THE DEITY OF CHRIST DECLARED BY PETER
Matt. 16:13-25
Morning Meditation 5/27/2013
Matthew 16:13-25, "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
THE REASONINGS OF MEN CONCERNING THE IDENTITY OF CHRIST
Jesus asked in verse 13: "Whom do ye say that I the Son of man am?" Jesus is focusing in on the truth of His deity. He did it first by approaching it from a question concerning the general public. The Lord's miracles and teaching was wide spread at this point in His ministry. There was probably no one in Israel who had not heard of Him. There was probably no one in Israel who had not seen someone who had had a miracle preformed on him by the Lord Jesus.
It is normal to want to know something about a person who has such a reputation. Jesus knew he was the topic of discussion all over the land of Israel. So He asks His disciples, "who do men say that I the Son of man am?" Easton's Bible Dictionary says of this phrase: "In the New Testament it is used forty-three times as a distinctive title of the Saviour. In the Old Testament it is used only in Ps. 80:17 and Dan. 7:13 with this application. It denotes the true humanity of our Lord. He had a true body (Heb. 2:14; Luke 24:39) and a rational soul. He was perfect man."
Daniel used this term of Christ in Daniel 7:13, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."
Gill says, "Christ speaks here of himself, according to his outward appearance, and the prevailing opinion of men concerning him; that he looked to be only a mere man, born as other men were; was properly a son of man, and no more: and therefore the question is, not what sort of man he was, whether a holy, good man, or not, or whether the Messiah, or not; but the question is, what men in general, whether high or low, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, under the notion they had of him as a mere man, said of him; or since they took him to be but a man, what man they thought he was; and to this the answer is very appropriate. This question Christ put to his disciples, they being more conversant with the people than he, and heard the different opinions men had of him, and who were more free to speak their minds of him to them, than to himself; not that he was ignorant of what passed among men, and the different sentiments they had of him, but he was willing to hear the account from his disciples; and his view in putting this question to them, was to make way for another, in order to bring them to an ingenuous confession of their faith in him."
The disciples in answer to this question named four each of which would have had to have been raised from the dead. Some said he was, "John the Baptist," others, "Elias" (Elijah), others, "Jeremias," others just said that he was, "one of the prophets." Their guesses were of men for whom they had great respect. But none of them came close to being their Messiah. None would qualify to be the one of whom Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
He was definitely the discussion of the whole country and everyone had an opinion. The general public was not even close to who He was.
WHO JESUS IS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL QUESTIONS
What we think of who He is, is important enough to make the difference between eternal life and eternal death. So He presses the issue further and asks, "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter answers in verse 16: "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
We learn from this confession that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. He is not man who became God, He is God who became man. When we look at John 1:1 and 14:
1. "In the beginning was the Word." We see in this statement His eternal being.
2. "The Word was with God." We see in this His distinct personality.
3. "The Word was God." We see in this His essential Deity.
4. "The Word was made flesh." We see in this His incarnation and true humanity.
There disciples were able to see this. It may have not been easy but they were with Him for three and one half years. They heard the words He spoke, they observed the deeds He did, and they were recipients of the power He was able to give them. No one but God could do something like this. So Peter confessed for them all, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Our Lord's response to that was,
AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CHRIST TO PETER'S CONFESSION
Jesus does this in verse 17: "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." The word "Blessed" means, "happy." Jesus says, "Peter you are a happy man. You have found the source of true happiness." And that is true of anyone today. When you confess your faith in Christ's claims something happens that will make you the happiest one that can be on this earth.
1. One has a supernatural work of grace wrought in him when he confesses this. Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-33, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
2. A person who makes this confession has his destiny changed. Mark 10:28-30, "Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."
Jesus did not leave people in the dark or without explanation. Not only will you gain family as you become a part of the Christian family, it will be "with persecution." I have had many mothers in my ministry. They were and are sweet wonderful people who are a part of God's family by faith in Jesus Christ. But I have lost friends and have been spoken against. The fact is Jesus was the one person who told the truth and did it with compassion and all the tact that one could possible have. Jesus said, "I am meek and lowly in heart" (Matt.11:28-30). But in spite of His meekness and humility He was hunted and persecuted by man. He lived under the constant judgment of His nation, the Bible scholars of His day ignored what their Bibles said about Him. I have seen a lot of preachers get in trouble with the public, and in my opinion, they could have avoided it. They could have told the truth in a wiser way. It seems to me that some deliberately provoke other people. But Jesus told the truth in the right way and He got into serious trouble because of it. He was opposed and finally crucified and there was no reason but spiritual blindness and being under the control of Satan that brought this about from the human standpoint. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
Don't complain when you are persecuted for being a Christian, this goes with being a Christian. It will be worth it because the end of that life is "eternal life."
3. I read in one of Richard Wurmbrand's books where he was put into solitary confinement. It was dark and lonely and a dreaded place to go. He said, "I literally danced for joy and the cell lit up with the presence of the Lord on this occasion."
THE TRUTH OF HIS DEITY COMES BY DIVINE REVELATION
Matthew 16:17, "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." The word "revealed" means, "to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up, to disclose, make bare, to make known, make manifest, disclose what before was unknown." The Father opened the heart of Peter and the other disciples to receive the truth of who Jesus really was.
Jesus accepted the confession which acknowledged His origin and relationship to His Father. When Peter said, "Thou art the Christ" he was confessing Him as Messiah. Jesus was the long looked for Messiah. Jesus knew it and those disciples who believed in Him knew it. He was their hero and Lord and Saviour and would eventually suffer and die a martyrs deaths because of this belief.
Peter does not only say, "Thou are the Christ," but he adds, "the Son of the living God." Jesus said in John 5:23, "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." Before Peter made this great confession of faith, He had heard Jesus teach them that He was the Son of God. All Christians believe that. That is essential to saving faith. But it still comes to us by divine revelation.
Jesus confronted the Jews in John 8:42-44, "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." The words "proceeded forth" comes from a word that means, "to go or come forth of; with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the point from which he departs. Jesus was in heaven with the Father, surrounded by the holy angels before His departure from there to come into this world to fulfill the mission that was planned from eternity past.
Jesus answered the question, "why do you not understand my speech?" He said it was because,
1. They were not children of God. John 8:42-43, "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word."
This is in complete harmony with what Jesus said through Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The spiritual birth must come before understanding.
2. They were children of the Devil. This is a hard pill for the unsaved to swallow. But it is true of every man prior to salvation. John 8:44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
3. The unrevealed truth is not attractive nor understood by the unsaved. John 8:45-47, "And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God."
4. It is significant that nearly all the modern cults are in error concerning the deity of our Lord. I do not know a one who isn't. There are a lot of things that we can disagree on and still be in God's family together. But there is one thing we can't disagree on. It is the deity of Christ. This is the reason that the virgin is attacked by the heretics. And it is on the basis of human reasoning. How can a person be born without a human father? You can read about how it happened in Matthew chapter 1.
JESUS IS THE FOUNDATION, BUILDER, PRESERVER OF THE CHURCH
Let's notice the following:
1. He is the Foundation of the Church. When Jesus said in verse 18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The word Peter means "a small stone." The word "rock" is "a huge foundation stone." The word "this" standing before the word "rock" is not a finger pointing to Peter. It was a finger pointing to Himself. The church is built of Christ. Paul said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 3:11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." The church is built on Christ Himself.
2. He is the builder of the Church. He uses God-called men who are His hands to build the church. But it is still Him doing the work. The Church is built out of believers. A person can't be saved without being drawn. John 6:44, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:" All his plans end in aborted attempts.
3. He is the preserver of the Church. Satan can do damage to the church through the tares that he sowed in the local assemblies. He has access to them and they will cooperate with him to try to sow discord and all kinds of things to destroy the church. None of it works. Jesus has committed Himself to protect the church and He is faithful. This does not means a local church cannot go out of existence but it means that there will always be churches built after the model of the early church somewhere on this earth until Jesus comes.
JESUS IS OUR SUBSTITUTE AND RESURRECTED MEDIATOR
Matthew 16:21-23, "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
1. Our text says, "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many thing of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed, and be raised again the third day." Jesus did begin to prepare them for his death and resurrection. Peter didn't like the idea at all. So he began to resist this teaching. And this, Jesus did not tolerate.
2. Jesus said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art and offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Satan had planted an idea in Peter's head and he acted on it. So Jesus exposes Satan's attempt to use Peter to oppose the crucifixion and resurrection. I know that Peter must have felt terrible in having Jesus making such a head on rebuke. But it had to be done. Peter took it. This is the kind of Christian that can be used of God. Those among the believers who will accept the rebuke of Scripture and not get offended and run off will learn from the experience and be stronger.
Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Peter confessed this and Jesus commended him for it. This we must believe. The Bible is plain on this subject. We must preach this truth without fear or compromise.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
