“The Authority of the Body” Matthew 16:15-20

Do you remember those TV ads for a pain relief? I’m thinking of the ones with actors who were known for playing doctors in medical shows. Robert Young, who played in “Father Knows Best” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.” was the first actor to speak the line, “I’m not a doctor, but I played one on TV.” He then pitched the pain relief qualities of the particular pill he was paid to speak about.

Just because someone claims to have authority doesn’t make it so. Dressing someone in a lab coat and draping a stethoscope around their neck doesn’t make them an authority on medical issues. Even if they did play one on TV.

I learned long ago that a person will be taken seriously if they speak with a straight face and an authoritative voice. I’m pretty good at it, but I can never keep the straight face—I have to let people know I’m not serious.

Authority comes from experience, education, training and/or position. We have a tendency to listen to the general who has served in our nation’s military when he speaks on military matters. We have a tendency to listen to our doctors, because we know they speak with the authority built upon years of training and education.

When Peter answered Jesus’ question in today’s passage, Jesus affirmed Peter and tells us that the Church’s authority comes from God.

Background

This is a time of transition for Jesus and the disciples. They have ministered in the northern area, and Jesus has brought the team to Caesarea Philippi for a time of rest and reflection.

Up until this time, there is a consensus among the disciples who Jesus is. They believe Jesus is Messiah. From the moment Andrew invited his brother, Simon, to join him, he proclaimed that they had found the Messiah, and Andrew was not alone in his belief (cf John 1:35-51), but their understanding of Messiah is limited to what others have taught them about the role of the Messiah. They understand the role to be that of a king who will restore Israel to its rightful place, re-establishing the throne of David for all eternity.

Jesus has brought them to this place away from the crowds to lay the groundwork for what is to become a more intense training and deeper understanding of who and what Jesus really is.

Jesus begins this time of transition by asking the disciples what others are saying about Him. The answer is some believe Jesus is another John the Baptist, perhaps a second coming of Elijah or a prophet like Jeremiah. All of the answers have two things in common: They all accept Jesus as a prophet and all point to a reference to the past. It was common belief that John the Baptist was acting as a forerunner for the coming Messiah that almost all of Israel was looking for. The popular belief was that Elijah, the prophet who had been taken directly up to heaven without dying, would return and usher in the age of the Messiah. Jeremiah was a prophet who suffered and endured for speaking God’s truth.

While there was a common acceptance by the masses that Jesus was a prophet on the highest level, there was little to no belief that He was the true Messiah. Jesus’ next question, in v.15, takes the discussion from the masses to those who are Jesus’ closest followers. How they answer is key to the transition that must take place in their understanding.

It is only here and in Chapter 18 of Matthew that Jesus refers to the Church, the coming body of Christ. In both instances, Jesus speaks of the role of the Church in our world and how He and the Father will be involved in its mission.

And so, as we look at this passage of Scripture, let us keep in mind the following truth:

Central Truth: God’s revelation of Himself is the basis for the Church’s authority.

God’s revelation:

1. Is received by faith (15-17)

It’s not unusual for a person to wonder what others think of him or her. We may not ask the question directly and openly, but each of us, at one time or another, have wondered about our standing among others, whether our classmates, our workmates or our friends. We may try to answer the question ourselves, or we may screw up the courage to ask someone we trust and know will give us an honest answer.

Jesus comes to this part of His ministry needing to teach the disciples deeper truths and awareness. Already, the disciples have witnessed Jesus performing miracles. They heard the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has taught them about the cost of discipleship and He has sent the 12 out on a mission effort (cf. Matthew 10). They have seen the growing opposition from the religious leaders in Israel and they have listened as Jesus began to teach them in parables about the kingdom of heaven. Immediately prior to coming to Caesarea Philippi, they witnessed the feeding of 4000 with a small boy’s lunch of fish and bread.

Now, in the tranquility of the countryside, Jesus asks the disciples about what they believe about Him. Simon, answering for the group, says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). This confession is an acknowledgement that not only is Jesus Messiah, but He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. While there is still much the disciples need to learn and understand about Jesus (much of their understanding will come only after the resurrection), it is a solid foundation upon which to build.

Jesus’ response in v. 17 tells us a great deal about the church. First, Jesus blesses Simon, because what Simon has confessed is not based upon what others have told him, but upon God’s revelation to Him. The blessing is found in the willingness of Simon to hear the voice of God and to accept God’s word as true.

From the beginning of creation, God has sought to show Himself to His creation. In the Garden of Eden, God walked with Adam and Eve until their sin. From that time since, God has found ways to speak to us and to reveal Himself to us. This revelation of God to us is a reflection of that love that sent Jesus into our world. It is the demonstration of God’s desire to bring reconciliation and peace to people destroyed by sin and alienated from God.

Simon is blessed because Simon hears God’s word, and we are blessed when we embrace God’s revelation of Himself. We are blessed when we come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are blessed when we discover the riches shown to us by God’s choice to reveal Himself in Scripture. We are blessed as we fellowship with Him in prayer and experiencing Him in our daily lives.

It is this revelation of God that is so vital to the effective ministry of the Church. As long as we stay true to the Word and God’s revelation, we will always speak with authority and with assurance. It is only when we seek to dilute the revelation that we begin to flounder and flail as a body. When we embrace God’s true revelation—revelation that is consistent with the Living Word of Jesus and the written Word of Scripture—we can stand on solid ground and the Solid Rock.

2. Is the foundation of the Church (18)

Having blessed Simon, Jesus then goes on to state the foundation of the Church based upon God’s revelation and our faith in that revelation.

Jesus bestows a nickname upon Simon bar Jonah when He calls him “Peter.” In the Aramaic that Jesus spoke, He said, “You are Kepha and on this kepha I will build My Church.” The Greek translation uses the words Petros and petra for rock.

Jesus’ foundation of the Church is God’s revelation and our acceptance of that revelation by faith. Peter will come to understand this revelation and statement of faith as Jesus Himself. He writes in 1 Peter 2:4-7a: “As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stone, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.”

Jesus, who is the head of the Body, lays the foundation, the solid footing, of the Body upon our faith in God’s revelation of Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus uses the word “Church” for the first time here, and He is establishing the broad picture of the ministry of this coming body of believers. Built upon the solid foundation of God’s revelation and our faith in that revelation, the Church will destroy death. “The gates of Hades” is better understood to be that those who believe in Christ will overcome death, that we will receive eternal life. Because of this foundation, we can go forward in victory and in confidence, knowing that the Church will survive the worst that Satan can throw at us—the fear of death and destruction.

Jesus tells Peter that the Church that stands on God’s revelation and walks forward in faith will always gain the victory.

3. Extends His authority through the Church (19-20)

Having established that the foundation of the Church is God’s revelation and our acceptance of this revelation by faith, and having assured us that victory over Satan and death is assured for those who make up the Church—those who, by faith, rely on God’s revelation—Jesus now tells us of His authority over the Church.

There are those who interpret v. 19 as an establishment of an earthly hierarchy over the Church—that Peter is here being given the keys of power in the Church. That’s not the case.

Jesus uses a couple of parables about a master going away and leaving the servants in charge of the estate (cf. Matthew 24:45-51; 25:14-30). In these parables, the ownership of the estate clearly belongs to the absentee master, while the servants become stewards of the estate.

This is what Jesus is doing here in v. 19. The keys are a symbol of authority, it’s true, but the one who gives the keys is the one in control. Jesus, as the giver of the keys, shows us His authority, and the giving of the keys to Peter (and, by extension, the other disciples) is to let them know that they have the responsibility to preserve and protect the Church. They have a duty to grow the Church and to be faithful to the revelation God gives them through His Holy Spirit.

This phrase, “Whatever you bind . . . and whatever you loose on earth will be (bound and) loosed in heaven” is better understood to be “Whatever has been bound (or loosed) in heaven will be bound (and loosed) on earth.” In other words, the responsibility of those in the Church are to be consistent with God’s message and revelation. We are to be the voice and the presence of Christ on earth, since we are His body. As His agents on earth, we have the authority to act and to speak on His behalf, but we also have the responsibility to ensure that our message and our acts are consistent with His will and His direction.

It’s interesting to note that v. 20 is an order to tell no one that Jesus is Messiah. The reason for this command is because Jesus is about to begin explaining to the disciples more about what it really means to be Messiah. As yet, their understanding is limited and the understanding of the masses is also limited. Jesus is not prohibiting us from telling the world about Him, but is telling His disciples in this immediate setting to keep the conversation of this passage to themselves until such time as they gain a true understanding of what Jesus’ Messiahship is all about.

Conclusion

At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus told His disciples and us that the Church, the body of Christ on earth, is founded upon God’s revelation and our trust in His Word. He told us that the Church shall prevail victorious over Satan and death. And He told us that we have the stewardship of carrying on Jesus’ ministry as we are led by Him through His Holy Spirit.

If we are to be good stewards of God’s revelation, then it demands that we speak His truth to our world. We have a responsibility to not only live out the Word of God but we must also speak that Word with love, with accuracy and with certain conviction that God’s revelation is true and is vital to the interests of our world. If you and I want to see change in our world, then let the revealed Word of God first change us, then let Him use us to speak and live out His Word in a daily basis with courage and humility. Let us be Christ on earth today.