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Matthew 16:13-20— ¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 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. ¹⁹ 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.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

In the name of Jesus, the Son of the living God. Amen.

Jesus decides to take an opinion poll while in the district of Caesarea Philippi, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The results vary: some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah, or others one of the prophets. All of those answers are flattering, very complimentary, but are they right? Flattering and complimentary are fine and dandy, but in this question only the right answer counts.

Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answers for the disciples and, ultimately, for the whole Christian Church, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” If Peter is right (and he is), notice what this means. It means that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise Adam and Eve heard from God, that the seed of the woman will crush Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15). It means that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, “I will bless you. And your seed will possess the gate of his enemies, and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:17-18). Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises God gave to Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

To confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God is a big confession to make. But Peter didn’t make this up on his own. He’s not as good a theologian as that – no one is. Jesus says, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, Peter, but my Father who is in heaven.” Flesh and blood does not avail you. You cannot, by your own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him (SC Art. 3).

Our epistle text (Ro. 11:34-12:8) says, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.”

Peter’s confession – that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God – came from God, was made through God, and gives glory to God. So does your confession, believer. And flesh and blood does not reveal who Jesus is to you. Only the Father who is in heaven can reveal this through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus makes three promises to those who confess this. Jesus promises first to build His Church upon this confession. “On this rock I will build My church.” God builds the Church. I know many of you here put your hands to the very hammers and saws that built this building. You have your own blood, sweat, and tears in this building. But someday this building will fall. It will crumble. But the holy Christian Church is not a building. And some of you, many of you, have brought others into this building to hear the Gospel of Christ, and that Gospel has been heard and believed. But you still have not built this Church. God has. You are the living stones which “are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

Jesus’ second promise is that on the rock of the confession that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, God will build the Church so firmly that “the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Now that is quite a promise, but it is difficult to tell the ‘direction’ of this promise – is it offensive or defensive? Some commentators focus on the defensive nature of this. They say that the evil hosts of Satan that issue from the stronghold of hell’s gates will attack the Church but will always be thwarted. If this is the direction of the promise, then hell can send out host after host, but the Church will stand.

However, other commentators view this in the opposite direction, as offensive. Gates don’t move – they protect. Rocks can be loaded into catapults and hurled against gates. As Jesus ministered, He fought against the devil and his kingdom, and Jesus, the Son of the living God, prevailed. Casting out demons, healing diseases, and overcoming the fallen creation was Jesus’ cup of tea. Jesus’ Church is still on the offensive side of the ball. Sins are forgiven and the rule of Satan is overthrown through Jesus’ continued ministry in the Church. The Church, which stands on  the solid rock of the confession that Jesus is the Messiah, demolishes hell’s gates every time.

Whether this promise is defensive or offensive, doesn’t really matter. Believer, you along with the rest of the Christian Church will always overcome the strongest onslaught of hell.

Jesus’ third promise is, “I will give you the keys of the reign of heaven.” If you give keys to someone, it means you trust them with whatever is behind the door. Jesus gave His Church the keys to the reign of heaven. Those who do not confess that Jesus is the promised Messiah are eternally locked out of the reign of heaven. Those who do confess, who have this revelation from the Father, enter into the door of the reign of heaven.

Yes. God is so reckless that He will entrust the opening and closing of the reign of heaven to His Church. He has given His Church the authority to forgive sins because of what Jesus has done on the cross. Jesus Himself told the Church to disciple all nations opening the reign of heaven to them so that all can enter. However, those who stubbornly refuse Jesus’ call to enter into the reign of heaven through His sacrifice are to be shut out. The Church is to make it clear that they are outside of God’s love – in order that they desire to receive the love of God already poured out for them in Christ’s blood.

And that is precisely what Jesus will do in next week’s Gospel lesson (Mt. 16:21-28); Jesus will close the doors to the reign of heaven in Peter’s face. We’ll see how quickly things fall apart when the Church moves away from its confession of Christ being the Messiah. There is only one Messiah, and He has come to be a specific type of Messiah. Peter will be told by Christ, the Son of the living God, that is necessary for Him as Messiah to suffer, die, and rise again. Peter decides he doesn’t want that type of Messiah. He will tell Jesus, “Far be it from You, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan.” But we’ll leave that for next week.

For now, know the truth of this confession – Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. This confession, this faith comes only from God. And this faith is unconquerable. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.