WEBVTT 00:00:00.620 --> 00:00:07.780 This past week, a book was released, just came out, called The Great Dechurching. 00:00:08.859 --> 00:00:12.439 And it's by a couple of guys, Jim Davis and Mike Graham. 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:19.120 They're looking at the research that is coming out about what we have observed to be a very 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:24.820 significant and steady decline in people who are involved in church. 00:00:25.060 --> 00:00:28.420 And what's really interesting is, this is a large number of people. 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:31.580 A lot of this decline is fairly recent. 00:00:31.720 --> 00:00:33.039 It's happened in the last couple of decades. 00:00:33.740 --> 00:00:39.700 And it is continuing, if not increasing, over time. 00:00:39.760 --> 00:00:42.300 And so they're looking at this and trying to figure out what's going on. 00:00:42.800 --> 00:00:46.980 And they sort of talk about two groups of people who are de-churched. 00:00:47.040 --> 00:00:50.719 The first is what they call the casually de-churched. 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:56.219 The casually de-churched are, these are people who, by and large, left good, faithful, healthy 00:00:56.219 --> 00:00:56.680 churches. 00:00:56.679 --> 00:01:02.880 They simply left because attending just wasn't convenient anymore. 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:08.739 There were other activities that started to compete with church, like kids, sports, and 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:09.579 things like that. 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:11.480 Other things took priority. 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:15.539 So they, or they moved to a new place and they just never found a new church. 00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:20.879 Or COVID came and they got used to staying at home on Sunday and they just kind of never 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:21.299 went back. 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:22.900 So that's the casually de-churched. 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:27.700 And then they talk about the other group whom they would call the de-churched casualties. 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:32.660 And these are people who left because their churches, they were hurt. 00:01:33.660 --> 00:01:34.840 They were unloved. 00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:35.740 They were mistreated. 00:01:35.900 --> 00:01:40.300 They witnessed a scandal or a moral failing of a leader. 00:01:40.540 --> 00:01:46.400 In other words, they left churches because those churches ceased to resemble Jesus in any 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:47.160 meaningful way. 00:01:48.740 --> 00:01:55.100 And the thing that they found about these both groups of people, the de-churching people, 00:01:55.800 --> 00:02:00.920 that I think is most interesting is that many of these people, the vast majority of these 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:02.180 people still believe in Jesus. 00:02:03.320 --> 00:02:04.540 They still believe in Jesus. 00:02:04.540 --> 00:02:09.280 It's just at some point along the way, they stopped believing in the church. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:16.180 And this raises all kinds of questions about the relationship between Jesus and the church. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:23.879 People who say, I want to have a relationship with Jesus, but I think my relationship with the church is done. 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:26.799 How should we think about that kind of thing? 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:36.319 But if I can sit in my living room and pray and know that through Jesus Christ, I can have direct access to the God of the universe, 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:42.859 why trouble myself to throw on my clothes, to wrestle my kids into their clothes, 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:48.479 to maybe fight and argue and bicker and threaten consequences all the way to the front steps of the church, 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:54.519 to walk in 15 or 20 minutes late trying to find a seat, wrestling my youngest? 00:02:54.759 --> 00:02:56.120 Why go through that? 00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.979 What's the relationship between Jesus and his church? 00:03:00.079 --> 00:03:05.179 In the lectionary this week, we're looking at Matthew chapter 16, verses 13 to 20. 00:03:05.179 --> 00:03:10.319 This is the first mention of the word church in the Gospels, which is interesting. 00:03:11.179 --> 00:03:16.019 And we're going to see what we can learn from this as it relates to the questions we're asking this morning. 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:18.360 This narrative breaks down into three parts. 00:03:18.480 --> 00:03:24.960 We're going to see a pivotal question, a foundational answer, and then an eternal promise. 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:25.660 Let's pray. 00:03:27.100 --> 00:03:28.780 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:03:30.420 --> 00:03:31.780 We thank you for your son. 00:03:31.880 --> 00:03:32.920 We thank you for your church. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.580 Lord, please bring all three together this morning. 00:03:38.600 --> 00:03:44.920 We are here, for whatever other reason we walk through this door, we are here to hear from you. 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:51.739 We ask that through your written word, you would bring us face to face with the living word. 00:03:53.500 --> 00:03:54.719 He's the reason that we're here. 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:59.859 We pray that this would happen by your grace, through the power of your Holy Spirit, for your glory. 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:00.519 Amen. 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:04.379 So first of all, a pivotal question. 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:05.959 Verse 13 says, 00:04:05.960 --> 00:04:12.740 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say the Son of Man is? 00:04:12.780 --> 00:04:13.439 This is interesting. 00:04:13.540 --> 00:04:16.480 He says, now when they got to Caesarea Philippi. 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:18.740 Now, why would that trigger this question? 00:04:18.900 --> 00:04:22.220 Well, if you know anything about that area, it was a very pluralistic area. 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:26.840 It was an area that was full of pagan temples to all kinds of various deities. 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:39.799 In the grotto under the mountain nearby was said to be the birthplace of the god Pan, who was the most famous fertility god in that ancient world, in that part of the world. 00:04:40.599 --> 00:04:45.759 This was also said to be the mouth of the River Jordan. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:57.659 Also, there was a huge gleaming marble temple that had just been recently erected to honor the emperor because worship of the emperor was something that was happening as well. 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:09.099 And so all of these different sort of rivers of various religions, this is a confluence of all of these various religions all coming together in this area. 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:17.140 And so at this kind of nexus of spiritual traditions and allegiances, Jesus says, who do people say that I am? 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:22.700 So I don't think it's any coincidence that he picks this locale for this pivotal conversation. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:27.040 So, of course, Jesus knows what people are saying about him. 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:28.680 He's not naive about that. 00:05:28.780 --> 00:05:35.160 So he's asking because he's wanting to engage his disciples in a conversation about his identity. 00:05:35.160 --> 00:05:40.160 This whole section of Matthew is about confusion over Jesus' true identity. 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:43.620 Earlier, the Pharisees have been saying to Jesus, prove yourself. 00:05:44.140 --> 00:05:46.520 If you're really a king, do something miraculous. 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:51.379 And so Jesus is inviting his disciples into a conversation. 00:05:52.080 --> 00:05:59.320 What he's wanting to do with them is to separate out all of the false assumptions from the truth. 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:02.280 It's about disambiguation. 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.679 He's wanting to separate out the truth from the fiction. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:10.219 So the disciples say, well, some say that you're one of the prophets. 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:12.399 That's what a lot of people would say. 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:14.859 You're like Elijah or Jeremiah. 00:06:15.219 --> 00:06:16.619 You're one of the prophets of old. 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:20.039 Many people today say something similar about Jesus. 00:06:20.359 --> 00:06:21.819 Jesus was a popular teacher. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:22.699 He was a prophet. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:26.919 Even Jews and Muslims would recognize that. 00:06:27.059 --> 00:06:27.839 But nothing more. 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:31.759 Then Jesus asks the real question. 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:33.539 Okay, that's what they're saying. 00:06:33.979 --> 00:06:35.399 Now who do you say that I am? 00:06:37.099 --> 00:06:38.299 Who do you say that I am? 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:46.779 If our beliefs about Jesus are not formed in conversation with Jesus, 00:06:47.479 --> 00:06:51.199 they will be formed in other conversations. 00:06:51.719 --> 00:06:55.579 They will be formed by the culture around us. 00:06:55.579 --> 00:06:59.300 If our beliefs about Jesus are not formed in conversation with him, 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:01.519 they will be formed elsewhere. 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:05.560 And there are many people, I think, who believe in Jesus, 00:07:05.919 --> 00:07:09.740 but their idea of Jesus, the Jesus they believe in, 00:07:09.979 --> 00:07:14.579 has been distorted by social or cultural or political influences. 00:07:14.799 --> 00:07:16.599 And this is why it's so bizarre. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.899 You can go from one church to the next. 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:24.319 So and so Christian church, XYZ Christian church. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:28.319 And you walk in the door, and what you encounter, 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:34.359 the version of Jesus on display can be radically different from one church to the next. 00:07:34.579 --> 00:07:37.500 Just walking down the same road in D.C. 00:07:37.539 --> 00:07:43.500 Just walk down 16th, northwest, and just go into some of those churches 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:45.319 and just ask them who Jesus is. 00:07:45.359 --> 00:07:47.299 You're going to hear radically different answers. 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:53.259 One church might represent Jesus as someone who is calling us as a nation 00:07:53.259 --> 00:07:58.340 to repent of our immorality and return to traditional family values. 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:01.860 They would talk about how all of the hardships that we're facing now as a country, 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:06.460 that is God's judgment on us for leaving our Christian roots. 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:08.660 And then you would go to another church, 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:12.819 and they would talk about Jesus as a bastion of unconditional love and acceptance 00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:16.459 who affirms everyone in their life choices no matter what. 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:23.740 You'd have one church who believes Jesus established the United States as a Christian nation 00:08:23.740 --> 00:08:29.360 and that the U.S. Constitution is a divinely inspired document like the Bible. 00:08:29.539 --> 00:08:34.240 You know, a survey in 2021 found that one in five Americans believes that. 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:39.139 One in five Americans believes that the U.S. Constitution was divinely inspired. 00:08:39.139 --> 00:08:45.039 And then another church would teach that Jesus passionately opposed capitalism. 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:46.879 He's a passionate anti-capitalist. 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:51.319 And he calls his followers to a life of socialism and voluntary poverty. 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:55.080 And so you ping-pong between one church to the next to the next, 00:08:55.199 --> 00:08:59.279 and you're asking, who do people say that Jesus is? 00:08:59.439 --> 00:09:00.899 There's so many different answers. 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:07.059 So what's the point that I'm driving at here is now the part where I say, 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:09.360 and we here at Church of the Advent have it all figured out, 00:09:09.439 --> 00:09:10.399 here's who Jesus is. 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:12.980 I'm not going to say that. 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:15.959 I hope we're on the right track. 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:17.959 The point is this. 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:18.620 Here's the point. 00:09:18.959 --> 00:09:20.039 And it's for all of us. 00:09:20.699 --> 00:09:24.319 We have to continually seek to understand Jesus 00:09:24.319 --> 00:09:28.480 by being in continual conversation with him through the Scriptures. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:34.100 Because if we don't, we open ourselves up to all kinds of distortions. 00:09:35.300 --> 00:09:38.800 So our desire to know the true Jesus, 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:42.519 the Jesus who has revealed himself through the Scriptures, 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:49.379 that has to be an ongoing conversation of refining and refining and refining, 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:54.080 of separating out our assumptions and separating out the gossip and the rumor 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.000 from the fact. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:03.139 Jesus, the real three-dimensional Jesus that we see in Scripture, 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:05.379 defies categorization. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.000 Defies categorization. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:13.059 Earlier in Matthew's Gospel, we see him doing things like this. 00:10:13.139 --> 00:10:17.919 We see him saying that our righteousness should exceed that of the Pharisees. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:23.899 We see him saying that if we even look lustfully at someone, we've committed adultery. 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:27.559 We see him saying that if you harbor anger against someone, 00:10:27.719 --> 00:10:30.579 that it is as though you have murdered that person. 00:10:30.959 --> 00:10:34.159 And so you look at those places, and then you begin to draw some conclusions. 00:10:34.319 --> 00:10:37.699 Well, clearly Jesus came to reform us morally. 00:10:38.939 --> 00:10:40.339 He's a moral reformer. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.779 He's calling us to this standard of righteousness. 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:49.159 But then you look at other passages in Matthew, and you see him protecting a woman who's called an adultery. 00:10:51.699 --> 00:10:52.659 Protecting a woman called adultery. 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:58.659 You see him partying with notorious sinners and reprobates, eating and drinking late into the night with them. 00:10:58.659 --> 00:11:06.500 And then you start to say, well, maybe Jesus is more of a, you know, about tolerance and inclusion and acceptance. 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:09.860 Because, look, he seems to love everybody and welcome them as they are. 00:11:10.019 --> 00:11:13.679 And maybe Jesus is really about inclusion and affirmation. 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:20.319 And as soon as you start to say that, then you see him saying, hey, no one can come to the Father except through me. 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:24.980 Or, I didn't come to bring peace in the world. 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:31.460 But a sword and families are going to be divided against each other because of me. 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:45.080 And every time you think you've got it, if you're in that conversation, you come across something that challenges, expands, refines that sense of who Jesus is. 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:49.140 So for those of us here who are Christians, who do you say that Jesus is? 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:56.780 Do we take all of Scripture into account or do we pick out the parts that we like and ignore the rest? 00:11:57.040 --> 00:12:03.840 There should always be tension between Jesus and our politics and personal preferences. 00:12:04.760 --> 00:12:12.200 If there are not points of tension between who Jesus is and what he represents and the way that we would prefer things to operate, 00:12:12.760 --> 00:12:15.080 then chances are you're not in that conversation. 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:18.280 You're not in an ongoing conversation. 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:21.899 And then for those of us who are not Christians, same question. 00:12:22.220 --> 00:12:23.759 Who do you say that Jesus is? 00:12:24.459 --> 00:12:28.600 Most people agree that Jesus was, most scholars agree now. 00:12:28.740 --> 00:12:30.959 It used to try to be argued that Jesus didn't exist. 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:35.720 And now there's more or less a consensus that Jesus did exist. 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:38.100 And so we have to figure out who was Jesus. 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:39.399 Right? 00:12:39.439 --> 00:12:43.620 Even if you don't believe that he still exists, you've got to figure out something, some kind of explanation. 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:49.840 You know, before I came to faith, I had rejected Christianity and I thought I knew what Christianity was all about. 00:12:51.060 --> 00:12:54.980 And it wasn't really until a kind of gutsy friend challenged me and he said, 00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:58.860 have you ever actually read the Scriptures and tried to understand who Jesus really was? 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:01.120 And I said no. 00:13:02.560 --> 00:13:03.100 I hadn't. 00:13:03.179 --> 00:13:06.039 And that was kind of what put me on the road to coming to faith. 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:07.099 And so the question would be this. 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:08.459 Have you ever actually read the Gospel? 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:10.939 If you're not a Christian, have you ever actually read the Gospel accounts? 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:13.699 Have you entered into conversation with Jesus? 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:17.860 Have you asked God to reveal to you who Jesus really is? 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:24.579 Or are you just making a bunch of assumptions based on what the culture says about Jesus? 00:13:24.939 --> 00:13:27.939 So this is the most pivotal question in our lives. 00:13:28.379 --> 00:13:30.779 Who do you believe Jesus really is? 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:33.139 That's the pivotal question. 00:13:35.699 --> 00:13:37.120 Now look at Peter's answer. 00:13:38.199 --> 00:13:39.220 Here's Peter's answer. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.379 He says, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:51.679 Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah, which basically means the anointed one. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:14:03.739 And the Messiah was the one who God promised to send who would one day fulfill all of God's promises for Israel and the world. 00:14:04.719 --> 00:14:07.679 This anointed one would one day come. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:13.019 And traditionally, in Jewish tradition, three kinds of people were anointed. 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:17.779 Prophets, priests, and kings. 00:14:17.779 --> 00:14:29.399 So to call Jesus the Christ, the ultimate anointed one, is to say that he is the ultimate prophet, priest, and king. 00:14:30.740 --> 00:14:35.779 So the job of a prophet is to speak God's word faithfully. 00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:42.019 But what we see in Jesus is the ultimate prophet because he doesn't just speak God's word. 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:48.519 He is God's word made flesh, as the apostle John says in chapter one of his gospel. 00:14:49.579 --> 00:14:54.139 The job of a priest is to mediate the relationship between God and his people. 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:57.259 To offer sacrifices to atone for their sin. 00:14:58.220 --> 00:15:02.179 But as the author of Hebrews writes, Jesus is the great high priest. 00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:04.919 He doesn't just offer sacrifices. 00:15:04.919 --> 00:15:11.479 He offers himself as the one true sacrifice to atone for all the sin of the world. 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:16.959 The job of a king is to exercise God's rule over all creation. 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:23.179 Well, the apostle Paul, in his letter to Timothy, calls Jesus the king of kings. 00:15:23.599 --> 00:15:24.979 The Lord of lords. 00:15:25.199 --> 00:15:28.459 So Jesus is king over all of the kings. 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:39.320 Psalm 2 talks about this God's great king coming and all the kings and rulers of the earth bowing down and kissing the ring of this one true king. 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:41.360 He's the king of kings. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:49.259 I once heard a pastor say that having Jesus as king means we have to fire the committee. 00:15:50.280 --> 00:15:51.600 We have to fire the committee. 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:57.500 We are not the kind of integrated, unified, whole people that we like to believe that we are. 00:15:57.500 --> 00:16:01.860 We are hopelessly divided on the inside. 00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:07.820 We, inside our hearts, operate more like a committee sitting around a boardroom table. 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:08.419 Right? 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:11.259 So we have the, you have your work self. 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:13.419 You have your social self. 00:16:13.580 --> 00:16:17.480 Maybe your sort of Christian social self and your non-Christian social self. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:25.700 We have our political self, our sexual self, our foodie self, our sort of religious self. 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:33.500 We have all of these sort of selves and they're all sitting around the table and they're continually arguing and debating constantly. 00:16:33.660 --> 00:16:37.480 My foodie self will say, I want a bacon cheeseburger for breakfast. 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:45.180 And then my, my, my dad self will say, but don't you want to live to see your kids graduate? 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:54.139 And then my, you know, and then my, my marriage self will look over and look at the look that my wife is giving me as I suggest that for breakfast. 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:57.979 And then my work self says, I don't want to have a food coma by 10 o'clock in the morning. 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:01.000 And all of my selves are arguing about this decision. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:02.019 And we're divided. 00:17:02.439 --> 00:17:03.919 We are constantly divided. 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:15.299 And so when we accept Christ to use that language, it can be very tempting to just give Jesus a spot on that committee. 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:19.019 Now that you're here, Jesus, we have a chair for you. 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:21.680 Come join us at the boardroom table. 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:26.279 And Jesus gets a voice and Jesus gets a vote. 00:17:26.879 --> 00:17:28.240 And Jesus gets one vote. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:31.480 And sometimes Jesus might prevail. 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:34.799 And other times Jesus might get outvoted. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:43.720 The only way to accept Christ as king is to fire the committee. 00:17:44.740 --> 00:17:47.099 Because Jesus didn't come to sit on a committee. 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:49.140 That's not what kings do. 00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:53.480 Jesus came to rule over us. 00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:57.319 To rule over every aspect of our lives. 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:03.099 And so the only way to accept Christ is to say to Jesus, listen, I've tried life by committee. 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:05.539 And it doesn't work. 00:18:06.740 --> 00:18:09.099 I want you to have the only vote. 00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:10.619 I want there to be one vote. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:11.819 And you get it. 00:18:12.339 --> 00:18:15.980 I want you to have the final word over every aspect of my life. 00:18:16.639 --> 00:18:18.039 Whether I like it or not. 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:19.859 I want you to be in control. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:21.039 I want you to take over. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:28.159 That's what it means to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ and the king of our lives. 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:36.279 Some of us, I think, here may want to attend church. 00:18:36.340 --> 00:18:37.040 I mean, we're here. 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:39.580 So obviously, at least for today, that's true. 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:44.200 But maybe we resist the idea of joining a church. 00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:47.160 Becoming members of a church. 00:18:47.300 --> 00:18:49.800 Being confirmed in a church. 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:54.919 We resist having to agree on and sign a statement of faith. 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:58.099 Probably because of social or cultural issues. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:00.139 And listen, on one level, I get it. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:01.559 I get it. 00:19:02.220 --> 00:19:04.180 But I also want to push you on that. 00:19:05.639 --> 00:19:09.639 I want to suggest that with all due respect, your issue is not with the church. 00:19:11.159 --> 00:19:12.859 It's actually with Jesus. 00:19:12.859 --> 00:19:21.979 There could be this deep down resistance to Jesus having the final word over every aspect of our lives. 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:28.839 We're happy to have him on the committee, but really uncomfortable with him as king. 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:35.779 Because then we have to agree to and affirm that he said and taught and represented things that make us deeply uncomfortable. 00:19:37.959 --> 00:19:42.359 It's much easier to keep the debate going on around that boardroom table. 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:45.479 It's much easier to be kind of perpetually undecided. 00:19:46.199 --> 00:19:50.839 Because as long as the debate is ongoing, we don't really have to commit to anything. 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:53.099 It doesn't really cost us anything. 00:19:58.500 --> 00:20:00.240 But Jesus didn't come to sit on the committee. 00:20:01.399 --> 00:20:02.299 He came to be king. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:07.919 So this is the foundational answer that Peter gives. 00:20:07.919 --> 00:20:11.379 He says what Jesus has been waiting to hear. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:21.359 Now for the first time, it's as though Jesus has been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for one of the disciples to finally get it. 00:20:23.419 --> 00:20:27.839 And you can sort of see him, you know, well, who do you say that I am? 00:20:27.979 --> 00:20:29.859 And Peter says you're the Christ, the son of God. 00:20:29.879 --> 00:20:31.319 And you can see him sort of lighting up. 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:32.219 Yes. 00:20:33.579 --> 00:20:34.959 You got it finally. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:41.860 And so for the first time, he reveals his plan to establish the church, this eternal promise. 00:20:43.100 --> 00:20:49.340 He says, blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. 00:20:49.339 --> 00:20:52.159 And I tell you, you are Peter. 00:20:52.259 --> 00:20:57.359 And on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 00:20:57.359 --> 00:20:59.240 A lot of people, it's one of their favorite verses. 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:04.339 A lot of ink has been spilled over the language of the rock. 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:10.980 We don't have time to get into a full comprehensive discussion of that here this morning. 00:21:11.059 --> 00:21:15.420 Let me just address it briefly so that we can move on in this text. 00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:25.380 Some of you are Catholic or you grew up Catholic and you know that Catholics will look to this verse as proof that Peter was established as the first bishop of Rome. 00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:34.620 And he was vested with this authority and that that authority then passed on to subsequent popes throughout the centuries on down to today. 00:21:34.860 --> 00:21:40.840 So whoever is sitting as the current pope is Peter's successor and represents the same authority. 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:46.480 Protestants have historically pushed back and said, no, he doesn't have Peter in mind at all. 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:49.000 He's talking about Peter's faith. 00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:52.779 It's the faith that is the rock on which the church is built. 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:55.959 Again, we don't have time to get into a thorough discussion of this. 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:58.720 I do think that Protestants have overcorrected here. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.799 Clearly, I think if you look at the text, Jesus has Peter in mind. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:09.740 There's a wordplay that is happening here in renaming Simon as Peter, Petros. 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:13.880 Petros and saying he's the rock on which the church is built. 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:16.460 So the word Petros, rock, right? 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:18.539 You can't say it has nothing to do with Peter. 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:20.940 It definitely has to do with Peter. 00:22:21.620 --> 00:22:29.640 But at the same time, there's nothing in this passage that would indicate that this would transfer to Peter's successors or establish the papacy as we know it today. 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:39.500 In fact, if you look at the history of the interpretation of Matthew 16, 18, what you see is that that interpretation doesn't show up until centuries after this was written. 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:52.720 And even there, only by a few of the church fathers, there was a lot of disagreement over the early church fathers, Augustine or Origen, St. John Chrysostom, as to how to apply it. 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:56.519 Some thought it meant the rock is Jesus and some thought it was the faith. 00:22:56.579 --> 00:23:01.519 There was a whole Eastern tradition, right, that talks about the faith being the rock. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:03.900 And so there's all of these different interpretations. 00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:14.779 You really don't see this showing up as a solid Roman Catholic argument for the papacy until the Middle Ages and into the Reformation when it's being used to justify something that's under attack. 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:22.200 And so what I would say this, this is just Tommy speaking my own thoughts on this. 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:28.660 I think that this is referring to Peter, but Peter in his confessional capacity. 00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:32.339 Peter in his confessional capacity. 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:36.819 In the very next passage, Peter loses sight of Jesus as the Christ. 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:39.680 He tries to convince Jesus not to go to the cross. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:40.940 And what does Jesus call him? 00:23:41.379 --> 00:23:43.000 He doesn't say, oh, come on, rock. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:46.619 You know, you know, buck up. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:48.079 No, he calls him Satan. 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:49.599 Right? 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:58.680 So it's easy for Peter to step out of his rockness, to go back to his Simon-ness, and even to represent Satan's intentions. 00:23:59.539 --> 00:24:10.579 But when Peter is in his confessional capacity, established on the truth that Jesus is the Christ, he's the rock. 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:20.899 And we see Peter play a key rock-like role in the establishing of the church through his confession of the faith. 00:24:20.980 --> 00:24:23.899 You see that throughout the entire first half of the book of Acts. 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:30.939 At Pentecost, he preaches a sermon that is essentially an extended version of this conversation with Jesus. 00:24:30.940 --> 00:24:40.580 It's almost as though he remembered this conversation, and then he turned it into a sermon, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, preaches this to thousands of Jews. 00:24:40.820 --> 00:24:43.240 It's the first time they've ever heard the gospel announced. 00:24:44.539 --> 00:24:46.440 And his sermon essentially says this. 00:24:46.660 --> 00:24:48.580 Jesus is not just one of the prophets. 00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:58.619 In verse 36, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. 00:24:58.899 --> 00:25:01.139 That's the climax of his sermon. 00:25:01.399 --> 00:25:02.679 He confesses his faith. 00:25:02.899 --> 00:25:03.720 He's the rock. 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:04.559 And what happens? 00:25:05.419 --> 00:25:08.779 3,000 people come to faith, and the church is born. 00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:12.579 Peter is fulfilling what Jesus says here in Matthew. 00:25:12.579 --> 00:25:19.399 He's the rock on which Jesus begins to build his church through his confession of faith. 00:25:22.379 --> 00:25:24.960 Right now, what can we learn about the church here? 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:29.799 I would say we can draw out three things that we learn about the church. 00:25:29.899 --> 00:25:32.740 This brings us back to some of the questions that we're asking at the very beginning. 00:25:34.699 --> 00:25:39.059 Jesus, number one, Jesus builds his church through faith. 00:25:39.939 --> 00:25:41.720 He builds his church through faith. 00:25:42.939 --> 00:25:45.599 Jesus is the one who builds the church, not us. 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:50.079 And the church is not just a social club. 00:25:50.199 --> 00:25:51.500 It's not just a service provider. 00:25:52.919 --> 00:26:01.159 The church is a community of people who believe and follow Jesus as the Christ, as the true prophet, priest, and king. 00:26:01.980 --> 00:26:07.639 And this is why, by the way, right after this sermon, we're going to be confessing our faith using the Nicene Creed. 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:16.740 And people often ask, well, even though the creed talks about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, why is there so much attention devoted to Jesus and all that Jesus did? 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:19.400 Well, this is the reason. 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:30.900 It's because the beliefs that we hold about Jesus are really the thing that determine whether or not we are, in fact, Christians. 00:26:30.900 --> 00:26:34.759 And so the creeds have been used throughout the centuries. 00:26:35.320 --> 00:26:38.400 The Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed. 00:26:38.620 --> 00:26:50.700 They've been used to delineate the boundaries between people who believe in and follow the true Jesus and people who have some other erroneous idea of who Jesus is. 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:57.740 And the faith to confess Jesus as the Messiah faithfully, we have to recognize that's a gift from God. 00:26:58.100 --> 00:27:01.940 Jesus says, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:04.700 No one can be intellectually reasoned into the faith. 00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:09.819 It's not just sitting down with somebody with the creed and the Bible and saying, you have to believe these things. 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:15.059 No, we have to be brought into this through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 00:27:15.059 --> 00:27:24.659 So if there's somebody in your life who you're burdened for them because they just seem closed off, you know, it's come up and they just, they're hardened to the church. 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:25.759 They're hardened to Christians. 00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:27.059 They would never set foot. 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:32.220 It's easy to think and invest our time in what are the right arguments? 00:27:32.379 --> 00:27:35.460 How can I get the right apologetics that will really get through to this person? 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:36.799 And listen, there's a place for that. 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:40.200 But I hope that you're spending at least as much time praying for that person. 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:44.759 Praying that the Holy Spirit would do what Jesus himself says no human being can do. 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:49.500 God has to open hearts. 00:27:49.740 --> 00:27:53.079 So number one, Jesus builds his church through faith. 00:27:53.879 --> 00:27:58.859 Number two, Jesus promises that the church will last forever. 00:28:00.139 --> 00:28:01.899 He talks about the gates of hell. 00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:05.179 That's a Jewish phrase that means the realm of death. 00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:10.240 What he's essentially saying is this, the church is going to last into eternity. 00:28:11.899 --> 00:28:13.259 Governments are going to come and go. 00:28:13.639 --> 00:28:14.899 Administrations are going to come and go. 00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:16.899 Nations are going to rise and fall. 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:23.659 The church, the communion of people who confess Jesus as Messiah and Lord will last into eternity. 00:28:25.379 --> 00:28:26.359 It will last. 00:28:26.399 --> 00:28:30.059 It's the only institution that will last into eternity. 00:28:31.159 --> 00:28:33.419 So you read books like The Great Dechurching. 00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:35.080 I think it's an extremely helpful book. 00:28:35.080 --> 00:28:40.500 And I think it's extremely helpful for understanding this particular moment in history. 00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:46.880 But it's easy to become kind of chicken little-ish as we look at these numbers and to run around panicking. 00:28:47.019 --> 00:28:47.600 And is this it? 00:28:47.640 --> 00:28:48.279 Is this the end? 00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:49.619 Is the church going to collapse? 00:28:49.619 --> 00:28:50.599 Absolutely not. 00:28:52.460 --> 00:28:56.460 History is filled with times of growth, times of decline. 00:28:56.539 --> 00:29:01.139 We had the Great Awakenings in our country, a huge increase in the number of Christians. 00:29:01.140 --> 00:29:03.660 And now it's in decline. 00:29:04.360 --> 00:29:04.600 Right? 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:05.580 It goes up. 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:06.180 It goes down. 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:06.680 It goes up. 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:07.240 It goes down. 00:29:07.280 --> 00:29:09.740 You know where the church is really growing massively right now? 00:29:09.800 --> 00:29:10.380 Not here. 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:11.640 In the global south. 00:29:13.220 --> 00:29:14.140 That's where it's growing. 00:29:14.140 --> 00:29:19.640 Just because it's not happening in our country doesn't mean it's not happening. 00:29:20.780 --> 00:29:26.660 It means maybe, in fact, we need to be in decline for a while as a church to remember who we really are and why we're really here. 00:29:29.180 --> 00:29:37.080 If God uses suffering to break through to us on an individual level and loss to get through to us on an individual level, why not on a corporate level? 00:29:40.060 --> 00:29:40.420 Right? 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:42.500 So Jesus promises the church will last forever. 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:49.819 And number three, and this is the one that can make us squirm a little bit, Jesus entrusts the church with his authority. 00:29:51.319 --> 00:29:53.779 He entrusts the church with his authority. 00:29:54.019 --> 00:29:58.259 Here's where we really see the mystery of the church on display. 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:05.640 Jesus calls Peter, and then later in chapter 18, he actually restates this to all of the disciples. 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:06.519 It's not just Peter. 00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:09.400 To act as stewards over the church. 00:30:09.400 --> 00:30:13.220 The steward holds the keys to the church. 00:30:14.360 --> 00:30:23.100 When the Pharisees and the scribes, when they were holding the keys to God's people, they slammed the door in people's faces. 00:30:24.100 --> 00:30:28.380 And Jesus says, I'm giving you the keys now, and I want you to fling them wide open. 00:30:28.620 --> 00:30:31.280 I want you to preach the gospel everywhere you go. 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:34.579 And he gives them authority. 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:36.579 He delegates his authority to them. 00:30:36.639 --> 00:30:39.200 He uses this language of binding and loosing. 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:43.680 That's a technical reference to what the rabbis would do. 00:30:44.259 --> 00:30:48.420 When the rabbis would say that certain things are permitted and certain things are not permitted. 00:30:48.600 --> 00:30:53.700 When they would affirm that certain teachings were the correct interpretation of scripture. 00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:56.920 They were exercising this sort of legislative authority. 00:30:57.059 --> 00:30:58.120 They were binding and loosing. 00:30:58.259 --> 00:31:01.299 Permitting, allowing in, excommunicating. 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:04.259 They were overseeing the affairs of the church. 00:31:04.259 --> 00:31:08.039 And so what we see here is something that we really have to wrestle with. 00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:12.640 Jesus is not just establishing the church as this kind of otherworldly spiritual communion. 00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:15.460 He's actually establishing it as an institution. 00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:18.539 He's institutionalizing the church. 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:22.359 He's creating an administrative leadership capacity. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:26.819 Where people lead and oversee the affairs of the church. 00:31:26.819 --> 00:31:30.039 In his name. 00:31:31.659 --> 00:31:38.980 You know, this language actually is referenced and shows up in the ordination liturgy. 00:31:40.039 --> 00:31:42.019 Not just in our church, but in a lot of churches. 00:31:42.859 --> 00:31:45.659 So what we see here is the beginning of something really profound. 00:31:45.779 --> 00:31:46.279 And that is this. 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:50.819 The church is the physical presence of Christ on earth. 00:31:52.099 --> 00:31:55.159 The church is the hands and feet of Christ on earth. 00:31:55.160 --> 00:32:00.980 The church is the means through which Jesus continues his ministry on earth. 00:32:01.259 --> 00:32:04.040 We often like to point out that in Luke's gospel, he says, 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:06.940 Oh, Theophilus, I'm going to tell you, I'm going to begin to tell you, 00:32:07.300 --> 00:32:10.779 or I'm going to tell you all that Jesus began to do and to say. 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:13.840 And then when you get to the book of Acts, which is Luke chapter 2, 00:32:14.060 --> 00:32:17.640 he says, I'm going to tell you what Jesus continued to do and to say. 00:32:17.820 --> 00:32:19.540 But then the entire book of Acts is about the church. 00:32:19.539 --> 00:32:26.839 So what we see here is the church is the continuation of the ministry of Jesus on earth. 00:32:28.099 --> 00:32:32.399 So those of us in the church need to take this very seriously. 00:32:34.159 --> 00:32:37.680 Whenever our churches fail to reflect the heart of Christ, 00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:43.059 whether it's by compromising in our commitment to his word, 00:32:43.059 --> 00:32:47.659 or in compromising the call to love, 00:32:49.299 --> 00:32:54.059 to seek justice, to care for the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, 00:32:54.639 --> 00:32:58.299 then we are failing in our call to be Christ in the world. 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:00.200 And we need to repent. 00:33:01.220 --> 00:33:04.019 And maybe that's part of what is happening right now in our country. 00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:09.359 Those outside of the church, though, should also take this seriously. 00:33:09.359 --> 00:33:13.079 Jesus and his church are one. 00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:15.439 They are bride and groom. 00:33:16.679 --> 00:33:19.539 When we come together as we have this morning, 00:33:19.699 --> 00:33:25.539 Christ is uniquely present here in a way that he is not anywhere else. 00:33:25.659 --> 00:33:27.759 He is in our midst. 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:31.279 He ministers to us in a unique way. 00:33:31.459 --> 00:33:35.639 I know the truths that we sing and that we sang this morning, 00:33:35.639 --> 00:33:38.079 but I need to hear Annika singing to me. 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:42.399 I know what we confess in the creed is true, 00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:48.240 but I need to hear Deborah and Brock and Lisa, 00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:49.559 people sitting around me, 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:50.979 I need to hear them saying it. 00:33:51.019 --> 00:33:52.639 It affirms that it's true for me. 00:33:53.699 --> 00:33:55.459 There's a sense in which when we come here, 00:33:55.539 --> 00:33:58.479 we cease to be just ourselves as individuals. 00:33:58.859 --> 00:34:00.279 We merge together. 00:34:00.419 --> 00:34:01.099 We come together. 00:34:01.219 --> 00:34:02.179 We become one. 00:34:02.179 --> 00:34:05.039 And in this merging and communing, 00:34:06.219 --> 00:34:08.039 Christ is ministering to us. 00:34:08.039 --> 00:34:09.259 When we come to this table, 00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:12.920 Christ is ministering to us through bread and wine, 00:34:13.019 --> 00:34:14.960 the most common basic elements of life. 00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:18.360 When we pray for one another, 00:34:18.820 --> 00:34:20.579 Christ is ministering to us 00:34:20.579 --> 00:34:24.619 in ways that are unique to being here together. 00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:26.340 We need to be together. 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:30.639 This is the presence of Christ on earth. 00:34:30.699 --> 00:34:31.860 When we are here, 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:33.639 when we are in the church, 00:34:33.639 --> 00:34:34.900 we are in him. 00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:40.079 So we cannot understand the church apart from Jesus, 00:34:40.199 --> 00:34:43.119 but we cannot understand Jesus apart from the church. 00:34:43.779 --> 00:34:44.379 Let's pray. 00:34:47.379 --> 00:34:50.699 Lord, we thank you for the mystery here. 00:34:52.319 --> 00:34:54.199 May we not press into it 00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:56.819 and so somehow lose sight of it. 00:34:56.900 --> 00:34:58.119 May we behold it, 00:34:58.119 --> 00:35:02.299 and may it provoke us to awe and wonder and worship. 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:04.980 Lord, there are those here 00:35:04.980 --> 00:35:06.659 who may have been deeply hurt, 00:35:06.839 --> 00:35:09.719 wounded, mistreated by people in the church, 00:35:10.019 --> 00:35:11.139 by leaders in the church. 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:13.920 I pray that you would minister to them, 00:35:14.019 --> 00:35:16.099 that you would bring healing, 00:35:17.099 --> 00:35:19.699 that you would bring those in need of repentance 00:35:19.699 --> 00:35:20.359 to repentance. 00:35:21.859 --> 00:35:23.799 Lord, I pray for those who are, 00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:26.860 have become maybe too complacent. 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:30.560 Lord, I pray that you would stir us up. 00:35:30.680 --> 00:35:32.100 I pray that you would convict us 00:35:32.100 --> 00:35:34.760 and challenge us to reprioritize. 00:35:35.780 --> 00:35:36.800 In all ways, Lord, 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:39.340 I pray that you would continue calling us together 00:35:39.340 --> 00:35:40.140 as your body, 00:35:41.320 --> 00:35:42.140 your hands and feet, 00:35:42.240 --> 00:35:42.820 your bride, 00:35:44.440 --> 00:35:45.340 for your glory. 00:35:45.539 --> 00:35:46.740 In your son's name, amen.