Matthew
16:16-19 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the
Christ, the
Son of the living God. (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.
(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.
(19) 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.
Matthew 7:21-24 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me
in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
(23) And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity. (24) Therefore whosoever
heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock: Matthew 7:25 And the rain
descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Both accounts show people knowing who Jesus is.
- Jesus having some
words for these people to hear and obey.
- And Jesus’
words involving building on a Rock.
- Mentions the KINGDOM.
- (Keys of the Kingdom
– Matt 16, Enter the Kingdom – Matt 7).
Last week we explained how the Father gives the first revelation of
Christ’s identity.
- Then the Son proceeds
to give a secondary revelation.
- “And I say
also unto thee.”
- This second revelation
puts us on the Rock where even death cannot overcome us.
- Jesus said the wind,
rain and floods, like the gates of hell, cannot prevail against the
house on the rock.
But it is so important to catch the detail that THE SON SPEAKS WORDS TO
THOSE WHO RECOGNIZE HIS IDENTITY.
- As in Matt 16 when
Peter learned from the Father that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of the living God, people call Jesus LORD in
Matthew 7.
- And as in Matt 16
Jesus told Peter “And I say also unto thee,”
Matt 7 shows Jesus saying they cannot enter the KINGDOM unless they
HEAR HIS WORDS AND DO THEM.
Unless the people who learn His identity HEAR HIS WORDS, He does not
know them.
- That is in Matt 16 why
Jesus called Peter “satan” even though
Peter was blessed to have received the revelation of His identity from
the Father.
- Similarly, in Matt 7
Jesus tells people who called Him Lord that He never knew them.
Jesus DOES NOT KNOW US if we fail to hear His words and do them.
After Jesus recognized Peter received the first revelation from the
Father, HE BEGAN TO SPEAK TO THEM ABOUT DOING SOMETHING.
- Keep tying Matt 16 to
Matt 7.
- Jesus said those who
know He is lord CANNOT ENTER THE KINGDOM UNLESS THEY HEAR HIS WORDS AND
DO THEM.
- In order to know WHAT
IT IS WE MUST DO, we have to compare Matt 16 with Matt 7.
- The thing Jesus began
to speak to them about when they learned His identity was :
Matthew 16:20-21 Then charged he his disciples that they
should tell
no man that he was Jesus the Christ. (21) 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.
Notice the pattern:
- The Father must reveal
His identity.
- Then Jesus has
something to say.
- His words SPEAK OF THE
CROSS.
- SELF DENIAL.
- Which LEADS TO
RESURRECTION!
The second revelation from the son is TAKING UP THE CROSS.
- Notice that Peter
rejects this note and Jesus chides Him and reinforces the need for the
cross IN THEIR LIVES.
- He calls Peter
“satan” just like He says to those who know He is
Lord, but never did HIS SAYINGS, “I NEVER KNEW YOU.”
Matthew 16:22-23 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke
him, saying,
Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
(23) 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.
Jesus GIVES HIS SAYINGS and TEACHINGS about the cross, and Peter
rejects them.
- Jesus calls Him satan
and an offence.
Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
It is SO IMPORTANT to GET what Jesus’ emphasis to us is all
about.
- Taking the cross.
- The reason he tells
people to depart from him as he told Peter to get behind him, was
because they were workers of iniquity.
- That fits perfectly
with Matt 16’s notes about taking the cross.
- When we refuse to hear
his words about the cross and self denial,
we have nothing working in our lives to HINDER SINS AND INIQUITY.
- So we are left as
WORKERS OF INIQUITY.
- That means the
teachings of taking up our crosses in Matt 16 are
the sayings of Jesus in Matt 7 that we must hear and do or else be
turned away from the KINGDOM as workers of iniquity.
- The cross stops us
from being workers of iniquity.
- The cross keeps self
in place.
- And that is why he can
give us the keys of the Kingdom.
- HE CAN TRUST THOSE WHO
DENY THEMSELVES for they will not act in self interests, but IN HIS
INTERESTS.
- AND THEY TRULY CAN
LIVE IN THE KINGDOM!
- Those who enter HIS
KINGDOM, recognize HIM AS KING AND NOT THEMSELVES.
- If we do not take up
our crosses, we will, guaranteed, BUILD THE KINGDOM OF SELF!
- He cannot entrust the
KEYS OF THE KINGDOM to us unless we take up our crosses.
- Taking up such crosses
and denying self ARE THE REASON WE ARE ON A ROCK!
- All that satan can
appeal to is our self centredness, and if the
cross is on our back and we are denying self, the winds, rain and
floods CANNOT AFFECT US!
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