SHARING BREAD
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are
you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my
Father in heaven. 18 And
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven.” 20 Then
he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Matt
16:17-20 (NIV)
Here the Lord Jesus gives a high five to Pete for rightly
responding to the question of exactly Who Christ was. Peter’s response brought forth a commendation
from His Master’s lips and he was blessed for having stated this correct
conclusion. Those are blessed indeed
whom Christ pronounces blessed. Jesus
adds, however, that this right response of the knowledge of this Truth came not
from Peter’s great astute ability rather it was revealed to him by God Who is
the Author of all things nevertheless it remained a mighty thing for him to
believe it. Christ reminds Peter of his
origin – “Simon
son of Jonah” – in order to see he was not born into this dignity rather
it was bestowed through Divine favor and free grace. Peter showed himself to be “a” rock but not
“the” Rock on which the Church was to be built.
Christ was introducing the work of building the Church on Himself – the
Cornerstone. Later Peter writes:
4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men
but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 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.”7 Now
to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, 8 and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock
that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message--which is
also what they were destined for. 9 But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging
to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light. 10 Once
you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:4-10 (NIV)
Paul also writes regarding this sure Foundation in 1
Corinthians:
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as
an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be
careful how he builds. 11 For
no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus
Christ. 1 Cor 3:10-11 (NIV)
In our verses for today Christ is filling His guys in on the
future work of building His Church for the process had not yet begun. Even His death would not prevent this plan – “the gates of Hades
will not overcome it” –
the Jewish hearers would have understood this to mean physical death. This Church would begin to build on the Day
of Pentecost and Peter as well as the other disciples would have important
roles in it. A “key” was a sign of
authority as a trusted steward would keep the keys to his master’s possessions
and dispense them according to his master’s orders. A steward is a caretaker who holds something
in trust for the behalf of others – upholding what is best for others. In
similar fashion, Peter was given the “keys” to implement the directives given
from God. He, as well as the others,
would be dispensers of the precious Truths from God. The building of the Church would be a
progressive work built on the strong, firm and lasting foundation of Christ
which time would waste nor storms nor death overcome.
“Privilege accepted should be responsibility
accepted.” Madeleine L’Engle
Remember, Peter had the
privilege to proclaim the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost and to announce to all
who responded in saving faith that their sins were forgiven:
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of
you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom
the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded
with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and
about three thousand were added to their number that day. Acts 2:38-41 (NIV)
What
I glean from this:
· One is blessed indeed whom Christ pronounces blessed.
· Jesus is the sure foundation of His Church – the precious
cornerstone.
· Privilege carries with it responsibility.
