All right, Matthew 16. It says in verse 13, when Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am? Our Lord knew. the thoughts of men before they
spoke them. He knew the opinions of men.
I believe that this question was put to the disciples to prepare
them for his next question regarding their faith and knowledge of
him. So he asked them, whom do men
say that I the son of man am." Well, verse 14, they replied,
some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're Elias, some say
you're Jeremiah, so one of the prophets, just men. He asked
them whom do men say they are the son of man, born of Mary. Bethlehem, Nazareth. Whom do
they say that I the Son of Man am? That's all I am to them is
the Son of Man, but whom do they say I am? Why would they say
John the Baptist? Well, John the Baptist was admired
by most of these people, and feared. Even Herod feared John
the Baptist. John the Baptist was a great
prophet. He preached to many, many people. The whole world's
gone out to hear him in the wilderness, they said. And he was the cousin by human
birth. Elizabeth, his mother, was related
to Mary, who gave birth to Christ. Some say Elias. Well, who's Elias? Well, turn to Malachi. Malachi,
chapter 4. chapter 4, Elias is talking about
Elijah. In Malachi chapter 4, and this
is the last of the Old Testament prophets, 400 years before Christ
came and died to him, Malachi wrote. And the last thing Malachi
wrote in his book, before the silence of God was broken, but
the angel said, We bring you glad tidings of great joy, for
he is born this day a Savior. Malachi 4 verse 5, Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children
to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth. They were looking
for Elijah to come back. But Christ said of John the Baptist,
Elias has come. He quoted that verse from Malachi.
He said Malachi said Elias shall come. He's come. John the Baptist
was the forerunner of Christ. They said well, he's Elias. And the other says Jeremiah's
one of the prophets. They knew Moses wrote in Deuteronomy
18 that God would send a prophet, that prophet, and they asked
him one time, were you that, they asked John the Baptist,
are you that prophet? But whose opinions are these? The disciples, whom were they
quoting? Some say you're John the Baptist,
some say you're Elias, some say you're Jeremiah, some say you're
one of the prophets. Well, they weren't quoting the
Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Scribes. Those people were
Christ's enemies. But these disciples are quoting
the common people. They associated with the common
people. They lived in the villages. They
walked the streets. They rubbed shoulders with the
people. And this is what the common people were saying. This
is what the Jews in different towns were saying about this
Jesus of Nazareth. He's John the Baptist come back
from the dead. He's Elias the prophet who's
supposed to come before that great day of the Lord. Maybe
he's Jeremias or one of the prophets. Maybe he's that prophet. And
then verse 15 the Lord Jesus said, but whom do you say that
I am? And notice he didn't say the
Son of Man. Whom do you say that I am? I am. Not important what natural
men think. Not important what the scribes
and Pharisees think or what the common people think. It's not
important. But it's of greatest importance what you think. Whom do you say that I am? You've sat under the gospel.
You've been with me a long time. This is over in Matthew 16. You've
been with me a long time. You have believed me. You have
believed my words. Now it's time to make a full
confession. Whom do you say? Whom do you
say that I am? You'll be preaching to others. There must be no hesitation.
Whom do you say that I am? There must be no reservation.
Whom do you say that I am? Who am I? Fully convinced, fully
and open, no stammering or stuttering, declaring, Who am I? And Simon Peter answers, And he said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God. What a grand confession, what
a glorious confession, what a sufficient confession. If you know that,
believe that, confess that, understand what you're saying, that's all
you need. That's what Philip believed when
he preached to the eunuch. He preached who Christ is. You remember the eunuch was reading
Isaiah 53 and Philip joined him in the chariot and he said, of
whom does the prophet speak? Who is this man he's talking
about? Is it himself or someone else? Who is this? And Philip began at that same
scripture and preached Christ to him, Christ Jesus. And they
rode along, nobody knows how long, how long he preached to
him, how long they discussed this, how long they studied the
character and name of Christ. But they came to a body of water,
and Enoch said, here's water, what does hinder me from being
baptized and confessing Christ? And Philip said, if you believe,
With all your heart you may." And he said, I believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. And Philip baptized him. That's
it. That's the confession. There
may be God's many, but there's one living God. If you will turn
to John 17, and our Lord said it's eternal life to know the
living God. the true God. In John 17, verse
3, Christ said, This is life eternal, that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is life
eternal, to know the living true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he
hath sent. There are gods many, but one
God, the Living God. And He's the Living God, Peter
said. He's the Living God who has life
in Himself, and the giver of life. He's the Living God. And Jesus of Nazareth is the
Christ of God, the true Messiah, whom God promised, whom the prophets
wrote about. From the beginning and the expected
Messiah, Simeon was looking for this Messiah, this Christ. And when Mary brought him into
the temple, Simeon said, Lord, now let thy servant depart in
peace. According to your word, I've
seen thy salvation. I've seen the Christ. The Messiah
is a man. by the Christ, the Son of the
Living God, but not a mere man. He's the Son of God. Not by creation
as the angels, not by adoption as the believers, but by nature
and union. He's one with God. Thought it
not right we to be equal with God? Whom do you say that I am? Thou art the Christ, Thou art
the Son of the Living God. The Son of God has come and given
us an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and we're
in Him that is true. This is the true God. This is the Living God. This
is eternal life. Our Lord said in verse 17, or
watch this. And Jesus answered and said to
Simon Peter, Blessed art thou. How blessed you are. How blessed you are. But watch
what he called him. Simon Barjona. What is Simon Barjona? Peter. But Bar is son of, and Jonas
is daddy's name. Blessed art thou, son of Jonas, Simon Bar-Jonas, son of Jonas. Our Lord put Peter in mind of
his beginning, his heritage. his ancestry, his birth, his
parent. You're a son, not of God by nature,
but a son of a natural man. You're the son of your daddy.
Don't ever forget it. Blessed are you, man. Blessed
are you, dust. Blessed are you, seed of a fallen
man. Blessed are you, natural man. You're not by nature a son of
God, you're a son of a natural man, that which is flesh, born
of flesh, is flesh. And no true blessedness comes
through Jonas, your daddy. No true blessedness comes in
any way. It's not by blood, it's not by
birth, it's not by the will of the flesh, it's not by the will
of man, it's by grace, by God. Peter didn't see and understand
who Christ is because his daddy taught him who Christ is. Our daddies teach us who Christ
is in our minds, but they can't teach us in here who Christ is.
Paul said to Timothy, from a child you've known the holy scriptures
that are able to make you wise to salvation. But your mother
teaching you the Holy Scriptures cannot reveal to you who Christ
is. It wasn't revealed by a human
teacher. Listen. Blessed art thou, son
of Jonas. Flesh and blood didn't teach
you that, didn't reveal that to you. Whom do you say that
I am? You're God's eternal son, the
Christ. Your daddy didn't teach you that.
Flesh and blood didn't teach you that. Who taught him? My father which is in heaven. My father which is in heaven.
Flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, who
I am. Flesh and blood just talked about
a while ago who he is. Whom do men say that I am? John
the Baptist. Elias, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Whom do you say that I am? I
say you're the son of God. He said, you didn't learn that
down here. You didn't learn that from a man. My Father revealed
that to you. My Father revealed that to you.
Turn to John 6. And listen to the Lord Jesus
over here. John 6. my father revealed that
to you John 6 verse 41 here's the natural man
talking again John 6 41 the Jews then murmured at him because
he said I'm the bread which came down from heaven and they said
is this is not this Jesus the son of Joseph whose father and
mother we know How is it he says, I came down from heaven? Who
does he think he is? Jesus therefore answered and
said to them, murmur not among yourselves, no man, whatever
his natural abilities, intelligence, or advantages, can, is able,
has the power to come to me, believe on me. Trust me, except
the Father, which sent me, draw him. And the man the Father draws,
I'll raise him up at the last day, because it's written in
the prophets, and they shall be all, everyone that comes to
me, taught of God, taught of God. And every man, therefore,
that hath heard and learned of the Father, he comes to me. Whom do you say that I am? Christ,
the Son of the Living God. Blessed are you, Simon, son of
Jonas. Flesh and blood didn't teach
you that. Oh, how blessed you are. My Father has singled you
out. My Father has set you apart. My Father has sanctified you. My Father has taught you who
I am. Blessed are you. Now thousands
of people saw and heard what Peter saw and heard. The Lord
Jesus walked among them. He went about doing good. His
birth in Bethlehem was common knowledge. The carpenter from
Nazareth who raised the dead, common knowledge. The miracles,
many people followed him because of the miracles. The feeding
of the 5,000, common knowledge. as millions today, hear and read
the same truths. They even read about the crucifixion,
and the resurrection, and the ascension. But they do not know who he is,
what he did, why he did it, and where he is now. Because flesh and blood will
not tell you who he is. It's the revelation of the Father. My Father revealed this to you. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
2, and see if this is not what Paul is saying over here in 1
Corinthians, the second chapter. He says in verse 7, These are the mysteries of the
gospel, my friend. These are the deep things of
God. In 1 Corinthians 2, 7, we speak
the wisdom of God. Who is the wisdom of God? Christ
is the wisdom of God, and the power of God. And we speak the
wisdom of God in a mystery? Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of
the princes, leaders, leaders, kings, scholars, princes of the
world knew. Had they known it, they wouldn't
have crucified him. But as it is written, eye hath
not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath entered the heart
of man the things God hath prepared for them that love him." That's
not talking about heaven. Anybody can read that. Streets
of gold? No problem. Gates of pearl? Eternal
existence? No sickness? Anybody can read
that. But justification, sanctification,
righteousness, the nature of God, how God can be just and
justify, how a man can die and live again, how an unclean thing
can produce a clean thing. Those are mischievous, and they
do not know those things. But, verse 10, God hath revealed
them unto us. Who did? God did. How? By his Spirit. For the Spirit
searcheth all things that deep things What man knoweth the things of
a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. And we
have received, not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit
of God, that we may know the things that are freely given
to us in Christ, by Christ, through Christ, of God. reveal that to you. Men who are left to the power
of reason and the light of nature will never know who Christ is.
Good man, John the Baptist, Elias, one of the prophets, good man, good teacher, moral
reformer, But they'll never know who he is. They'll never believe
his gospel, because the knowledge of Christ is a revelation of
the Father. The Father has to teach us. Turn
to Matthew 11. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you, but my Father which is in heaven. Listen to Christ
in Matthew 11, verse 25. Read it carefully now. Our Lord had just rebuked these
cities in which his mighty works were done, Capernaum, Bethsaida,
and all the rest of them. He said it's going to be easier
for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment than for you. Because
if the mighty works which are done in you had been done in
Sodom, it would still be standard. And then he lifted his eyes to
heaven, and he said, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank thee. Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, thou hast hid these things from the wise and
the prudent, and thou hast revealed them to babe. Even so, Father,
it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father,
except the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will Salvation by revelation. The hearing ear, the seeing eye
is of the Lord. Now listen to this statement. That there is a God is discoverable
by the light of nature. The heavens declare the glory
of God. By creation and the things that are made. conscience. The fact there is a God is easy
to discover by these methods and means, creation, nature,
heavens, and conscience. But that listen, that God has
a beloved son of the same nature with him, equal with him, with
whom he made a covenant of mercy and grace before the world began,
to whom he gave a people from Adam's race, every tribe, kindred,
nation, tongue unto heaven, to be their surety, their federal
head, their representative, to be redeemed by him, by him becoming
a man, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, by him being made
of a woman, and obeying God's law, every statute and precept
perfectly, loving God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength,
and to suffer on a bloody tree. The Messiah, the Christ, our
perfect priest and king, no man knows him but the one to whom
the Father revealed. Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. Simon, son of your daddy, and
all the daddies before him, to Adam, flesh and blood, didn't
reveal that to you, my father, which is in heaven. And then he said in verse 18,
And I say unto you, that your Peter, Now, Christ gave him that name
a long time before this happened. A long time. Turn to John 1,
the first chapter of John. When our Lord Jesus Christ first
called Peter, and Peter first laid his eyes on Christ, the
Lord Jesus gave him that name, Peter of Stone. in John 1 verse
42. Let's read verse 41. Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother. Verse 41. He first foundeth his
own brother Simon. And said unto him, We found the
Messiah, which is being interpreted as Christ. And he brought Simon
to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he
said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah. But thou shalt be called Cephas,
Peter, which is by interpretation a stone. First of all, Peter, the burly,
always thought him to be big and strong and kind of loud and
boisterous and cocaine and with apologies to all my red-headed
friends and red-headed. And our Lord looked at that uncouth, vacillating. One time he was
high, another time he was low. One time he was going to whip
the world, next time he was going to quit. He said, just don't. You're not
now, but you're going to be one. You're going to be a stone. You're going to be a stone. No
matter your ups and downs and ins and outs and variations,
you're going to be a stone. And that's the reason is because
of that confession. Peter believed that confession.
He said, Lord, when he was at his lowest point, he said, Lord,
you know everything. You know I love you. Yes, he
knew Peter loved him because he called him a stone, didn't
he? Way back, John. But he said, I say unto you that
you're Peter, a stone. And upon this rock I'll build
my church, not on Peter, for heaven's sake. The church would be in real trouble
if it was built on Simon Peter, wouldn't it? Or me, or you, or
any other man. Christ is the chief cornerstone.
What other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid
in Christ? Christ built his church on this
confession. That's what he's talking about.
On this truth, who he is, what he did. why he did it and where
he is. Christ's church, his people,
one body of believers who agree, believe, and rest on this testimony,
this sufficient, the heart of Christ, the Son of the living God. The plain sense is this, our
Lord will build his church upon himself and upon the truth of
who he is. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. In fact, all of us are stones. That's right, all of us are stones. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 4. Verse 3, 1 Peter 2 verse 3. If
so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming
as unto a living stone, or disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of
God and precious, ye also as living stones. I built up a spiritual
house, a temple, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also, as it is contained
in the Scriptures, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect
precious, he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, that believe,
he is precious. Unto them that be disobedient,
he is the stone which the builders disallowed, and he is the head
of the corner, and we are built on him." So our Lord is saying
here that his church, his body of believers, every believer
confesses this Christ the son of God chief cornerstone our
foundation our rock rock of ages and he said the gates of hell
will not prevail against this church and look at verse 19 and
i'll give to you you disciples you ministers you preachers my
church the keys of the kingdom of heaven The kingdom of heaven is the
kingdom of God's dear son. And he's translated us from the
kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his son. And the keys
here are figurative, a figurative term for the opening of that
kingdom, and for the understanding of that kingdom, and for the
entering in of that kingdom. God gives us the keys. And what
is the key? Who Christ is. That's the key. The key to all the treasures
of God. All the treasures. Turn to Colossians
2 verse 3. Colossians 2 verse 3. Where are
the treasures of wisdom and life and truth? Colossians chapter
2 verse 3. Verse 2. of Colossians 2, that their hearts
might be comforted, being knit together in love unto all riches
of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement, the confession
of the mystery of God, of the Father and Christ, Christ the
Son of God, of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. The kingdom is Christ, the keys,
who he is, the gospel. The gospel of Christ. The gospel
of Christ. Let me show you that in 1 Corinthians
15. 1 Corinthians 15. This is what
Paul said to the church at Chora. 1 Corinthians 15. 1. Moreover brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel. Who Christ is. What Christ is. where he is now. This is what
the gospel I preach to you, which also you have received wherein
you stand, by which you are saved. If you keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered
unto you first of all that which I received, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and
rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That's the
key that opens the kingdom of God. to hear the gospel and believe it. Our Lord rebuked the Pharisees,
you've got to look at this verse, in Luke 11. He rebuked the Pharisees,
and the Sadducees, and the rulers of the Jews, for withholding
these keys. In Luke 11, verse 49. Now listen,
Luke 11, 49. Therefore also said the wisdom
of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them
they shall slay and persecute." Prophets and apostles, God sends.
That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation
of the world, might be required of this generation. From the
blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, which perished between
the altar and the temple. Verily I say unto you, it shall
be required of this generation, worthy you lawyers, scribes and
Pharisees, you've taken away the keys of knowledge." The key
of knowledge, that's Christ, that's the Messiah, the Redeemer. You've taken away the key of
knowledge. You entered not in yourselves, and them that are
entering in, you hindered by withholding the key of knowledge. And that's what he's saying to
Peter here. He says, I'll build my church on this rock. Christ, the chief cornerstone,
who he is, what he did, why he did it, where he is now, the
Son of God, the Redeemer. And I will give you this key.
You take it and preach it. Go all the way and preach the
gospel that any human believes, he enters in. If it doesn't believe,
he's cast out. He's got the key. And whatsoever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever you
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. What does this gospel
do on earth? It looses the slave of sin. Sets
him free. Is he just set free on earth
from his wicked life and wicked world? He's set free in heaven.
What did he loose on earth? Loosed in heaven. He's bound
on earth, bound to a new master. He's a bond slave of Jesus Christ. He's bound to Christ on earth,
and he's bound to Christ in heaven. Beloved, now we're sons of God. I'm not going to have everlasting
life. I have everlasting life. What
the gospel sets free here is free in heaven. What the gospel
does here is done in heaven. What the gospel binds here is
bound in heaven. That's right. Now we're sons of God. It doesn't
yet appear what we're going to be. But when he shall appear,
we'll be like him. Because we're already set free.
We're already bound to Christ. We've already seen it with Christ
in the heavenly. That's what he's talking about. I've got to give you this last
thing, because I know when you read this you wondered, well
why would he not want them to tell people that he's the Christ?
Verse 20. Then charged he his disciples
they should tell no man that he's Jesus the Christ. Don't
go around broadcasting this. This has to be revealed. This is a mystery that has to
be revealed. Now, the disciples had so freely and fully confessed
the Lord to be the Christ. And our Lord expressed his joy
and affirmation of their confession. And he promised great and glorious
things upon their later declaring this. I give you the keys, and you
go forth and declare this truth and set people free. But he forbids
them gossiping this issue at the present time. And I suggest, I don't have the
answer, but I suggest some things that I read. The disciples at this time were
not equipped or fit to handle such great and awesome truth. Not yet. He said, I have many
things to say to you. You're not yet ready. You can't
buy them now. Secondly, the time for the publication
of that truth was not yet come. He's not an earthly Jewish king,
but a spiritual king. And the cross is his triumph.
That's where the triumph took place on the cross. Now is the
time to declare to all people that he's the Christ, the atonement,
our righteousness. It shall be declared after the
resurrection when his work is finished, his true mission known. And then this possibility. They
start gossiping this truth. Some persons hearing would rise
up and proclaim him king of the Jews, which they did. Let's make
him king. They were going to take him by
force one day and make him king. But the true knowledge of the
Christ has to do not so much with the title or the office
as the work. Think about that. Just calling
him the Christ with words That's not it. It's knowing in the heart
he's the Christ. Being part of God. That's where
the work's done. And that possibly is why he told
them just be patient. Don't go out gossiping the title. Let's finish the work. And my
father will reveal it in due time, in his time, to his people. Alright, I hope that's a blessing
to you.