12th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 33

Prayer to start

May every thought and every word be graciously received for the Glory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction

Questions, questions, questions

the Bibles full of questions

– trying to find answers to them can be both uplifting – and an uncomfortable experience

Jesus asks many questions of us –
but none so important as the one featured in our Gospel reading today

A question that lies at the very heart of our understanding of the Christian faith the church
– and of God’s promise of salvation

– through the example of Peter – we are going to look at the passage to see if it helps us to understand what it means to discover Jesus – and what God expects of us

 
Point 1  personal understanding

For Jesus the time of trial and crucifixion is approaching – there is not much time left to prepare His disciples for what is to come – so He needs to see how much they have learnt – how much they understand

They move away from the crowds – to Ceasarea Phillipi – about 20 miles north of Gallilee – at the foot of Mount Herman –

Built by Herod Antipas – it is noted for its water spring – which is the chief source of the river Jordan – the Greeks called it Paneas – because at the water outlet was a shrine to the Greek god pan – today it is called Baneas an arab corruptuion of the word –

Herod’s son Philip renamed the town Ceasarea after Ceasar – and added Phillipi to distinguish it from the town of Ceasarea on the coast –

It was to be the scene of a great turning point in Jeasus’ ministry – and in Peter’s understanding of who Jesus is –

“who do people say that the Son of Man is ?” He asked them

their response was to pay Him a great compliment and compare Him with some of – “the great prophets” –

“some say John the Baptist” – they said – many including Herod Antipas thought he might return from the dead –

“some say Elijah” – believed by most Jews to be the greatest of all prophets – “or Jeremiah” – both considered to be for – runners or heralds to the arrival of the Messiah – to this day many Jews still expect the return of Elijah – and leave a chair vacant for him at their Passover celebrations –

“and you He said ……who do you say I am?”

no doubt everything went quiet at this point – while they thought about their response –
then Peter makes his great discovery and confession –

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” –

Jesus’ true identity had been revealed to him by God

but Peter was still thinking in terms of a conquering Messiah – a warrior king – who would sweep the Romans from Palestine and lead Israel to power –

The idea of a suffering servant was far from Peter’s mind – as we see later – in verse 22 – the suggestion that Jesus would endure great suffering seemed to him a scandal and a disgrace – and in his eyes almost amounted to failure – only later after the resurrection did he understand the full implication of the cross.

Throughout history many writers and great thinkers have tried to face the question of who Jesus is and to capture Jesus’ significance for each generation –

Albert Schweitzer – in his book called “Jesus” – says that He “is the man who fits no formula – our vocabulary cannot describe Him because we try to force Him into conformity with our human standards”

Too often our Messiah is made in the image of our own convenience – we try to put a restraining arm around Him – so that we don’t have to follow the road of suffering with Him – at times the idea of a king reigning from a cross – baffles and confuses us
– and we lose sight of the fact that Jesus’ death is a gift from God to reunite us with Him –

Jesus came to set up the Kingdom of God into the hearts of ordinary people – like us – through dying on the cross – He made it possible for our sins to be forgiven – and for our hearts to be made clean – and fit for a king –

– Jesus is what god has to say to all people – in Jesus we see what God is like – and what we might become –

– and – as we see from our reading – making that discovery of who Jesus is – leads to a far greater understanding – of what is to come –

Point 2 beginning not the end

With personal confession – comes a personal response back from Jesus –

Jesus reveals where Peter stands in the working out of God’s purpose – and in the foundation of His church –

“And I say to you – you are Peter the rock, and on this rock I will build my church” –

Jesus called him “Petra” – the rock – a word of tremendous praise – a word applied to Abraham in our OT lesson –

In verse 1
“consider the rock from which you are cut”

Abraham was the rock on which the nation and purpose of God were founded –

– to call him a rock is therefore one of the greatest compliments that Jesus could make – and no Jew would ever use the phrase without thinking of God

Jesus identifies Peter as the first member of His church – the first stone – the first man to recognise Him as Christ – in centuries to come there will be many stones added – but Peter was the first – and He promises Him that the powers of evil will not prevail over His church –

Jesus also describes certain privileges and duties laid on him –

“I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” – He said –

in the days to come Peter will be the steward of the kingdom – and unlock its doors to thousands of Jews and Gentiles – the NT gives many examples – the 3000 souls of Acts 2:14 – he opened the door for Cornelius the Centurion – and played a key role in persuading the Council of Jerusalem to open their doors to the Gentiles –

“what you forbid on earth shall be forbidden in heaven – and what you allow on earth shall be allowed in heaven”

– Here Jesus tells Peter that the responsibility will fall on him to be a wise administrator – a guide who will solve the problems and direct the work of the infant church and its growing fellowship –

the decisions that Peter will make will affect those that come after him – and have far reaching consequences – for us all –

For Peter the realisation of who Jesus is wasn’t the end of his journey of discovery – but the beginning
– through Jesus Peter was – as Paul puts it – able to discern the will of God – and discover what God had planned for Him
it was to transformed his understanding and his life-

Point 3 what about us?

so what have we learnt?

the passage tells us – that Jesus will confront us – and ask us for our personal committment to Him and His church –

and finding Jesus is a personal discovery – we have to confess to Him personally – our knowledge of Him can never be second hand –

Jesus’ pronouncement was on Peter alone – the other disciples may have shared His insight – but it was Peter who expressed it – and Jesus will require us to express our understanding of the truth – to those around us

discovering Jesus Christ is not the end of our insight – but the beginning – like Peter – we too will be given an understanding of what God has planned for us – and be asked to bear our own cross of responsibility and privilege in His name

the passage not only deals with the things of the church – but also things of salvation – Jesus promised that Peter would have the keys – and open the door to the 1000’s that followed – but it is not just Peter who has the keys – every Christian has the responsibility of opening the door of the kingdom to others – we are all commanded to bear fruit – and to use the gifts given to us by God to bring others to Him –

Peter is the first one to recognise Jesus for who He is – the first of the fellowship that belong to Him – we are all called to be part of His church – to be one of those stones that follows – and together to make a strong church – Jesus is the corner stone – on which the stability of the church depends – and the true rock on which it is built is God Himself —

Conclusion

We live in an uncertain world – people are looking for assurance and security – tr
ying to find answers to their own problems – searching for the truth about life and death – looking for the answers that God can provide –

we cannot remain neutral about Jesus Christ –

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life,
no one comes to the Father except by me”

Jesus calls us to become part of His church – and to proclaim the wonderful acts of God to others – to tell them that for all their questions – there is only one answer –

– to confess to Jesus Christ and follow Him

Prayer to finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN