Matthew 16:13-19 - “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say 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 replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered 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 tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
When I was leaving for college going to church was not my priority. I grew up in the church and when my parents brought me to school, I remember going to religious fair in the chaplaincy, but nobody really pursued me. This was seen because I only went to church one time during my fall semester. It just wasn’t my priority - I was prioritizing sleeping in and eating brunch, and doing homework. That became my Sunday rhythm, as it is for many at UofR.
Then, later in my freshman year, a friend had invited me to come to church with her, it sounded interesting so I began getting a ride and went each Sunday for most of that second semester. I literally don’t remember any of it, but something kept me going each Sunday.
I came back sophomore year and my life had changed, and I’d begun following Jesus. Now, I had a completely different perspective. Going to church on Sunday became an essential part of my week along with a time of fellowship with other Christians after the service over a meal at d-hall. A group of us at the time were going to HOPE and I was packing up to 7 people in my car on a Sunday - it was really encouraging.
I’ve realized over these past few years of following Jesus that not only is going to church essential to being a Christian. The Church in and of itself is essential to the Christian life. It’s far more than an hour of your life a week. As Christians, we believe the church is our new family given to us through Jesus Christ.
I’ve begun to truly see this in a local context at Redeemer. This new family is seen when you enter a community where you’re surrounded by those more mature that can challenge you. You encounter those less mature, and you can challenge them. You break bread together, you bear one another's burdens, and you pray together throughout the week.
As I went through college, I didn’t really understand the beauty and importance of the Church, and didn’t quite experience much of what I just described. It’s only been in the past couple years that this has come to life for me. However, I hope that tonight through our text, you can find a deeper sense of need and desire for the local church to play a bigger part in your own life in college, whether you’re following Jesus or not.
What have we been doing? Each week, we’ve been talking about the Kingdom of God and what it means for you me and campus. To discover the answers to these questions, we’ve been using the Christian story as our lens. I’ve been laying out the different pillars of the story, the main idea of redemption, Jesus as the main character, love being the theme, our identity of beloved in the story, and our role in the story - to lose our lives in order that we might see the Kingdom of God.
This week, I’m going to build off our topic from last week. If our call is to lose our lives, which takes time and constant surrender, how will we do it? I mentioned last week that we must become selfless, fearless, and trusting people. How does that happen? For most of the rest of the semester, we’re going to tackle that how question, but before we begin breaking that down, we need to know where this happens. Where will we learn and be reminded to lose our life in the Kingdom of God? Tonight, I hope to answer that question and address the last part of our vision. That you all would connect with the local church.
READ PASSAGE AGAIN - Matthew 16:13-19
Jesus has taken the disciples away from the religious leaders in order to get away from the persecution. He’s doing so to spend time with just the 12 apostles. When they get alone, he asks them who He is. They say a prophet and they share examples. Then Jesus turns specifically to Simon and asks him, what do you think?
Simon, probably taking a moment to collect himself nervously says that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the chosen and anointed one of God. Then Jesus blesses him and reminds him that this knowledge and understanding, is not his own, but is directly from the Father. Now it’s Jesus' turn, He says this is who you are Simon. You are Peter, meaning rock, the foundation - upon which the church will be built. Jesus gives Simon Peter a new identity, but also defines a new community, a new family. This family would last forever, Peter and other members were given authority and ‘keys’ to the Kingdom of God. .
This can be a confusing passage. We could spend hours trying to understand what’s happening here. For now, I want us to learn these three things...
First, The Church is built on God’s blessing and knowledge, not ours. The Church is built on a profession of identity & faith. Third, The Church is built for extending God’s Kingdom.
First, The Church is built on God’s blessing and knowledge, not ours.
As soon as Jesus, gets the disciples away to where he’s wanted to speak with them - they really don’t make it worth it. At least at first. He asks them who He is and they don’t know. But then Simon is asked, and answers correctly. Jesus blesses him and then clarifies, that Peter did not come up with this knowledge on his own - it came from the father. Where else in scripture was man tempted by knowledge? If you remember in Genesis 3, the beginning of the christian story, Adam and Eve decide they would like to eat of the forbidden tree of ‘knowledge’, thus sin enters the world. In many ways, we too are tempted by the tree. Especially in such an academic environment - it’s so easy to pride ourselves on our intellect and prop it above our peers. Perhaps, Jesus clarifies this because He knew Peter would hold it over his fellow disciples, who had answered wrongly. Jesus makes sure that Peter knows this was not his knowledge, but God’s knowledge, planted within Him. Then, Jesus blesses him.
So, this passage begins with Jesus, not us, who initiates both blessing and knowledge. In the same way, the church begins and is built on God’s initiation of blessing and knowledge - not ours. However, in offering this blessing and knowledge, we’re invited to receive and proclaim our faith.
Second, The Church is built on a profession of identity (peter) & a profession of faith (Jesus).
Most subtitles of this passage call it the Profession of Peter. However, this is also about the profession of Jesus. While Peter professes his faith in Jesus being the Messiah, Jesus professes and gives a new identity to Simon - Peter. These two professions are the foundation upon which the Church is built.
First, Peter says Jesus is the Christ. Later on in the New Testament, Paul reminds us that the Church was not only built, but was married. The Church is the bride of Christ and Peter is announcing the groom!
Second, Jesus says Peter is the rock of the Church. If you build a foundation, you expect there to be a house built too. For a Jew who was expecting the Messiah, Peter knew that you couldn’t have a Messiah without a community following him.
Peter first calls Jesus the Messiah and receives a new identity as Jesus calls him the rock. Now, before we transition to that last point, remember that this passage isn’t particular to Peter’s life. He not only bears the weight of the entire Church. We are all meant to build the Church, with Peter as our example.
Lastly, The Church is built for extending God’s Kingdom.
Ultimately, the church is built to invite and extend God’s Kingdom, here on earth. As I asked earlier, where will we learn and be reminded to lose our life and become Kingdom people? It’s in the church! Where we are invited to extend that very Kingdom! The church is the place where we find the community and the spiritual food we need to share the Gospel in word and in deed.
Notice, the word community. What makes the church different, is that it’s composed of a group of people with a common hope. To follow Jesus and extend God’s Kingdom, in every part of our world. At UofR, it’s literally resembled here in this room. If you’re a christian, your hope is to follow Jesus and extend his Kingdom here on earth. You are a part of God’s new family, the Church.
You may be wondering, does the Church really matter that much? I mean I’ll go, but I don’t think it’s really my new family or a community where I have the same hope. Maybe you’ve been burned by the Church. It’s been a place of authority, rules and regulations. It feels like a fortress, where people are kept out and not invited in. You may say, we need Jesus not the Church. He’ll make it better, the church always makes it worse. Instead, I don't need a community, I will do this on my own.
Let me ask you this - How do you plan to follow Jesus on campus? University of Richmond, is a place that requires you to be individually - the smartest, most involved, best looking version of yourself, all the time, on your own.
We need an intergenerational group of people, who reveal to us that life on campus is a narrow experience. We need pastors and elders to pray for us and teach us the scriptures. We need to enter a place where though people look put together, they simply are not, they are a wreck and they gather together on a Sunday morning to reset and remind themselves of who God is in their messy lives.
This might not sound like what is true in light of that, but friends, you NEED the church. You and I, we can’t follow Jesus alone.
When I realized that this statement was true, it got me excited. That excitement led me to this place, inviting you all in our home, and sharing this word with you. I believe that you all NEED the church in order to follow Jesus at the University of Richmond. For you seniors, who are thinking beyond life as student, let me ask you this, how do you plan to follow Jesus and extend God’s Kingdom beyond life on campus?
For all of you, do you believe the church is where you receive what you need to follow Jesus?
Lord, will you teach us to love your bride, the Church? Remind that the church is built on your knowledge, not our own, so we submit and look to you, Father. Teach us your ways oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
