Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Matthew 16:15
Read Matthew 16:1-20.
Do you remember this unforgettable movie moment? It was a scene from The Christmas Story. The boys on the playground triple dog dared their friend to stick his tongue to a frozen flag pole on a frigid winter day, right there on the school playground, to prove that his tongue will stick. He didn’t believe them. There was only one way to find out if they were telling the truth, and he found out the hard way! Poor little guy! I certainly don’t think I would have taken that chance. I would much rather have taken their word for it! When the bell rang, his friends scattered, leaving him all alone, stuck by his tongue to the flagpole!
That kid reminds me of the Pharisees when they refused to believe Jesus. No matter what signs they had seen, and no matter what Jesus had said, they refused to believe. They demanded that Jesus prove himself by showing them a miracle. However, I doubt they would have been convinced no matter what Jesus did because they already had their minds made up. They had it out for Jesus!
Jesus basically said, “Really? Would that convince you?” (my words). He rebuked them because while they were brilliant at interpreting weather signs, a sign from Jesus would have no bearing because of their hard hearts. They refused to be convinced. He said, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign…” (verse 4). All Jesus would give them was the sign of Jonah, but no explanation. They didn’t understand that he was foreshadowing his death, burial, and resurrection.
That was a genius response from Jesus because He knew their hearts. How do you deal with people who continually seek to discredit you and make a fool of you every chance they get? Their intentions were only evil, so why waste the effort to give them a miracle when there is nothing that would win them over anyway?
Perhaps that is a lesson for us as well. There will always be people who don’t like us, and it is futile to strive so hard to defend ourselves and hope to win their approval. Perhaps it is best to just let them be, as Jesus did. Just let it roll off your back like water off a duck’s back.
When Jesus and His disciples got to the other side of the lake, they realized that they had forgotten to bring something to eat, and they began arguing. I wonder if Jesus sometimes felt like He was babysitting! This was right after Jesus had fed thousands with just a pinch of bread and fish, and now they were acting like children and fretting about being hungry. Where was their faith?
Surprisingly, in response, Jesus began saying something about yeast and Pharisees. Did that have anything to do with the missing bread? Jesus had told a parable before about yeast in which He was illustrating the growth of the Kingdom of God. Did that have something to do with it? They finally realized that Jesus was actually talking about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees. Just a little goes a long way! They needed to be on guard.
This had always seemed like an insignificant story in the Gospel to me before, but it is actually so relevant to us today. We need to be alert and quick to recognize false teaching. All it takes is a little twisting of the truth, and it is enough to throw everything off kilter! Many will be deceived. It’s like a fly in the ointment. One small insect can ruin the entire batch! Beware!
A tender yet pivotal moment begins to ensue between Jesus and his disciples at this point. It is time for the moment of truth. He wants to know what they believe about Him. When he asks what others say about Him, they state that they have heard other say that Jesus must be the incarnate of John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. But, now Jesus wanted to hear who THEY say He is.
Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (verse 16).
So, what is YOUR answer? Who is Jesus to you? Is He Your Lord, or is He just the Sunday School lesson from your youth? Is He real to You from the core of your very being?
Have you ever wondered about the rock to which Jesus was referring in verse 18? Some say the rock is Peter himself. After all his name means rock, and He does become the first great leader of the early church. It could be His profession of faith that Jesus is the Christ. It would make sense that a profession of faith in Jesus would be the bedrock of the church. Jesus also could have been talking about Himself. He is the cornerstone and the foundation of the church. Whichever you see as the rock to which Jesus was referring, Jesus would build His church upon this rock, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it! Praise the Lord!
The next verse is just as easily misunderstood. Jesus promised to give Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. What are those keys? Could that mean that Peter would learn principles for leading the church and being able to bring lots of people in through the message of salvation? Could be. He would be unlocking the Kingdom and making it accessible for sinners to be saved. There are some who see the keys as giving Peter authority as the leader of the church to administer discipline. Perhaps. There are even some who would argue that the keys to the Kingdom refer to giving Peter the authority to forgive sins. I don’t know about that one! But, that is how some see this verse.
The Life Application Bible commentary for the New International Version of the Bible says in part of verse 19, “We cannot decide to open or close the kingdom of heaven for others, but God uses us to help others find the way inside. To all who believe in Christ and obey his words, the kingdom doors are swung wide open.”
Let’s end right here with this thought: How can we continue this work to lead others into the kingdom of heaven?
