INI August 17 & 18, 2008 Pentecost 14
Sermon preached by Pastor Stephen Kurtzahn at Cross of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), 9931 Foley Blvd. NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433. Please share this with someone else after you have finished. Thank you!
Bible Text—Matthew 16:13-20
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
If you’ve been watching TV or reading the newspaper this past week, you’d know that Michael Phelps is an American swimmer who just broke all sorts of records at the Olympic Games. If you’d ask swimming fans who Michael Phelps is, they might say something like, “He’s the greatest swimmer who’s ever lived!”
After his miracles of feeding the five thousand and then the four thousand, Jesus had reached his peak of popularity among the Jewish people. He was receiving all kinds of accolades, just like the Olympic athletes in our own day. But the praises all fell short, and they showed people really didn’t understand what Jesus was all about. It was the disciple Peter—speaking for all the disciples—who hit the nail on the head. Peter proclaimed: “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD!”
1. Peter’s Confession Is Misunderstood by the World
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Jesus asked this question while he was walking with his disciples in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi. This city along the
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Son of Man was an expression Jesus often used to emphasize his human nature. He’s our brother, born of a woman, so he could keep the Ten Commandments in our place as our Substitute and so he could die on the cross to atone for our sins. But the term Son of Man also pointed back to a prophecy of Daniel in the Old Testament—a prophecy that used the term Son of Man to describe the coming Savior (Daniel 7:13, 14).
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” Jesus already knew the answer. He asked the question to teach his disciples. They needed to compare what they believed to what the world had to say. Some in the world thought their Master was John the Baptist. King Herod had executed John when he pointed out the king’s adultery. When Herod heard about Jesus and the miracles he performed, he thought John the Baptist had risen from the dead. Obviously a lot of other people did, too. Jesus spoke with authority like Elijah. Jesus suffered at the hands of the religious leaders of the country, just like Jeremiah suffered. So the majority of the people thought Jesus was the precursor of the Messiah, but not the Anointed One himself. He had not fulfilled the earthly political expectations of the people. He had not made
Even in our day few people have anything bad to say about Jesus. Sadly, they never want to say quite enough. Because of what we hear in our sermons and Bible classes at Cross of Christ, we assume everyone else out there who goes to church hears and learns the same things we do. But that’s simply not the case. If he’s mentioned at all, Jesus is often portrayed as a great moral teacher, or as a wonderful example for us to follow. But to say he was born of a virgin? To teach he rose from the dead? To say he is God and man in one person? To proclaim there’s nothing we have to do for salvation, but Christ has done it all for us? There are so many in our world today who would never say those things.
But Jesus really wanted to know what his disciples thought. Peter responded, and it appears he acted as spokesman for the rest. You are the Christ, the Anointed One promised in the Old Testament (Isaiah 61:1,2). Remember the word Christ means the same thing as the word Messiah. Jesus is also the Son of the living God. He’s not just a man, but he’s God himself. Unlike all the other gods people fall down and worship, he’s alive. He not only creates and sustains life in this world but more importantly he gives us eternal life in heaven.
2. Peter’s Confession Is Revealed by God
You and I have a first, middle and last name. You might be John David Smith or Jane Marie Doe. People back in Christ’s time didn’t have middle and last names like we do, but their first name was followed by their father’s name. So Simon was known as Simon, son of Jonah, or son of John.
Simon son of Jonah had been blessed with faith. In trusting that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Simon was blessed with forgiveness and eternal life. He hadn’t figured this truth out on his own or by himself. Nor did he earn or work for this blessing. God the Father had revealed it all to him. Our own confession from Luther’s Small Catechism (explanation to the third article) is a reflection of Jesus’ words: “I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”
I’d like you to remember this the next time you hear a radio or TV preacher talk about how you must accept Christ into your life to be saved. We cannot accept Christ on our own. The Holy Spirit creates the blessing of faith in our hearts so the forgiveness Jesus earned for all the world becomes our own personally. In the Bible, there are no conditions attached to the gospel!
3. Peter’s Confession Is the Foundation of the Church
When Simon first met Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, the Lord gave him the name Peter (John 1:41,42). In the Greek language, in which our New Testament was originally written, the name Peter is Petros. Petros means a small rock or a stone. When Jesus says on this rock I will build my church, the Greek word is
On this rock I will build my church. The word church refers to those who’ve been called out of this perishing world by the gospel to believe in Jesus as their Savior. We are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light,” 1 Pet. 2:9. Jesus was not talking here about a visible organization such as Cross of Christ or even the Wisconsin Synod. Jesus was referring to his invisible family of true believers, whose members are known only to him. He’s talking about the Holy Christian Church. When we find Peter’s confession in our own hearts and on our own lips, then we’re a part of this Church.
Jesus then said that the gates of Hades will not overcome the Church. The word Hades is simply another word for hell. Jesus implied that hell’s gates will pour out her devils to attack the Church. When I read this passage, I think of all the bats that fly out of the main entrance of the Carlsbad Caverns in
4. Peter’s Confession Authorizes Us to Use the Keys
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was not giving this authority now. The disciples weren’t ready for it and Jesus wasn’t prepared to give it, since his work of redemption wasn’t finished yet. He would give them this authority after his death and resurrection. On Easter evening, as he met with his disciples in the locked room, Jesus said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven,’” John 20:21-23.
When Jesus speaks of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, he’s referring to the binding and loosing of sin. The use of the keys is simply the use of law and gospel. The key that binds is the harsh preaching of God’s law to sinners that shows us our sin. There’s no harsher prison than to be bound under guilt and condemnation! The key that looses is the gospel in word and sacraments. There’s no greater freedom than to be a forgiven sinner!
As believers in Jesus, you and I now have the authority to use these keys ourselves. We use the binding key when we point out sin and guilt. We use the binding key when as a church, we tell a person who is not sorry for his or her sins that they are outside of God’s family. This happens when a person is excommunicated according to Matthew chapter 18. We use the loosing key as we assure someone their sins are forgiven, or when as a congregation we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or when we baptize, or as we receive the absolution from the pastor that Christ has forgiven our sins. When we use the binding and losing keys, we are simply sharing what has already taken place before God in heaven.
Now at the very end of our text we find some words that may be rather hard to understand: Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. The Lord didn’t want the disciples to tell others he was the Anointed One because of the misconceptions people had. Satan had warped the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. He didn’t want the people to think he would establish an earthly kingdom. Today we think of how the homosexual community has hijacked the word “gay.” At one time it meant having a happy and fun time. We all know what the word means today, so we don’t use it anymore in its original sense There was also a time when Lutheran pastors and teachers used the word “accept” when they’d talk about receiving Christ by faith. But few confessional Lutheran pastors and teachers use the word “accept” anymore without a word of explanation because of how it’s been misused by the Evangelical community.
As we mentioned earlier, people in our world are not quite willing to say enough about Jesus. May we praise God the Holy Spirit for creating in our hearts the faith to confess Christ. May we always remember we are Christians because the Rock and the Foundation of our faith is Jesus and his Word. And may we recall that we are able to proclaim God’s law and gospel because Jesus himself has given us this authority.
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” May our answer always and only be: “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD!” Amen.
