23/01/2013

AM Jan 24th Matt 16



January 24th       Jesus is the Messiah

13: 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? 14: And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15: He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16: 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. 20: Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

E. The Passion of the King        Christ must die

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. 22: 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. 24: 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. 25: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26: For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27: For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28: Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Christ enters into a discussion as to his identity. Who do men say l am? He asks. There are a few responses. Some say you are John the Baptist, some say you are Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the Prophets.  These great men of God were like Christ is various ways. Then Christ asks OK Who do you say l am? Peter steps forward. You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Christ is overjoyed, because this is a direct revelation from God to Peter. Christ says Peter l will build my remnant (The Company of Jewish believers who will be the core upon which Christ will administer his kingdom) on you and your confession.  Peter will have the keys of the Kingdom so that the judgments that Peter and is fellow judges will make in the kingdom will be ratified in heaven. From this time forth Christ begins to explain the cross to his disciples. And so Christ moves into the second phase of his ministry the Atonement for sin. Peter had no conception of Christ’s death let alone of his resurrection. And even came to the point of forbidding the Lord from going to the cross. This shows that the Gospel of the kingdom which had been preached by John, the twelve and the seventy had no aspect regarding the Cross resurrection and ascension. And therefore nobody was saved in the sense in which we know now. Because being saved means to believe in Christ’s atoning work at the cross. The way for a disciple of Christ to follow him is to go to the cross with Christ. All the disciples failed to do this. Christ says that when he comes again with his holy angels he will reward every man according to his works. There cannot be anything farther from Grace in that statement. The last phrase is said on the assumption that the interregnum of the Church will not come in.

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