Confessing Jesus as King

Speaker 1 0:30

Well , hey , friends , it's good to be with you . My name is Larry , one of the pastors here . Glad to be with you this Sunday . If you're with us online , just want to say glad to have you as well . I know some of you maybe are on vacation or you're at NASCAR right now and you're watching us . We know you're a faithful follower of both things . But if that's you in the room , and you're in whatever room you're at and you're taking a peek in the window checking this place out , i would love to invite you to come in here personally , get to know us , learn about who we are and just where you can be in community in person , and we would love that to have you . If you're maybe here this day . You're new with us , whether it be online or in the room .

Speaker 1 1:10

We have been doing a long walk through the book of Matthew This is the first book of the New Testament in the Bible And we've been doing something that's called expository teaching , which is where we're not just looking over it and getting a gathering idea , but we're literally taking verse by verse , chewing up what this is about , what it means for us , and we're learning this through the eyes of Matthew , who's a disciple of Jesus who is invited to follow Jesus And then he talks about Jesus and what his life was like and what he was like and who he liked and how we are actually called to follow and live in this new kingdom era and idea . And we've been taking this first century letter and we've been chopping it up and trying to learn how we as 21st century followers can understand what was kind of going on there culturally , theologically , historically and then apply that to our lives and the freedoms that that gives and the release that happens when you are a follower and experience the transformative power of Jesus . So we are in chapter 16 . We started chapter 16 last week . In total we're spending four weeks on chapter 16 . We're picking up a story here that starts in verse 13 . I'm going to read you everything and then we'll kind of chop it up . So , from the Gospel according to Matthew , chapter 16 , starting verse 13 , says this When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea , Philippi , he asked his disciples who do people say the Son of Man is ?

Speaker 1 2:56

They replied some say John the Baptist , others say Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets . But what about you ? He asked who do you say I am . And Simon Peter answered you are the Messiah , the Son of the living God . And Jesus replied blessed are you , Simon of Jonah ? for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood , but my Father in heaven . And I tell you that you are Peter , and on this rock I will build my church , and the gates of Hades will not overcome it . I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven , and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven . Then he orders his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah .

Speaker 1 4:02

So , friends , today what we're looking at is the foundational text of what our confession as our church , our faith community , is built around , and that is the person of Jesus , but more than that , also his work , and then the cost of following him . We have in this passage , peter's great declaration of who Jesus is as the Messiah and the Son of God , in which Jesus immediately praises and commends that confession , saying this isn't something that you came up with on your own , but the Father has revealed it to you . Then , immediately followed by Jesus declaring then that what that role actually was , what his Messiahship was all about , then next week , only to find that same person , peter , whom he was just praising , to then rebuke Jesus and say you are my King . But I do not like what you're saying about what you're gonna be doing as my King , because that's not the idea I had about how my King was supposed to act . That's a little foreshadowing , it says for next week . Yet Peter took him aside , jesus aside , and began to rebuke him , saying God forbid it , lord , this shall never happen to you . But he turned and said to Peter get behind me , satan , for you are a stumbling block to me , for you are not setting your mind on God's purposes but men's . So all of a sudden we see Peter goes from like being blessed and being suddenly to the tool of Satan himself , and Jesus rebukes him as Satan and then closes the passage in this chapter with the ethics of that kingship , the kingdom , and then asks him and then us , to count the cost .

Speaker 1 6:02

So what you see as we finish chapter 16 is literally confession , cross cost of discipleship over the next three weeks as we wrap up chapter 16 . It's a very clear structure And so today , as we get into that , i actually wanna come before Jesus as a confessing community with you . We don't often spend a lot of time with me in public prayer , but I'm gonna ask you to join me today as I pray for today's message and who we are , where our foundation is focused on , and to participate with me and in participation . I'm gonna ask you not to zone out during this time , but to lean in close . Your eyes reflect what a confessing community in Jesus looks like . So would you join me as I pray ?

Speaker 1 6:50

Jesus , we confess that you indeed are the Christ , the Son of God , but we also confess that your messiahship is not about your elevation above the world and it's pain , but actually through your humiliation and your surrender and your entrance into the thick of it , that the way up in your kingdom is to lay ourselves down , that life is only found through death and that to follow you is costly , which is not derived around what will make us happy , but , jesus , what will make us holy . And I pray that we would be a people that would live according to our core convictions and beliefs and that those beliefs , and you as king of our lives , are the answer to our existence , that it would impact and affect our actions , which would transform our feelings . Lord , forgive us for allowing our feelings to inform our actions and to undermine our beliefs . I pray now that we , as covenantal people , would recognize our confession before one another and before you as our King , jesus and Lord , that it truly would allow your spirit to define us in your likeness as we walk in obedience , and I pray that we , as a community of faith , together , would grow , that we would be convicted where we need to be convicted , comforted where we need to be comforted , but , most importantly , that we would be changed more and more into your likeness . We pray these things in our Jesus' name , amen .

Speaker 1 8:45

Well , today , friends , i want to begin by giving you an illustration of this text . The paradox is what we are faced with in this text by talking about marriage or relationships , any relationship for that matter . Anytime that you and I invest working on any part of relationship or marriage , in my case , that I'm going to explain , it's all driven by the same thing that we actually see in this text today . It is that there was a confession made , a confession that , before God and men , i was entering into a covenantal relationship with my wife when we were married , when I said yes to Michelle , i was saying no to every other woman . I was saying I actually give my life to you and I will no longer live for myself , but for you as well . In the confession it was right and it was true And I have maintained a commitment

Relationships and Faith Challenges

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to that confession .

Speaker 1 9:40

But , just like Peter with Jesus , i have found that the content of my confession , or my understanding of that confession , was not always right , that often , just like we do with Jesus , i would try to make Michelle into my own image . I would try to manipulate Michelle to satisfy my needs . I would try to eradicate things that I didn't want to do with or ignore things that are crucial to who she is as a human being . And so my commitment of I love you and I fill you with words of affirmation , i write you cards and I try to meet your needs . I'm committed to you , i've been faithful to you . There's fidelity here .

Speaker 1 10:21

But my understanding fundamentally of who she is could often be wrong , and it has been mind blowing for the longer that I've been with Michelle , for like 20 years . Like how could I be so wrong on this ? Give you a perfect example We were talking about this just the other night that I love to be spontaneous , like I'm captain wing it Like I just go do something . And I thought she was just like kind of boring because she was always like I don't want to be spontaneous , i don't want to do anything , I need structure and need this and that . And I thought like oh , that's just who she is , she needs structure and stuff like that . And so I didn't get to see her that way . I learned I'm unpacking and I was like we made this commitment but I didn't fully know you and understand completely who you are And , as I understand you , it changes things . She would feel the same way about our understanding of our confession that it was not as complete on the day we made it to one another As it is now , but even deeper than that .

Speaker 1 11:29

Often our action and this is so central we confess that Jesus is our Lord And that I'm in a covenantal relationship with you . I give myself to you , lord , but then I find that I don't really want who you are . I want to rethink who you are . And then suddenly you start telling me to count the cost . In other words , we come to Jesus Christ with the same reasons we come to marriage or any relationship that we're in , and it's that we want the other person to make us happy . We want that person to just give us what we've always wanted . We put all of our hopes in this life and what we can get out of it , and Jesus blows that up . And , honestly , marriage , if it does a good job , should blow that up as well The idea that my marriage , or even your relationship with someone , isn't primarily about making you happy .

Speaker 1 12:22

It's about a core belief that I am in a covenantal commitment with this person And it's not about what they give to me , it's about how I can give myself fully to them . And Jesus calls us as disciples And the thing is is that often , when He calls us , we have the real power to give ourselves . And He calls us . We have the right beliefs about who He is , but we have the wrong practice . See , i can confess with my lips that Michelle , you're the only woman for me , but then live with a detachment and live with a self-centeredness that doesn't communicate the truth of that covenant .

Speaker 1 13:05

And I think one of the crazy things is that if we can do this with each other in relationships and who we live with and we love , how much more do we do this with our Jesus ? How self-centered are we ? How often our following is defined by whether or not Jesus is leading us where we want to go , even including the way in which we get there ? I mean , how often are we feeling like I don't actually want to go the hard way , i don't want to go through the hard thing , i don't want to have pain . I don't want you feeling the blink . And I want to lay that out today for you , because relationships are one of the great pictures , the visible pictures of how challenging a relationship with the living God is and how hard it is to sacrifice our wants and desires for the good of those that are around us . It's painful And for many of us it's difficult And as a confessing community , we need to know out of the gate that what we find here in this text today is that the church has always been and always will be God's greatest treasure as well as His greatest problem . I often joke with those who work with people and remind them how easy their job would be if people weren't involved . Been there , I think the Lord's kind of like yep , i get that one . We need to understand that , that even in marriage , and it's the beauty of rubbing off those round edges and it's a growing reality . So let's chop this up . Verse 13 . Verse 14 . Says Now , when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi , he was asking his disciples who do people say that the Son of Man is ?

Jesus in a Pluralistic Society

Speaker 1 14:52

When they said some say John the Baptist , others Elijah , but still others Jeremiah are one of the prophets . And he said to them but who do you say I am ? See , friends , this is the central question that continues to be asked of the world to this day . The world is still coming up with a million different answers of who Jesus is . Just look at magazine covers over this last year . You can see it all over the place . The reality is that Jesus continues to be the central idea in people's minds . We have conversations on Twitter . It continues to be the central focus , but it's often recreation . It's misunderstanding . It's just a good question who is Jesus ? And the thing is that we're often willing to come up with even more outrageous ideas of who Jesus is . That's more outrageous than the gospels itself .

Speaker 1 15:47

So there's this scene that we're seeing right here at the border of Israel up north , in a town known for its paganism And it's supposed to be the birthplace of Pan . This fertility God that's like , looks like a goat person And as well as this great simple that's built , the Caesar himself , just this last January went and visited Caesarea Philippi And this is just a few pictures that show you that there was essentially this giant granite . While it's a beautiful place , it was cool , there was water around . You can go back to the last one real quick . There's this giant . This is kind of the pan place . There's these giant monuments that have been carved in where they would place idols and candles and incense And there was all kinds of debauchery going on and dancing and drugs and all of the things . You can go to the next one And the wall is covered in these all over the place where people have placed their different idols And it's this idol worship , like in this .

Speaker 1 16:49

Maybe some of you who have gone and experienced parts of Sedona in Arizona , the Red Rock and the spiritual warfare there in the worship of this space . You can go to the next one . So this is an up close . You can see inscriptions of what this was kind of on the left and the right , of what God this was . And so here Jesus presents himself with like this as the backdrop , with the disciples Like he's gone to retreat . This is a cooler place . But just behind him , in this space , as they're walking along , there's idols and the spiritual warfare and all of these things going on . And he comes up now presenting this as the backdrop , against the philosophers and the gods in the Roman empire itself , where there'd been a temple that was built , and he says who do people say ? the son of man is Now , if you haven't noticed this in our journey through Matthew , this is the first time that Jesus actually turns his attention upon fully upon himself , upon his personhood .

Speaker 1 17:46

He doesn't tell them who he is , he's drawing it out of them . He's constantly asking questions . This is how he works . He's drawing it out of people And I think that this actually gives us great insight to how evangelism works . He doesn't just try to like bop a bomb on them . In his first interaction , like you know , modern day we do , like we call it Bible bashing , like I'm just gonna . You need to know right . He asked them a question and , through a life that's been lived and through his teachings , as this light and this example , he suddenly brings them to a crisis point And we have this great reality , this pluralistic society that's been marked by syncrism , and it's very much like the Bay Area here , it's very much like the city that we live in , and Jesus is drawing that same question before us and he's presenting to us And friends . We have to be able to answer the question . And the difficulty in answering that question is that we live in an age of relativism And the reasons that marriages crumble or relationships fall apart and I am speaking from a deep personal experiences of relational brokenness is the same reason that Christians struggle following Jesus , and it's because we have been taught in our society that our feelings are the definitive force that defines morality And counseling .

Speaker 1 19:22

There's a simple grid that we use and I think it plays so deeply into understanding of a covenant . We begin with this grid . We first begin with core beliefs . Once you have core beliefs , that informs our actions and how we act , which then informs our feelings . But we've reversed this order and this is where everything falls apart . It's our feelings . We start with feelings . We start with well , you hurt me , so I withhold from you , i withhold from you , you're not allowed to have access anymore because you hurt me . And those feelings back and forth , back and forth , and so the dance goes . Now those feelings undermine actions . And when actions are undermined , core beliefs are completely overshadowed and they're forgotten or actually they're just disrupted or they crumble altogether .

Speaker 1 20:26

And if you begin with the covenantial belief that I have been made in the image of God for a relationship with God and have been empowered by His Holy Spirit to live according to the life that Jesus lived , as a servant leader , sacrificing his own life for the good of others , then at that core belief , then my love towards my wife or my friends is not dependent on how they act , but it's based upon a commitment of a core belief , and I will act this way regardless of how they act or how she acts , which then informs my actions as well as my feelings , and the right feelings and the right actions come out of that . But often we reverse this . Think about your relationships that have fallen apart . It can happen everywhere . It can even happen in a faith community , a place like this , where feelings lead the way and we suddenly find ourselves depositing divisiveness and feelings in someone else and deceitfulness into someone else , because we lead with our feelings and we forgot about the fundamental truth , the core of what we believe , and we say well , my feelings say this and it messes everything up . We do the same with Jesus .

Speaker 1 21:58

It's that we don't know how to live in a society of foundational truth , because everything is relativism And we , as a culture , begin to create ethics no longer based on any kind of foundational truth . I don't know if you guys have heard the term that's been coined by Stephen Colbert truthiness You live , your truth . It's a foundation that's based out of human feelings , out of the human heart , which is wicked and deceitful of all things and is not to be trusted . And yet this is what we have to deal with , because Jesus is being defined by all kinds of people all of the time . So , friends , how do we define them ? What do we say about them ?

Jesus' Church Establishment and Confession

Speaker 1 22:46

And right here in this text , we find where Peter brings before us what has been at the core value of the Orthodox Church from its origin . It is that our confession , what we confess to be our central belief of our community , defines what we will be as a church , and it's either gonna be authority and power , or it's gonna be diminishment and removal of any kind of authority and influence in the Bay Area or in the city or in this room . And so we have to ask the same question Can we declare Jesus as being the absolute . Who is he ? Verse 16, . Then Simon Peter answered you are the Messiah , the son of the living God . And Jesus said to him blessed are you Simon of Jonah , because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you , but my Father , who is in heaven . So let's first look at what Peter says here .

Speaker 1 23:48

First time the disciples actually confess this , they call him Messiah , And that word Messiah means king or anointed one . But I realized that in our context here it's difficult to actually understand this . We talk about this , we sing about this . Jesus is our king , he's the king , but we don't actually understand it oftentimes because we don't live in a society that's based upon royalty . Even England you see this from a distance It still has royalty , but it's only royalty as a front . They actually have no real power and authority in society And so declare Jesus as Messiah . We have to come up with a deeper understanding of that from a Jewish perspective in the first century For Peter to say right here , jesus , you are the Messiah .

Speaker 1 24:35

He's literally saying you are the answer . We could just pause right there . But he's saying you're the answer our people have waited for . You're the one that's been promised to us from the very first covenant that there would be a king that would come and rule the throne for ever and would bring peace to the world and bring reconciliation to the people of Israel . Jesus as Messiah . And for us to say Jesus is king is for us to declare emphatically emphatically , friends , that Jesus is the answer to human existence And because he's the answer , for us to truly surrender to that truth , to actually come under his authority . So if we believe , as an example , lying is bad and that truthfulness is right , we have to submit ourselves to that truth . So to declare that Jesus is king means that there is this surrender , that we come under him as the sole answer and that he deserves our allegiance because he alone is the answer and has the keys to life and existence .

Speaker 1 25:43

And then Peter just doesn't say that , he doesn't just say you're the king , but he says you're the Messiah . And then he connects it to something so interesting . He said you are the son of the living God . Maybe , if you look back and notice that Jesus begins with , who do you say the son of man is ? Now Peter says you're the king , you're the Messiah .

Speaker 1 26:06

And now we see for the first time this orthodox vision of Jesus as both God and man . The invisible , immortal , external God , cloaked in the frailty of human flesh , entered into his own creation And he has come to reveal himself through human flesh . And Peter , right here , is just getting a glimpse of this . He doesn't understand it all the way , but he's just getting a glimpse into this . And he said you are the son of God . And Jesus then answers and says blessed , are you son of Jonah ? What he's saying right here is Peter , you're right . But also , why does he say blessed , are you son of Jonah ? He's making a connection here . He's saying I am the essence . You're right , i'm the essence of God , the Father , in the way that you are in the essence of your Father . I carry within myself the full vision of who the Father is , because I am related to the Father in the way that is different than you relate to your Father . He's saying I am the essence of my Father , you are the essence of yours , and this beautiful interaction here gives us the basis of our confession . Then he says flesh and blood did not reveal this to you . And this is one of the great moments where we see that the spirit of God must be revealed through the truth of who Jesus is .

Speaker 1 27:30

I am absolutely committed to the Orthodox view that the gospel is not something that we can come to on our own ability or our own intellect , that it requires divine illumination , that faith itself is not something that we can create in Jesus , but faith in Jesus itself is a gift from Jesus . The church is historically held to faith alone and Christ alone , and that faith is a gift . This is something that we see in Martin Luther , bernard of Clarew , augustine , thomas-hecquus . Jesus says you didn't come to this , simon . You didn't come to this own You and all of your impulsiveness and your boldness . You are blessed because you surrendered to that which the Father has shown , you , has revealed to you And where here we find the exclusive claims of Jesus , must be . The confession of a believer , in other words , the confession of the true church has always been Christ-o-centric . Jesus is the Supreme , he's the supreme concern of the church This is why we're called Christians and has the word Christ in it . And so we have this beautiful confession .

Speaker 1 28:43

But now look at what we see next . It says I tell you , peter , and on this rock I will build my church , and the gates of Hades will not overcome it Also from our trip . You can see right here how beautiful it is with this water and this scene . This is kind of where Jordan starts , that huge granite rock , while there's this , that large opening cave right there . Many think that as he's teaching , with this in the background , that was often referred to as the gates of Hades , and so he's got this imagery going on behind him as he's explaining to his disciples what's going on And they can see all of these spots . You can even see him from someone from a distance where there's all of this idol worship taking place , in this spiritual warfare right here , and he says I tell you , peter , on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it .

Speaker 1 29:40

Here we see one of the great controversies in one of the most discussed passages in the New Testament , definitely the most discussed verse in the book of Matthew , And it's over Jesus's blessing right here . Is he blessing Peter the confessor , or the confession of Peter ? The Catholic church has held historically that this now is the inauguration of the church through the position of the pope . This is where we get the pope . Essentially , what they believe is that an office is created in this moment and an office then to be passed down . But even if we were to hold to that idea that there is something that was established here , clearly we cannot hold to the idea that the office is an errant . But it's not an errant Based upon the fact that Pope Peter in this next section , gets it all wrong .

Speaker 1 30:35

I think that there has been a great controversy and I would argue that it is both . It is but it is not , that it is not establishment and office , but it is a blessing on Peter himself as the prototype And , i would argue , the first member of the church . You are blessed , peter , as a person , as a part of my community , my people . You are blessed of what you have been given , your allegiance to , which is me . So it is both confession as well as the confessor that brings out the prototype of what makes up the true church . And notice he doesn't say I'm gonna build my church on this building . It's not a building , it's upon the confessing community of believers and Peter being the first .

Speaker 1 31:21

Then Peter even states later on in the New Testament you can look in first Peter , he talks about this that we are a nation of priests . We are a royal priesthood as a church , as believers , as confessors in Christ . And Jesus says what we have here in you , someone who is confessing who I am , will build my church , and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it . Now you cannot draw from this , like some do , the idea that we are somehow , because of our confession in Jesus , resistant or free from pain or difficulty . What Jesus is saying is because of who I am , because of what I have come to do , because of the work on the cross , because of this , that death does not get the last word . That death , the evil one , the dominion in this world , sin it has all been conquered on the cross , though we're still seeing its effects today , which is what most of us struggle with . If that's all been conquered , then why are we seeing hurt and evil in this world ? An illustration that I've heard that's been really helpful to me is it's almost like a war that has ended , but there are areas in the world where people don't know that the war is over , and so they continually fight And the enemy has been defeated . It's a defeated enemy , it's a mortally wounded enemy . But a mortally wounded dog is the most dangerous kind of dog , and that's why Satan's bite is so vicious still today , and the kingdom of darkness is still around us , but we , as a confessing community , must hold on to the fact that Jesus is victor , because our confession in Jesus is a confession that not only he is who he said he was , but he did what he said he was gonna do . How quickly , though , we can lose sight of our confession or misunderstand it . Now here we see .

Speaker 1 33:15

This verse is the first time that Jesus uses the word church . It's one of the only times that Jesus uses the word church , which the word church here comes from the word Greek word eklatia , which just simply means a gathering of people and assembling of a group . And Jesus says this this church is the foundation of my people , with me at your center . This is your center . This is why it says whoever confesses with their lips that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead shall be saved . Not saved into a vacuum , saved into God's people , into a community of faith . And he goes on to say this notice what happens . This question whether Peter is the rock Actually , he talks about this he's a stone . Peter himself says of the church we're all living stones , but that we were built on the cornerstone , which is Jesus himself .

Speaker 1 34:15

Verse 19, . Jesus says to him I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven . Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven , and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven . This , friends , is the very declaration of the gospel itself that those who reject the gospel find themselves bound , but those who accept the gospel find themselves loosed . Verse 20, . Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah . This last part is because he knew that people were already trying to force him into a position . They saw the Messiah as this political leader that would free Israel from the tyranny of Rome , and that is not what the Messiahship of Jesus was about . And I would argue that the disciples did not have a different view from that of the common people of Israel , as we'll see next week in Peter's response in the next section .

Speaker 1 35:14

But for today , as a confessing community , i believe this deserves a response and confession of who Jesus is . We're gonna sing a song and a response as confession . A response , our foundational belief that informs then our actions , that then inform our feelings , a recalibration , if you will So ask yourself , as we're seeing these words in just a few moments . Who is this king ? Who is this king ? His name is Jesus . We get to declare that His name is Jesus . He is the light of the world . There is freedom in his name , awesome in his power , reigning forever . Light of the world . There is freedom in his name .

Confessing Jesus as Our King

Speaker 1 36:10

So , as we respond today , may we be a confessing people who Jesus is , the foundation of what we believe in , and remember , recalibrate , refocus on that . And I would actually , today , go so far as to invite those of you who need to confess of the things that maybe have gotten in the way of his kingship , of his lordship , in your life . Maybe you've manipulated and tried to create him into your own image , maybe you've reduced the authority he has in your life . Maybe you've led , in this place or in your home or in a workplace based on feelings , to plant seeds of divisiveness and frustration , not remembering the core value and beliefs of who Jesus is and what he's supposed to represent in our life . And so we'll offer you , during this song , if you'd like to come forward and have someone pray for you , or just to lay it at his feet , to confess that he is my king . His name is Jesus . He is the light of the world And there's freedom in his name , freedom in his name .