The Gospel and The Kingdom - Matthew - The Reminder and the Revelation

 

TEXT: Matthew 16:5-21 –  ⁵ Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” ⁷ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹ How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” ¹⁴ So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

We are in Chapter 16 again today. In this chapter, we have seen that Jesus again refuses to give the Pharisees a sign to prove His divine identity. Also, we will see Him warn His disciples to beware of the Pharisee's false teachings. And end our study with Peter correctly identifying who Jesus is. This study will be over the next three days as we divide it up into palatable pieces.

As we continue, today we will ponder over Jesus Reminder and Revelation.

Begin with Jesus’ REMINDER in verses 5-12.  Jesus tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. The disciples first did not understand, they thought He was speaking about the fact they forgot to bring bread. But Jesus went on to instruct them by reminding them of the two mass feedings. He was speaking of the false teaching of the Pharisees. Their false teaching permeates the full measure. What starts out as a minor shift from God’s Word will end up in large measure.

So that brings us to see the REVELATION in verses 13-21. We can divide this into three sections – the PROBING of Jesus in verses 13-17, the PROMISE of Jesus in verses 28-20, and the PASSION of Jesus in verse 21.

The PROBING of Jesus. 

Notice first, His REQUEST (vs. 13), He asks the disciples what people were saying about Him. There were many  RUMORS about who He was (vs.14).

• John the Baptist
• Elijah
• Jeremiah
• One of the Prophets come back

He then asks them what do they think? He is seeking to have them RECOGNITION. Peter acknowledges the Deity of Jesus. (vs. 15-16).  In verse 17, Jesus tells Peter that it is because God had revealed it to him.

Then comes the PROMISE by Jesus.  He starts with the Announcement (vs.18). He will soon build His Church. He then speaks to the Authority (vs. 19) He will entrust to them. They will have the keys to the Kingdom.

In both the Old and New Testaments, keys symbolize power and authority. The nature of that power and authority varies depending on the context. Through Peter’s faithful proclamation of the gospel, Peter will open the door of the kingdom to those who respond in faith, while at the same time keeping it shut from those who do not.  Because the gospel determines what is bound and what is loosed, Peter’s actions of binding and loosing here on earth express heaven’s verdict itself. 

While the focus in this passage is Peter, this same authority is extended to the entire church in Matthew 18:18. Thus, when it comes to the authority and power of the keys of the kingdom, it is not something that rests in Peter as an individual or even in the church as an institution. That is because the final authority rests in the gospel itself. So, the keys of the kingdom are God’s gift to his people to state heaven’s verdict on who will and will not enter the kingdom based on their response to the gospel.  As such, all who faithfully preach and teach the gospel are able to exercise them under the authority of Jesus Christ himself.

Jesus then gives them a PROHIBITION (vs. 20). They are not to tell anyone that He is the Messiah. They will be commissioned after the Resurrection with the task of proclaiming the good news, but now they were to wait.

We end this revelation with the PASSION of Christ (vs.21) Jesus predicts His future sufferings, death, and resurrection.

Tomorrow, we will continue this lesson with the REBUKES and the REQUIREMENTS that Jesus shares.