Second P: To build a church that mirrors heaven, let’s not focus on human Personalities
Matt 16
18 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.
Jesus asked a question, who do you say I am? And Peter responds, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And based on that confession, Jesus praises him, saying to Peter, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.
Who is the rock? Catholics would say, the rock is a human personality. It’s Peter. He is the first pope of Rome and to this day, Catholics trace a papal line of successors from Peter to the current day Pope.
Peter is definitely a special individual. He is an apostle. He is first among his peers. He was special even among the Twelve. But does the rock refer to Peter and is Peter so important that Christ would build his church upon him? Related to this, if you follow that reasoning, is Peter the original Pope?
Catholics would admit, Popes are human so they are fallible. They are not perfect. They sin, just like the rest of us. However, Catholics add that when it comes to a Pope’s spiritual interpretation, they are infallible because they receive special wisdom from God.
Peter is a fallible person morally. We all know that. As Protestants, we also believe that Peter is fallible in his spiritual interpretations. How do we know this? Right after this glorious confession, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, in v21-23, Peter must have felt great about himself. But it doesn’t last long. Right after that glorious confession, Jesus tells the disciples that he is going to die on a cross in Jerusalem.
And upon hearing this, Peter says, far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you. And Jesus turns to Peter and calls him, Satan. Glorious praise to harsh rebuke. In the same chapter. Peter did not understand Jesus’ explanation about his imminent death and resurrection. Peter’s spiritual interpretive lens is a bit off at times, just like the rest of us.
Even after the resurrection and the empowering from the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter was rebuked by Paul in Gal 2:11 because he was burdening Gentile believers with Jewish rules and regulations. Peter was fallible morally and he was fallible at times in his spiritual interpretations.
One minute Peter had revelations from the Father. The next, he spoke in the flesh. The frailty of humanity is such that we all can move in times of revelation and deep understanding, then moments later be off the wall and out to lunch. We are a mixed bag. We can speak with spiritual authority in front of a group and later that same night be carnal and yell at our wife and kids because we can’t control our temper.
We can’t build a church around a human personality. Protestants are guilty as well. How many megachurches and movements today are built around the charismatic personality of a celebrity pastor or leader? And everyone flocks to their conferences and reads all their books as if only these guys have special access to God. We treat them like Protestant Popes.
What is the rock that Jesus is referring to in v18?
Matt 16
18 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.
If it is not a human personality, then what is the rock? Petros or Peter means small stone. Petra means massive stone. So the translation is something to the effect–blessed are you, little stone. Peter, upon the massive stone of your confession when you said of Jesus, v16 – you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, upon that massive stone, upon that enormous confession, upon that rock, I will build My church.
Who do you say Jesus is to you, personally? The door to eternity swings open or closed based on your answer to that question.
Third P: Focus, not on programs, not on personalities, but focus instead on the person of Christ
This entire chapter is not about Peter. It’s about Jesus. Peter is praised, not because he is so great. But he is praised because he focused the attention on Jesus. He put the spotlight on Christ. When asked, Peter, who do you say I am? His answer was, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And on that rock, Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Who will build the church? Peter? The disciples? No, Jesus said “I” will build my church. I will build My church. Whose church is it? His church. He’s the head of the church. We are all servants. As a pastor, I am an under-shepherd to THE Good Shepherd. He is the head pastor. I report to him. After all, it’s his church, not mine. He will build it. And he gives each of us the privilege as His body to participate.
And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Hades is the place of the dead in Jewish thought. The gates of Hades can be translated as the gates of death. The gates of Hades is where death looks powerful and secure, impenetrable, invincible–as if what is dead is dead forever and can never get out of the prison of death. But Jesus says, these gates will not stop me from rescuing people from death.
Many conceive of the church as a little enclave cut off from society. The world is too sinful, evil is too powerful, we should just see no evil and hear no evil and spend all of our time at church. This is not the picture Jesus had in mind. The Great Commission makes it clear that Jesus wants us to be out there and engaging the world. He wants to release His disciples into the harvest fields.
And when we are out there and we follow Peter’s example and we proclaim Christ and people are saved, in the spiritual landscape, we are freeing captives, we are breaking invisible chains, we are taking back enemy territory. Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and all who proclaim Christ, we, too, have the keys to the kingdom. Keys gives access. With the keys, we have access to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever we bind or loose here on earth, binding and loosing is happening in heaven. How? It’s the kingdom of heaven breaking into our physical world such that whatever we bind here is bound in heaven and whatever we loose here is loosed in heaven. There is a mirroring between heaven and earth because quite literally heaven is breaking into our time and space, into earth. And we get a foretaste here and now of the new heaven and the new earth that Jesus will inaugurate when he returns.
Church is not a fortress. We are not to live on the defensive. Walled up. The church, we are not supposed to live in fear, barricaded in and watching helplessly and passively as a vast army of Orcs and Urakai as far as the eye can see are assembled around our walls. It’s the reverse. The church on the offensive. Jesus promises, I am going to prevail through my church. The gates of hell will not hold back my church. I will storm the gates of hell, where people have been held in bondage, where there has been darkness, discouragement, disease, and death. The kingdom of God is advancing and forceful men lay hold of it. The gates of Hades will not be able to withstand the advance of the church, His kingdom coming down and spreading throughout earth.