How many important lessons can a person learn at one time? Not many, probably. But on this occasion Jesus seized the moment and immediately went on to teach His disciples that not only did He have to go to the cross but in a sense, they had to go to the cross too, dying to themselves and their own plans.
Category: Heads Up (Page 9 of 36)
Articles written by Pastor Steve for the White Mountain Independent newspaper
In a sense, in chapter 16 Matthew is introducing us to Jesus Christ. He has been telling us about Jesus all along, of course, but here he gets to the heart of his introduction. Who is Jesus? Peter had the answer: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then, what does Jesus do? Jesus Himself answered that part. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Jesus said, “…I will build my church (ekklesia – “called out assembly”) and the gates of hell [hades] shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16.18). What did he mean by “the gates of Hell” not being able to overcome Christ’s Church? Several different interpretations exist. The most common view is that “the gates of Hades” refers to attacks on the Church by Satan and his demonic forces and that this is a promise that Satan will not succeed. The problem is with the word gates, which is a strange way to refer to an attacking army. It suggests a defensive situation, and the natural way of understanding it is that hades will not be able to resist the forces of the Church when the Church is assaulting it. Unfortunately, although the Bible recognizes the reality of spiritual warfare, it does not speak of evangelism in those exact terms.
What did Jesus mean when he said to Peter, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church”? There are three main interpretations:
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ” (Matthew 16.13-20).
Good eyesight is a marvelous blessing, and in order to see better, Americans spend billions of dollars a year on eye care. About seven percent of the population is considered legally blind. Jesus faulted the Pharisees because they were unable to “interpret the signs of the times” (Matthew 16.3). Are you able to interpret the times? Above all, are you able to interpret the times well enough to come to faith in Christ? Romans 13.11 uses this imagery when it says, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”