Blessed Are You, (__insert name__) :: Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do men say the Son of Man is? And they said, On one hand, some (say) John the Baptizer, but others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. (Jesus) said to them, But you all, who do you all say I am? Simon Peter responded and said, You are The Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus responded and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal (this) to you, but my Father, the One in the Heavens (did). And I myself also say to you, You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower her. I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of the Heavens, and whatever you bind upon the earth will have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose upon the earth will have been loosed in the heavens.
[Introduction]
If you are a Christian, I’m sure you have heard it said, “Preach the Gospel. Use words if necessary.” I don’t doubt that whoever actually said that meant well, but they got it wrong. You cannot preach the Gospel without Words. You must speak. You must open your mouth. The Gospel ... or the Good News ... or Good Words, Good Announcements ... proclaims what God in Christ has done and is doing for you. The Gospel is meant to be spoken ... confessed ... so that it will be heard. Hearing is the goal of the Gospel.
As Saint Paul teaches us in Romans 10[:11-15], Everyone who has faith [in the Word of Christ] will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on him. For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How will they call upon [him] in whom they have no faith? And how are they to have faith in whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without preaching? And how are they to preach if they are not sent? Just as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those announcing the Good News.
3. Today we remember four of the most beautiful feet that carried forth the Gospel.
Saints Peter and Paul stand above all the saints of the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church. There is no apostle whose name was spoken more by the Holy Spirit than Peter ... 151 times in the New Testament. There’s no apostle who wrote more than Paul ... 13 books. In one sense, Peter and Paul were the first and the last of the apostles who were not ashamed of the Gospel (Rm 1:16). They confessed with their mouth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. They believed in their heart that God raised him from the dead (Rm 10:9). They gave voice to the Gospel like no one else. The more they preached, the bolder they became, declaring that there is salvation in no other name ... under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
So today we will pause from our normal readings to remember these two saints ... Peter and Paul, who teach us to preach the word (2 Tm 4:2). It’s good to remember saints.
As Article XXI of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession ... and our [Lutheran] Service Book will remind you on page 12 ... there are three great benefits in remembering the saints. First, our remembrance enables us to thank God for giving us faithful proclaimers of the Gospel. Second, our remembrance strengthens our faith as we see God extending mercy to those who ... like all of us in one way or another ... deny Christ and/or persecute the church. And third, they provide us with examples by which we may imitate faith and holy living. So then, the evangelist to the Hebrews writes, since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also put aside every weight and the sin surrounding us, and through endurance, let us run the struggle that is set before us (Hb 12:1).
2. In so very many ways, Peter and Paul were just like you and me.
Let’s start with Saint Peter ... who was also known as Simon and Cephas. How shall we describe this fisherman from Galilee?
He was sometimes hasty in his decision making. He was prone to speaking without thinking ... like he does immediately after our reading when Jesus calls him a Satan ... or adversary ... because he had his mind set not on the things above but that which is on the earth. He was proud of his humility, insisting that Jesus should never stoop so low as to wash Peter’s feet. At times he was also violent ... and then compassionate. Remember in Luke 22, on the night that Jesus was betrayed, it was Peter who cut off a man’s ear. But then in John 21, after the Lord had prepared a feast for the disciples, again it was Peter who collapsed in grief when Jesus restored him three times with the forgiveness of sins for denying our Lord three times.
Sometimes we see Peter faithfully following the voice of Jesus ... but then, when he sees the world crashing around him ... we see him collapse into the sea, only to cry to Jesus, Lord, save me! (Mt 14:30). Peter is just like you and me.
Most importantly, even as the world fails to recognize God in the Flesh ... just like we sometimes do ... it is Peter who gives voice to our great confession ... that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of Living God. This confession of faith is the goal of the Gospels.
If only for a moment Peter gets it right. If only for a moment, Peter understands the truth about Jesus ... that Jesus is more than a good man with a good word about good living ... that Jesus is more than a miracle worker ... that Jesus is more than a social justice warrior ... that Jesus is more than a prophet ... that Jesus is more than an example for our lives ... that Jesus is not only the long-awaited son of David but he is the Son of the Living God ... God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten not made ... that Jesus is not the God of the dead but of the living (Mt 22:32), our risen Lord. This is what Peter is confessing.
Jesus is the mind and the heart of God ... the one who has been sent from God to do the will of God ... to do what no man can do for himself ... delivering the Gospel of God ... fulfilling the Gospel of God ... saving us from our sin, by living without sin, and suffering and bleeding and dying on a cross for our sin ... being pierced for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. And then following his Sabbath rest from the work of redemption, it is Jesus who rise from the dead on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and was seen by Cephas, then the twelve, then more than 500 brothers at one time, then by James and all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to Paul, the least of the apostles (1 Cor 15:5-9a).
1. This is the Gospel we have been given to preach.
As Saint Paul himself learned, there is not another Gospel (Gal 1:7) ... there is not another way into the Kingdom of the Heavens.
The Lord drew Paul to himself out of even more extreme circumstances. Though he had once been taught by one of the great Old Testament scholars of his day, a fella named Gamaliel, Saint Paul could not by his own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, or come to him ... until Jesus literally blinded him on the road to Damascus, knocked him from his high place ... and called him by the Gospel into faith.
Before that day, Paul was extremely zealous for the Law, even to the point of persecuting those who did love the Law like he did. But as Paul learned ... and as he now teaches us ... we are all sinners who sin. We can’t stop sinning. We are therefore all called to repent ... that is, to mourn our sinfulness and to believe the Gospel ... that this Gospel, which is proclaimed throughout the Old Testament, actually gives you faith, and it actually saves you.
Through Paul, God shows us that ... even if you have been ravaging the church, going from house to house, dragging men and women out into the street, stoning them or sending them to prison ... you too can be saved. God shows us that ... even when we are all too often lawless and rebellious, ungodly sinners, unholy and profane, turning blind eyes to abortion on demand ... even when we are found to be opposing sound doctrine in accord with the Gospel of the Glory of our blessed God ... like Paul ... we are being saved by Grace through faith. And this is not your own; it is a gift of God so that no one can boast (Eph 2:8-9).
We are not saved by anything we do or say. Jesus saves. In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of God’s grace, which he increased into us in all wisdom and understanding, having made known to us the mystery of his will, in accordance with his goodwill, which he set forth in [Christ] (Eph 1:7-9). Jesus clothes us in his righteousness through baptism. Jesus announces to us that the blood he shed atones for your sin, iniquity, and transgression. Jesus feeds us his flesh and blood which he gives and pours out for the forgiveness of your sin (Jn 6:54). Faith receives this Gospel.
[Conclusion]
Though there are many people who will deny the faith and turn and walk away from Jesus because they think his doctrine is too difficult to believe, teach, and confess ... like Peter before us, we too can now say, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of Eternal Life, and we have faith, and we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God (Jn 6:66-69).
This is the confession that gives you the key to the kingdom of heaven. This is the confession that prevents the gates of Hades ... or we should say, Sheol, the place of the dead ... from overpowering you. Because our Lord Jesus is Risen! ... He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! ... it is as Jesus himself says ... he who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die (Jn 11:26). Therefore ...
BLESSED ARE YOU, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHO CONFESS THE SAME
... In Jesus’ name.