[0:00] So, again, if you haven't got a Bible, I encourage you to get a Bible.
[0:18] You can get one as you came in. Also, the notes, if you like to take notes, that's simply to help you focus, focus, concentrate, and something you can take home and reflect on afterwards.
[0:32] So, if you want one of these, there's some on the table. Feel free to go and get one now, and a pen as well at the door. Turn in your Bibles, please, to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 16.
[0:56] Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 16.
[1:16] And we're going to start in verse 13. We're going to read from verse 13 to the end of the chapter.
[1:36] Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 16. When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do you say the Son of Man is?
[1:50] They replied, Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
[2:03] But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
[2:18] Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
[2:30] And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
[2:42] Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
[2:56] From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and teachers of the law, that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
[3:12] Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. Never, Lord, he said. This shall never happen to you.
[3:25] Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.
[3:40] Then Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wants to be my disciples must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.
[3:52] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
[4:06] Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
[4:19] Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
[4:34] Well, let's pray. Amen. Jesus said to Peter, Blessed are you, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
[5:02] Lord, as we come to your word, we recognize that we have not got the ability within ourselves to comprehend and understand fully the words that we read and all that they mean.
[5:21] And so we pray that just as you worked in Peter's life, you would work in our hearts today and reveal to us the truth of who Jesus is so that we are convinced and convicted that we would follow him, that we would give our life for him.
[5:54] Help us now, we pray. in Jesus' name. Amen. Do you know Jesus?
[6:11] I don't mean do you know about him, but do you know him personally and intimately? Because as we get to Matthew 16, we come to a turning point in the gospel.
[6:28] We have heard Jesus. We have seen his actions. We have observed his miracles. And now Jesus confronts us with this question.
[6:40] Do you know me? Do you know me? Three things Jesus wants us to know that we're going to look at together.
[6:53] We're going to look at his identity, his purpose, and the cost. Identity, purpose, and cost.
[7:05] So here's the first one. Identity, who Jesus is. To get to the heart of who Jesus is, he asks a question.
[7:18] We see it there. Do you follow with me? At the end of verse 13. Who do people say the Son of Man is? Who do you say the Son of Man is?
[7:30] Now the Son of Man was a person of great significance promised by God. And we can find out all about who the Son of Man is in Daniel chapter 7.
[7:44] So if you turn with me to Daniel chapter 7, verse 13 and 14. And if you've got a page number, you can help me out there and I'll call it out.
[7:58] Daniel chapter 7. 892. 892. Page 892.
[8:09] Daniel chapter 7. Daniel is a prophet of God and in this chapter he has a vision. And in his vision he sees four beasts which represent the powerful kingdoms and empires, the rulers and the leaders of this world.
[8:30] But by the end of the vision Daniel sees something else. We pick it up in verse 13. In my vision at night I looked and there before me was one like a Son of Man.
[8:48] Son of Man here just simply means a human being, a man. Coming with the clouds of heaven. So he was a unique man.
[9:01] He approached the Ancient of Days, that's God himself, and was led into God's presence. And this man was given authority, glory and sovereign power.
[9:16] All nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. And his dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away.
[9:28] And his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel's vision is striking, isn't it?
[9:40] He's saying kings and kingdoms will come, empires and rulers will rise up, but they will be surpassed by the coming of one who is called the Son of Man.
[9:54] His rule will be with absolute power and supreme authority. Let's go back to Matthew's Gospel. So with that in mind, we can see the significance of Jesus' question to the disciples when he asks them, who do you say the Son of Man is?
[10:15] Where's this man with all power and all authority? Well, they answer, verse 14, some say it's John the Baptist, others say Elijah, still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets, each of which were great prophets in their own time and age.
[10:36] But what about you? He asked, I'm not interested in what other people say. I'm interested in what you say.
[10:47] Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
[11:02] Now we might wonder, why didn't Peter say you're the Son of Man since that was the very question Jesus asked. But Peter's answer is affirming the very same thing.
[11:14] Together, with the disciples, they recognise that Jesus is God's Messiah. He's the promised King who's come to establish an eternal kingdom.
[11:27] He is the Son of the living God. God in human form to reign and to rule. this Jesus who stands before them, who they can hear and see and laugh with and eat with is nothing less than the God-man with all power and all authority.
[11:49] Of course, Jesus has been proving this all the way through his ministry as he healed the sick, controlled nature, overpowered demons, defeated death.
[12:04] Jesus confronted the forces of evil and the powers of darkness and he was champion over them all. So the question for us today is, do you, not talking about anybody else, but to you personally, do you know this Jesus?
[12:27] Have you acknowledged his position of power and his rule over all things and all people? Have you identified Jesus as the God-man who owns your life and has authority over your life?
[12:45] You see, for Peter, identifying Jesus correctly was not just an academic exercise. He wasn't out to impress his fellow disciples. Oh, do you see what answer I gave?
[12:56] A. A plus. Or somehow kind of moving up the pecking order. No, Peter's confession of who Jesus is is both a universal declaration and a personal conviction.
[13:13] declaration. First, it's a universal declaration. You see, the rule of Jesus is not confined to some people in some places.
[13:26] It is declared to all nations and all people. Look at verse 18. Jesus says to Peter, I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church.
[13:42] Now, there's a clever play on words here because the word Peter means rock. So, we can read verse 18. Jesus says, I tell you that you are rock and on this rock I will build my church.
[14:00] So, who or what is the rock on which the church will be built? Well, it's Peter and his confession of who Jesus is.
[14:11] In other words, the rock or the foundation is the declaration that Jesus is king. So, as the identity of Jesus is proclaimed, as the authority and power of Jesus is declared over all things and all people, on this foundation, the church will be built.
[14:37] And the fact that there are people all over the world today, including ourselves right here, right now, giving glory and praise and honour to Jesus proves the promise of Jesus.
[14:52] Look at the end of verse 18. He says, I will build my church and the gates of Hades, literally, the forces of darkness and evil, of hell itself will not be able to overcome it.
[15:09] So, as the authority and power of Jesus is declared, so the church is being built and it is being built.
[15:21] But it's not just a universal declaration, it's a personal conviction. temptation. Because for Peter this was not just some abstract idea, this was a personal, deep-hearted belief.
[15:38] Look at how Jesus affirms Peter in verse 19. He says to Peter, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
[15:55] Now, it's an extraordinary statement and there's lots we could say about it and maybe there's more you want to discuss with me afterwards. But basically, I want us to get this, that Peter and the church that follows the people today, we are the church, people who confess Jesus Christ have been given the keys to the kingdom.
[16:19] kingdom. That is, the church discerns who is in the kingdom and who is not in the kingdom.
[16:30] Jesus has given the church the authority to open the door and to close the door. But you say, how do you discern who is in the kingdom?
[16:43] Well, by the person's confession of who Jesus is. As people hear the declaration about Jesus, and as people make a personal confession of Jesus, so they are welcomed into the kingdom of Jesus.
[17:00] You see, knowing the identity of Jesus is not just a tick-box exercise. We're not here giving answers like we would in school.
[17:10] It's a personal confession, a deep conviction that Jesus is God with absolute power and supreme authority. It's admitting and submitting to the fact that Jesus is king of the universe and rules over every aspect of my life.
[17:35] Do you know this Jesus? So, we've looked at the identity. second, the purpose, why Jesus came.
[17:50] Having made his identity clear, Jesus now tells us his purpose, verse 21. From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
[18:19] This is where everything is headed in Matthew's gospel. This is the mini mission statement of Jesus. Jesus, why did you come?
[18:31] I came to suffer, I came to die, and I came to rise again. Jesus must suffer, verse 21.
[18:47] He began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer. Now, hang on a minute, you say.
[18:58] Jesus is God's king with supreme power and sovereign authority. He's the son of man that everybody was expecting. He rules over everything, and you're telling me he's going to Jerusalem to suffer?
[19:15] Doesn't sound very kingly to me. Sounds more like weakness than power. Peter's response is understandable.
[19:26] It's perhaps how we might respond. Verse 22. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke Jesus. Never, Lord, he said. This shall never happen to you.
[19:39] You can't suffer. You're the son of man. You can overthrow anyone and overcome anything. No, Jesus must suffer.
[19:55] You see, through the sufferings of Jesus, he identifies with our suffering, and he helps us in our suffering. That's what the writer of Hebrews makes clear.
[20:09] You can read it there on screen. Because Jesus himself suffered when he was tempted or tested, it's the same word, he is able to help those being tested and tempted.
[20:25] it literally means that Jesus suffers with us. Jesus is, if you like, our co-sufferer.
[20:39] It's a heart-to-heart solidarity. Jesus is saying, your struggle is my struggle. Your burden is my burden. Your pain is my pain.
[20:52] Jesus feels for us in our suffering as if it was his very own, even though it isn't. Jesus must suffer so that we might have one who understands us in our own struggles and trials.
[21:14] But one who merely suffers is not enough, is it? As the suffering God-man, he not only knows what it is to suffer, but he helps us in our suffering.
[21:28] No matter what depth you may descend, no matter what darkness you may enter, Jesus is not just with you, but he is under you, strengthening you, and upholding you.
[21:45] Jesus experienced the full effects and consequences of living in a fallen world. He literally clothed himself with human weakness. His mind and his body struggled just like we do.
[22:01] He suffered so that he might understand us and give to us what we need.
[22:13] Jesus must suffer. But more than that, Jesus must die. We can understand Peter's objection, but they're wrong.
[22:30] Jesus must suffer and he must die. Look at verse 23 with me. Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan.
[22:42] You're a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. From being the foundational rock, Peter now becomes the stumbling block.
[22:59] Without realizing it, he's become an obstacle to what Jesus must do. But to stop Jesus from dying is to be on the side of Satan.
[23:11] Jesus must die. die. Now while Peter struggles with what it means at this stage, he would later come to understand that Jesus must die.
[23:26] Peter himself would write this in 1 Peter. Follow with me on the screen. He himself, that's Jesus himself, bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.
[23:48] By his wounds you have been healed. You see, sin is not just rejection and rebellion against God. Sin is replacing God with self.
[24:02] It's saying, I'm the king, I rule my life, and I'm going to live as I please. It's taking the crown of sovereign authority that belongs to Jesus, taking it off his head and putting it on my head.
[24:17] It's declaring war on Jesus. It's what we all do. But Jesus says there will only be one outcome.
[24:29] Either Jesus is going to die for you or you will die for your sin. What's it going to be? Either Jesus dies or you die.
[24:44] You see, the king, with all power and all authority, came not just to suffer with us, but he came to suffer for us.
[24:56] He would become our sin for us. Every word of rejection, every act of rebellion would be borne by Jesus as he hung on the cross.
[25:08] He died my death. He suffered my condemnation. He endured my punishment so that I could be healed, forgiven, welcomed, and treasured.
[25:23] Jesus came to die for you and for me. To quote one old preacher, if we trust in Jesus, he says, you now stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if he were you.
[25:48] Jesus must suffer, Jesus must die, and Jesus must rise. That's what he says in verse 21.
[25:59] This is my reason for coming, that I would be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Jesus came in weakness. He would suffer and he would die, but only so that he would display his greatness and his power, because through the resurrection Jesus proves his authority over death and the glory that is yet to come.
[26:25] Again, Peter was struggling to see how any of this could be true, but as he became a witness to the death of Jesus and a witness to the risen Jesus it would all become clear.
[26:38] Come with me please to 1 Peter chapter 1. Follow with me in this. 1 Peter chapter 1.
[26:51] And again, if you've got a page number, shout it out and I'll call it out. 1 Peter chapter 1.
[27:02] 1.217 There's the teacher for you, always loud and clear. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 3 So here's the promise that we have because of Jesus' resurrection.
[27:27] And note again, it's Peter having witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus. He now writes these things. Follow with me verse 3.
[27:39] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.
[28:02] Our bodies will perish. Our possessions will spoil. Our world will fade.
[28:14] but the glory of the eternal kingdom will never perish, never spoil, never fade. Verse 4 This inheritance is kept in heaven for you who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
[28:44] I wonder if you can see there in verse 4 and 5 how the resurrection is our security and our safety. On the one hand, verse 4, heaven is kept for us, beginning of verse 5, and we are kept for heaven.
[29:04] We are shielded by God's power. Heaven is kept and we are kept. Those who trust in Jesus have this living hope because Jesus suffered for you, Jesus died for you, and Jesus rose again for you.
[29:29] Of course, facing death is still a struggle. And you know why death is always so hard? death is because death takes from us the things we cherish, the people we deeply love.
[29:48] Yet they're always temporary. The things of this world will perish, spoil, and fade. But yet in God's hands, they are gifts from God to prepare us for the greatest gift of all, God himself in his eternal kingdom.
[30:13] Jesus came to suffer for you, to die for you, to rise again for you.
[30:24] but there's something else Jesus wants us to know. The cost. You see, what we think about Jesus will determine how we respond to Jesus.
[30:42] If we understand his identity, if we understand his purpose, then we will count the cost. Look at verse 24. Go back with me to Matthew chapter 16.
[30:54] chapter 16, verse 24. Then Jesus said to his disciples, look, he says, you've got my identity clear.
[31:10] You've got the purpose clear. So whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross.
[31:24] and follow me. The evidence that we understand who Jesus is and why Jesus came, that if we've accepted it and embraced it, it will be seen, it will be worked out in our life.
[31:41] And the evidence will be crystal clear to us all. will mean three things very simply. It will mean denying yourself.
[31:53] Jesus says, if you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself. To deny yourself is to die to self.
[32:04] rule. You see, we all want to play the role of sovereign king, don't we? We're all king of our castles. I want to be the boss of my life. I don't want anybody telling me what I should do or how I should live.
[32:17] I want to do things my way. But to deny yourself is to give up the fight to self rule.
[32:29] Instead, it means living under his authority and submitting to his rule. It's about seeking first the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of Johnny Grant that will come to nothing.
[32:44] What will this look like for us? Well, it starts with the king's word, the king's authority. It means not just listening to a few words on a Sunday, but reading his word, coming under his authority and obeying what he says, because he is king and he is lord.
[33:15] Deny yourself. Second, take up your cross. Jesus says if you're a disciple, then you must take up your cross.
[33:27] To take up your cross is to lose your life. Remember, the cross was a form of execution. It was the death penalty. So to take up your cross is saying, I am willing to die for Jesus.
[33:44] Jesus. Some of you are perhaps wearing a cross today on a chain around your neck. I have no problem with it, by the way, with that chain, with that cross.
[34:00] But what does it mean to you if you put it on in the morning? As you put it on in the morning, it's saying, I'm willing to die for Jesus.
[34:11] That's what the cross means. rather than save my life, I will lose my life for him. Verse 25.
[34:25] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
[34:37] You see, if Jesus gave his all for you, if he gave his life for you, to save you, and bring you safely and securely to his eternal kingdom, if Jesus did that for you, then we will give our life to him.
[34:55] At the very least, it means embracing a path of loving sacrifice and humble service. Taking up your cross is going to mean walking a path of suffering.
[35:08] life. If you're after an easy life, if you want a comfortable life, if you want a safe life, if you want a life where you can just keep people at arm's distance, don't be a disciple.
[35:28] Don't be a disciple. But if you want to save your life, be ready to suffer and be ready to die. You want to be a disciple of Jesus?
[35:47] He says, you must follow me. Following Jesus is both costly, costly and glorious.
[36:00] It's costly because it will mean dying to yourself and taking up your cross. It will mean walking a path of suffering. But that same path leads to glory.
[36:13] After the death of the Lord Jesus came the resurrection of Jesus. So all who follow him are guaranteed and assured of a resurrection to come, suffering now, but glory later.
[36:30] You see, to follow Jesus Jesus is to embrace his life. It's to follow his example. It's to hear the call as he says to you, come and die with me.
[36:45] Come and live with me. We follow his example and look forward to his eternal kingdom.
[36:55] listen to the words of Psalm 16, the end of Psalm 16. I'll read them to you as we reflect.
[37:10] Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices, my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
[37:30] You make known to me the path of life, and you will fill me with joy in your presence and with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
[37:48] Follow me, says Jesus, and I will bring you home. to my glory. Let's pray.
[38:17] Father God, thank you for your word. Thank you for its truth that declares to us so clearly who Jesus is, why Jesus came, and what it demands of us.
[38:38] We pray that these would not just be words or a tick box exercise, but that we would believe these words, that we would do business with you today and know Jesus for ourselves personally and intimately.
[39:00] Father, help us that we might follow you as we should. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. We're going to sing together, which speaks of the Lord Jesus who gave his all for us, and then towards the end, there's a verse which