Peter’s Confession

Introduction

I want to invite you, if you will, to get your Bibles, particularly your New Testaments, and go with us to the book of Matthew, chapter 16. I hope you’ll get your Bibles, your New Testament’s in hand. We’ll be spending our entire time in the New Testament portion of the scriptures this morning. And as you might guess, we’ll do that by beginning in Matthew chapter 16. But before we do that, let’s play a little game called How Well Do You Know Your Preacher? It occurs to me from time to time that there’s probably things about me that you don’t even know. Here’s one, I bet you don’t know. Years ago, before you ever knew me, I was signed to a music contract. There was an outfit known as Columbia House Records.

Before there were streaming music service, before there were iPods, before there were even CDs, there was Columbia House Records. It was a dream to a young music lover. Because they would advertise in magazines and comic books that you could get 13 records for a penny.

For a penny.

I jumped at the chance to get 13 of my favorite albums for just a penny from Columbia House Records. Something else you probably don’t know about me is that, especially at that age, I wasn’t real good at reading the fine print. And yes, you get 13 records for a penny, but you’re signing a contract. A contract that if you closely read the fine print means that you have to buy another record from them every month for the rest of your life.

You owe them a few pints of blood, your firstborn child, your favorite bicycle when you were a kid. I mean, you just owed them everything. But it was so easy to be enticed into the initial part of that contract without recognizing the ramifications, the commitment that you were making. Maybe as and in my case, not even knowing I was making a commitment.

Rooted and built up in the Lord. And before we can be built up, we need to be rooted. We need to be grounded and established in our faith. And a major component of that is recognizing the commitment. If you are a Christian, if you’ve done those things, not dictated by man or any church, but if you’ve done those things that God requires for you to be his child, to be a Christian, then you made a commitment. You may have been won over by fear. Some good fearful sermon that preached about the dangers of hell may have motivated you to obey the gospel. You may have been motivated by love, maybe a stirring lesson or a Bible reading about the love of God through the person of Jesus Christ and that sacrifice that we just remembered may have motivated you to obey the gospel.

You may have come forward on one Sunday morning and just a stirring emotional lesson, and to some degree, not minimizing this, but by some degree just won over by the emotions of the moment. But do you remember that you made a commitment? In Matthew chapter 16, we read about the famous incident that takes place in Caesarea, Philippi, of Peter’s famous confession. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I’m going to talk about that confession, his confession and our confession this morning. But before we talk about a confession, we need to pause and ask ourselves: what is a confession? Confession is simply the idea of owning up to something openly, verbally, and through our actions, admitting something. The Bible uses it in at least two senses.

We confess our sins. We own up to those sins. We, like David before us, say, I have sinned. That’s confession. I admit it. I own those sins. The Bible also speaks, as we read about here in Matthew chapter 16, of confessing God, confessing our Lord. Same concept. I own that. I admit that. I believe in Jesus Christ. That’s a confession. That’s what confession is. But then there’s a deeper definition or explanation that we need to contemplate this morning, and that is not just what is a confession, but what is our confession? What was that? I’ve made that statement. I stood up in a church building much similar to this, a lot older and smaller than this, but in a church building similar to this, and I stood before an audience much like you before I was baptized, and I made that confession.

I said, as Peter did, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. What did that mean to me? I, like you, have made that confession many times since that day. One way or another, through words, through song, even through prayer, and certainly I hope, through my actions and my lifestyle, I’ve said, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. What does that mean? What does my confession mean? Am I like those that I read about in Scripture, like Peter and others who made that same confession? Am I like Paul in his group to, of which it was said, intended as an insult, but surely the greatest compliment they could, one of the greatest compliments they could ever be paid when it says, These who have turned the world upside down.

What did Paul’s confession mean to him? If he was because he made that confession, he was turning the world upside down. Does my confession mean what it states of those beloved saints in the book of Revelation, chapter 12, where it reads, they overcame him, speaking of the great dragon, Satan, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. Because they made a confession, they, with God’s help, the one whom they confessed, they could overcome Satan. And because they made a confession, they were willing to both risk and give up their lives, their service to God. And I ask you again, before we even look at Peter’s confession, I ask you about your confession.

And I ask myself about my confession. What does my confession mean? But let’s talk about Peter’s confession. Matthew chapter 16, Jesus and his apostles come into the region of Caesarea Philippi. And he asked them two questions. Could follow along with me in Matthew chapter 16. We’re beginning in our discussion in verse 13. He asked Peter and the apostles two questions. The first question is, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? What are they saying about me? Who do they think that I am? They replied, some say you’re John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But Jesus wasn’t satisfied with that question or that answer. Jesus didn’t just want to know what others were saying. They wanted to know, what are you saying?

Because Jesus wasn’t grooming reporters. He was preparing witnesses. And so he probed them further and deeper and more personally when he says, but who do you say that I am? And to no surprise, Peter is the first one to raise his hand and speak and say, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. To which Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood hasn’t revealed it to you, but my Father in heaven. And then he promises to give the keys to the kingdom to Peter and the apostles, and he promises that upon that confession, the bedrock of our faith, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Let’s talk about Peter’s confession.

This morning.

1. Peter’s Confession Was Right

That was truth. This is becoming an increasingly challenged position. But as a child of God, as one who has made that confession, I must not back away from the absolute fact that there is absolute truth. In this arena, there is no relative truth. There is no your truth and my truth, and we’ll just all agree to disagree. There is truth. Now, let’s be honest, in some arenas of life, there is relative truth, isn’t there? Truth is kind of subjective. We started to talk about music. Music is one of those, isn’t it? What’s the best style of music? Who’s the best singer? Well, that’s relative, isn’t it? You may not agree with who I like to listen to and the type of music I like to listen to.

And if we’re honest, now I’ve heard some of your music and you’re just wrong, but if we’re honest with ourselves, that’s a relative, it’s that’s subjective, isn’t it? There’s no absolute. There’s other categories, food, clothing, where you like to live, where you like to vacate. I mean, we can make a long list of things that really are just subjective and they’re relative. But we need to also make a list of certain things that are right. And whether you and whether I accept them or not, do not change the fact that that is truth. It’s true of scientific facts. Gravity. I may not like it, and the older I get, the less I like it, but gravity is truth. It’s absolute. In this planet, in its atmosphere, at least it is.

True of mathematics, it’s true of a lot of areas of life. And it is certainly true when it comes to the Word of God. Look at a couple passages with me. Go to the Gospel of John. John’s another one who made the same confession that Jesus made. And in John chapter 14, John records this for us. John, the gospel of John, chapter 14, look with me in verse 6. Jesus himself said, Peter dealt with absolutes.

John 14 and verse 6, Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

After reading that verse once and particularly reading that last sentence, no one comes to the Father except through or by me.

Because again, no one comes to the Father except through me. That’s absolute and unyielding. Look in John chapter 8 and in verse 32 at the words of Jesus there. And again, pardon my emphasis when he says in John 8, verse 32, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Neither did Jesus borrow some of our modern language and say, You shall know your truth, and your truth will make you free. No. Jesus said, You shall know the truth. And I am the way. Peter’s confession was right. And so that teaches me that there is an objective and absolute truth. And that can be found in the Word of God.

You’ve heard that your whole life.

2. It Was Radical

Or a great portion of it at least. And so it doesn’t seem as radical to you. But it was then in a sense it should be now. Let’s think about how radical it was that Jesus, because notice how Jesus phrased the first question. Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am I a son of man? Do people recognize me as the Son of God? It may we may have an advantage. Sometimes we think that those first century eyewitnesses had an advantage, but we may have an advantage in the sense that we did not see Jesus in the flesh. We don’t see him as a man. With, and please understand the way in which I mean this, with his physical flaws. Now in him was no sin, but don’t we imagine that he would have had physical flaws?

He would have had warts and freckles and bumps and scars.

And so it would have been maybe difficult to see this man, the son of Joseph and Mary, the carpenter, and point to that human being and say, He is God. That would have been radical. Let’s think about how radical it was. What was the response of the audience? Who do men say that I am? Some say you’re John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Who did all of those people have in common? They were dead. It was easier for some in the first century to believe that he was some resurrected, whether soon resurrected in the case of John the Baptist, or long time in the case of Elijah or one of the prophets. And I find it kind of sadly ironic that so many of that audience found it easier to believe in the resurrection of Elijah, Jeremiah, or John the Baptist than they would later find to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

They think you’re a dead prophet raised from the grave.

That you’re the Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophecy. Because that was a radical confession. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. It was radical and should be radical for us because it demands a full commitment. To say that I believe is not just a statement of belief, it is that. And it’s not just a statement of absolute truth. In fact, it is that. But it also demands a commitment. And let’s be honest a radical commitment. Peter on that day in Caesarea Philippi got it right in the beginning when he says, You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God. But later, just a little bit later, Jesus begins to explain a part of his mission, specifically the part that Jesus had to die on the cross.

And Peter gets back to his old ways and his foot-shaped mouth when he speaks up then and says, No, never. You won’t die. Think about what Peter was saying there. And to which Jesus replied, get behind me, Satan. Get behind me, adversary. In fact, go back to Matthew chapter 16 and notice what I think is the true impact of Jesus chastising of Peter. Verse 22 of Matthew chapter 16, Peter says, when Jesus says, you know, I have to die. I’m the Christ, the Son of the Living God. You’re right, Peter, and I’m going to build my church on that fact, but first I have to die. Verse 22, far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you. But he, Jesus, turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan.

Now let’s pause there. I don’t know if Jesus was actually calling Peter Satan. Maybe he was. But you remember the word Satan just means adversary. And so it’s possible that Jesus was saying, get behind me, adversary. You’re against me. If you’re going to try to stop me from dying on the cross, you’re not with me, you’re against me. You’re my adversary. So, however he means that, he scolds Peter and he says, You are an offense to me. You’re not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men. Then the very next verse, Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires to come after me. You realize that word after? Is the word behind me? Get behind me. I don’t think he’s just saying to Peter, Peter, get out of my way.

There’s part of that, because Peter’s trying to stop Jesus from doing what he was going to do. But I think he’s saying, Peter, you’re in front of me. You belong behind me. If I’m the Christ, the Son of the Living God, that means I’m the Lord. I’m God. And you don’t need to be standing in my way. You need to be behind me, following what he goes on to say. If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Be my follower, Peter. That confession you just made, Peter, it comes with this. It comes with me dying on the cross. It comes with you accepting that and getting behind me. And by the way, Peter, not just accepting my death on the cross, but accepting your own death.

You take up your cross and follow me. That’s what this confession demands. And that’s radical. I’m not just saying, yes, I believe.

3. It Was Revealed

I’m signing a contract that says he’s my Lord. And I’ll submit to him. And I’ll turn this world upside down. And I’ll love not my life unto death. What’s the next R? It was right, it was radical. Jesus said it was revealed. Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. We’ll be reminded later in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 4, verse 13, that Peter and the rest of these men were untrained and uneducated men. Peter didn’t learn this in seminary. He didn’t learn this at the major university. He learned this from God. So many lessons there. There’s a whole sermon there, isn’t there? Where are you getting your source of information?

Where are you getting the truth? It better be from the Word of God. And let me make this editorial statement here with an asterisk beside it. Here’s the asterisk first. I’m not opposed to Bible study books, Bible study aids. It would be hypocritical of me to say otherwise. You go in my study and you’ll see there’s a whole wall and a half dedicated to books. Now, if I’m honest, most of those books there are just to make me look smart, not to make me smart, but I’ve got a lot of books, and they’re all about the Bible and studying the Bible. I’m not opposed to that. They’re great, they’re beneficial as long as we understand they’re all the works of fallible men. There’s the asterisk. Here’s the warning.

There’s no substitute for just studying the word. And studying a bite about the Bible isn’t necessarily the same as studying the Bible. Now, again, there’s some benefits studying about the Bible. But don’t let that become your Bible study without also studying the book. That’s where the truth is. Flesh and blood hasn’t taught you this, Peter. In fact, it was so radical, flesh and blood would have never taught you this. But my Father in heaven. And so he learned that truth, where we’ll learn the truth from God. I’ll do a lesson here sometime soon. Here’s a working title at least. God spoke to me. You ever hear somebody say that? And I know how they meant it, but you and I can say that, can’t we? God spoke to me in his revealed will.

4. It’s Reinforced

That’s what this is. And lastly, it was reinforced. It was right, it was radical, it was revealed by God Himself, and it’s reinforced, and we don’t have time to look at the depth of this. We’ve done that before, and we’ll do it again, Lord willing. It was reinforced in the very next chapter, which is the chapter of Matthew’s account of the transfiguration. I believe the sequence of events, because Matthew chapter 17 tells us that it was after six days that they go up into a mountain, and Jesus is transfigured before them, and he takes on his eternal glory. And the voice comes from heaven and says, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye.

The next chapter, I believe, in the transfiguration, we get God’s answer. When he is transfigured, he doesn’t look like a man on that mountain, glowing as bright as the sun. And God himself speaks and says, Who do I say the Son of Man is?

Conclusion

Hear ye him. And so God answers. Not the first time he tells who Jesus is, and not the only way he tells who Jesus is, but he answers again in the transfiguration. This is my son. Have you made that confession? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God? Now, before you answer, have you read the fine print? That’s what Jesus said to followers who would come after him, probably looking just for a meal. And Jesus asked if they had counted the cost. Don’t put your hand to the plow and then look back. Don’t go to war without realizing that whether you can win or lose that war.

But it’s making a radical commitment and a radical change in your life. But it’s revealed by God and reinforced by the eternal glory that Jesus is experiencing now. Would you make that confession this morning? Would you make that commitment this morning? Or would you at least renew and reinvigorate that commitment that your confession is placing upon you? If we can help you in any way, would you come and let us know as together we stand and as we sing?

Friends may oppose me, both may be sent me, so will I enter in place unto me, race and so I will come to the