“Who Do You Say That I Am?”
(Mt 16:13-21, Mk 8:27-31, and Lk 9:18-22)
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You." But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."A. Caesarea Philippi. A city located about 25 miles north of Bethsaida at the foot of Mt. Hermon.
B. Barjona. “Son of Jonah”.
C. Peter. The name in Greek is Petros meaning a rock or small stone.
D. Rock. The Greek word is Petra meaning foundation stone. (Jesus said that His Church was going to be built on the foundation stone [truth, principle, or fact] of Peter’s statement that declared Jesus, as the Christ, the Son of the living God.)
E. Church. The Greek word is ekklesia meaning “called out ones”. The Hebrew equivalent, kahal means assembly, congregation, or community. Both of these words refer to people. Neither of them refers to an institution or a building.
F. Gates. The entry or departure points of a fortified place or stronghold (i.e., a walled city). Gates were closed in dangerous times to prevent entrance by enemies attempting to overpower the stronghold. This is called going on the defense. Gates were opened to allow the stronghold’s resources to be released against an enemy. This is called going on the attack.
G. Gates of Hades. Entry and departure points into the realm of the dead.
H. Shall not overpower it. Jesus simply means that the power of death cannot kill the Church, by opening its gates and attacking. Nor can it stop the Church from taking souls out of the realm of the dead by closing its gates and defending the stronghold.
I. Keys. Instruments used for either locking or unlocking the gates of strongholds.
J. Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. One key locks (binds or closes) the gates of Heaven, thus baring entrance and keeping its blessing from being released. The other key unlocks (looses or opens) the gates of Heaven to provide entrance and releasing of it’s blessing. Peter first used these keys to release heaven’s blessing on the first Feast of Pentecost following Christ’s resurrection from the dead. He declared, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself." (Acts 2:38-39)
True Discipleship
(Mt 16:24-28, Mk 8:34-9:1, and Lk 9:23-27)
And He summoned the multitude with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels; and WILL THEN RECOMPENSE EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.” And He was saying to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power."Jesus Prophesies His Death
And from there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He was unwilling for anyone to know about it. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink into your ears; the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." And they were deeply grieved. But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
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