You may be seated.
Kids, you can now go to your King's Kids class,
and as they're on their way,
would you open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16?
If you've got a pew Bible,
I'm going to be reading a passage on page 977,
Matthew chapter 16, verses 13 through 20.
Hear God's Word.
Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,
He asked His disciples,
Who do people say that the Son of Man is?
And they said, Some say John the Baptist,
others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
He said to them, But who do you say that I am?
Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my Father who is in heaven.
And I tell you, you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ.
May God bless the hearing of His Word.
So what are you doing this summer?
What you got planned?
It's a fun question to ask people in early June,
because the summer lies in front of us.
It's full, full of possibilities and fun.
Maybe you're planning to go to the Harbor Market on every Saturday morning,
or maybe you're going to hit Twilight Jazz,
or July 4th at Wolf and Butyl,
or you're going to grill out as much as possible to perfect your burger.
Sure, maybe that's your plan.
Maybe you're going to go north,
cabin on a lake,
relax in a hammock,
for sure,
spend some time with friends.
It's not unusual when you ask someone that question,
and I've been asking that question all week long.
People's faces light up.
There's a twinkle in their eye before their answer,
because it's fun.
Summer's fun.
Summer in southeast Wisconsin is worth all of the winter cold, right?
But let's think outside the box a little bit.
What if you were to ask Jesus that question?
Jesus,
what are you doing this summer?
Jesus, what you got planned this summer?
What are you going to be doing?
Well, I think if you know your Bibles at all,
Jesus would reply likely,
referencing maybe Hebrews 1.3.
He'd say,
well, you know,
as the radiance of the glory of God,
and as the exact imprint of His nature,
my plan is to
continue upholding the universe
with the word of my power.
And we would say,
yes and amen.
That's a great plan.
Do you have anything else planned?
And He does.
He's told us this much
in the passage I just read you.
Matthew 16,
13 through 20,
we learn about who Jesus is
and what He's doing this summer.
Matthew 16,
13 through 20
is essentially a Q&A with Jesus.
Jesus asks a couple questions.
Peter gives a great confession.
And then Jesus responds to that confession
with some explanation,
framing the confession.
It's really interesting.
It all points to who Jesus is
and what He is doing this summer
in Kenosha and in Liberia
and in Kenya
and in Nepal
and in China
in addition to upholding the universe
by the word of His power.
So let's look at this Q&A with Jesus.
Starting with these two questions.
Now when Jesus came into the district
of Caesarea Philippi,
which was an area
that was mostly populated by Gentiles,
and so there's kind of a lull
with Jesus and His disciples.
And so He asked them,
the first question is kind of like a straw hole.
It's like,
what's the popular opinion?
Guys, guys,
what is the word on the street about me?
Who are people saying I am?
And His disciples say,
well, some say John the Baptist
in chapter 14 of Matthew,
he has been beheaded.
He's dead.
So they think he's,
some people think he's John the Baptist,
come back.
Some people think he's Elijah,
come back.
Some people think he's Jeremiah
or one of the other prophets.
What they all have in common is
people are saying that Jesus
is one who speaks for God,
a prophet of some type.
Let's fast forward
from the first century
to the 21st century,
and let's say Jesus asks us
this same question.
Who do people say the Son of Man is?
And now we're kind of thinking
about those people around us
and who they say Jesus is,
and maybe we'd say,
well, they think that,
Lord Jesus,
You are the kind of the authority on love,
and You taught on love,
and only love.
You taught on love,
or you were before your time,
or you were a good teacher.
You spoke truth to power.
You were a way to salvation.
Some people think that you were
a historical figure,
but you're kind of tough to figure out.
Even some people think
that you're irrelevant.
Some people think
you're a crutch.
Some people will equate you,
Jesus,
with some kind of like
anxiety med for the soul.
So what people are saying
about you
is that you're probably
a good guy,
but mostly irrelevant.
Jesus moves on to the next question.
But who do you say that I am?
Jesus has a way of making things personal,
doesn't He?
And with that question,
He moves from having His disciples
kind of talk about
what other people think about Him,
which is relatively easy,
to now getting personal.
What do you say?
Who do you say that I am?
What do you believe
to be true about me?
So let's get personal.
Imagine Jesus asks you
that question.
Who do you say that I am?
Maybe you're a Christian
and you've been walking
with the Lord Jesus for decades.
Who do you say that I am?
Maybe you're a Christian
and you have walked away
from the church,
even walked away from Jesus.
Who do you say that I am?
Maybe you're a non-Christian
but you're curious about Jesus.
Who do you say that I am?
Maybe you're a middle school
or a high school student
and you've been raised
in a Christian home.
And if Jesus were to ask you
that question,
who do you say that I am?
You might respond by saying,
well, my parents think.
But what Jesus wants to know is,
who do you say that He is?
With these two questions,
Jesus is very intentionally
focusing His disciples and us
on who He is.
But we can even be
a little bit more to the point.
We can ask a question like this.
Do you believe
that Jesus is presently dead
or alive?
Because depending on how
you answer that question
will kind of reveal
what you think that Jesus
is doing this summer.
If He's dead,
He's not doing anything this summer.
But if He's alive,
well, there's all sorts
of interesting possibilities.
possibilities.
This Q&A with Jesus
starts with two questions
posed by Jesus,
raising the question,
who do you say that I am?
And from there,
we move to verse 16.
Because Peter
answers the question.
Simon Peter replied,
you are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
It's a confession.
It's a declaration.
Did you notice
the word the
before Christ?
That might seem
a little bit unusual
to you.
The Christ.
And if you didn't know it,
that word Christ
is actually a title.
It means Messiah.
The Christ
means the same thing
as the Messiah.
So what Peter is saying is,
you are the Messiah,
the Son of the living God.
So,
what's Messiah?
It means anointed one.
And all throughout
the Old Testament,
there are these prophecies
after prophecies
of this one
who would come,
an anointed one,
a promised one.
And all throughout
the Old Testament,
we are told
of who he is
and what he will do.
He would be a king
descended from David.
Last week,
we finished off
the book of Amos.
And Amos ends
with hope
that God is going
to restore
the booth
of David
in which this
one who would come
in the line of David,
he is going to gather
for himself
a people
called by his name
from both Jews
and Gentiles.
It's the Messiah.
We learn from 2 Samuel 7
that God promised
to David himself
that he would have
a descendant
who would sit
upon his throne
forever.
I want to point you
to one of my favorite
prophecies
of the coming Messiah.
It's in Isaiah chapter 9.
If you want to open up
your Bibles
to Isaiah 9,
turn there.
It's on page 680
of your Pew Bible.
You're familiar
with this passage
because we say it a lot
during Christmas time.
But it's
for all year round.
For to us,
a child is born.
To us,
a son is given.
And the government
shall be upon
his shoulder,
his being the Messiah.
And his name
shall be called
Wonderful Counselor.
He's going to have
a wisdom like no one else.
Mighty God.
He is divine.
And so when Peter
confesses him
as you are the Christ,
the Messiah,
the Son of the living God,
he's saying,
you are God.
Divine.
God's divine Messiah.
Everlasting Father
is talking about
the everlasting
kingly reign
of the Messiah,
the Prince of Peace.
He's going to bring
he's going to bring
shalom
of the increase
of his government
and of peace
that will be no end
on the throne of David
and over his kingdom
to establish it
and uphold it
with justice
and righteousness
from this time
forth and forever.
The zeal of the Lord
of hosts
will do this.
And so do you know
what Peter is saying
here?
He's saying,
you are God's king.
God in the flesh
who has come
to establish
an everlasting kingdom
of increasing peace.
It's quite a confession.
Jesus asks,
who do you say I am?
And Peter's like,
you're the man.
You're the king.
The Christ,
the Messiah.
It has this confessional quality
as we read in Romans 10, 9.
If we confess with our mouths
that Jesus is Lord
and believe in our hearts
that God has raised him
from the dead,
you will be saved.
It's this confession
that Jesus is the Christ.
But here's the deal.
After Peter confesses
that Jesus is the Christ,
and we're back to Matthew 16,
Jesus in verse 21
goes on to explain
that this Christ
must suffer many things
and be killed
and on the third day
be raised from the dead.
And Peter's like,
not having it.
Far be it from you, Lord,
this shall never happen to you.
Peter got the confession right
that he's the Christ,
but he seemingly missed
the memo of Isaiah 53,
that he would be
a suffering Christ.
We have the benefit
of looking back on this
with the benefit of hindsight.
So not only do we know
that Jesus is the Christ
who fulfilled Isaiah 9, 6, and 7,
but he's the Christ
who fulfilled Isaiah 53.
Would you turn there?
It's on page 729
of your pew Bible.
Isaiah 53.
I'm just going to read you
three verses,
4, 5, and 6.
Again, this is
the suffering servant.
This is a prophecy
of the coming Messiah.
He's going to be a king
who's going to establish
an everlasting kingdom
of increasing peace
on the throne of David.
Surely he has
borne our griefs.
He, the Christ,
and carried our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed him,
the Messiah,
stricken,
smitten by God,
and afflicted.
But he,
the anointed one,
the Christ,
the Messiah,
was pierced
for our transgressions.
He,
this coming king,
was crushed
for our iniquities.
Upon him,
this,
this Messiah,
upon him
was the chastisement
that brought us peace.
And with his wounds
we are healed.
All we like sheep
have gone astray.
We have turned everyone
to his own way.
And the Lord
has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Jesus is the wonderful counselor,
mighty God,
everlasting father,
prince of peace,
who established
his forever kingdom
through his
substitutionary death
on the cross.
He established
his kingdom
through suffering
and death
and resurrection.
this
is the Messiah.
So if Jesus
were to ask you,
who do you say
that I am?
We get to say,
you
are
the
crucified
and
risen
Christ,
the King,
the Messiah.
Peter's confession
of Jesus
as the Christ,
it informs
our own
confession
of Jesus
as the Christ.
What you believe,
who you believe
Jesus is
will determine
what you believe
Jesus will be doing
this summer.
Which now brings
me to
verses 17
through 19
where Jesus
responds
to Peter's confession
that he is
the Christ.
And by the way,
he doesn't deny it.
he actually
works with it
with a three-fold
explanation.
And it's here
that we learn
what Jesus
will be doing
this summer.
So,
the first
explanation,
the first
aspect
is he's talking
about Peter's
confession
confession,
and he says
it's a revelation.
Look at verse 17
of chapter 16.
And Jesus
answered,
Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah.
That's a reference
to his dad,
Jonah.
For flesh and blood
has not revealed
this to you,
but my Father
who is in heaven.
So,
what Jesus
is saying
to Simon Peter
is that,
hey,
your confession
of me
as the Messiah
didn't come
from your dad.
It didn't come
from flesh and blood.
You didn't figure
it out on yourself.
You didn't come up
with it on your own.
No, no.
That confession
is a revelation
of God the Father
to you.
He gave you eyes
to see me
for who I am.
It's this gracious
working of God
to give eyes
to sinners
to see
who Jesus
truly is,
the crucified
and risen King.
And here's what
that means for us.
Most of us
in the room
would say,
hey,
I'm a follower
of Jesus.
I've gone
from darkness
into the light.
Jesus has
flipped me.
He's the great
repo man.
And he claimed me.
But here's the thing.
You didn't
of yourself
figure Jesus out.
You didn't
of your own
flesh and blood
come to realize
who Jesus is.
you yourself
have received
a revelation
from God
to be able
to recognize
Jesus
as the crucified
and risen Messiah.
That's a gift
of God to you
so that you
would believe
on Him
and be saved.
Blessed
are you,
Christian,
for that
revelation
is from
God the Father.
So this
confession
is a revelation,
but in verse
18,
this confession
is foundational
to something.
It's in verse
18 where we learn
what Jesus is doing
this summer.
And I tell you,
you are Peter
and on this rock
I will build
my church
and the gates
of hell
shall not prevail
against it.
I mean,
there's a lot here.
There have been
some serious
theological fights
fought over
this verse.
There's a play
on words here.
when Jesus says,
and I tell you,
you are Peter,
the Greek word
for that
is petros.
It's a masculine
noun.
And the play
on word
comes next.
And I tell you,
you are petros
and on this
petra
rock
I will build
my church.
We're not talking
about the Christian
band from the 80s.
Any petro fans
in the room?
Amen.
What Jesus
is doing here
is a play
on words.
This rock
that Jesus
is going to
build
his church
upon
is not
Peter per se.
It's Peter's
confession.
You are the Christ.
Jesus says,
hey,
you are Peter
and on this
confession
I will build
my church.
Your confession
that you are
the Christ.
I will build
my church
and the gates
of hell
shall not prevail
against it.
this confession
it's
foundational
to Jesus
building
his bride
his church.
Jesus
is the
cornerstone
of the church.
Who he is
is the very
basis
of who we are.
When you read
the word
church
he's not
building
a building
per se
he's building
a people.
A gathering
of people
from every
tribe
tongue
and nation
around the world.
The word
for church
is a Greek
word called
it's
ekklesia
and it
literally
means
called out
from.
To be
called out
from.
And it
came to be
used to
describe
the assembly
or congregating
of God's
people.
It's
God's
people
gathered.
And in the
New Testament
that word
church
is used
for both
local churches
like our
church.
A church
a people
in a time
in a place
with a specific
leadership
structure.
But it's
also used
to describe
the universal
church.
The church
of all time.
All who
would ever
believe in
Jesus.
And it's
the universal
church that
Jesus is
talking about
building here
in verse
18.
I will
build my
church
and the
gates
of hell
will not
prevail against
it.
You know
what my
favorite
word
in this
verse is?
It's the
word
my.
My
church.
He's
talking about
a
possession.
by virtue
of his
shed blood
he has
purchased
for himself
a people
from every
tribe,
tongue,
and nation
around the
world
from all
time.
My
people.
The
booth of
David
being
restored.
I will
build my
church.
I will
grow it.
I will
gather.
I will
add.
And I
will edify
my
church
for all
time.
And the
gates of
hell will
not prevail
against it.
Gates is a
reference to
the front
doors of a
city,
of a
fortified
city.
And those
gates were
a defensive
mechanism.
And so
in order for
gates to
prevail means
they're being
assaulted.
For gates
to prevail
means they
didn't open
when attacked,
when prevailed
upon.
And what
Jesus is
saying is I
will build
my church
and the
gates of
hell will
not prevail
against it.
I will
plunder
hell
and it
will not
rise
victorious
over me.
I will
gather for
myself
dead
sinners
from every
tribe,
tongue,
and nation
and give
them life
unstoppable.
What Jesus
is building
cannot be
stopped.
Not even
by the
gates of
hell.
It's
a description
of Jesus
on the
advance,
Aslan
on the
move.
It's a
wonder.
So what
is Jesus
doing this
summer?
He's
assaulting
hell.
He's
building
his church
globally.
Now,
throughout
the summer,
in far
away places
in our
neighborhoods,
Aslan's
on the
move.
Jesus
is at
work.
On
this rock,
this
confession,
this
foundational
confession
that I
am the
Christ.
That's
what I'm
building on.
That's
what he's
building on.
In
verse 19,
he goes
on to say
something about
this confession.
This confession
that you
are the
Christ,
it actually
is grounds
for admission
into the
church or
not.
Do you see
that in
verse 19?
I will
give you
the keys
of the
kingdom
of heaven
and whatever
you bind
on earth
shall be
bound in
heaven and
whatever you
loose on
earth shall
be loosed
in heaven.
Do you
know what
keys do?
Back in the
first century,
they didn't
have cars.
Keys were
for doors.
And what
a key would
do, it
would lock
a door and
keep someone
out or it
would open a
door and let
someone in.
And so,
what Jesus is
giving Peter
and the
apostles and
now individual
churches is the
responsibility for
determining who
can come into
the church and
who's to remain
out.
And the basis
of that
determination is
on the
confession.
You are the
Christ.
The crucified
and risen
Christ.
When someone
moved by the
Spirit is able
to confess that
Jesus is the
crucified and
risen Christ,
their lives
will change.
God's
God.
So, what we
see going on
here is this
responsibility that
Jesus is giving
Peter and then to
the apostles, to
the church.
We see it in
Matthew chapter
18.
The binding and
loosing is of
people, whether
they are part of
the kingdom of
Jesus or not,
whether they are
to be welcomed
into the church
church or not.
When we go
through a
membership class,
it culminates in
those people
seeking membership
to have an
interview with two
of our elders.
elders.
That interview is a
keys to the
kingdom moment
where two elders
are listening
carefully for a
clear profession
that Jesus is
crucified and
risen Christ.
A clear profession
that a confession
that Jesus is
someone's Lord and
they believe in
their heart that
God has raised
him from the
dead.
And so what we
have here is this
description of this
responsibility, even
authority given to
churches to protect
the church based
upon this confession.
So Jesus responds
to Peter's confession
by saying, that is a
revelation of God.
On that confession, I
am building my church.
church.
And here's some
keys to protect the
church, to make
sure those who are
added to the church
are only those who
confess me as the
Christ.
Let's come back to
this question.
Jesus, what are you
doing this summer?
Well, based upon this
passage, which clearly
reveals who Jesus is
and what he's doing,
this summer, Jesus is
going to be building
his church.
He's going to be saving
people and growing
people.
Just think about who
Jesus is.
In Matthew 1, he's
connected to Abraham.
Jesus is the
offspring through whom
God is going to bless
the nations from
Abraham.
He's descended of
David.
He is Emmanuel.
He, the second Adam,
did what the first Adam
couldn't do, resisted
the devil.
He preached a sermon
and he said this,
I came not to abolish the
law but to fulfill that.
Who says that but the
Christ?
In chapter 12, he says,
I'm the Lord of the
Sabbath.
Who says that kind of
stuff?
The Christ.
Chapter 16, he makes
sure his disciples know
that he, the Christ,
will suffer and he will
be killed and he will be
raised on the third day.
That's why in verse 20,
he tells them, hey, keep
the fact that I'm the
Christ on the down low
because they didn't
understand at that point
that the Christ must
suffer.
Chapter 17, he's
transfigured, his face
shone like the sun.
Chapter 21, he enters
the city of Jerusalem
and cleanses the temple
because he's the Christ.
Chapter 22, he gives
the greatest commandment
to love God with
everything you've got
and love your neighbor
as yourself.
He says all of the
Old Testament law, it
all depends on those
two commandments.
commandments.
In chapter 24 and 25, he
gets into the end times.
In chapter 25 in
particular, he started to
talk about final judgment
and he's referring to
himself as the king who
will judge all the
nations.
The Christ.
In chapter 26, he
institutes the Lord's
Supper.
Passover.
He reworks Passover and
says, now it's about me.
Do this in remembrance of
me.
Who does that?
The Christ does that.
In chapter 27, he's handed
over to sinful men and he
is brutalized and then
crucified, dead and buried,
just like he said.
Chapter 28, he's raised
from the dead on the third
day, just like he said.
And then he appears to
his disciples and he says
to them something that is
just amazing.
He says, all authority on
heaven and earth has been
given to me because he's
the Christ.
Go make disciples of the
nations.
Join me in building my
church.
Do you know what this
Christ is doing this
summer?
He's building his church.
He's gathering people from
every tribe, tongue, and
nation around the world.
So you know what the call
is?
Let's join him.
Let's join Jesus in what
he's doing here in our city
and around the world.
It's possible to view the
summer as kind of let's
bring it down a notch with
Jesus.
With Jesus?
So here are four ways that
we can join Jesus as he
builds his church this
summer.
You've heard him before.
First is this.
Treasure Jesus above all
else.
Treasure Jesus above all
else.
What you treasure, you
prioritize, and what you
prioritize, you treasure.
Treasure Jesus above all
else.
Here's how to do that.
You spend unrushed time
looking at Jesus.
Open a gospel.
Ask God to show you the
glory of the Son.
And you bask.
You just delight.
You stand in awe of who
Jesus is.
And here's what will
happen.
There's this phenomenon.
I've used this illustration
before.
Imagine two grand pianos up
on this stage.
They might not fit, but
bear with me.
If they're both in tune and
you hit center C on one, do
you know what happens in the
other?
It starts to hum center C.
They're both in tune.
And so when more and more of
us are treasuring Jesus above
all else, we will be in tune
together.
There's a great book.
If you want to read more about
it, I've got five up here,
gentle and lowly.
Read it this summer about
Jesus.
How about this?
You get to the end of August
and you're saying, man, I love
Jesus more than I've ever loved
him.
Treasure Jesus above all else.
It all starts there.
And then obey Jesus in all.
Obey what he's commanded you to
do.
If you don't know where to
start, go to Matthew chapter 5,
6, and 7.
He lays out his expectations for
those who follow him and then
seek to obey him.
Not only do we obey him in moral
commands, we obey him in the
commission which he's called us
to, the great commission, to go
make disciples of the nations.
We obey him in that.
So here are two ways that we can
obey Jesus this summer in
fulfilling the great commission.
We can move in a direction.
First one is this.
Would you be praying this?
Jesus, where are you at work in
my world?
Where are you at work in the lives
of people around me?
Who are you drawing to yourself?
Would you cause me to cross paths
with people that you are seeking
to draw to yourself or grow,
become a greater follower of you?
That's one.
Be praying.
Second is this.
Be positioning yourself.
This fall, I'm going to preach
through the gospel of Mark.
And it's just, it's going to be
Sunday after Sunday of Jesus.
How can you use this summer in the
lives of non-believers to eventually
invite them to come to church with you
come fall?
How do you use the summer?
Treasure Jesus.
Obey Jesus.
And all that he's commanded,
magnify Jesus among all people.
Magnify him.
Not a microscopic magnification
where you take something small
and make it big.
What we just saw in Matthew is
Jesus is not small.
He is big.
What we're talking about is a
telescopic magnification where you
are bringing something gigantic
and you're making it more visible
for people to magnify him,
to confess him before men.
If you find yourself ashamed of Jesus,
afraid to confess him before men,
afraid to identify yourself with him
before other people,
you need to confess that to him.
You fear man more than him.
That's not magnifying him.
That's being ashamed of him.
So maybe you should think about it.
If you haven't been baptized yet,
this August we're going to have a baptism.
That's a great step to magnify Jesus,
to go public with your union with Christ.
You may also need to put a stake
in the ground in a relationship
where you're saying,
you know what,
I just want to let you know
that I'm a follower of Jesus.
I can't do that
because I treasure him
and I will obey him.
You may lose friends over that,
but you're magnifying him in that.
Magnify Jesus among all people.
Treasure, obey, magnify, belong.
Belong to Jesus with all who treasure him.
Would you make this summer
a summer about building the church,
about joining Jesus in what he's doing?
And that can look like this.
It means inviting people over to your house.
Use your grill.
Use your deck.
Use your patio.
Gather people.
And when you bring brothers and sisters
from the church over,
ask them questions like,
so how did you become a follower of Jesus?
How did God reveal Jesus to you?
If you're new here,
just find someone.
Invite them over.
If you've been around for a while,
invite someone.
Bring them over.
Use the summer
to get sticky,
to knit together.
But the greatest way
is showing up every Sunday.
Gathering as the church.
Sunday after Sunday.
Belonging together to Jesus.
There's going to be some great preaching here
this summer.
I'm a little bummed I'm going to miss it.
But I am really excited for you.
This is how we join Jesus.
T-O-M-B.
The Christ went to the tomb dead
and came out alive
so that you can treasure him
and obey him,
magnify him,
and belong to him.
The summer of 2023 lies before us.
What is Jesus doing this summer?
Well, he's definitely upholding
the universe with the word of his power,
but because he's such a great multitasker,
he's also building his church.
So maybe the question is,
Christian,
will you join him
in what he's doing this summer?
Treasure,
obey,
magnify,
belong.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we are so grateful
that you are not dead,
but alive,
and that you are
not maybe working around the world,
but you are certainly
at work around the world.
Gathering a people
that you've purchased with your blood
into local churches,
building your universal church.
Lord Jesus,
would you exalt your name
throughout the summer,
not just in Christ the King Church.
but in all the churches
of Kenosha.
We pray this in the name of Jesus.
Amen.