I Will Build My Church (Matthew 16.13-20)

Introduction
 
In 1876, the executive management of Western Union were given a demonstration of a strange new device. The inventor was a quiet and introverted Scottish-born Canadian-American and he called his little curiosity the telephone. Not long later, the company wrote back declining his invitation to buy the rights to the patent. 
 
They said, “Dear Mr. Bell, we have found the telephone’s voice very weak, and indistinct. We feel that the device will never be capable of sending speech over a distance of several miles. Why would any person want to use this ‘toy’ when he or she can send a messenger to the telegraph office and a message can then be sent to any large city in the country?”
 
In 1946 the British government rejected the opportunity to produce the VW Beetle, which went on to be the best-selling car ever. And talking of beetles, in 1962 Decca decided against giving a record contract to the Fab Four, opting instead to sign Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. 
 
Anyone can be wise after the event. But being wise before an event calls for vision. 
 
There are many definitions of vision, but the best one I have yet heard is from a church growth consultant in the USA called George Barna. “Vision,” he says, “is a compelling picture of a preferable future that inspires people to action.”
 
This I say by way of introduction, because today’s passage of scripture contains, I believe, the greatest, most consequential, and most enthralling vision statement in human history. 
 
And, unsurprisingly, it comes from the lips of Jesus, the greatest, most consequential and most enthralling individual the world has ever seen.
 
Here’s Jesus’ vision statement: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” It is certainly a compelling picture. And undeniably it sets out a preferable future. The question is will it inspire you and me to action?
 
Let’s read it in context: we’re in Matthew 16.13-20 which says this:
 
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
 
Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
 
1. Where?
 
It is highly significant that Jesus said these words where he did. I’m sure Jesus chose this location quite deliberately. He had to go quite far out of his way to get there. Caesarea Philippi may sound like quite a nice place. It was anything but. North of Galilee, well away from any Jewish influence, it was in fact a major focal point for the demonic, where nauseating cultish practices openly took place. 

At the time of Christ, and for many years before, it was an epicentre of satanic ritual. There was a temple for Caesar worship and a temple dedicated to the cult of Zeus. And there were two other ghastly pagan temples known as the upper tomb and the lower tomb temples, in which, I am embarrassed to say, men would form a queue to mate with goats. 
 
Besides this, there was an open courtyard dedicated to the worship of the god Pan. Worst of all, children would be thrown alive into a deep pit at the entrance to a cave as a sacrifice to Pan. And that cave, because of the horrors that took place there, people called the Gate of Hell.
 
Caesarea Philippi is to this day a strikingly unusual place. It lies at the foot of a sheer rockface, out of which pours a fast-flowing spring. This is actually one of the sources of the river Jordan. The water literally looks like it is miraculously coming out of rock. Partly because of this, people made this site a focal point of fertility rituals, which is why a cult of Pan, the god of nature, grew up here.  
 

As you can see, carved into the rockface were several alcoves in which were placed various statues. You can still see these recesses today, though the sculptures themselves are long gone. 

One of the busts was of Augustus Caesar – a man who was revered as divine. 
 
An inscription about Augustus has been found in the ruins of the Greek city of Priene. It speaks of him being sent from heaven as an unsurpassable saviour and a god.
 
Another statue in Caesarea Philippi was of Pan – a so-called “god” who, according to myth, came to earth in semi-human form. 
 
2. Who?
 
This is the backdrop to Jesus asking his disciples these pointed questions about who people generally, and who the twelve in particular, say he is. The setting is full of clues.
 
Their reply to the first question is that people are speculating that he is maybe some kind of dead prophet reincarnated. Herod, as we saw in chapter 14, superstitiously believes that Jesus is John the Baptist come back to life. Verse 14 here suggests that this is a view shared by others. “Some say John the Baptist.” Others are wondering if Jesus is maybe some kind of Elijah or Jeremiah, back from the dead. Why these two? 
 
Probably Elijah because, just like him, Jesus is doing many signs and wonders. Children are being raised from the dead, as with Elijah. Food is miraculously not running out, as with Elijah. The weather is doing what Jesus says, as with Elijah. People haven’t seen anything like this for hundreds of years.
 
Why do people compare Jesus to Jeremiah? Probably because like the weeping prophet Jeremiah, Jesus sheds tears at Lazarus’ tomb and over Jerusalem. Like Jeremiah, Jesus is being resisted and rejected by religious leaders. And just like Jeremiah, Jesus has survived attempts on his life. 
 
But Jesus is most interested in what his disciples think.
 
There’s a story about some graffiti that was scribbled on the walls of St John's University in Queens, New York. Clearly, the student who wrote it was getting a bit fed up with the intellectually sterile content of his theology course. 
 
This is what the graffiti said. “And the Lord said to them, “Who do you say I am?” And Simon Peter replied, “You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the kerygma by which we know the ultimate meaning of our interpersonal relationships.” And Jesus said… “What?”
 
Fortunately, Peter’s actual reply is more straightforward. Jesus wants a response of the heart, not just the head. And notice Jesus doesn’t ask, “who do you think I am?” Instead, he asks, “Who do you say I am?” 
 
Jesus is looking for a vocal response. Only a decisive response will do. There’s no neutral ground. To avoid the question is to answer it.
 
Who do you say Jesus is? This is the most critical question you will ever be asked in your lifetime. It is more important than: Would you like to take the job? Will you marry me? Should we switch the machine off now?
 
“Who do you say Jesus is?” is more important than any other question because the reply you give determines your eternal destiny. It’s a matter of life and death, a question of heaven or hell.
 
Some years ago, Nicky Gumbel, of the Alpha Course, was talking with a guy he was doing weights with in his local gym. This other guy is about 6 foot 5, and is built like a tank. So they’re in the gym chatting as they work out, and Nicky says to him, “Do you do any other sports?”  The guy says, “Yeah, I play a bit of squash.” 
 
So Nicky says, “Oh, I play squash too. Is that your main sport?” He says, “No, my main sport is rugby.” So, rugby being a team sport, Nicky says, “Oh, right, have you ever played for a club?” The guy says, “Yeah, I play for a team called Harlequins.” Nicky says, “Oh, I’ve heard of them - they’re quite good aren’t they?” He says, “Yeah.”  
 
So Nicky asks, “Don’t Harlequins have guys who play for England?” He says, “Yeah, we’ve got five in our squad who play for England.” Nicky says, “Wow. Have you ever played for England?” And the guy says, “Yeah.” 
 
Nicky says, “Really? When did you last play for England?” He says, “Two weeks ago in the Rugby World Cup final.” And Nicky looks at him and says, “Oh, you’re Paul Ackford aren’t you!”  
 
They’d been working out together for some time, and England rugby fan Nicky hadn't recognised who he actually was. 
 
These disciples have been with Jesus for about three years now and it seems they too haven’t yet fully grasped who Jesus really is - until this decisive moment when Simon looks at Jesus and with a flash of revelation, says, v16, You’re a much bigger deal than some prophet. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
 
3. Why?
 
And it’s then that Jesus tells his disciples why he’s taken them to this wretched place. “Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah.” There is no greater blessing in life than arriving at an understanding of who Jesus really is. 
 
You’re unbelievably blessed if you know who Jesus is. And you can’t gain that understanding from learning, or from nature, or from opinion polls, or from reason. It’s a revelation of grace that comes from heaven, it comes from God. Are you blessed to know in your heart of hearts who Jesus is?
 
Everything, for Peter, comes into focus in this moment. You have lived before haven’t you? Like Elijah. Like Jeremiah. But it wasn’t down here. You’re from up there. You’ve come from above. You’re the Son of the living God.
 
You’re not like Caesar, a man who supposedly became a god. You always have been divine. You’re not like Pan either, a so-called god who looks half-human. You’re real flesh and blood, born as one of us. You’re the Messiah, the Christ.
 
“You are Peter,” says Jesus, “and on this rock,” not a physical rock with a spring and man-made statues, but on the rock of testimony and truth, “on this rock I will build my church.” 
 
It’s quite a name change. Simon means “reed.” And Peter means “rock.” It’s a bit like saying, you were called “Weedy”, but from now on you’re “Rocky.”
 
If you know who Jesus is, whatever you once were no longer defines you. You are born again, you are a new creation, you have a new identity, you are not what you were.
 
And the gates of hell, says Jesus, not just a small cave where unspeakably evil things take place, but actual hell itself – Satan’s entire evil dominion – will not be able to withstand the relentless advance of the invincible movement that I’m about to start.
 
This is the first record we have of Jesus ever uttering the word “church.” He waits until Simon says these words before unveiling his great vision statement. 
 
He delays until this moment, because you can only grow the church with people who know who Jesus is and have the courage to say it.
 
When we hear the words “build” and “church” we might think of architects and stonemasons and stained-glass craftsmen. But the word “church” in the Bible never means a building. Not once. It always means a gathering of people. 
 
So when Jesus speaks of building his church, he means growing an attractive and healthy community of broken people who are getting mended, and are increasingly full of faith, full of love, full of life.
 
There was a survey done not long ago that found that the church is the most socially diverse group in the UK. It was reported in several national newspapers. 
 
Pete Greig of 24/7 Prayer said of the findings of that survey, “We are male and female. We are black and white. We are rich and poor. We are single and married. The whole point of church is being with people who are different to you… The church is not niche community… by loving each other across our cultural differences we show that Jesus is alive and one day every tribe and every tongue will come together and confess that he is Lord.”
 
That is what Jesus is building. 
 
You can go to any gathering of true believers anywhere on earth. It might be a tiny illegal group whispering in a basement, or a packed auditorium livestreaming to satellite campuses. But ultimately there is only one church – the one Jesus is building.
 
This is just the start, by the way. Jesus says, “I… will… build it.” It’s not finished yet – and to be honest, it’s a bit of a building site. 
 
Have you ever watched Grand Designs? It always seems to be the same story. A couple designs a dream house. It starts really well. They set a budget. With a generous contingency. It starts. Then there are delays. Complications. Labour issues. Bad weather. Misunderstandings. The neighbours object. A niche supplier goes bust. The wife, who is project managing, while holding down a full-time job, gets pregnant and her dad gets dementia. The cost doubles and it takes twice as long as planned.
 
The church Jesus is building is a bit like that. It’s a building site and it can look chaotic. But I’ll tell you what; somehow, the dream house on Grand Designs always gets finished in the end. And it’s more wonderful that had ever been imagined. 
 
And the church Jesus is building is going to get built! The church, though ignored, embattled, corrupted, banned, poisoned by false teaching, harassed, ridiculed and persecuted will outlast every attempt to destroy it. 
 
Because Jesus says, “I will do it.” And all the forces of evil and destruction will never succeed against what he… is… building.”
 
In 1949 all missionaries were ordered out of China. Christians had to go underground, meeting secretly, and overnight the church disappeared from view. 
 
Persecution continued spasmodically and with varying severity. No gatherings of more than 15 people were possible. Any more would attract suspicion. So when a group of believers exceeded 15, they had to divide into two groups of 8. There were no church buildings or training centres. 
 
Churches met in houses or wherever they could. They had the simple gospel, untrained local leaders and sweet fellowship. There were never enough Bibles. But they had the Holy Spirit and between 1950 and 2010, the underground church grew from 1 million to 50 million. 
 
As the author Philip Yancey said, after visiting China, “It appears the Holy Spirit is doing just fine.” That’s because Jesus is building his church.
 
4. What?
 
But what is all this about the keys of the kingdom, and binding and loosing, v19? There has been no shortage of suggestions from people down the years, and I could give you a long and tedious survey of the various views. But I’ll spare you that; I’m just going to tell you what I think.
 
Peter was clearly a man of stature, the natural spokesman for the twelve, and he was the most prominent leader in the early days of the church in Acts. But there’s no hint here that the special leadership role he had was to be passed on to successors in Rome or anywhere else. 
 
Peter was not the first pope, but he was the first pastor. Jesus said to him, “feed my sheep.” Peter himself described himself as a pastor, or shepherd, in 1 Peter 5, under Christ, the chief shepherd.
 
Keys in the Bible speak of authority. The Bible says for example that Jesus holds the keys of death and hell, meaning he has undisputed dominion over them. 
 
So Jesus is saying here that he entrusts responsibility and authority to those he appoints to leadership roles in the church. A shepherd has a responsibility to lead and feed the sheep, and authority to defend them from attack.
 
Binding and loosing are about, to quote Tom Marshall, “restricting on earth those things that are restrained in heaven, and setting free on earth those things that are free in heaven.”   
 
Reading through the New Testament, I think this binding and loosing applies to three areas; the demonic, inclusion or exclusion from church membership, and forgiving sins.
 
It applies to the demonic; taking authority over evil spirits and what the New Testament calls doctrines of demons, in the name of Jesus, breaking chains of bondage, and setting the oppressed free in prayer through the power of the Holy Spirit. We, the church, have keys to do that.
 
It is also about church affiliation; welcoming into fellowship those who come to faith in Christ and excluding from fellowship wolves who disrupt and unsettle the flock with false teaching and predatory behaviour. We, the church, have keys to do that.
 
And it’s about forgiving or retaining sins as well. Assuring broken, repentant sinners of full forgiveness, and warning any who fall from grace and refuse to repent, with the goal of winning them back. We, the church, have keys to do that.
 
Let me share with you a compelling picture of binding and loosing: it’s a story about deliverance, belonging and forgiveness.
 
There’s a Christian drug rehabilitation mission near Madrid called Bétel. It has given birth to a church of several hundred young men and their families and friends. It’s very colourful and it’s more than a bit chaotic at times. 
 
It’s a church full of former crack addicts, cocaine dealers, petty thieves, lap dancers, gang members, prostitutes, and even the occasional murderer. But through Bétel, these people met Jesus Christ, found freedom from dark addictions, a family to belong to,a future to live for, and forgiveness for their past.
 
When they worship, it is noisy. It is boisterous. They shout loudly and they dance energetically. A man called Raúl was one of the first to be delivered from his heroin addiction. In time, he became one of the elders there. Someone asked him once why people worship so enthusiastically at Bétel; he just said, “We dance because we cannot fly.”
 
That’s the testimony of a man who has seen the gates of hell stormed by the advance of the church Jesus is building. That man has seen the demonic bound and cast out. He has been accepted into a new family. And he has experienced the released blessing of sins wiped out. Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus entrusts the keys of the kingdom to such as him?
 
Ending
 
Remember what I said at the start; vision is a compelling picture of a preferable future that inspires people to action.” 
 
So as I end, let me ask you, is the Holy Spirit stirring you to action? Do you have a passion and a desire to see King’s increasingly filled with the presence of God? Has his vision stolen your heart yet?
 
“I will build my church.” It will be a glorious church. It will be a community of grace and healing where heaven touches earth. 
 
“I will build my church.” It will be a river of truth and blessing that flows out to the nations, and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
 
Who do you say Jesus is? Is he, for you, anything less than the Christ, the Son of the living God?
 
Can you hear him calling you into his vision today? Are you ready to lay down every other dream to be subservient to his? Are you passionate about pursuing it? Are you going to pour your time and plough your gifts into seeing his compelling picture become that preferable future?
 
Let’s pray...


Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 28 July 2024