Some of you tell me when you
write concerning the program that you like to follow in the
Bible when I'm preaching. So if you'll take your Bible
and turn with me to Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16. I'm going to be preaching from
verses 13 through 19. Matthew 16. Verse 13 says, When
the Lord Jesus came to the coast of Caesarea Philippi, that his
disciples were gathered about him. And he asked his disciples,
saying, Whom do men, whom do the natural men of this world
say that I, the Son of Man, am? Now, our Lord never asked a question
for information. Our Lord knows all things. The
Scripture says He knew their thoughts. But when the Lord asks
a question, it's in order to reveal the thoughts and attitude
of the person to whom he asked the question. For example, he
said to Cain, where's your brother? And Cain replied, am I my brother's
keeper? So his attitude and his thoughts
were revealed by his answer. And our Lord asked Adam, Adam,
where art thou? Well, I was naked. And I hid
myself. So he doesn't ask a question
for information, but to reveal the thoughts and attitude of
the person to whom he asked the question. Peter. What a wonderful
reply Peter gave. Our Lord said, Peter, do you
love me? And he said, Lord, you know all
things. You know I love you. So he asked
his disciples this question. Whom do men say that I the Son
of Man am? He calls himself the Son of Man.
Why does he call himself the Son of Man? Well, because he
is a man. Our Lord Jesus Christ became
a man, truly man. Born of a woman, the scripture
says, made of a woman, made under the law, and subject to all of
the infirmities and temptations of this flesh. He was a man,
truly man. And then he calls himself the
son of man because the first biblical reference to the Messiah
refers to him as a man born of woman. In Genesis chapter 3,
verse 15, the writer calls the Messiah the seed of woman. That's a man born of a woman.
And in Isaiah 7, 14, the scripture says, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son. And you'll call His name Immanuel,
God with us. So, whom do men say that I, the
Son of Man, am? And another reason He calls Himself
the Son of Man is because in appearance, in appearance now,
while He was here on this earth, He looked to be only a mere man. When He walked this earth, they
called Him the carpenter. We know who He is. He's the carpenter. And Isaiah chapter 53 said, He's
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. We hid, as it were,
our faces from Him. He hath no form, no comeliness,
no beauty that we should desire Him. So He is a man. And He calls
Himself the Son of Man. But He puts the question to the
disciples in this way. Whom do men, whom do the people
of the world, Not believers now, not disciples. He knows what
his disciples think of him. But what do the people of this
world, the people on the streets, the people in the shops, the
people in the synagogues, high and low, rich and poor, learned
and ignorant, whom do they say that I, Jesus of Nazareth, am? Who is Jesus of Nazareth? What
do they say? Well, the disciples answered
him. They said, some say you're John the Baptist. And some say
you're Elijah, and others say you're Jeremiah, or one of the
prophets. You know, I noticed in reading
this, the disciples said, well, what they're saying out there
is you're John the Baptist, or some say you're Elijah, and some
say you're Jeremiah, some say you're one of the prophets. I
noticed three things. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
here on this earth, and men discussed who he is, three things are evident
from their reply. The first one is this, they can
never agree on who he is. They can never agree. Some say
John the Baptist, some say Elijah, some say Jeremiah, some say one
of the prophets. Error is always multi-choice. Truth is always one. There's
one single truth about who He is. And when you ask men, they
never can agree. The second thing I notice about
these answers is this. They contradict one another.
Totally contradict one another. And not only that, but they contradict
the very thing, the one thing, that our Lord emphasized when
He was here on this earth more than any other. What is that? He said, I and my Father are
one. I'm God. He that has seen me
has seen God. No man has seen God at any time. The Only Begotten reveals Him.
So these fellas, they call Him all these different things, but
they never say, never say, the one thing He emphasized more
than any other, He's God. Or they'll say He's a good man,
He's a good prophet, but never God. Never God. The natural man
never, ever calls Jesus Christ And the third thing I notice
about these answers is this. All of their answers, multi-choice,
never can agree, never call Him God, but their answers contradict
common sense. He's not John the Baptist. John
the Baptist and Christ were here at the same time. John the Baptist
baptized Him. He's not Elijah. He's not Jeremiah. And I'll tell you this, if he's
not God, he's not a good man. How can Jesus of Nazareth, if
he's not God now, think with me, if he's not God, how can
he be a good man? He didn't tell the truth. He
said he's God. He said, I and my Father are
one. Now, a good man won't say that. A good man won't lie. And the second thing, How can
Jesus of Nazareth, if he's not God now, how can he be a good
man when he deceived people? He said, coming to me, ye that
labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. No natural man
can say that. He said this, if you believe
on me, you have everlasting life. If you believe not that I am,
you'll die in your sins. Now my friends, he's either God,
Jesus Christ is either God, or he's the greatest imposter who
ever lived. Now, that's right. Preacher,
aren't you afraid to talk like that? No, sir. No, sir, not at
all. Not at all. The apostle Paul wrote that.
He said in 1 Corinthians 15, 19, listen, if in this life only
you have hope in Jesus Christ, you are of all men most miserable.
In other words, If He's not God, if He's not our God, Savior,
our Jehovah, God, my Savior, if He's not crucified and risen,
if He's not at the right hand of the Father, then we're miserable,
deceived people. Of all people who believe in
Him, we're miserable. So, without comment, though,
our Lord asks the disciples, what are they saying out there?
And when the disciples told him, well, some say this, some say
that, some say that, none of them say you're God. So without
comment, look at verse 15, without even taking notice of what the
people in general think of him, he asked his disciples, but whom
do you say? Now he left off son of man, but
whom do you say that I am? I am. My friends, when you see
that statement, I am. What do you think of? Well, my
mind goes back to Exodus 3, verse 14. When Moses stood by that
burning bush, and God was going to send him down to Egypt to
deliver his people. And Moses said, well, Lord, when
I go down there and tell them that God sent me, they're going
to ask me, what's his name? What do I tell them? And the
Lord spoke from the bush. He said, Moses, tell them, I
am that I am. And our Lord Jesus Christ, when
he asked his disciples, whom do you say I am? He used that phrase often. He
said, I am the door. I am the water of life. I am the resurrection and the
life. And he said this, if you believe
not that I am, you'll die in your sins. So he says, whom do
you, my disciples, my beloved friends, whom do you say I am? They knew he was more than a
mere man. What manner of man is this that even the winds and
the waves obey his voice? They called him Master and Lord. That's a sweet term. I like to
call our Lord Jesus Christ Lord and Master. They called him,
my Lord and my God. That's what Thomas said. They
left all to follow him. Well, when he asked them that,
Peter answered. Peter usually spoke for the disciples.
And he said, we believe, we believe that thou art the Christ. Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Do you remember a
moment ago when I said error concerning who he is is multiple
choice? always, they can't agree on,
they say all these different things, truth is one. He is,
the disciples all agreed, they all agreed. Peter was their spokesman. Another place they said, we believe
and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of God. But they
all agreed, truth is one. He's the Christ. He's the Son
of the living God. The only begotten, well-beloved
Son of the living God. And I'm telling you this, all
Christians, all believers, all of the Lord's people agree on
this one thing. They may disagree on church government
and church principles and practices and all these different things,
ordinances and so forth, but there's no division on this matter.
Who I am. Whom do you say that I am? Thou art the Christ, the Son,
of the living God. That's the only answer. And that's
the answer of every believer. Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And let me tell you something.
That's the song of heaven. In Revelation 1-5, the scripture
says, this is the song of heaven. They sang a new song, multitude
which no man could number. And they sang in unison without
one disagreeable voice. unto Jesus Christ, who is the
faithful witness, the only begotten from the dead, the prince of
the kings of this earth, unto Jesus Christ, who loved us and
washed us from our sins in his own blood, unto Jesus Christ,
who hath made us kings and priests to God his Father, to Jesus Christ
be glory, dominion forever and ever. Amen. That's the song of
heaven. every believer, every Christian,
every child of God, and every voice. And that song is learned
here, and it's practiced here on this earth, and the voice
that cannot sing that song will not be heard in glory. Now, that's the truth. Look at
verse 16. This reply of the apostles has
to do with two critical issues, two critical issues. Peter replied,
Thou art the Christ. That's the first issue. Secondly,
Thou art the Son of the living God. Now, Thou art the Christ. The entire Old Testament of 39
books, the writings of the prophets, God spake to our fathers by the
prophets and they all preached one message. Jesus is the Christ. That's His office. What was the
message God sent by the prophets? Paul said in Hebrews, God spake
to our fathers with the prophets. What was the message? I'll tell
you what that message is. Someone's coming. He is called
the Christ. He is called the Messiah. He
is called the Redeemer. He is called the desire of all
nations. He is called the Lion of Judah, Lion of the tribe of
Judah. He's called the Lord, our righteousness.
Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ of which the prophets wrote.
He said, Abraham saw my day. He rejoiced to see my day. He
said, Moses wrote of me. He said, David spake of me when
he said, Thee, Lord, said to my Lord, sit thou at my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Job wrote, My Redeemer liveth,
and he'll stand on this earth. And I ask you, who are readers
of the Scriptures. You've read Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers. You've read the Scriptures, the
Psalms, Isaiah. You've read the Scriptures. I
ask you, who is this seed of woman? Who is it? Who crushes
Satan's power? It's Jesus of Nazareth. Who is
Melchizedek, the high priest of God, the king of Salem, the
priest of the most high God? Who is this in the Old Testament? He's somebody He's a symbol of
somebody. He's a prophecy. Who is he? Who
is the Passover lamb? The lamb selected without spot
or blemish and then slain and the blood put on the dough. Paul
said Christ is our Passover. That's Christ. Who is the manna? The bread from heaven. Who is
the rock smitten and the water comes forth? Who is the serpent
lifted up? Got to be somebody. All of these
Old Testament prophets declared that someone's coming and he'll
fulfill all of these prophecies and all of these pictures and
all of these titles. Who is Shiloh? The scepter will
not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes. Who is this lion of the
tribe of Judah? Who is the high priest going
into the Holy of Holies with the blood on every day of atonement? That's Christ. Of whom does Isaiah
speak when he says, he was wounded for our transgressions? He was
bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him. By His stripes we're healed.
Tell me who that is. I'll tell you who it is. It's
Jesus the Christ. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Oh, here's that second part.
All of the prophets now speak of Christ, of Jesus as the Christ,
the woman at the well. You remember this story? Our
Lord Jesus was talking to the woman at the well. And finally
came to the end of that conversation, and she said, well, when the
Christ comes, when the Christ comes, this woman knew the Old
Testament scriptures. She read these prophecies and
these types and pictures. When the Christ comes, he'll
tell us everything. And Christ said to her, Jesus
of Nazareth said to her, I that speak to thee am he. That's what
I believe. That's what Peter said they believed.
We believe thou art the Christ. The fulfillment of every Old
Testament scripture, every jot and tittle, prophecy, promise,
type, pattern, picture, thou art the Christ. And I'll tell
you this, John wrote in 1 John, whosoever believeth that Jesus
of Nazareth is the Christ is born of God. That's powerful,
isn't it? Whoever believes that Jesus is
the Christ. That person is born again. Born of God. Really believes
it now. Then Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, but listen to
this. Peter said, Thou art the Son of God. Thou art the Son
of the living God. Now John said in 1 John 5, there
are three that by record in heaven. Now you listen to me. There are
three that by record in heaven. The Father, the Word, who is
the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. Now,
my friends, I cannot explain the Trinity. I wouldn't even
attempt it. But I know what the Word of God
teaches. And I know the Word of God teaches that the Lord
our God is one God. One God. And yet He reveals Himself
to us as Father, Son, and Spirit. Now, that's so. And several times
in the scripture, the Father, Son, and the Spirit are mentioned
in the same verse. Our Lord said, Go baptize them
in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And John, in
1 John, said, There are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But when our Lord was baptized,
the Lord Jesus was standing in the river Jordan. The Spirit
of God descended in the form of a dove. There's Christ, the
Son, and the Spirit. And then the Father spoke from
heaven, the Scripture says, and declared, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased. I can't explain that, but I can
believe it. On the Mount of Transfiguration,
there's Christ talking with Moses and Elijah. And the Father spoke
from heaven, said, This is my Son. Hear ye Him. Christ said
to His disciples, now listen, He said to His disciples, will
pray the Father, he'll send you the Holy Spirit. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and
they want. And Isaiah 9 declares, a child is born, the Son is given,
and his name, what is his name? Born of Mary in Bethlehem. Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. Thou art the Christ. Jesus Christ,
born of Mary, Bethlehem's manger, walked this earth, died on that
cross for his people, was buried and rose again, is none other
than the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, look at the
next verse. Here's our Lord's reply to that
confession that Peter just gave. Blessed are you, Simon, Barjona,
He reminds Peter that he's still a man. What is Bar-Jonah? Bar
is son, son of Jonas. And our Lord Jesus said, blessed
are you, man. Simon, son of Bar-Jonah, born
in sin, still a man. Flesh and blood, the second thing
He said, flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you. My Father
revealed that to you. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is taught of God, born of God, and blessed of God. Divine truth is learned only
one way, by revelation. And I say unto you, now listen
to him, and I say unto you that thou art Peter, Cephas. Our Lord gave him that name when
he first met him. His name was Simon. And when
our Lord first met him, that was over in John 1 verse 42,
I'll read it to you. When Jesus beheld him, he said,
You're Simon. Thou art Simon, son of Jonas.
Thou shalt be called Cephas, Peter. A stone, firm, solid foundation. Peter's not like that yet, at
this particular time. Oh, he believes Christ Jesus
is the Christ and he's the Son of God. But he's got some wavering
to do yet, you know, so forth, and the denial and all these
different things. But he's going to be, you're going to be called
a stone, a stone. And on this rock, I'll build
my church. Now, not on Peter. You couldn't
build a church on a man, on a man especially that shifts around
like Peter did in those days. But what Christ is saying, I'm
going to build my church on the rock of that confession. Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. I told you that's
the unity of the church. That's the voice of the church.
That's the confession of the church. And every believer and
every Christian, every child of God is taught of God, who
Jesus Christ is. He's the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Our Lord is the chief cornerstone of the church. In
Ephesians 2.20, it says, The household of God, that's the
church, is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
the Word of God, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it Blessed are
you man? Simon son of Jonas blessed of
you You're blessed if you know who he is If you know what he
did If you know why he did it why died why suffered that God
may be just and justified and where he is now at the right
hand of God. He ever lives to make intercession for us. Blessed
are you. Blessed is the man who's been
taught of God, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
God. Blessed are you, Simon. But flesh and blood doesn't reveal
that. I'm preaching, and I've preached a long time. And I've
preached to a lot of people, and I've been telling them who
he is. And some believe, and some don't. But those who believe,
believe because they've been taught of God. And those who
do not believe, do not believe because they're depending on
this flesh. You have to be taught of Him, the Scriptures. God uses
the Word of God for the power of His Spirit. Then He said to
Peter, now watch this, And I'll give you the keys of the kingdom
of heaven. What are these keys? Well, listen
to what these keys will do. They're powerful. Whatsoever
you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatsoever you
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Would he trust a
man with opening the door of heaven or closing the door of
heaven? Opening the door of heaven for somebody and closing it for
somebody? No. It's this gospel, who Christ
is, what Christ is, where Christ is, why He suffered. It's the
gospel. And when the gospel is preached
by Peter, Paul, James, John, me, you, Fred, whomever, when
it's preached, With it comes the key of knowledge that opens
the very doors of heaven, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And when a man hears it, like you're listening right now, hears
this gospel, and you're sitting there thinking about what I've
said, who is Jesus Christ? Well, some say he's John the
Baptist, some say he's Jeremiah, one of the prophets, some say
Elijah, some say this, some say he's a good man, somebody's this,
that, and the other, you know, what do you say? Whom do you
say that I, the Son of Man am? A preacher, I'm convinced that
what you're preaching here and reading from the Word of God
is the truth, that Jesus is the Christ. Every Old Testament picture
fulfilled by Him. Every Old Testament prophecy
fulfilled by Him. Every Old Testament pattern,
the high priest, the blood atonement, He is the Passover. He's the
Lamb of God promised by Abraham to Isaac. God Himself will provide
a He's all those things. He's the Son of God. And because
He's the Son of God and the Christ, He can suffer as our substitute
and take our sins, take our guilt, put it away. That opens the door
of heaven. And what we bind on this earth
will be bound in heaven. Bound to whom? To Christ. What's
loose on this earth? Loose from the gospel. Loose
leaves the gospel. Won't happen. won't have it in
heaven. Now the name of this, the title
of this message is The Keys of the Kingdom. If you want it,
write, send two dollars, we'll send a message to you along with
another one I'll preach next Lord's Day. Until next time we
meet, may God bless you.