A Confession, A Cross & A Call (2)

If you have your outline tonight, you notice it's the same title as last week. I'm not going to repeat myself tonight. We're not going to do the same thing we did last week. But as you, if you were here know, we got about halfway through our lesson, maybe not quite that far. And so we're going to pick up where we left off last week. We're in Matthew 16. The reason why we only got halfway through is because it is such a critical turning point in our Lord's ministry. As the Lord is teaching and training His disciples, He introduces two new concepts. One of them, brand new. And that is the church. He has hinted at mystery form of the kingdom in Matthew 13. But as far as coming clearly out and talking about the church, this is the first time that's happened. So he's really beginning to stretch them in their understanding of what His program is, what He's going to do. Also, He will clearly introduce to them His death. And we'll see tonight that this is really the first time He has spoken clearly about His death. It makes it very clear that He is going to die. So He's really beginning to turn a corner in what He's the kind of information He's giving them so that they can begin to understand there's a change now in what's happening. He's not going to establish an earthly kingdom, not on this visit to the planet. But He will do that, of course, later. But on this particular visit, He's going to die. And so He begins to describe that to them. Now in Matthew chapter 16, where we find ourselves tonight, Jesus is withdrawing to Cessar yet Philippi. Let me just remind you of where that is. Jesus has gone from the Sea of Galilee where most of His ministry is centered to this location in 25 or 30 miles north of Copernum and the Sea of Galilee. And takes them to a place where there is a large mountain, high mountain, Mount Hermann. Look at the next picture here, Mount Hermann. We've seen that before. This huge edifice, and at the base of that mountain is the shrine of Pan, or the sanctuary of Pan, one of the gods worshiped by the Romans and the Greeks. In this particular idolatry center was actually a shrine to many different gods. There's a temple to Zeus here, or actually a temple of Augustus here, a temple of Zeus over here. There were shrines to Pan and Hermes over here, other worship centers. This was one of the centers of idolatry in all of this region of the world. But Jesus wanted to take his disciples to any particular location close enough to travel to on foot. This is it. This is it. Why did he take them there so that he could draw out of them what the father had revealed to them about who he was? And so remember on this occasion, as Jesus is in this center of idolatrous worship, he asked his disciples two questions. The first one whom to men say that I am, and we looked last week at the speculation of men, they had a lot of different answers as to who Jesus was. People said he was Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets, John the Baptist, a lot of different speculative ideas as to who Jesus was. And then Jesus asks the second question, who do you say that I am? And that brought forth the declaration of Peter. Two things Peter said about Jesus. You are the Christ. In other words, the Messiah and you are the Son of the living God. You're not just a human ruler. You are God and human flesh. You're the Son of the living God. So that's the declaration of Peter. The explanation of Christ is to where that came from. This did not come from flesh and blood. This is not something Peter got on his own. This is not human intuition. This is not figured out by your own brain power. This came as a revelation from God. Now God used the ministry of Jesus as he taught preached the Word of God and corroborated that with his miracles to impress upon the disciples and reveal to them who Jesus was. And so the explanation of Christ as to where that answer came from. Now what we saw last week and we just really got started on this was the revelation of Christ about what was going to happen next. And this is really the crux of what Jesus is teaching them and kind of stretching their learning curve on what his program and plan is. He reveals first of all a new purpose. So there's revelation about a new purpose and that new purpose is in verse 18. And I tell you that your Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Jesus says I will build my church. That's his new purpose. The kingdom is not going to be set up now. That program is in remission. It's not going to be set up until a future time. But I'm going to build my church. Jesus will build his church and that is the new revelation of this new purpose that Jesus has. Now not only does he say I will build my church but he says nothing will defeat this purpose. The gates of Hades will not overcome it. Remember we talked last time about what the gates of Hades were? Look again at this picture of the opening of the grotto of the cave of the cave and the side of Mount Hermes right behind the temple of Augustus is where this was. And it was considered by the Romans and the Greeks and many caves like this but this particular one in Mount Hermann was considered to be the entrance to Hades, the entrance to the underworld. And so Jesus with this backdrop behind him says the gates of Hades. You understand that Hades is a temporary place of punishment. It is a temporary place where the dead go. The eternal place of punishment is called the lake of fire in the Bible. So hell or Hades is a temporary place. The Greeks and Romans thought of the underworld as the place where everybody went when they died. And so Jesus says the gates of Hades, the entrance to Hades, death itself will not frustrate his purpose, will not derail his purpose. His death which he is going to tell them about now will not destroy this purpose. Their deaths will not destroy this purpose. The death of a believer cannot destroy what God is doing in building his church. And so he will build his church. Now where we want to pick up tonight is the foundation of that church at the very beginning of verse 18. We didn't talk about this. Jesus says and I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. What did Jesus mean when he said you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. Peter by the way means rock. So what does Jesus mean when he says that there are three views. I'm going to give you a test tonight, which you think is the right view. There are three views as to what Jesus meant by this. The first one is that Jesus was saying the church will be built on Peter. You think that's the right view? No. You don't think so. Some people think so. The Roman Catholic church has built much of their doctrine of the church on this statement and they believe that Jesus was saying the church would be built on the apostle Peter and that Peter came to Rome and founded the church in Rome which became the mother church of all other churches and that really is the beginning of Roman Catholic theology and Roman Catholic the primacy of the Roman Catholic church. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 20 is very interesting in this regard by the way. In Ephesians chapter 2 in verse 19 Paul told the Ephesians he said consequently you're no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household. Verse 20 says built God's household is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. With Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. Before you think well the Catholics just have it all wrong and they just out the lunch and don't have any scripture at all to base. We need to take seriously what scripture says. There is a sense in which the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Paul says that clearly in Ephesians 2. These men were foundational in the building of the church. They were critical. God gave them miraculous powers to establish the church. They are in a sense the foundation on which the church is laid and built because they're the ones that started the church. As Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone as Paul says in Ephesians 2. The chief cornerstone was the first stone that was laid, a cornerstone and everything else was lined up by that cornerstone. That's the way the building was done in that day. So everything else in the foundation has to line up with that cornerstone. But there is a sense in which the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. But I don't think that's what Jesus had in mind in Matthew 16. First of all, Paul, in Ephesians 2, is speaking plural, the apostles and prophets. Not just Peter. There is a sense in which the apostles and the prophets, the New Testament prophets, who received revelation from God and gave it to the early church and it was later inscribed in Scripture, formed the foundation of the church. Not only one sense in which that is true, but that's not what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 16. Anybody have a clue as to why that's not what Jesus means in Matthew 16? What? I think the foundation of the apostles, the apostles, the disciples, the Christ, the disciples, the disciples, the disciples. Okay. All right. The foundation of the church is faith in Christ. Okay. Let's hang on to that thought. Let's hang on to that thought. Why do you think Jesus did not have a foundation of the church? Not mean that Peter was the foundation of the church though in Matthew 16. Any clue? Thought maybe you heard this before John? Okay. The apostles are going to die. They're going to pass off the scene. Okay. All right. Okay. Yeah. It's a different word. Jesus uses a different word here. I knew that some of you had heard that, probably knew that from studying your Bible. Look at verse 18 again. And I tell you that you are Peter. Now, Peter does mean rock. It comes from a Greek word Petros, which means a building stone like would be cut out of a quarry and one of the stones that would be used in a building. But then Jesus says on this rock, and he changes words, it's a different word. It's not Petros. It's Petra. Petra, which means a massive ledge or cliff which would serve as the foundation for a building. So it changes words, which is a subtle clue that Peter is not the foundation. Peter, you are a building stone. You're one of the stones that's going to be cut out of the quarry and will be an important part of the building. But you're not the Petra. You're not the ledge or the huge, massive cliff on which the structure is going to be built. That's different. And if we could go back Jeff to that picture of the grotto of Pan, when you think about this being in the background, is it too hard to go all the way back to Mount Herman? Can you go all the way back to that? I need to mess you up. We may blow a fuse in the computer back there. This is what Jesus has behind him as he says on this massive ledge, this huge cliff is I will build my church. You're a building stone. You're a Petra, but it's on Petra, on a massive ledge and stone that I will build my church. So the foundation is different. So I don't think the Roman Catholic view holds any ground here. I don't think Jesus was saying I'm going to build my church on Peter because he changes words and the ideas and the two words are completely different. The second view is to what Jesus meant. Thank you, Jeff, for helping us out there. The second view as to what Jesus meant was that Christ was referring to Himself, that He Himself is the foundation on which the church is built. You think that's the right view? He's the high priest, certainly. Yes? Okay, hang on to that thought. Hang on to that thought. Does the Bible ever say that Jesus is the foundation? Daniel, I may have gone ahead of you. What were you going to say? I think you're right. Jesus identifies Peter because Peter has just made this confession about Jesus. And so he's in a sense commending Peter. He's said to him, you didn't learn this through your own understanding. God revealed this to you. By the way, on this rock, I'll build my church. So I don't think he's saying Peter is the rock, but I think he references Peter because Peter has just made this confession. The Bible does, by the way, say that Jesus is a foundation, de-foundation of the church. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul uses again the metaphor of a building. He says there are different building materials that workers who build the church can use, some are gold, silver, and precious stones, some are wood, hay and stubble. But he says there's only one foundation. No other foundation can any man lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. And in 1 Peter chapter 2, Jesus is once again called the chief cornerstone that is rejected by men but is laid as the chief cornerstone. So the Bible does reference Jesus at least in 1 Corinthians 3 as being a de-foundation on which the church is built. Certainly that is true. I still don't think that's what Jesus meant here. The third view is that it is Peter's confession, the truth of who Jesus is that the church is built on. In the context, I think that's the best view. I forgot to ask. Anybody think that's the right view? I think in the context because Peter, Jesus has led them to this point where all these false gods are worshipped so that he can get clearly from them a confession as to who he is. And Peter gives the right answer. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus says on this rock, I will build my church. Now obviously the two are very similar. The confession about Christ is who Christ is. So the church is built on who Christ is. So it's two and three are very similar. But I think in the context, Jesus is talking about that confession. It is who Jesus is. It is his person that makes Christianity different than every other religion. He is not just a good moral teacher. He is not just a prophet. He is not someone who founded a religion. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And that makes Christianity different and the Bible and our faith different than any other faith system, any other religion. That is what his church is built on. The truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now obviously that includes the fact that it's built on Christ. But I think in the context, he's specifically referring to this confession that you have made is what sets the church apart from everything else. This is entirely new. This is not Judaism remade. This is not the Old Testament religion kind of tweaked a little bit. This is entirely new. We're building on a new foundation and that is that the Son of God has come. And on that truth, on the deity of Christ, on the person of Christ, the church is built. The church is built on Jesus and on who he is and the confession that he is the Son of the living God. So that's the new purpose that Jesus is establishing here. Brand new. This is a brand new purpose. He's going to build his church. This has never been declared before. It's the first time he declares what his new purpose is. So it's very groundbreaking information here. Any comment or question about verse 18 then and what Jesus is stressing as his new purpose? I don't know. You've studied all the different forms of this. Did you see any other translation in Hebrew or in Hebrew? Not really. I mean, it reads the same in Greek as it does here in English. This is a pretty good translation. I think we miss part of it because we weren't there watching. I think Jesus is saying there's an interaction here. There's a give and take. Blessed are you Simon Barjona. Blessed are you Simon Son of John. This was not revealed by my father. It didn't come to you naturally. So he's blessing Peter. He says, I want you to know you're a rock. You said the right thing, but you're not the foundation for the church. I want you to know what you have said is the foundation of the church. And so there's a sense in which there's a contrast here. We might even translate the end, but your Peter but on this rock I will build my church. It's that kind of a contrast, a little awkward in English, but it's still that sense of... I'm commending you Peter. You have the right answer. You're a rock. You're steady. You're solid. But I'm going to build my church on something bigger. And it's on just what you have confessed that my church is built on. I think that's the train of thought here. Even in the verse, when you talk about, he says that you are Peter and on his rock. And he says, the gates of the people are on the come gate. He's not saying the gates of the people are on the come, but on the come of you. He's saying the gates of the rock and the rock. Because I don't like the things that happen. Right. And he's talking about the rock and the church not. Right. Yeah, he's the pronoun there at the end. It shows he has shifted in thinking to the church and the confession on which the church is built. Not Peter. Yeah, the gates of hell will not prevail against you. So what he said, it's a good point. He said gates of hell will not prevail against it. This new purpose, the church. Okay. But there is also not only a new purpose that Jesus reveals a new power, a new authority in verse 19. Look at it. He says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Now let's pick this apart a little bit. First of all, he is speaking specifically to Peter here. This is singular. I'm giving you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. So there is a special authority that is given to Peter. And that authority has to do with these keys. Now, keys are a sign of authority. In the ancient world, if a servant was entrusted with the keys, they had the authority over the master's household. You didn't give keys to every servant. There was typically a servant like Joseph was in Potiphar's household in the Old Testament who was head of the other servants who had the keys, who had the authority to be able to go anywhere in the house and had the authority to kind of oversee all of the goods of the master was entrusted with that. And so keys represent authority, but keys represent authority to do what? What do keys do? They open. What do they open, typically? Doors. Doors, right? Okay, they open doors. What do you think Jesus is saying to Peter? I'm giving you the authority to open some doors. What doors do you think he gave Peter the authority to open? Access to faith in Christ, okay? The sheep coming down from heaven was told at least four times and the show they opened the door, basically, to salvation, to 10 times for walking. Okay. I was told an anthem of the Peter's, he didn't even read. Yeah. I'm thinking along the line that he was giving the keys and that's something to show everybody how close I was opening up everything to everyone's property. Exactly. I mean, I think Sharon is right on there. I think in Acts 10, God chooses Peter to open the door of gospel opportunity to the Gentiles. Peter is the one that has sent to Cornelius' household to be the first one to open the door for Gentiles to come into the body of Christ. But there was another door that was opened even before that and it was the door to whom. Okay. That's not what I'm thinking. I'm thinking of another people group. Earlier in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 2, they have Pentecost, not Greeks. Oh, that's all right. Keep guessing. You'll get it. Or anybody else does. Jews, that quit guessing. It's Jews. Peter was used on the day of Pentecost in preaching the sermon to open the door of gospel opportunity to the Jews. I mean, this is the first time this is the beginning of the church. And it is Jews. Remember in Acts 2 who have come from all over the world who are in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost that respond to the gospel. And so God gave this authority to Peter to use these keys to open the door of gospel opportunity. First of all, to the Jews and then later to the Gentiles. And he used Peter in both cases to open those doors. So I think that's what he's talking about here. But notice the next statement in verse 19. He says, I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Now, we need to take a little time on this. And I can tell we're really getting that. Well, that's okay. Because this statement is also one of the key statements for the doctrine of the Roman Catholic church. And that is, Peter has the authority to forgive sins. And thus, every pope must be able to trace their line back to Peter and comes from Peter so that the pope, through the church, has the authority to forgive sins. So we need to really understand what Jesus is saying here. This is a passage that is strongly used by the Roman Catholic church to support their doctrine of the church and of the primacy of Peter and so forth. But let's begin with the word bind. What was Jesus talking about by whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. These terms binding and loosing were very familiar to the disciples. They would have known exactly what Jesus was talking about. They were terms that were very commonly used in the first century of authoritative declarations as to what you could do. Or authoritative declarations freeing you from an obligation. And the binding was an authoritative declaration like a law you cannot do this. Or you should do this. And the loosing would be the taking away of those restrictions, releasing you from an obligation. What example of this is in Matthew 23 when Jesus is blasting the Pharisees and he calls them a brute of vipers and hypocrites and whitewashed sepulchers. And because they as the spiritual leaders of the nation have led the nation into the ditch spiritually. They've been blind leaders of the blind. Another epithet Jesus uses against them there in Matthew 23. One of the things he says about them in Matthew 23 and verse 4 is that you bind heavy burdens on men's backs and you do not lift a finger to observe them yourself. What he was talking about was all of their traditions, all their do's and don'ts and laws and regulations. You bind those heavy burdens on men and he used that same word bind of an authoritative declaration, thou shalt not, thou shalt, you should do this, you shouldn't do this and all of their man-made traditions. So the words binding and loosing have to do with authoritative declarations of something that you do or you're released from. That's the binding and loosing. Now look at again Jesus says whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. By the way this same authority is given to all of the apostles, all of the disciples. This is not limited to Peter. If you'll flip over to chapter 18 verse 18. Jesus has talked about if a brother sins against you and he talks about how to deal with that in the church and the potential of even leading up to church discipline. Verse 17. If he refuses to listen to those who confront him, tell it to the church, he refuses to listen to the church. The same thing as you would have pagan or tax collector. Verse 18. I tell you the truth, whatever you plural this time, you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. So it's broadened there to all the disciples. And I think Jesus clarifies later in his ministry what this binding and loosing of the disciples is about in John chapter 20. John chapter 20 and verse 23. Jesus breathed on them, received the Holy Spirit in verse 22 and then he says, if you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. Okay? So the authority of the apostles is to bind and loose and then Jesus interprets that in John 20 is forgiving or not forgiving sin. So do the Roman Catholics have a leg to stand on here? Are they teaching truth? When they say it was Peter and the apostles and thus the Roman Catholic church that has the authority to forgive sin? No, they're not right. They're not right. And here's the reason why. It's all in the tense of the verb. If you go back to Matthew chapter 16, verse 19, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. It's a passive imperfect verb which in the Greek literally should be translated. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven. And whatever and you may have a footnote like that. If your Bible is a good study Bible, you have a footnote that will tell you that. Whatever you loose on earth will have been loose in heaven. Now here's the idea. The losing or the binding happens in heaven first and then it's declared on earth. And that makes all the difference in the world. It's already been bound or loose in heaven. And what you're doing is making as the apostles and disciples the authoritative proclamation that what God says in heaven is now declared on earth. Only God can forgive sins. No man can forgive sins. I mean that's clear from the Bible. That's clear from what Jesus said. And Pharisees knew that. Pharisees said no man can forgive sin but God alone. Remember that they accused Jesus of that. So that's clear in the Bible. What Jesus is saying is when God says in his word, when God declares from heaven that if you trust Jesus as your Savior, your sins are forgiven, then you can make that authoritative proclamation on earth. And what you bind on earth shall have already been bound in heaven. And what you loose on earth will have already been loose on heaven. In other words, you discern what God's already said in heaven and then you declare it on earth. It's the same thing we do today when we preach the Bible or teach the Bible. We are simply taking what God has already declared in heaven and recorded in his word. And we're saying I can make this authoritative declaration on earth because what I'm binding here has already been bound in heaven. What I'm loosing here has already been loose in heaven. God's already declared how your sins can be forgiven and why they will not be forgiven. And I'm just declaring to you what's already been bound in heaven and what's already been loose in heaven. That's the idea. God does not give the authority to any person on earth or church to forgive sin. Only he can forgive sin. We make that declaration on earth based on what's already happened in heaven. Okay. Okay, questions, comments about the binding and loosing that is given to the apostles here. What is the capital of the state to the bank of the church? They basically say Jesus has given the apostles the authority to forgive sin. Peter, particular. Peter was the first Pope they say. There's no real clear historical evidence that Peter even went to Rome. There is some evidence not real clear. But based on passages like this, they believe that God gave Peter the authority to forgive sins. Peter went to Rome, started the first church or the church at Rome and was responsible for the church that is not a forgives sin. That's what they teach. I'm in the sorcerer. Okay, from the book of Acts. Probably Catholic church won't teach that. Okay, yes. Yes. I don't think there's a direct connection between the loosing and binding in Acts 10 and the sheet coming down from heaven. There is a sense in which God was loosing the Old Testament law, the food restrictions. In that sense, there's a parallel in which God was saying, okay, those restrictions no longer apply. You're being loosed from those. In that sense, there is a loosing or a loosing of something that was formerly God's binding on the nation of Israel. But I don't think there's a direct, I don't think that's what Jesus is talking about here. I don't think there's a direct tie in. There is a loosing from a restriction that was in the Old Testament, surely. Okay. All right, let's move on for at least the next five minutes or so where Jesus gives a prophecy of the cross. Look at his prophecy, Jesus prophecy in verse 21. From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, 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. Now, this is extremely important to see. They have just talked about who Jesus is. They've just talked about the founding of the church, basic concepts, really stretching their understanding now. And it is now time to give them the greatest test they have yet faced in the over two years they've been with Jesus. And that is Jesus tells them I'm going to die. Just plainly tells them I'm going to die. Now, he has spoken of this before, but symbolically he's never come right out and told them plainly like this. Look at some of these verses on the screen that talk about the Jesus had already said all of these things. He had said just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert so much the son of man be lifted up. And I was speaking nicodemus there so the disciples, you know, like the hood didn't hear that. But he's already spoken of his death just in symbolic vague terms. Look at the next verse, John 6.51. He said, I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Now notice the next statement. This bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world. That's obviously a reference to Jesus' death, but it's again kind of a veiled reference. Look at the next verse. Matthew 9.15. Jesus answered, how can the guests of the bridegroom mourn when he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them then they will fast. When Jesus was asked, why don't your disciples fast? He says, they will come a time when the bridegroom is taken from them. Again, it's vague, it's symbolic language. It's not a flat out statement. The next verse. Jesus answered them, destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. Again, very symbolic language. Nobody understood that one at the time that he was talking about his body. He was talking about his death. And then I think is there one more verse? Matthew 16.4. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none should be given it except for the rest of the world. One should be given it except the sign of Jonah. And you know, he was talking about his resurrection there. But again, that's a symbolic historical, illustrative type reference. He has never come out face to face boldly in clear language and told them, I'm going to die. But here he does. And he noticed four ways. He says it. He says in verse 21, he began to explain that he must go to Jerusalem. Okay, they already know that's trouble. He's been getting out of Israelite territory because of the pressure on him from the Pharisees. Go to Jerusalem. I mean, that's the hotbed of the Pharisees. We all know they want their hands on you. You're going to go into their territory? So he says, I'm going to go to Jerusalem. Secondly, and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law. And then notice, he says it very plainly, and that he must be killed. And then on the third day, be raised to life. I mean, all four of these things are new to them. And they're kind of mind blowing to them. And I like the way Matthew says it. He says from that time on Jesus began to explain these things to his disciples. You can tell he's taking them to the next grade level in their education, in their discipleship. Okay, I'm going to start talking to you about something that's going to be hard for you to grasp at first. You're going to have a hard time with this. We're going to go to Jerusalem. I'm going to suffer many things at the chief priests and Pharisees and scribes. And I'm going to be killed. And then I'm going to be resurrected the third day. And I can just imagine all the disciples are sitting there, puzzled, looks on their faces, looking at each other. What is he talking about? And then you know how Peter responds. Peter's response, verse 22, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. By the way, the word rebuke is a very strong word. It's the word for a censure. It's a warning in order to prevent something that you believe is wrong. It's a word that is used when you are willing to take physical action if necessary to stop something from happening. This is a very strong confrontation here. Peter is in Jesus' face. And he's saying, well, look at what he says. Never, Lord, he said, this shall never happen to you. In other words, I will not let this happen to you. Now you can tell, obviously, Peter does not grasp what he's talking about. There's a very strong rebuke. And Jesus, or response, Jesus' rebuke is even stronger still. And we'll just mention this and then pick it up next week. Jesus says to him in verse 23, Jesus turned. I almost get the impression he whirled around, looked him right in the eye and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. Whoa. Can you imagine how that hit Peter? Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. Another play on Peter's name. Peter, your petross, a rock. But right now you're a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men. Now when he said, get behind me, Satan. What do you think he was talking about? Thank you, please. Investigating what Peter was saying. Exactly. Satan was instigating what Peter was saying. He's not saying to Peter, you're the devil. Or you've lost your salvation. You know, you're no longer a follower of mine. Jesus, in a sense, was looking straight through Peter at the real source of the temptation which is Satan. Satan, get behind me, Satan. Jesus recognized that it was Satan that was causing Peter to think that way. Peter was thinking the thoughts of the normal ordinary person whose mind is easy prey for Satan and not the thoughts of God. Satan had tried other times to end Jesus' life and to keep him from going to the cross. And Jesus recognizes this as a temptation from Satan to avoid the cross. He recognizes a real source of this which by the way, and we'll have to save this discussion for next week. But by the way, it does indicate that Satan may influence the thinking of believers. I was saying that the cross is going to be in the form of a person. Because he had just said it. Well, Satan, it goes a little deeper than that. You're right. I mean, Satan knows the Old Testament. He knew it better than the disciples did. And I think he knew the prophecies about Jesus. I think, you know, Satan knows the Bible. He just doesn't believe it. He still believes he can get it over on God. And so he's still tempting Jesus. And Jesus recognizes this for what it is and speaks directly to Satan. Get behind me. This is a temptation from you. We'll pause there, our time's up, and we'll take it up next week. Okay, let's pray. Father, thank you for your word and the blessing of listening to our Savior. In these interactions with His disciples, where the disciples are in kindergarten, and they're being asked to jump immediately to high school. And they're being stretched beyond what they feel they're capable of at this point. And Jesus will fill in all the details and help them out. And Lord, I thank you for just His beauty as a teacher. And how He led His disciples along to understand more. And at times, take great leaps like this and then help them understand it as He goes along. And Lord, help us to learn from Him. Help us to be aware of who He is. In our own daily walk and life, maybe be sensitive to the fact that we have the Son of God with us. And He is likewise teaching us, stretching us, sometimes taking us into experiences that we don't feel we can handle. And yet He is there to fill in the gaps and help us understand, to grow and learn, be stretched. Or as we look at Him and watch Him work with His disciples, may we learn ourselves how He deals with us, how you deal with us. Make a sensitive to your direction and your teaching in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.