come back from the dead. Some
think you are Elijah. Or Jeremiah, that weeping prophet.
He was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Our Lord was. Or
one of the prophets. No, he is not one of the prophets.
He is that prophet. There's a difference. He is that
prophet that Moses said would come. He's that prophet. The men of that day knew. Even
the religious leaders of that day knew. Nicodemus said no man
can do these things. God be with him. They knew there
was something different about this man. They knew there was
something special about this man. They said, no man speak
like this man. Some said, this man doesn't speak
like the scribes. He speaks with authority. This
man, when he speaks, things happen. When He commands the demons to
come out, they come out. When He commands the blind to
see, they see. The lame to walk, they walk.
The dumb to speak, they speak. Something different about this
man. Something different. They even said when Christ comes,
will He do more than what this man is doing? However, in the face of all that
they saw, all that they witnessed, And they saw a lot of things,
witnessed a lot of things. They still did not believe He
was the Christ, the Son of the living God. They didn't believe
that. Then the Lord turns this thing to His disciples and He makes
it personal. He makes it personal for each
one of them and it's personal for each one of us. Whom say
ye that I am? Who do you say that I am? Who do you say that I, the Son
of Man, I'm a man? They walked and ate and talked
and lived with this man for three years. He said, whom do you say that
I am? Salvation is not just believing
what other men say. It's believing God's Word concerning
this man. You know, that woman at the well,
she went back to town and they came out to hear him. She went
back to town and told them all about this man who told me everything
that I ever did. They all came out to hear him.
And they said, now we believe Him, not just because of your
words, but we have heard Him for ourselves. We heard Him. We have heard Him. Salvation
is a revelation of a real living person. It's not just believing
some historical facts. It's believing the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's believing Him. He's real. He's real. It's a revelation
of Christ in the heart and to the heart. He's real. You get up in the morning, you
think of Him. You go throughout the day, you think, He's real. He's real. It's a revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ in the heart. which cannot happen apart
from the Word of Christ, God's written Word. Christ said to
Peter, and he says this to everyone who truly says, Thou art a Christ,
the Son of the living God. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to
you, but my Father which is in heaven. He revealed this to you,
Peter. You see something that all these
religious leaders do not see. You see who I am. Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. Flesh and blood didn't teach
you this. We teach our children back here
in the Bible class. We teach them as they grow older. But there comes a time, if God
is pleased to save them or any of us, there comes a time when
Christ must be revealed to the heart. Has to. Human reasoning did not bring
you to this point. Human instruction didn't bring
you to this point. A divine revelation brought you
to this point. Now art thou Christ, the Son."
How did you know that, Peter? Peter, how did you know that?
The Lord said, I'll tell you how you know it. My Father, which
is in heaven, revealed this to you. A real saving knowledge of Christ
comes from the Father. It's a divine revelation. It's
His will. That's what Ananias said to Paul. He said, God has chosen you.
The Lord has chosen you that you might what? See that just
one and be his witness. The Spirit of God comes and reveals
Christ in the heart. And it's a sovereign act. It
is a sovereign act of God. Our Lord said in Matthew 11,
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them to babes. It's a sovereign act. The revelation
of Christ is a sovereign act of God. It says the wind bloweth
where it listeth. You hear the sound thereof, but
you don't know from where it's coming or where it's going. It's
a sovereign act. God revealed this to you, Peter.
God has revealed this to you. Then he says this in verse 17,
and Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, blessed
art thou. I don't think we will realize
this side of eternity how blessed we are to love and know and believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we know that we are blessed,
but someday we are just going to be absolutely astounded that
God chose me, loved me, revealed His Son to me, and brought me
to glory. That's going to be astounding.
Blessed art thou, listen, Simon Bar-Jonah, that's who you are
by nature. Simon Bar-Jonah, that's you by
nature. For flesh and blood hath not
revealed it to thee, but my Father which is in heaven, and I say
unto thee that thou art Peter." That's who you are by grace.
Simon Barjona is who you are by nature. Peter, that's who
you are by grace. That's why the Lord changed his
name to Peter. A stone. A stone. Thou art Peter. A stone. A piece of the rock. He identifies Peter with himself,
the rock Christ Jesus. He's a part of that rock. He's
a part of it. Our Peter, a piece of stone. And upon this rock, and Dan said
it right, upon this confession, upon this truth, upon this truth,
What truth? Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Upon this truth, I will build
my church. Upon this truth, I will build
my church. See, Christ is the rock on which
the church is built. He's the foundation. Peter's
not the head or the foundation of the church, as the Roman Catholics
try to make. He's not the first pope. He's
Simon Barjona. Peter, a stone. A stone. The church from all ages is built
upon this. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. I know that we are built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone. But who's the foundation of the
apostles and prophets? The Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
foundation. He's the rock. on which the church
is built. And he says the gates of hell
will not prevail against it. The gates of hell, Satan with
all his forces, with all his evil, with all his cunningness,
with all his craftiness, will not destroy the church. She will
go through afflictions and trials and hard times. She cannot be
destroyed. She is built upon the rock. Not
the sand she built up on the rock Christ Jesus. And the gates
of hell, listen, the gates of hell will not keep the gospel
out. You take any part of the world. Take the darkest part of it.
Which is probably right now, Jerusalem. Israel, that's probably
the darkest part of the world. Well, no, the darkest part would
be Africa. No. The darkest part of religion
in the world is between America and Israel. That's probably the
darkest in religion part of this world. If the Lord is pleased to send
the gospel there, it'll be there. He said the gates of hell will
not prevail. It will not keep the gospel out. It will not keep the gospel out.
Can't do it. If wherever the Lord sends the
gospel, if He sends the gospel in power, it will prevail. It will prevail. And whatsoever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. He said, I'll give
unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now, he's not saying,
Peter, whosoever sends you absolved will be absolved, and whoever
sends you don't absolve, they'll stay with them. Now he's not
saying that. Peter didn't have the power to do that. Here's
the best I read on this. Let me just read it to you. They
were inspired to lay down rules and regulations by which the
church would be governed. The apostles, they had that power
and they were inspired to do this. Now that power is gone. The rules and regulations are
laid down and that's it. That's it. We don't need them
no more. We have the rules and regulations and it's been laid
down by the apostles. And that's enough. That's enough. That's what he's saying here. And our Lord. He says, I'll give
unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. I do know
this also. The gospel that we preach. is
a saver of life unto life to some and a saver of death unto
death to some. Whomever the Lord sets free by the preaching of
the gospel is free. If I stand here and preach the
gospel and the Lord sets some sinner free, he's free! He's
loosed! But if he doesn't, if he doesn't,
it'll be a saver of death unto death. He'll be bound by his
own sins throughout eternity. Charge He His disciples. Don't
you tell anybody I'm Jesus the Christ. But here in closing, our Lord is about to tell them,
we'll see this next time, it says in verse 21, from that time
forth, began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must
go into Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and
chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again
the third day. But before he starts to tell
them this, of all that's about to come to pass, the first thing
he does, he draws out of them this confession, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And it's as if he's saying,
now when you see me crucified, When you see this happen, remember
this. Remember what you just said.
Thou art to Christ, the Son of the living God. Don't despair.
Don't despair. I am the Christ. I am the Savior. I am the Messiah.
I am the Son of God. But I'm going to be crucified.
I'm going to be buried. But I'm going to rise again the
third day. I'm going to rise again the third day. Then he
says to them, don't you tell anybody Don't you tell any man
that I'm Jesus the Christ. Why? Because His hour had not
yet come. His hour, His time had not yet
come. But now, listen, now the commission
is go tell everybody. You go tell everybody, Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Look to Him. Look
to Him. He's risen. He's risen.