Trust

Matthew 16:1-28

In life there are three great questions: Where did I come from? Where am I going? And Why am I here? We all have to answer those questions, or choose purposefully not to answer them. Those answers make up our belief system. We don\'t answer those questions in a vacuum. We have to trust someone or something. In my experience there are three options. You either believe no one, yourself only, or another-all based on your level of trust. The answers are crucial, the stakes are high, and the choice of who to trust matters-a lot.

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In this chapter we see these types of trust played out when it comes to deciding whether to believe Jesus Christ. They represent three options: legalism, which is trusting in your own efforts, rationalism, which means trusting in nothing unless you can see it, or trusting in something beyond yourself.

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What\'s going on in this chapter:

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1. Jesus tells vaguely about His mission to the Pharisees as they attempt to discredit Him-again.
2. Jesus tells His men to reject the teaching of the religious leaders
3. Jesus finally reveals who He really is-the Messiah (vs 16)
4. He tells Peter that the reality of the Messiah is the key to God\'s kingdom (vs 17 - 19)
5. Jesus talks plainly about the plan of why He came, to die and rise again (vs 21)
6. Satan tempts Him once again to not follow the Father\'s plan (vs 22 - 23)
7. Jesus says that as I will die, so must you to enter into My kingdom (vs 24 - 26)
8. Jesus tells them the difference between His first and second comings (vs 27 - 28)

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1 - 4

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The \"test\" was a test to discredit.

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Heb 3:7-10 \"Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works 10 for? forty years.

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The Pharisees and Sadducees were almost diametrically opposed to each other. The Pharisees believed in the Old Testament, the supernatural, and the resurrection. The Sadducees accepted only the first five books of Moses and did not believe in either the supernatural or eternal life. They would be rationalists today-only believing based on empirical evidence. The Pharisees were legalists, trusting in themselves to please God, yet believing in the supernatural. Though they were worlds apart in beliefs, these enemies found a common enemy in Jesus.

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They were trying to show that Jesus was a false prophet. If they could do that, then they could both discredit Him and even stone Him (Deut 18:20). They wanted a sign, but not just any sign. Jesus had already performed many miracles. Apparently they wanted incontrovertible proof. Really they just wanted Him to fail. Have you run into people like that? They say \"Prove that God exists or that Jesus is the only way to God.\" You can\'t prove it, and that\'s not what they really want anyway. All you can do is present the facts and let them come to a decision.

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That\'s basically what Jesus does-the \"sign\" he gives is His own death, burial, and resurrection.

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Jesus is not interested in impressing people into the kingdom by shows of power. He wants to invite them in by faith.

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5 - 12

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After two miracles, Jesus\' disciples still don\'t get that it isn\'t about bread but about relying on Jesus. They were obviously interpreting His remarks literally, but Jesus is speaking figuratively about the teachings, which rejected Jesus as the Messiah. This is important for Jesus is about to reveal to His men who He really is, and they must first make a clean break from the authority figures that would keep them from coming to faith. Not all of what the Pharisees said was bad, but they needed to \"beware\" which means \"to stare\" or consider carefully.

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The Pharisees believed in pleasing God through works and the Sadducees didn\'t believe in eternal life. Both legalism and rationalism (empiricism) will not lead you to God.

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6 - 20

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Caesarea Philippi is a beautiful area on the slopes of Mount Hermon. Jesus asks His men for some common ideas about His identity. They put forth various views-Jeremiah was thought to be immortal, Elijah was said to come before the Messiah, Herod believed John the Baptist had come back to life, and Moses promised God would send another Prophet (Deut 18:18).

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So then He asks, \"But what about you guys?\"

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Peter, usually known for sticking his foot in his mouth, instead says for the first time the actual true identity of Jesus, the Christ-which is the Greek form of Messiah. Andrew, Peter\'s brother, had actually told Peter that they had found the Messiah back in John 1:41, but now that they have walked with Him it is more than an idea, but a certainty. Peter does not understand fully what this really means-the Messiah (Hebrew: Anointed One - Psalm 2:2) was to be a ruler, not a savior.

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He didn\'t get the idea from public opinion, but from the Father. In reality, we need to understand who Jesus is for us-not just from what other people say about Him but what we think-what God has revealed to us about this Messiah.

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It reminds me of the Samaritans who heard the testimony of the woman by the well. When Jesus came and talked to them they responded to her: (John 4:42)

They said to the woman, \"It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.\"

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Jesus tells Peter (pebble) \"you are Peter (petros) and that on this \"rock\" (petra) He will build his church. There are at least four views of who the \"rock\" refers to. It could be as Peter as the supreme leader of the church (Roman Catholic), or that it was Peter\'s confession of faith (Luther)? I think it may be a combination of Peter as leader, the first to confess Jesus as Messiah-a confession that forms the bedrock of all of our faith.

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1 Peter 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

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The idea of the Gates of Hell means that Satan will oppose the church (\"called out ones\" - only found in Matthew) but that they will not defeat the gospel.

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The keys to the kingdom likely refer to the role of the church as the proclaimer of the gospel-inviting anyone to come and enter into God\'s kingdom through Jesus.

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Peter correctly identifies the position of Jesus, but incorrectly identifies His current mission.

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21 - 23

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Once the cat was out of the bag, Jesus is pretty clear with his guys about what is going to happen. For some reason they just couldn\'t believe it because when the events took place it totally caused them to stumble. Peter, perhaps with a little hubris born of his confession, seeks to tell Jesus was He should do. Whoops!

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Jesus is not calling Peter Satan, but the idea of circumventing the cross was Satan\'s main temptation to Jesus. Back in Matthew 4 Satan offered to give Jesus what He wanted, the world, in return for worshiping him. \"You don\'t have to go to the cross Jesus, I own the world and I can give it to you.\" But Jesus knew He must buy back the world with His own blood. To be king, He must first die. There was no other way. There is no other way for us to come out from the dominion of Lucifer.

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24 - 28

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So Jesus finishes-He has acknowledged that they must leave reliance on the old way, cling to Jesus as the Messiah, but One who must die before ruling. Now the finishing touch is to tell us that we too must die to be saved.

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We too must leave our old reliance on self to achieve goodness, and reliance on our own senses to understand the universe. We must deny our own self-sufficiency, and then take up a cross. The disciples would have instantly gotten the picture. Rome made dangerous criminals carry their cross as symbol of submission to Rome. Once Jesus took up the cross, and died as a criminal though He was innocent, we must be submitted to Him, dying as criminals and not innocent.

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The Christian gospel is a paradox. To get life we must lose life. And if we stubbornly hold on to self-sufficiency we will lose in the end. It\'s because we don\'t understand that real life only comes from God-this \"life\" we have here is only on loan and will not really satisfy.

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The rewards are for those who have denied themselves and followed Jesus.

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The idea of some not tasting death could have made the disciples think Jesus was going to immediately set up His kingdom. After the resurrection they asked Him if he was going to \"restore the kingdom to Israel\" (Acts 1:6). In fact, they are about to have this very promise fulfilled-in the next chapter!

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Conclusions

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There\'s an old Bob Dylan song that goes \"you gotta serve somebody.\" I\'d like to amend those lyrics to say \"you gotta trust somebody.\"

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Do you trust Him?

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Are you a rationalist, a legalist, an idolater, or one who trusts Jesus based on eye witness testimony and facts entered into evidence?

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• Do you trust that the cross is the only sign that matters?
• Do you trust that Jesus is who He says He is?
• Do you trust that His plan is better than your plan?
• Do you trust Him enough to give your life to Him for good each day?

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What proof (sign) do you require to believe?

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And once you believe, do you demand continued \"signs\" that God loves you?

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It might seem popular or intellectual to reject the claims of Jesus, but is it wise?

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Christians are often accused of being narrow-minded. We are not narrow-minded, we are God-minded, but what they mean is that we are not open to \"all ways lead to God.\"

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Jesus said \"I am the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.\" (John 14:1). That\'s pretty exclusive. It\'s not us that is exclusive it is Jesus. God made it real simple for us - not 10 ways or 5, but one.

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It\'s like binary code - it\'s either a 1 or a 0. This is not the popular way to go in a pluralistic society. But I\'m not worried about what\'s popular, I\'m concerned about what works.

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Who is Jesus to you?

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A popular guru, self help advisor, guy who gets you out of a jam, man upstairs, or Messiah?

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We need to understand the true person, mission, and impact of Jesus

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What does it mean to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus?

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Who takes first place? If presented with a choice to follow what everyone else is doing or following what Jesus is saying and doing, which way do you go on a regular basis? Whose values do you espouse most of the time?

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Will He be Lord of your life now? For He will be Lord of the earth soon enough

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