Ben Brinkerhoff - Who Do You Say That I Am? - Class 6

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:01

   Well, for the last time, brothers and sisters, good morning. It’s really been a pleasure to spend time with you. Thank you for inviting me back so quickly. Alyssa and I feel like we had many friends here and it is a real pleasure, don’t we Alyssa?

2. 0:22

   It’s a real pleasure to renew those friendships again and to spend time with you around the word to to have spiritual fellowship, to have hugs. I’m a hugger. So listen as I’m saying goodbye. If I come in for a hug, you know, don’t be, don’t be ashamed by that or worried about it.

3. 0:47

   So just thank you. Thank you for having us here and for inviting us to share this time with you all and to open up the Word of God and to see how how interesting it is, how relevant and useful it is, how helpful and strengthening the Word of God is even in this one chapter.

4. 1:08

   We’ve gotten so much out, haven’t we? So now we come to the end of the chapter and I just want to start by recalling that in Matthew 16, we see Jesus and Jesus was constantly faced with hostility everywhere he turned. I try to just point out, except in few occasions and, and some of those occasions being in Gentile areas, everywhere he turned, he seems like he’s facing hostility and opposition.

5. 1:37

   So when when Peter gives Jesus that confession of faith, even though Jesus had been withholding from both publicly and privately, he had not been teaching about who he was and and flesh and blood had not revealed it, God had revealed it. And when and when Peter had had confessed that and brought that before Christ, that that meant everything to Christ. And so he receives this blessing. This blessing is to unlock this truth, the truth that Peter understood.

6. 2:12

   You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. That that would be unlocked. And Peter would be re given the responsibility to unlock that truth to the Jews and to the Gentiles. And that Peter would lead the effort to establish an ecclesia, a group of called out ones. And those that group of called out ones would fundamentally share the same belief that Peter had just provided.

7. 2:40

   But this required a lot of Peter. This required him to reinterpret the Scriptures. The Jews for for hundreds of years had been interpreting the prophets wrongly. They thought the Messiah was going to be someone to save them from political opposition. They thought the Messiah was going to save them, not save them. They wanted salvation before they were converted. They didn’t want to repent and

8. 3:17

   and so Peter would be given the responsibility. You have to understand how difficult this is. He had to reinterpret hundreds and hundreds of years of wrong rabbinic teaching. Think about the responsibility of that and, and, and that that reinterpretation, accurate reinterpretation of what the messianic texts were all about. That would not be according to Peter’s private interpretation.

9. 3:48

   Peter would not be offering up his private interpretation of these passages. He would be doing so with us, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

10. 4:01

    And so you can understand that Peter had to interpret Scripture. He had to loosen certain interpretations. He had to bind other interpretations because everyone was confused and that and that he was going to give that given that authority to do that on earth in alignment with heaven, because people had to understand how to correctly understand the prophecies.

11. 4:32

    And this is a big job. It’s difficult to understand completely the mood of the people regarding Messianic prophecy at this time in the 1st century in Israel. But fortunately for me, I love history and I’m. So I’m going to look at Josephus because I can’t stop myself, right? And, and Josephus gives a sense of the mood of the people at this time regarding their understanding about the Messiah. So in the Jewish Wars, Book 6, chapter 5, Section 4, Josephus is going to say what more than all else incited them to war was an ambiguous Oracle, that one from their country would become the ruler of the world.

12. 5:24

    Josephus is trying to explain to the Romans, what were these Jews thinking? He says, well, they they’re understanding prophecy that someone from their own race would be the ruler of the world. Now they weren’t wrong about that, but they were wrong about that.

13. 5:41

    That’s not the only thing he also writes in in Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, chapter 8, section 6. The Jews were greatly excited, expecting that at any moment God would give them freedom and the power to rule over all men. And of course, what would they? What prophecies would they be basing this on? Well, for prophecies like Daniel Chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, I saw in the night visions.

14. 6:04

    Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like the Son of Man and was presented before him, and to Him was given dominion and glory in a Kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away His Kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. So you look at passages like this and they’d understand what that meant and they would be, they would be interpreting these passages and not only this one to others like Jeremiah 23 verse five and six.

15. 6:33

    Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord. I will raise up for David our righteous branch. He shall reign his king and deal wisely and execute justice and righteousness in the land in his days. Judah shall be saved. Israel will dwell securely. This is the name by which he shall be called. The Lord is our righteousness. Now Jesus was not ignorant of the interpretations around these passages.

16. 7:01

    He, he knew that the common Jewish interpretation needed to be clarified and, and Peter, as demonstrated in in Acts 2, he was going to play a central role in giving people an accurate understanding of the role of the Messiah. And that was a big task. And yet it was not a task that Peter would have to face alone, that the Holy Spirit would help him, that Peter’s reinterpretation of messianic text and its purpose and the place of the law was going to be based on Heaven’s guidance. It would not be based on personal interpretation. And this explains why it was necessary for Peter to bind and loosen, to align earth with heaven and, and actually this, this understanding of binding and loosening, this is not simply the way that I’m choosing to explain to you. I would put forward to you.

17. 8:02

    This is the way Peter explains it himself. Now where would Peter give an explanation that he was guided by heaven in interpreting prophecy and not according to his own private interpretation? Where would he say that?

18. 8:23

    Well, in Second Peter chapter 1, Peter was being accused by some within the ecclesia of interpreting Scripture according to his own ideas. It’s just the way that you want to understand it, Peter. And so Peter needs to explain now how will my interpreting Scripture? What’s the basis on which I’m interpreting Scripture? And the question is, does heaven lead or does Peter lead?

19. 8:48

    Who leads, Who leads in the binding and loosening as it were, interpreting Scripture? Is it Heaven’s guidance or is that my ideas that then heaven ratifies? And so Peter will say this in Second Peter chapter 2, verses 16 to 21. I’m going to read out the NET. For we did not follow cleverly concocted fails when we fables, when we made known to you the power and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. No, we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur, For He received honor and glory from the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the majestic glory.

20. 9:32

    This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted. When this voice was conveyed from heaven, we ourselves heard it, for we were with Him on the holy mountain. That’s Matthew 17. Moreover, we possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. You do well if you pay attention to this, as you would to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you do well to recognize this. No prophecy of Scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, for no prophecy was ever born of human impulse. Rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Now do you see what Peter’s saying here? What he’s saying is I didn’t make this up when I spoke to you, When I reinterpreted prophecy, I did so with Heaven’s guidance.

21. 10:29

    Why? I was an eyewitness to His glory. I heard the voice of God directly. I was carried by the Holy Spirit. So the prophetic words he’s saying, the prophetic words we speak are reliable because Scripture’s reliable. They are not born of human imagination. They are not born of human impulse. I’m suggesting you this passage carries the essence of what it means to bind and loosen.

22. 11:01

    His clear emphasis is that he’s not inventing rules. He’s not teaching from his own imagination. He’s speaking with heaven’s endorsement, the things he’s heard from God through the power of the Holy Spirit. His words carry authority precisely because they are in alignment with God’s will. So Peter and the other apostles has significant task in front of them.

23. 11:34

    And Jesus now needs to reveal the Messiah’s true mission. He needs to reveal the basis on which to interpret all those passages. And yet it was a mission, a mission which the apostles had not expected and didn’t want to hear. So the record says in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 21. From that time forth, Jesus began to show the disciples how that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and raised again the third day.

24. 12:21

    Now Peter, he had a hard time listening to these words because they contradicted his understanding of messianic prophecy, which he was going to be in charge of reinterpreting. See a little bit of an irony here? Jesus gives him the responsibility of interpreting messianic Scripture, binding, listening. And so Jesus begins to explain the basis on which they should be properly understood. And what does Peter do?

25. 12:58

    He resists it. Now the Scripture has a lot to say about Peter’s ambitions and I think it’s useful for us to just rehearse a little bit of those things. Jesus says in this chapter that that that Peter was savoring the things of men. Jesus says that about Peter, you’re saving the things of men. Well, what were those things that Peter savored? We have several scriptures returned to to try to understand that.

26. 13:28

    Here’s 4 scriptures that help us understand what Jesus means when he says to Peter, you savor the things of men. For example, in Matthew 18 verse one at that same time came to the disciples, and the Jesus saying, Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven? How about this Matthew chapter 19 verse 27? Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and follow thee, what shall we have? Therefore Mark Chapter 9 verses 33 to 34. And he came to Capernaum, and being in the house, he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?

27. 14:07

    But they held their peace, for by the way, they dispute among themselves who should be the greatest. And Luke chapter 22, verse 24. And there was also strife among them. Which of them should be accounted the greatest? There’s not just one passage talking about this, is there? You think this was a theme?

28. 14:33

    They think this was a conversation they had more than once brothers and sisters. And why did they have this conversation so often? They were really bound up in it, weren’t they? Would you call this savoring the things of men? What would you call this? You got a better name for it? But it’s not only this in general who is the greatest, but Peter often seeks to separate himself from the others. Like I’m this, but they’re that.

29. 15:05

    This is what I’m going to do. I’m special. Forget all of them. Jesus. They, they might do these things. But look, this is what I’m going to do. He separates himself from his disciples. He thinks he’s better than them. Which is, by the way, why Jesus says when you are converted. What’s the thing that Jesus says that Peter needs to do when he’s converted?

30. 15:29

    Why does he say that? Why does he say you need to strengthen your brethren? Because you know what Peter’s idea was, He, he, he leans over to John, He says, John, you find out who he’s talking about, who’s going to betray him? Because you know what Peter’s idea was? Well, I’m going to take the betrayer and I’m going to get rid of him. So Peter’s idea is, well, I’m not going to strengthen my brethren.

31. 15:58

    What I’m going to do is I’m going to purge the weak ones, which is why Jesus has to say to Peter in John 21, you know, your job is to feed the sheep, Your job is to feed the lambs. Your job is to tend the sheep. Your job’s just. And when you’re converted, Peter, you’ll understand that.

32. 16:21

    Don’t get rid of the weak ones. What’s an alternative to getting rid of the weak ones, Strengthening them. Do you know who wanted to get rid of the? Do you know who really, really wanted to find who was the weak one among all the disciples, who was really looking for the weak one? The high priest was, and he found him. Are you going to be like that, Peter? You want to be like Satan,

33. 16:53

    separating the wheat from the chaff, finding the chaff, burning it away. Is that what you want to do? That’s what the high priest is trying to do. You see what a challenge that was, The Peter. You see it because you know Peter was saying these things that last night he said. Peter said though all men should be offended of thee, yet I will not be offended.

34. 17:19

    He was saying, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee. I’m ready to go with thee both to prison and to death. I will lay down my life for thy sake. It’s me, Lord. Maybe some of those other ones, maybe they would. Yeah, yeah, they might betray you, Lord, but not me.

35. 17:42

    So we just kind of summarize where, where Peter’s at in terms of his ambitions. Peter sought to distinguish himself as more loyal and steadfast than others. Peter desired rewards in positions of authority in Jesus Kingdom. Peter desired to be the greatest in the Kingdom. Peter struggled with the idea of humility and and servanthood. Now these ambitions go a long way to explain why Peter resisted the idea of persecution, why he resisted the idea of tribulation both for himself and for Jesus. These ambitions reveal to us where Peter is at in Matthew 16. Now, I’m going to suggest to you the scripture contains a hidden little summary of Peter that although you would have read it 100 times, I don’t know that you would have seen it. You know the scriptures that way. Young people, sometimes you look at a story that you’ve been, but you’ve been taught this story since since the first years of Sunday school, and you think to yourself, oh, not this story again.

36. 18:54

    What could I possibly learn from this? Yet sometimes there’s hidden things lying in plain sight, and I suggest there’s a little hidden thing about Peter that’s been lying in plain sight for a long time now. Maybe you’ve noticed it, but maybe you haven’t. There’s a Scripture is a lot more interesting than you think it is if you just stop and read it carefully and and it’s going to explain to us why Peter resisted so much.

37. 19:30

    The idea of persecution now seems like he tells us that he’s happy to be persecuted. But when it comes down to we know that’s not true. And we know that when Jesus talked about his persecution, Peter wanted no part of that.

38. 19:47

    So what’s this thing? What’s this thing hiding in plain sight? Well, let me just consider this. In Matthew 13, you maybe want to look it up in your in your Bibles, Matthew 13, it’d be in verses 20 to 21, but I’ll put it on the board. But the thing about turning it up, and I like that sound of pages rustling, is, is that you can write things in your margin that way.

39. 20:09

    Right, if you look it up, you can write things in your margin. And if you don’t look it up, you can’t do that. So even though I put verses behind me, I, I encourage you to look them up and, and if you, if you find something you find helpful, then write it down. Now in Matthew 13, we have the parable of the sower. So what could possibly be the interesting thing in the parable of the sower?

40. 20:29

    Well, how about this? I want you to think about Peter as I read this. But he that received the seed into Stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and Anon receiveth it with joy. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while. And when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the Word by and by, he is offended. Now I suggest to you that Peter, as we read about him in Matthew 16, is pretty well described as Stony ground. Now the young people, what you have to do is you have to tell me later before I leave, what’s the best person that describes the thorny ground?

41. 21:32

    That’s something for I’m not going to tell you. You have to figure that out yourself. But you got to let me know, right? And if you get it right, I get to give you a hug. All right. So Peter, I think is well described as the Stony ground. Now the word Stony, by the way, is the word petrodus. It’s very similar to English, where stone and Stony, Petros petrodus, it’s ground full of Peters. Those who represent this Stony ground hear the word and receive it with joy.

42. 22:07

    They spring up fast. They make decisions quickly, almost impulsively. I’m going to spring up and grow. But what’s the thing that seems to unsettle this group?

43. 22:21

    Tribulation or persecution? And they falter and they’re offended. And I’m going to suggest you this word offended is pretty helpful in helping us understand about Peter. The word offended implies that that hardship or persecution is so affronting, it’s so challenging that it makes even someone who wants to grow turn from faith now. Now, Peter did not think this would apply to him for sure. He was sure that this didn’t apply to him. Maybe he was too confident because we read there in Matthew chapter 26 verse 31 and 33, which might be a good cross reference here to this word offended. So you take the word offended, you draw a little line, and then you write in a cross reference, right? And the cross reference you might draw in young people is Matthew 26 verses 33 to 31.

44. 23:18

    Because that says Jesus saith unto them, all Ye shall be offended because of me this night, for his ridden I’ll smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. And Peter answered and said, Though all men shall be offended, because of thee, I will never be offended. So Peter was convinced he would never be offended, but he was that very night.

45. 23:55

    Why Plus curse? Because persecution came. The persecution that we are told about in the parable of the sower and that Jesus suggested would come in Matthew 16.

46. 24:18

    And if you look at this parable at the Stony ground is a good description of Peter. It helps us to understand what Peter is struggling with and that why will we encounter him resisting Christ in Matthew 16 about persecution, why persecution was particularly a problem for someone of Peter’s disposition. Now Jesus says about Matthew 13.

47. 24:47

    He says, yet he hath not root in himself. Now the scripture has a little bit to say about roots and I just want to, I want to look at that just briefly, this idea of roots, because Colossians says this about roots. Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus of the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith, just as you were taught. Now the idea to be rooted and the idea of being built up. Now being built up is a useful reference because, you know, Matthew 16 is kind of about building, building on something and, and what happens is a root.

48. 25:30

    And you know this, you know, you don’t have to be a horticultural. Is there any horticultural experts in the room? Right. So if I get this wrong, let me know. But when a root root bores down into the soil and it roots itself firmly in the soil and it it gets nourishment from that and it gets it gets moisture from that.

49. 25:51

    Now the idea being rooted and build up are very similar. And the idea in common of those two things is that what’s beneath must be deep, it must be solid, it must be reliable. You cannot build up unless what’s below is reliable, is strong. And Paul’s going to elaborate that on in Ephesians chapter 3 verses 1718, because he says Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that being rooted and grounded in love. Whose love?

50. 26:21

    Christ’s love. How, how do you get roots that go down so that when persecution comes, you got something to hang on to? Well, they can only be rooted in in Christ’s love. They can only be rooted in his faith. They they can’t be rooted in anything else. Don’t build your roots on people. Don’t build your roots on on sinful men. Don’t build your roots on what this brother or that brother does.

51. 26:46

    It will not work. It will fail you. You have to root into Christ. You got to root into his character, into his love, into his attitude, into his faith.

52. 27:01

    Because when persecution comes that won’t wigger because he was persecuted, your faith won’t fail. His faith didn’t fail. Your strength won’t dry up. Because his strength didn’t dry up.

53. 27:19

    He will not fail you. You build on a man. Well, what’s the history of that? So Peter’s roots could not be built on the shallow foundations of his ambitions into the Stony ground of his ambitions. Could not. They had to go into something with depth. And the thing that has depth is not the triumphant Lord, The thing that had depth is the suffering Lord. Think about that.

54. 28:23

    Not a Lord that didn’t suffer, but a Lord that suffered and overcame. That’s what he needed to have rude into. That brings us back to Matthew 16, and here’s the point I’m trying to make. It’s no surprise Peter doesn’t want to hear about persecution or hardship in Matthew 16. He’s the Stony ground.

55. 28:46

    Of course he doesn’t want to hear about persecution or hardship. The implication, by the way, if that’s true, is that the soil is currently shallow. He’s full of joy when things are going well. But when Jesus speaks of suffering, he rejects it. He rebukes Jesus for even suggesting such a thing, that his ambitions were still rooted in shallow soil.

56. 29:13

    Things that men savor, not things of God. So this is what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 16 verse 23. He turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan, thou art an offense unto me. For thou savours not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. And here’s the question. Of all things Jesus could have said to Peter, why does he say, get behind me?

57. 29:51

    Satan? Let me suggest to you that that Peter’s resistance to Jesus in Matthew 16 was very similar to the resistance Jesus had to have on another occasion. Can you think what occasion that was? Think for a moment. What was the temptation that Peter was putting before Jesus here? The temptation was Lord, you don’t need to suffer in order to have the glory. You can have all the things, all the messianic triumph, all the kingdoms of the world, all the you’re going to have dominion over nations and peoples, and I mean over all. You can have all those things, Lord, and you don’t need to suffer to get them.

58. 30:43

    Now tell me, young people, had Jesus ever faced that temptation before? Raise your hand if you think you know. Raise your hand if you really think you know. When had Jesus faced that temptation? Someone shouted out, Say again, Yeah, but I’m going to go the Matthew reference rather than Luke. OK, so Matthew chapter 4 verses 8 to 10. And again the devil taketh him up to an exceeding high mountain, showeth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.

59. 31:23

    And Seth unto him, all these things I will give thee, if thou will fall down and worship me, then Seth, Jesus unto him get thee. Hence Satan. Same exact words as Matthew 16. For it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, in him only shalt thou serve. So at Matthew chapter 4, the temptation presented to Jesus is simply bypass the suffering and the trials and the missions and instead immediately claim the power over all the kingdoms of the world. Essentially, the temptation is this, you don’t need to endure hardship.

60. 32:06

    You don’t need to follow God’s plan. You can take the kingdoms now and all the glory with it. But if he was to do that, He would be savoring the things of men, not the things of God. So Jesus resists the temptation in Matthew 4 saying get thee, hence Satan.

61. 32:27

    Now Fast forward to Matthew 16. Peter unknowingly is echoing the exact same temptation when he says, be it far from thee, Lord, that shall not be unto thee. In essence, Peter’s saying you don’t need to suffer. You don’t need to endure the difficult work you’re talking about. No, you can have the Kingdom. Now can you see it?

62. 32:48

    It’s the same temptation. Take the crown, forget the cross, claim the glory. Don’t worry about the suffering. So just as he did in Matthew 4, he’s going to resist it the same way he does now. He turns to Peter. He says, get thee behind me or sense, get thee. Hence Satan. Now this is a classic reference that Christadelphians use to show what Satan really is.

63. 33:18

    And it’s even, it’s even better than you think it is when you show that, right? Because what happens is we look at this reference and we say, look, see Satan, Peter’s calling Jesus calling Peter Satan, Satan is, is simply an adversary to God and to God’s thinking. But you got to notice Jesus words there in Matthew chapter 16.

64. 33:41

    He says, there you turn in Peter, he says, get behind me Satan, you are hindrance unto me. For you savor not the things of God, but the things of what?

65. 33:54

    Of men. Now if, if he really thought this was a supernatural devil, he’d be saying you don’t savor the things of God, you savor the things of supernatural devils.

66. 34:11

    But what’s he savoring? The things of men? Because what is Satan really is the things of men. That’s what it is. We don’t need a supernatural devil because we’re men. And that’s what Peter was savouring. So notice now how the words in Matthew chapter 16 verse 26 now tie. Now now of course, in the wilderness, Jesus, he, you know, he goes up on a high mountain, you know, in a vision probably, and he’s seeing all the kingdoms of the world, right?

67. 34:53

    And so wouldn’t have been funny if I just tripped on myself right there. I, you know, that that was very likely to happen and it didn’t. So I’m happy about that. So it sees all the kingdoms of the world, young people. And, and I want you to think about that now. That idea is in Jesus mind. Now look at Matthew 16 right?

68. 35:19

    Now look at Matthew 16 in front of you and tell me if you think that this is on Jesus mind. When you look at verse 26, what does verse 26 say? For what does a man profited if he gained the whole world and lose his own life? What shall a man give in exchange for his life?

69. 35:52

    You see, it was that not squarely on Jesus mind because that was the temptation and he stared it down in Matthew 4 and now it’s come back up in Matthew chapter 16. There’s a reason that the temptations he suffered in the wilderness, he had to suffer them. And in in this one chapter we’ve seen all three of them come up, haven’t we? And I would suggest to you they don’t just come up simply in this chapter.

70. 36:22

    They come up over and over again in the Gospels. So Peter wanted the Kingdom without repentance. He wanted the Kingdom without submission to God’s will. He wanted the prophet. He just didn’t understand yet that in grasping for the prophet he would be forfeiting his life. So Peter in Matthew 16 has a lot to learn.

71. 37:00

    And so Jesus is going to say in verses 24 and 25 this Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up the cross, and follow me. Now whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

72. 37:20

    Now these words and you know this are immediately after the rebuke of Peter. So there rebukes them. Get thee behind me, Savior. So and then Jesus says these words. Now I would just suggest to you that Peter heard these words intensely, you know, just after you’ve been rebuked, right? And you’re just, you’re just, you’re almost just in shock because you thought you were doing the right thing. And, and Jesus has just rebuked you in front of all your friends.

73. 37:50

    And Jesus says this now he was saying that to all his disciples, right? But Peter heard these words. He heard them and he, he was thinking to himself, not me, this won’t be me. I’d like to suggest you that Peter really heard these words and you can see the echoes. Let me show you some echoes that would show up later in terms of Peter’s own statements, for example, lose his life.

74. 38:20

    What does he say in Luke chapter 22 verse 33 and he said to them, Lord, I’m ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. I’m willing to lose my life. Peter saying that’s not the only reference here. What about follow me John chapter 13 verse 37. Peter said to them, Lord, why can I not follow thee now I will lay down my life for thy sake on the one that I’m sure you know the deny himself.

75. 38:48

    Luke 22 verse 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter the Cox should not crow this day before thou hast denied me three times that thou knowest to me. Can you see Peter heard the words, these words if any man come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me like Jesus said this to all the disciples. But these words were personal, for Peter was saying no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, not me.

76. 39:17

    I’m going to follow you. I’m not going to deny you if I’m going to die for you. So when do all, when do all these things? What evening do all these things come into a focus point? Of course they come to a focus point in Matthew chapter 26. All these things that Jesus is speaking about in terms of revealing what would happen to him. They all start to come to pass in Matthew chapter 26. And I want you to take you there and, and, and, and kind of see how this story unfolds itself.

77. 39:57

    We’re told in verse 21 that he would suffer many things of the elders and the chief priests and the scribes. OK, well, the suffering of many things in terms of the elders and chief priests of scribes are unfolded in Matthew chapter 26.

78. 40:11

    So we read there in Matthew 26 and verse 57 and 58 this. And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. And Peter followed him afar off onto the high priest palace and went in and sat with the servants to see the Lord. Now what was happening, why Peter was in the courtyard? Well, I’ll tell you what was happening. What was happening in the palace is that Jesus was on trial in front of the chief priests.

79. 40:51

    And at that trial we’re told that a false witness came and said, the fellows said I’m able to destroy the temple of God and build it in three days. And I would tell you that’s the question, I believe, of Matthew chapter 16. What building are we building? Jesus is saying, I have a rock, it’s a foundation and I’m going to build an ecclesia on it.

80. 41:16

    That’s the question in Matthew chapter 16. Christ is going to build an ecclesia of called out ones. And the question is, what is the rock of that building?

81. 41:28

    And so the, the, the, the question in, in, in Matthew chapter 26 is this temple of God, he’s going to destroy, he’s going to build in three days. They thought he was talking about one thing. He thought he knew he was talking about another. And so the building that they thought he was talking about was, of course, the temple of Herod, the second temple. But what did Jesus said about that building? Well, Jesus about that building had said it’s not going to be rebuilt in three days.

82. 42:07

    Jesus has said there should not be left one stone upon another that should not be thrown down. That temple’s not being rebuilt in three days. In fact, Josephus will say this. The temple was burning down, and the flames were carried far beyond the building itself. The temple was so magnificent and so much a symbol of their religion and identity that the Jews could hardly bear to see it destroyed.

83. 42:32

    The cries of the defenders mingled with the noise of the flames and the shouting of the Roman soldiers created an overwhelming din. That temple was burned to Hades

84. 42:46

    Jewish War book 4 chapter 4. That wasn’t the temple that Jesus was talking about and they didn’t understand it. Would the foundation of the temple be this? Or would it be the temple made of those that are baptized into Christ’s death that become spiritual stones that are founded on his perfected life? That temple would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days. And yet at these accusations in Matthew 26, Jesus is silent. And so in Matthew chapter 26 verse 62, it says there the high priest arose and said unto him, answer is thou nothing? What it is that these witness against thee? So the high priest is in fury.

85. 43:39

    He’s in anger and, and all over his face. It would have been distressed and and vain, bulging. And I imagine he, he’s pointing a finger right at Jesus and he and he’s asking a question and he asked a question. I, I listen and as he asked this question, I want to ask you this question. Tell me if anything about the question that the high priest asked Jesus reminds you of anything you’ve heard before. Because what question does the high priest then point his finger in anger and fury and ask the Lord, Do you want a question?

86. 44:21

    That is, the high priest answered and said to him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Now there’s a question I want to put forward, an assertion I cannot prove.

87. 44:56

    The assertion is that the high priest had not asked that question in a quiet or demur voice. I’d like to put forward the idea that given that the high priest is about to rent his clothes, that the high priest perhaps asked that question in a voice that might be better considered a shout. And if the high priest asked that question in anger and in a shout, then just maybe, maybe a man working outside in the courtyard may have heard the high priest ask that question. Maybe he was the man who was warming himself by the fire. Because approximately 6 months before, Jesus had said to that man, Who do you say that I am?

88. 46:09

    But now, in the midst of persecution, persecution that he had predicted that very day, the question hangs in the air, out of the mouth of the high priest. Who are you?

89. 46:35

    And at that moment, while being persecuted, was Jesus still the Son of the living God? And I don’t know if Peter heard the high priest shout that question, but I know this. Maybe he heard it. Peter didn’t answer, And I don’t know how to hang all these events together, of course, but just imagine if that rings through into Peter’s ears.

90. 47:23

    And then one standing by the fire hears those same words and says, surely thou art one of them. And Peter says, cursing and swearing, I know not the man.

91. 47:50

    If he had remembered the words of Jesus, of course he remembered that Jesus had told him that before the cock crew he would deny his Lord. But perhaps he had also remembered, If any man come after me, let him deny himself

92. 48:15

    and take up his cross and follow me. Do you see how profound that is? For a moment I want to go back into the High priest palace because there’s another point I want to make. The Gospel witnesses that in front of his accusers that night that Jesus was mostly silent. For example, it says answers thou nothing.

93. 48:50

    What is that? These witness against thee, and Jesus held his peace. But there’s one thing that Matthew 26 does tell us that Jesus said, and he said it when asked the very question, I adore thee by the living God that thou tellest, whether thou be Jesus, the Son of, excuse me, the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus answers that question.

94. 49:23

    And do you know what his answer is? His answer is to give them the sign of the prophet Jonah, because he says, Nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. That’s his answer.

95. 50:04

    You’re going to see it. You know. You know that Jesus is quoting, I think from Daniel Chapter 7 verse 13. And if you remind yourself of what Daniel Chapter 7 verse 14 says, and I know that we looked at a couple times, so it’s probably familiar to you, this is how that verse ends. And I don’t think this would have been lost at all on the high priest that evening in his palace because it says there and there will be given him dominion and glory and a Kingdom and all peoples, nations and languages will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, His Kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. And you know what is the interesting thing, brothers and sisters, is that passage.

96. 50:50

    Daniel chapter 14 encapsulates everything Peter ever wanted from the Lord. It was encapsulates everything that Pharisees or Herodians ever would demand of him. For surely here was a sign from heaven, and on that day when they pose the question, who are you? Jesus says that they’ll get their sign from heaven, but when they see it, they’ll have no part in the dominion.

97. 51:27

    They’ll have no part in the Kingdom. They’ll have no part in the glory. Because they built their house not on that which would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days.

98. 51:43

    They built their house on the den of thieves where there would not be 1 stone left upon another. Jesus House isn’t built on the stumbling stones of burning destruction, it’s built on the stone carved out of the mountain without hands, which becomes a mountain and fills the whole earth. It’s all about what we build on.

99. 52:29

    And to bring this full circle, brothers, sisters, it’s not an accident that on the road to Caesarea Philippi six months earlier, Jesus said to Simon, blessed are you Simon bar Jonah.

100. 52:44

     You know, son implies relationship, it implies lineage, It implies similarity. And you know, there’s an eerie similarity between Peter and the prophet Jonah. The prophet Jonah was a prophet of the true God, but he resisted God’s message. He desired national glory of Israel and didn’t understand God’s purpose, so he needed to be humbled. And I suggest to you that Peter was a disciple of the true Messiah but resisted the message. He desired the national glory of Israel, didn’t fully understand God’s purpose and need to be humbled. Peter’s the son of Jonah,

101. 53:46

     probably why he found himself in Joppa just like Jonah before. Begin using the key that God gave him to unlock the Kingdom to the Gentiles. But for all of that to happen, Peter would need to learn to savor and set his mind on the things of God, even if it meant tribulation or persecution.

102. 54:07

     Picking up his cross and following Christ’s example. Not being rooted in the shallow, rocky soil of his own ambitions, but being rooted in Christ’s example, in Christ’s love, in Christ’s faith, in Christ’s mind, in the things that endure trial. Peter may not have understood Christ’s suffering in Matthew 16, but you know he came to understand it later because in first Peter chapter 4 verses one and two, we have a very clear evidence that Peter understood suffering. He understood trial.

103. 54:48

     He was no longer rooted in shallow soil. He was rooted deep into Christ because he says this. For as much then as Christ has suffered for us, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that He no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh. To the lusts of men, the things that men savor, but to the will of God, the things that God savers. Boy, He was rooted then, He was rooted then. You know what?

104. 55:41

     How do you take Stony soil and make a good soil? How do you do it? You take the stones out, you know, as a stone is just useless on the ground. It’s just something you throw away. But what happens when you shape that stone and you build it on the foundation of the foundation stone?

105. 56:09

     You chisel away the edges, you chisel away the sharp bits. You change it. You know, you build. You take a stone, you dig up from the ground and you plant that on a foundation. Is that building going to be very secure? Course not. The mortar’s not going to be able to hold that, that misshapen stone onto the foundation.

106. 56:32

     They it doesn’t fit. But if you shape it well, how do you shape it? You use a chisel. Sounds a lot like suffering to me. You know, there is a brother in Christchurch who just passed away. His name is Uncle Paul Vogel and he died of cancer and he had a big influence on me and his wife told me that, he said with my dying breath, I want to praise God. Every time I met that man, he would talk about his hope. And what he’s really saying is, Ben, I want to give you this hope.

107. 57:17

     I spent my whole life thinking I wasn’t good enough. I spent my whole life thinking that God will reject me. I spent my whole life thinking that that that I was going to be cast out. What foolishness and what a waste of time that was. He said God is able to save. I showed you young people at the Bustleton camp a video of that man. He’s passed away now.

108. 57:46

     I loved that man. But you know his, his stone was shaped. His ground was deep. He took the stones out of the ground. He took those petros and he shaped them, and it was made into a living stone built up on Christ. And so strong, not shallow, strong as Jesus would say, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve.

109. 58:37

     So Peter understood, didn’t he? He got it. He put down his roots deeply into Christ. So now I need to conclude these studies that we’ve had together, brothers and sisters, and it’s hard to do that. How do I conclude them? I don’t even know.

110. 59:02

     But I will tell you this. I hope that these studies have allowed you to better understand the Lord Jesus Christ. What I want to do is help you and help me build a relationship with this man. See, see, we can read about the Lord and not, not get his frustration, not see him sigh deeply, not not see how desperately he wanted to be known, but he wouldn’t reveal it of himself because he would not allow his his ego and his pride to to get in the way of God revealing him in his time. He wouldn’t do it.

111. 59:40

     He would wait on God. I never, I, I didn’t realize that before. I didn’t see that trial for the Lord like I could hear. I hope in these studies you see him in faith. I hope you see the rock on which you need to build and that you build on no other rock.

112. 1:00:06

     And I hope you see the contrast between the things that men savor. You know, there’s a lot of things our brotherhood is not. We basically have no money in our brotherhood and we have no power. We have no Princess, no rulership where there’s a bunch of small communities. And maybe that means you think we’re highly inefficient. Has anyone here thought that Chris elephants are highly inefficient?

113. 1:00:39

     We do. We do the same thing 100 times badly rather than once. Well, right, Thank goodness. Thank goodness there’s no money. There’s no power or any of the things that men savor in this community because it would corrupt it. I would take the inefficiency 100 out of 100 times to not have institutionalized the truth.

114. 1:01:13

     We are a group of people who simply love the word together. We have no Princess, we have no kings because we have a king and we are built on him. And whether we meet in Christchurch.