| Matthew 16:13 When
Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. |
Mark 8:27 And Jesus
went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the
way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. |
Luke 9:18 And it came
to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked
them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? 19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. 20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. 21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; |
| The verses in the passage above from Matthew are cited by the Catholic Church as proof of the doctrine of apostolic succession, the idea that the popes of Rome are direct spiritual descendents of Peter, and that Peter, in turn, was chosen by Christ as the rock on which his church was to be built. Christ does not tell Peter, however, that "I will build my church on you," but on "this rock", meaning on Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior, the promised Messiah. It is on that faith that the church is built, not on any man. The answer to Jesus' question is the key one in determining if any organization claiming the word "Christian" really is of Christ, and not a cult. Jesus is the Son of God, not some archangel, not the spirit ruler of some distant planet, and not God without reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was not some great prophet or teacher alone. He is the instrument of creation, the living Word, and the only Way through whom we must be saved. | ||
| Matthew 16:21 From
that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go
unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. |
Mark 8:31 And he began
to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected
of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and
after three days rise again. 32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. |
Luke 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. |
| It is interesting, perhaps predictable, that Jesus' rebuke of Peter came immediately after, in the account anyway, his high praise for the same disciple's confession of him as the Christ. That pattern, of suffering some Satanic attack immediately after a spiritual highpoint, is very common for all Christians. We are especially vulnerable if we take pride in something we've done, or think we've done, forgetting that it is God who works through us, not we ourselves. The shield we have against the Devil's attacks is faith, not our own opinions and attitudes. Peter was, in effect, telling Christ that he must not follow God's will for him, because it involved consequences Peter didn't think were acceptable. He never stopped to ask Jesus why all of this had to happen, but just offered his own opinion. Whenever we substitute our own wisdom for God's, as contained in his Word or ministered by the Holy Spirit, the end result is death or destruction (Proverbs 14:12). Psalms 34:8 says to "Taste and see that the Lord is good"; if our taste runs for the things of the world, and the world's way of looking at things, we will not enjoy the things of God. This, said Jesus, was the whole problem with Peter's attitude/ | ||
| Matthew 16:24 Then
said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. |
Mark 8:34 And when he
had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them,
Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. |
Luke 9:23 And he said
to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. |
| Serving Christ is about priorities; if we place what we want first, as in the account of Peter above, we can't follow Jesus. Anyone who sells himself or herself for any gain that world offers is selling out cheaply. No matter how wealthy we are in the world's treasures, no matter how much power we possess in human affairs, no matter how much fame we have in the eyes of men, none of it is worth our eternal soul. The only works we will be rewarded for are those we do in the service of Christ; without him, no amount of good deeds will earn us any rewards in God's eyes. The only pride with any reward is our pride in Christ; if we are ashamed to witness for him, ashamed to confess him before others, then his response will be the same toward us at the Judgment. | ||