Matthew 16

¹³ 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.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. ²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Michael Card once wrote a song about Simon Peter that I find beautiful and moving. Here is how the song begins:

You bore the burden of a name
Along a road that would lead to the cross
Bold and broken, upside-down
A light for the least and the lost

He called you the rock, the foundation
Of a temple formed from God’s love
His robe of forgiveness wrapping you up
Meant trusting in Him was enough

His love called you out on the water
And held you when you were alone
For you were the rock that was
Broken by love, forever the fragile stone

I like that a lot. The image of Peter as “the fragile stone” is a good one, and an accurate one. Card is drawing from our passage by using this image. In Matthew 16 Peter demonstrates that he is (a) a rock, a stone and also (b) that he is a fragile stone.

What I would like to do is focus on Jesus’ two responses to two things Peter says to Him in back-to-back episodes here in Matthew 16. In the first episode, Peter says something correct about the person of Jesus and is blessed. In the second Peter says something wrong about the work of Jesus and is condemned. Consider:

Episode #1

¹³ 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.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Here, Peter correctly proclaims that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus’ response to this proclamation is one of joy. More than that, He tells Peter of the great ministry that He, Jesus, has for Peter.

Episode #2

²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Here, Peter attempts to dissuade Jesus from the cross, bluntly announcing that the event of the cross should not, must not, happen! Jesus’ response is one of sharp and devastating rebuke.

In the first episode Peter is in step with Jesus. In the second he is out of step with Jesus. Jesus’ response, then, is not merely to Peter but is also to all of us when we are either in step with or out of step with Jesus.

Whether or not we are in step with Jesus affects our relationship with God.

The first words of Jesus in response to Peter’s pronouncements in both episodes are telling. They stand in stark contrast with one another.

¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you…”

²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me…”

When Peter was in step with Jesus, they grew closer. Jesus draws Peter into a blessing: “Blessed are you…” When Peter was out of step with Jesus, they did not grow closer. The spatial imagery is drastically different: “Get behind me…”

Paul will tell us to have the same mind in us that was in Christ Jesus in Philippians 2:5. In Romans 12 Paul will write:

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

It is important, in other words, that we be mentally and spiritually and emotionally and psychologically in step with Jesus. When we are “conformed to the world” in our thinking we say things that conflict with Christ and necessarily affect our relationship with Him.

The difference between “Blessed are you” and “Get behind me” is whether or not we are walking in His will.

There are no “gentlemen’s disagreements” between Jesus and us. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), not “the one opinion among many.”

Have you ever felt this, the painful contrast between the beautiful “Blessed are you!” and painful “Get behind me!”? Have you? It is the difference between sweet fellowship and fractured relationship, between harmony and strife.

We should fear the “Get behind me” and we should love the “Blessed are you!” Walk closely with Jesus! Walk in His blessing!

Whether or not we are in step with Jesus reveals the spiritual reality behind our actions.

Jesus’ words actually go deeper, however. They actually reveal the spiritual dynamic and reality between our words and actions. Consider:

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.

²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!

Ah! Did you see? In the first episode, Jesus announces that “my Father who is in heaven” revealed to Peter the truth that he said about Jesus. In the second episode He says that Satan is behind Peter’s attempts to dissuade Jesus from the cross.

Baptist people are sometimes reticent to speak of “spiritual warfare” because we have seen the idea abused so often. At other times we seem to fall into popular notions concerning these things, like when Frank Peretti’s This Present Darknessburst onto the scene a number of years back. We need a healthy way forward and that healthy way would seem to be (a) a recognition that we are responsible for our actions and (b) a recognition that there are spiritual powers at work behind the scenes calling us to this or that action or word. Our text proves this: Jesus moves from “God revealed this to you” to “Get behind me Satan.” These are the spiritual realities at work in our lives.

Have you ever thought about this? Our words and actions are either from and of God or they are from and of Satan? There is no neutral ground.

In 1 John 4 John’s words sound very like an outright commentary on these episodes in Matthew 16. Listen:

¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Here is John’s call for us to assess the spiritual realities behind our actions. “Test the spirits.” Ask, “Who is it that wants me to do this or not do this?” And, linking John’s words to our text, he notes that “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” Think of Peter’s confession leading to the blessing of Jesus. On the other hand, “every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God” but is “the spirit of the antichrist.” Think of Peter’s attempt to dissuade Jesus from the cross leading to the condemnation of Jesus.

And how do we test the spirits to see if they are from God? May I just suggest that, in reality, a deep, consistent immersion of ourselves in scripture would answer the vast majority of our questions on this front, except for the most difficult of grey areas. But those areas are not the norm. In general, walking with Jesus, studying His word faithfully, having a robust prayer life, and bringing in the witness of faithful, wise Christian friends can help us identify the spirits.

Learn to ask yourself this question: Why do I want to do or say this? What is behind this? Who is behind this?

Whether or not we are in step with Jesus determines how we will be used for the Kingdom.

There is one more thing here. Do you notice that when Peter is in step with Jesus that Jesus speaks at length about Peter’s future and his ministry and the coming of the church. When Peter is out of step with Jesus there is simple, blunt condemnation. Watch:

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.”

²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

What does this mean? It means that operating in and out of the mind and heart of Christ opens doors to greater intimacy with Christ, greater understanding of His purposes and will, and greater usefulness for the Kingdom. Consider:

• Peter is blessed.

• Peter is named.

• Peter is given a calling.

• The coming of the church is announced.

• The eschatological victory of the Kingdom is pronounced.

• Encouragement is given.

• Greater light is given.

• Greater understanding is given.

These are the blessings of walking in step with Jesus! But what of when Peter walks out of step with Jesus?

²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Notice how much shorter this is. There is no reference to Peter’s future, Peter’s usefulness for the Kingdom, Peter’s ministry. Why? Because in this moment he has placed himself under the rebuke of Jesus. Peter’s calling in this moment is repentance and growth, and that is enough for the moment.

We rob ourselves of great blessing when we are out of step with Jesus!

Many of us grew up singing this song:

I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Let that be our prayer! “Just a closer walk with Thee!”

May our steps be in step with His steps!

May our hearts beat with his heart!

May our minds be His mind.

May He say to us, “Blessed are you! Blessed are you! Blessed are you indeed!”