397: Ben Brinkerhoff – Who Do you Say That I Am?

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Welcome to Good Christophian
Talks.

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Thank you for joining us this
week on this podcast.

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We select one talk a week to
help us get the Bible in our

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Daily News feed.
Each week we post a talk that we

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previewed from suggestions sent
in by listeners from around the

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world.
Then we record a short intro

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beforehand as a personalized
recommendation to you on why we

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are sharing the talk.
And now let’s talk more about

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this week’s talk.
Hey everyone, it’s Jason

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Hensley.
This week we are going to be

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listening to a class by brother
Ben Brinkerhoff.

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This is actually incredibly
recent.

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It was given this month.
So it’s given this month at the

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Pinjara Bible School.
The overall series is called Who

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Do You Say That I Am?
And interestingly enough, this

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is the fourth class in the
series, and the class is called

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Who do you Say That I Am?
So there you go.

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That’s easy to remember.
Now, if you recognize the story,

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you might be able to put all
this together.

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This is a series about Matthew
16.

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That’s the chapter where Jesus
says to his disciples, Who do

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you say that I am?
So this is a series that is

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looking specifically at that.
In this class, we are looking at

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Peter’s confession where Peter
says you are the Christ, the Son

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of the living God.
And I, I love that part.

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So I’ve chosen this, this 4th
one for our listening together.

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I hope you enjoy it and I hope
you find that it inspires you.

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This is Brother Ben Brinkerhoff.
Who do you say that I am?

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And good morning again, brothers
and sisters.

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I was a little bit lackluster,
brothers and sisters, instead of

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you.
A bit tired.

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Did we not get enough caffeine?
OK, I’m going to say it one more

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time, but you’re going to give
me some enthusiasm.

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You’re going to give me some
energy.

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Ready.
Good morning, brothers and

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sisters.
Thank you very much.

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I need it.
I need a little.

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I’m feeling a little bit tired
myself, so maybe this study will

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be a little bit more subdued
than the last one.

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But.
But if you knew me, then you’d

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probably think that’s not going
to be the case.

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So see what’s conveyed in this
chapter, this section that we

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just read is at this moment,
this confession by Peter is very

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meaningful to the Lord, but the
question is why?

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It’s one of the questions I want
to consider in studying this

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chapter.
Why was this moment, why was

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this confession so important to
Jesus?

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But beyond that, what inside
does that give me concerning

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faith confession and what Jesus
considers as his true ecclesia?

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But that’s only one of the
questions I have about this

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chapter.
I have quite a few.

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For example, we write about a
rock on which Jesus is going to

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build as ecclesia.
What’s the rock?

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We talk about Peter being given
the keys to the Kingdom of

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heaven.
What are the keys?

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What does it mean to bind and
loosen?

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And does that give Peter some
sort of power over what God does

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in heaven?
Because you bind on earth and

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then it’s bound in heaven.
So is heaven sort of like just

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doing what Peter wants in
response to what Peter’s

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deciding, or is this something
different than that?

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And what is the gate of Hades
and why in particular does that

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have no power over the equation?
These are just some of you.

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You sort of see like this
section of Scripture, it’s full

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of these little riddles.
And you look at this, you’re

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like, what is that about?
And actually, it’s profound.

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What it, what it, what it is.
The implications of that are

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profound.
So what’s clear is that

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Christian expositors and
Catholic expositors do not agree

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about what this chapter is all
about.

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And then implications are large
about what it means.

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So these are the kind of
questions that we’re going to

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look at over this next two
studies, God willing.

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So this class is going to be
about what these verses do mean.

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And our first class Monday
morning will be about what these

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verses do not mean.
OK, So we’re going to kind of

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split it up that way.
And in this class, I’m going to

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make 15 points in total, 15
exactly 15.

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So so that you don’t get lost.
And so I get lost because this

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is going to be a there’s going
to be a lot of, I can’t answer

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all these questions without a
lot of information.

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We can maybe all appreciate
that.

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So I decided to split it up into
15 different little bite sized

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chunks.
And when we get to each of those

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15, I’ll pause up at a slide up
so you can understand what it

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what it is I’m trying I’m trying
to say in that section.

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Hopefully that helps us from
getting lost in just the amount

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of things that we’re going to be
talking about this morning.

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OK, occasionally, brothers and
sisters, let’s just dive into

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this first.
Occasionally the Gospels give us

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some insight into how the Lord
chooses Christ is feeling.

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Not often, by the way, not as
much as you’d think.

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We not as much as we certainly
want to know.

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Often we go to the Psalms to
understand how the Lord Jesus

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Christ is feeling in different
moments, because Psalms are very

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illustrative of that.
But occasionally in the Gospels

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we get a sense of how the Lord
Jesus Christ is feeling.

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And one of the occasions that we
see that is in Mark chapter 8,

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verses 11 to 12, where we read
the Pharisees came and began to

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argue with him, seeking a sign
from heaven to test him and he

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sighed deeply in his heart.
Now the Greek there for side

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deeply is it conveys like an
intense inward groaning like a

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visceral emotional response to
the question.

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Now pause for a moment is
consider when’s the last time

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you sighed like that?
Now maybe, maybe it’s when

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someone gave you some really,
really difficult news on the

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phone, maybe about someone that
you love being being sick or

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being taken to hospital.
Or maybe it’s it’s about a huge

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disappointment that you dealt
with.

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But we all know what it’s like
to sigh very deeply be to be

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frustrated, to be agitated, to
be almost at the breaking point.

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And you can get a sense of the
Lord Jesus Christ, his, his

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emotions in this moment.
So he’s so frustrated, I would

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suggest to you, because he is so
deeply misunderstood.

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So then he boards a ship, having
sighed deeply in his spirit and

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giving them an answer about the
weather and saying you’re not

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going to see any sign of the
sign of the prophet Jonah.

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He boards a ship.
And then when he’s on the ship,

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guess what, He’s misunderstood
again, right?

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Because we read having eyes see
ye not having ears hear ye not.

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And do you not remember that the
text goes on to say in verse 21

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of Mark chapter 8, how is it
that you don’t understand?

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Jesus says in verse 21, do you
get a sense of what I’m trying

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to do is peel back a layer of
text?

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I want you to see if you
understand what the Lord Jesus

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Christ is feeling and thinking
in this time.

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I I want you to see, you need to
see that he’s frustrated.

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You need to see that this is
difficult for him.

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Can you see that?
Can you, can you, can you

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picture the Lord Jesus Christ in
this moment?

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Is are we getting the sense in
his exasperation here where he’s

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at?
And, and that leads us to our

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first point is that Jesus feels
the disappointment and pressure

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of being misunderstood.
It’s not until you realize that

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that what comes next is going to
be meaningful to you until you

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bring yourself into his position
of thought, until you can see

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where he’s at, until you can
understand the tension of, of

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his moment, that you can’t
appreciate what comes after.

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So I just want you to start by
by putting yourself in that, in

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that position of of understand,
because Jesus is a man,

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understand him as a man and the
disappointment and pressure of

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being consistently misunderstood
now, but but that being true,

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and I think it is true.
Here’s where things get a little

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bit confusing.
And the confusing bit it is that

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although he’s deeply
misunderstood, he chooses not to

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reveal himself either publicly
or privately.

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In fact, he will go out of his
way to stop people from

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identifying him for who he is.
Let me give you an example.

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When Jesus gives miracles very
often after the even though the

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miracle, remember he had he
healed the man who’s who’s deaf,

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right?
What do you mean?

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He pulls him out of the crowd
and puts him aside and he he’s

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going to heal the man’s blind
with you.

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He takes him out of Beth Maceda
and takes him out and and just

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deals with them privately.
And often times when Jesus heals

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someone, he’ll say things like
this.

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He’ll say, see that thou say
nothing to any man or he’ll say

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things like he charged them that
they should tell no man what was

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done.
Do you see that what we’re being

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told consistently in the Gospels
is that Jesus does not want

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anyone to reveal who he is.
And remember when there’s like a

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deranged and, and, and men that
are sick in the head and they

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and they identify, they know who
Jesus is.

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He says, I know who you are.
And Jesus commands the unclean

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spirit that he would not reveal
who he is.

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I need you to see that all Joe,
Jesus is deeply frustrated by by

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by the faithlessness of men.
And he’s deeply frustrated by

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his cycle saying, how do you not
understand that he has been

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concealing who he is?
Do you appreciate that?

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Did you ever notice that before?
Now?

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Does that feel like it’s a
contradiction to you?

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On one side I’m deeply
frustrated people don’t know who

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I am.
Other side, I am very interested

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in not revealing who I am.
How could both those be true?

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But they are true.
In fact, I can only find one

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example before this time where
Jesus clearly identified who he

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was.
One example and and he only does

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it in a one-on-one setting.
No one else was there.

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You does anyone know when that
is that Jesus clearly reveals

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who he is in one occasion on A1
on one setting with no one else

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around.
When is that right?

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It’s the woman.
It’s a woman by the well in John

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4.
That’s it.

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You find me another instance
where he clearly I didn’t.

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Now sometimes people say I know
who you are or they’ll call him

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the son of David, but Jesus
never says and I am the son of

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David, except with the woman by
the well and only then it was

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one-on-one with a gentile.
That’s it.

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That’s it.
Now the the people come up and

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say I know you are.
But Andrew McGrath, Peter says

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we found the Messiah, but Jesus
will never confirm it.

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Do you see that?
Do you ever notice that before?

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He’ll do, He won’t confirm it
except with this woman.

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Now that makes this woman in the
well in John 4 an exceptional

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and we’re not going to study it,
but I want you when you go there

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in the reading to go.
That is an exceptional

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circumstance.
Why is Jesus revealing to this

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woman who he is?
Because he doesn’t do it

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anywhere else.
OK, so this is our second point

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then Our second point is Jesus
intentionally chooses to conceal

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his true identity and mission.
OK, So and he doesn’t, he

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doesn’t just do it with the
public.

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He’s not telling his disciples
who he is either because because

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the issue is in this chapter,
he’ll, he’ll tell them, right?

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And that’s why it’s so shocking
to them at the end of the

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chapter when he does tell them
who he is and they’re going, no,

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they don’t want to hear it.
So Jesus has withheld it from

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the public.
He’s also withheld it from his

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disciples.
And I’m going to suggest to you

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that concealing who he was was
actually a greater temptation

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than you think it was.
He did conceal who he was.

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There’s the, the scriptures, the
Gospels, it’s unambiguous.

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He concealed who he was.
I’m just suggesting to you that

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that was a temptation.
How do we know it was a

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temptation?
How we how do we know it was

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difficult for Jesus to conceal
who he was because of the second

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temptation of Matthew chapter 4
verse 6, where it says if you

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are the Son of God, right, which
is the question, who is he?

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If you are the Son of God, throw
yourself down.

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Now if I’ve interpreted Brother
Lane Rittmeyer correctly, he

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00:13:33,000 –> 00:13:36,960
thinks that the pinnacle of the
temple was on the southwestern

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00:13:36,960 –> 00:13:41,800
corner of the temple where they
would blow the shofar every day,

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00:13:41,800 –> 00:13:45,320
which is why you can.
This is Brother Rittmeyer’s

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00:13:45,840 –> 00:13:48,720
drawing and that and that’s the
blowing of the of the shofar.

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And from there down to the
street level is about 50 meters.

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00:13:53,120 –> 00:13:56,240
So certainly if you threw
yourself off this and it’s a 50m

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00:13:56,240 –> 00:14:01,280
drop, it would, it would be
pretty clear through the,

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00:14:03,560 –> 00:14:08,640
through the spectacle of that
kind of miracle, who you were.

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And, and we know that that Jesus
was tempted to do it.

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If Jesus wasn’t tempted to do
it, this, this temptation had no

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00:14:15,320 –> 00:14:19,200
power with him.
But every one of the temptations

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in the wilderness had power with
him.

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00:14:23,320 –> 00:14:28,160
And we’re only told about 3 then
this in particular, he wanted

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00:14:28,160 –> 00:14:31,800
people to know who he was.
So now listen, this is even

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00:14:31,800 –> 00:14:35,840
getting more confusing.
He’s frustrated that people

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00:14:35,840 –> 00:14:42,240
don’t know who he is.
He he has intentionally

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00:14:42,960 –> 00:14:47,760
concealed who he is and he’s
tempted.

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He has a great desire for people
to know who he is.

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00:14:56,920 –> 00:14:59,760
And of course, he responds in
this instance by saying it is

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written, do not put the Lord
your God to the test.

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That’s how he resists the
temptation.

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And the implication of this is
what?

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00:15:09,520 –> 00:15:11,680
What’s the implication of do not
put the Lord your God to the

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00:15:11,680 –> 00:15:14,400
test?
The implication is I’m going to

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00:15:14,400 –> 00:15:17,440
put in God’s hands.
Do you see that?

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00:15:18,440 –> 00:15:23,640
His response to this temptation
was, I will put it in God’s

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00:15:23,640 –> 00:15:25,880
hands.
I will not put him to the test.

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00:15:28,120 –> 00:15:33,840
It will be God’s decision when
He reveals who I am to who He

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00:15:33,840 –> 00:15:36,320
wants to reveal it to.
I will not do it.

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00:15:36,880 –> 00:15:41,000
I will not put God to the test.
I will not reveal myself with

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00:15:41,120 –> 00:15:45,160
spiritual spectacle so that
everyone knows who I am.

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00:15:45,200 –> 00:15:48,160
Although I want people to know
who I am, I’m desperate for

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00:15:48,160 –> 00:15:50,440
people to know who I am.
It’s a great temptation that

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00:15:50,440 –> 00:15:52,920
people know who I am.
I’m not going to put the Lord

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00:15:52,920 –> 00:16:00,560
God to the test.
OK, so, so point #3 then is

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Jesus wanted to be known and
this was a real temptation for

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00:16:05,000 –> 00:16:07,360
him.
So I, I’m just kind of pointing

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00:16:07,360 –> 00:16:09,520
out some things that are all.
The first three points should

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00:16:09,520 –> 00:16:11,120
all stand in contradiction to
one another.

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00:16:12,080 –> 00:16:17,680
I hope you see that.
So I only point these three

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00:16:17,680 –> 00:16:21,120
things out, these
contradictions, because Jesus

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00:16:21,120 –> 00:16:22,680
was living in this
contradiction.

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00:16:23,720 –> 00:16:26,360
So that you understand the
significance of Matthew 16.

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00:16:28,400 –> 00:16:32,800
This is this is the tension
that’s in the air as he walks to

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00:16:32,800 –> 00:16:36,360
Caesarea Philippi, a place that
is pretty significant in itself.

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00:16:36,920 –> 00:16:39,400
And we’re going to touch on that
a little bit in this class, but

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00:16:39,400 –> 00:16:44,280
much more in the next class.
So Luke offers an important

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00:16:44,280 –> 00:16:48,560
detail that shows the
significance of this moment.

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00:16:49,000 –> 00:16:50,440
Now.
Now what?

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00:16:50,440 –> 00:16:52,400
I’m going to show you a verse
that’s one of the funniest

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00:16:52,400 –> 00:16:54,360
verses in the gospel, though
it’s not meant to be funny.

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Maybe if you just have American
sense of humor, you find humor

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00:16:58,840 –> 00:17:01,680
in things that are not humorous,
like Donald Trump, right?

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00:17:02,240 –> 00:17:04,760
So you got to find humor in
things that are not intended to

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00:17:04,760 –> 00:17:07,640
be humorous, right?
And this is a verse that is not

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00:17:07,640 –> 00:17:09,480
intentionally humorous, but it’s
a little bit funny.

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00:17:11,040 –> 00:17:14,240
See you see, we’ve been focusing
in Matthew and Mark because they

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00:17:14,240 –> 00:17:17,560
have the fullest description of
this little section of the Lord

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00:17:17,560 –> 00:17:20,119
Jesus Christ of life.
Now Luke mentions it very

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00:17:20,119 –> 00:17:23,839
briefly, but Luke gives us a
detail that neither Mark or

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00:17:23,839 –> 00:17:28,319
Matthew give us about this time
in Jesus life.

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00:17:28,640 –> 00:17:32,040
And it’s this before Jesus
begins this discussion with

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00:17:32,040 –> 00:17:34,200
Peter.
What’s he doing?

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00:17:36,520 –> 00:17:39,320
Well, Luke says now what
happens?

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00:17:39,920 –> 00:17:42,800
As he was praying alone, the
disciples were with him and he

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00:17:42,800 –> 00:17:45,160
asked who do the crowd say that
I am?

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00:17:45,960 –> 00:17:50,920
So what happens is just before
he asked this question to his

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00:17:50,920 –> 00:17:56,320
disciples, he’s praying now.
Why is he praying?

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00:17:57,360 –> 00:18:00,360
Because this moment’s a big one.
Now in Luke, you can go through

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00:18:00,360 –> 00:18:02,120
all the examples of prayer in
Luke.

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00:18:02,280 –> 00:18:05,200
Every time Jesus is praying in
Luke, something important’s

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00:18:05,200 –> 00:18:09,040
about to happen.
OK, so it shows the the

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00:18:09,040 –> 00:18:11,280
magnitude that Jesus was a man
of prayer.

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00:18:12,040 –> 00:18:15,160
And what does he use prayer do?
He uses prayer to conform his

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00:18:15,160 –> 00:18:20,200
will to his father’s God.
Not my will, but yours be done.

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00:18:20,320 –> 00:18:25,040
He prays so that that God would
conform his will because he’s

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00:18:25,040 –> 00:18:27,600
about to have a discussion which
he knows is significant.

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00:18:27,720 –> 00:18:31,680
And of course, this discussion
over who he is is very, very

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00:18:31,680 –> 00:18:35,120
tempting for the Lord.
It was one of his temptations in

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00:18:35,120 –> 00:18:37,320
the wilderness.
He knows this is a significant

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00:18:37,320 –> 00:18:39,880
moment.
He does not want to put his own

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00:18:39,880 –> 00:18:42,520
humanness into the moment and
override God’s will.

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00:18:42,600 –> 00:18:44,520
So he’s praying for God to give
him strength.

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00:18:45,440 –> 00:18:50,840
And, and, and what it says is
he’s praying alone, but the

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00:18:50,840 –> 00:18:51,720
disciples are with him.
Now.

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00:18:53,400 –> 00:18:55,000
No one’s laughing.
That’s OK.

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00:18:56,000 –> 00:18:58,800
Now you laugh.
That was a bit of a courtesy

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00:18:58,800 –> 00:19:05,800
laugh.
That was so so ever ever been

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00:19:05,800 –> 00:19:12,000
alone with people around you?
Now I don’t think that that is

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00:19:12,520 –> 00:19:14,160
that’s he’s not saying that by
mistake.

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00:19:14,280 –> 00:19:17,680
I mean Luke, Luke’s not Luke’s
not identifying a it is a

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00:19:17,680 –> 00:19:19,720
contradiction.
I’m alone and people are with

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00:19:19,720 –> 00:19:22,240
me.
But you have to understand that

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00:19:22,240 –> 00:19:24,400
that is exactly Jesus in this
moment.

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00:19:24,680 –> 00:19:30,720
You see, Jesus feels very alone,
although people are around him.

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00:19:31,480 –> 00:19:35,320
Do you see that I’m just, I’m
bringing you into this moment

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00:19:35,320 –> 00:19:39,200
that Jesus is in.
How is he feeling?

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00:19:39,560 –> 00:19:43,280
He sighs deeply within himself.
He has been tempted.

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00:19:43,440 –> 00:19:44,960
People are.
He’s misunderstood.

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00:19:45,000 –> 00:19:46,800
Everywhere he go he’s
misunderstood.

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00:19:46,920 –> 00:19:50,360
He desires to be known, but he
will not reveal himself.

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00:19:50,880 –> 00:19:56,280
He feels alone although people
are around him.

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00:19:58,800 –> 00:20:02,240
That’s Jesus in this exact
moment.

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00:20:03,200 –> 00:20:07,240
And that’s my 4th point.
Jesus was surrounded, yet alone.

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00:20:09,560 –> 00:20:12,240
OK, this is his.
This is Jesus in this moment.

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00:20:12,240 –> 00:20:17,400
He’s surrounded, yet he’s alone.
And he’s using prayer to align.

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00:20:18,240 –> 00:20:22,200
Himself with God’s will, which
is what he does, he uses prayer

328
00:20:22,360 –> 00:20:25,920
to take his own will and
surrender it to God’s will that

329
00:20:25,920 –> 00:20:29,520
God would take this moment and
God would make from this moment

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00:20:29,520 –> 00:20:34,640
what God wants him to do in that
in that moment because he felt

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00:20:34,640 –> 00:20:39,280
the temptation and the struggle
with with revealing his identity

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00:20:39,560 –> 00:20:42,880
to his disciples.
This moment is huge for the Lord

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00:20:42,880 –> 00:20:51,960
Jesus Christ.
So now, after years of quiet

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00:20:51,960 –> 00:20:56,280
ministry, miraculous acts,
misunderstood teachings, and

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00:20:56,280 –> 00:20:59,920
mounting opposition, Jesus
initiates the moment of truth.

336
00:21:02,520 –> 00:21:07,960
And he says, Who do people say
that the Son of Man is?

337
00:21:10,480 –> 00:21:15,120
And they respond, well, some say
John the Baptist, others say

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00:21:15,120 –> 00:21:18,120
Elijah, and still others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

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00:21:18,120 –> 00:21:19,440
Now, what does that response
mean?

340
00:21:21,280 –> 00:21:25,040
That means to the common man.
To the common man, Jesus is a

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00:21:25,040 –> 00:21:28,920
worker of miracles, like Elijah.
Or he’s one of the prophets

342
00:21:29,040 –> 00:21:34,200
deeply unpopular with political
religious leaders, like Jeremiah

343
00:21:34,200 –> 00:21:37,400
was.
Or he’s a preacher of the

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00:21:37,400 –> 00:21:46,320
Kingdom of God, like John was to
his hometown in Matthew 1355.

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00:21:46,320 –> 00:21:50,040
He’s a carpenter’s son.
But one thing that seems to be

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00:21:50,040 –> 00:21:53,720
common about all these views
about Jesus, whether Elias or

347
00:21:53,720 –> 00:21:58,280
Jeremias or one of the prophets,
etcetera, is that he’s not the

348
00:21:58,280 –> 00:22:02,960
Messiah.
Everyone seems to agree on that.

349
00:22:02,960 –> 00:22:06,280
What he is, they don’t know, but
they seem to know what he’s not.

350
00:22:11,560 –> 00:22:18,480
See, it’s so often that faith is
in contradiction to popular

351
00:22:18,880 –> 00:22:22,240
knowledge.
Because if you even think about

352
00:22:22,240 –> 00:22:24,160
this question, even on the
simplest all of brothers and

353
00:22:24,160 –> 00:22:29,360
sisters, you ask who do the
people of our age say the Lord

354
00:22:29,360 –> 00:22:31,880
Jesus Christ is?
If I ask these young people, if

355
00:22:31,880 –> 00:22:34,920
I ask you the question who I
know, you’re terrified I will

356
00:22:34,920 –> 00:22:36,600
and I won’t, right?
Right.

357
00:22:36,760 –> 00:22:38,600
I’m getting near to you and
you’re getting a little bit

358
00:22:38,600 –> 00:22:41,880
concerned about that.
If I ask you the question, who

359
00:22:43,040 –> 00:22:45,440
do people of our age say the
Lord Jesus Christ is?

360
00:22:45,440 –> 00:22:47,640
Well, I’m going to give you 4
categories and there’s many

361
00:22:47,640 –> 00:22:51,760
nuances of those categories.
Well, a Jew might say he’s a

362
00:22:51,760 –> 00:22:53,240
confused reformer.
I know this.

363
00:22:53,240 –> 00:22:55,200
I’ve spoken to a Jews about
this.

364
00:22:55,720 –> 00:22:58,000
I’ve asked them who do you think
the Lord Jesus Christ is not

365
00:22:58,000 –> 00:23:00,080
exactly in those words and they
said he was.

366
00:23:00,120 –> 00:23:03,440
He was a reformer who is
confused and misunderstood.

367
00:23:04,840 –> 00:23:07,640
A reformer.
That’s their view of Jesus.

368
00:23:07,640 –> 00:23:11,560
At least the the the ones I
spoke with because I lived in

369
00:23:11,560 –> 00:23:13,800
Israel when I was about your age
for a year.

370
00:23:15,440 –> 00:23:18,640
OK, if I’m an atheist, I think
he’s a religious nut case,

371
00:23:19,840 –> 00:23:22,320
right?
I know that that’s that’s

372
00:23:22,360 –> 00:23:24,720
obviously a harsh way to think
about the Lord Jesus Christ, but

373
00:23:24,720 –> 00:23:27,720
I think that’s an accurate
version of what many atheists

374
00:23:27,720 –> 00:23:30,520
think.
Well, what about an agnostic?

375
00:23:30,520 –> 00:23:33,480
An agnostic is someone who
doesn’t know what they think

376
00:23:33,560 –> 00:23:36,440
Jesus is.
They agnostic means without

377
00:23:36,440 –> 00:23:39,640
gnosis, without knowledge.
I do not have knowledge.

378
00:23:39,680 –> 00:23:43,200
I’m not sure.
Well, many of them think he’s a

379
00:23:43,200 –> 00:23:46,480
man who tried to teach a deeply
flawed world to love.

380
00:23:47,160 –> 00:23:48,520
That’s what agnostic might
think.

381
00:23:48,600 –> 00:23:51,600
They don’t look at Jesus and and
have animosity towards him.

382
00:23:51,600 –> 00:23:55,240
Often they can they can see that
he tried to teach the world to

383
00:23:55,240 –> 00:23:58,640
be loving, but that the world
didn’t want that.

384
00:24:00,000 –> 00:24:04,560
And and of course we have beyond
those views.

385
00:24:04,560 –> 00:24:07,120
We have the views of most
Christians and most Christians

386
00:24:07,120 –> 00:24:10,280
think he’s God himself, Co equal
with his Father in heaven.

387
00:24:11,760 –> 00:24:15,440
And, and what I want to suggest
to you and observe this point is

388
00:24:15,440 –> 00:24:19,240
that in Jesus day the common man
did not know who he was.

389
00:24:19,800 –> 00:24:23,760
They had an opinion.
He was well known and they

390
00:24:23,760 –> 00:24:27,040
thought they knew him.
They labeled him, but they were

391
00:24:27,040 –> 00:24:30,800
wrong.
Each one of the solutions of who

392
00:24:30,880 –> 00:24:36,000
Jesus was in his own day were
wrong, but Jesus did not correct

393
00:24:36,000 –> 00:24:41,120
their misunderstanding.
We have no record that there’s

394
00:24:41,120 –> 00:24:43,240
no one that comes to Jesus and
says I think you’re this.

395
00:24:43,240 –> 00:24:45,800
And Jesus says no, you’re wrong.
Let me tell you exactly who I

396
00:24:45,800 –> 00:24:47,560
am.
He doesn’t do that.

397
00:24:48,080 –> 00:24:52,840
And I would just say that in our
age, Jesus is deeply

398
00:24:52,840 –> 00:24:57,920
misunderstood still.
Do you see that?

399
00:24:59,280 –> 00:25:04,440
Do you see that, young people?
He is still misunderstood.

400
00:25:04,440 –> 00:25:13,240
Do you see the irony of this?
Who knows who this man is?

401
00:25:17,640 –> 00:25:25,560
So few know who this man is.
Everyone thinks they know him,

402
00:25:28,440 –> 00:25:34,640
but so few know him.
So he pivots to his disciples,

403
00:25:34,640 –> 00:25:36,760
right?
This deeply, deeply

404
00:25:36,760 –> 00:25:42,920
misunderstood man who is
frustrated, who’s surrendered

405
00:25:42,920 –> 00:25:48,600
himself in prayer and asked God
to guide this very difficult

406
00:25:48,600 –> 00:25:53,720
discussion for him.
He pivots to his disciples and

407
00:25:53,720 –> 00:25:57,560
he says to them, but who do you
say that I am?

408
00:26:01,280 –> 00:26:05,640
And if I pause and I ask you the
question, who do you say that

409
00:26:05,640 –> 00:26:12,200
Jesus is?
Do do you see that there’s a

410
00:26:13,360 –> 00:26:15,360
confronting power in that
discussion?

411
00:26:15,440 –> 00:26:19,080
If I go to you and I say, who is
Jesus Christ?

412
00:26:22,600 –> 00:26:29,120
There’s power in that question.
I dare say that at a baptismal

413
00:26:29,120 –> 00:26:33,280
interview, whatever technical
questions we’re asking you, on

414
00:26:33,280 –> 00:26:37,320
some level we are going to be
asking you, who do you think

415
00:26:37,320 –> 00:26:44,320
this man is?
You know, everyone in the world

416
00:26:44,320 –> 00:26:46,800
has to answer that question.
No one can seem to get away from

417
00:26:46,800 –> 00:26:48,280
it.
No matter who you are in the

418
00:26:48,280 –> 00:26:52,640
world, you’ve heard of this man.
And at some level you have to

419
00:26:52,640 –> 00:26:56,440
decide in your heart you can’t.
It’s it’s like an unavoidable

420
00:26:56,440 –> 00:26:58,520
question.
How do you avoid this question?

421
00:27:00,200 –> 00:27:11,170
Who is this man?
Who is the Lord Jesus Christ and

422
00:27:11,170 –> 00:27:15,330
what people in his own time
wanted is some sort of halfway

423
00:27:15,330 –> 00:27:18,730
house.
Here’s the halfway house Jesus,

424
00:27:19,010 –> 00:27:22,480
clearly important.
He’s a miracle worker.

425
00:27:23,040 –> 00:27:28,480
He’s a prophet like John or, or,
or, you know, maybe he’s even

426
00:27:28,480 –> 00:27:39,960
come back from the dead like the
John the Baptist resurrected

427
00:27:39,960 –> 00:27:41,880
from the dead.
Maybe he maybe that’s who he is.

428
00:27:44,560 –> 00:27:46,960
But the thing about the Lord
Jesus Christ is this.

429
00:27:51,560 –> 00:27:55,480
He is either either he’s
everything or he’s nothing.

430
00:27:58,280 –> 00:28:05,280
The thing is, he is either a
savior or he is a man that needs

431
00:28:05,280 –> 00:28:06,960
to be saved.
Now I’m not talking about

432
00:28:07,280 –> 00:28:08,960
complicated ideas of the
atonement.

433
00:28:08,960 –> 00:28:10,920
I know the Lord Jesus Christ
need to be saved.

434
00:28:11,200 –> 00:28:18,360
But what I’m saying is this, He
is either a savior or he needs

435
00:28:18,360 –> 00:28:21,440
to be saved.
He’s one or the other.

436
00:28:23,640 –> 00:28:27,360
John need to be saved.
Jeremiah need to be saved.

437
00:28:28,120 –> 00:28:34,720
Elijah need to be saved.
The thing is what people want in

438
00:28:34,720 –> 00:28:37,520
young people, I reckon to say
that when I was your age, what I

439
00:28:37,520 –> 00:28:40,000
wanted was this.
What I wanted was a halfway

440
00:28:40,000 –> 00:28:42,840
house.
Do you understand what I mean by

441
00:28:42,840 –> 00:28:46,720
halfway house?
Jesus is really important, but

442
00:28:46,720 –> 00:28:50,680
He’s not everything.
Why?

443
00:28:51,800 –> 00:28:53,320
What’s the implication of His
everything?

444
00:28:57,000 –> 00:28:58,440
Then I better do something about
that.

445
00:29:01,400 –> 00:29:04,160
Don’t you see that that’s, can
you see that in your heart?

446
00:29:04,840 –> 00:29:06,840
Can you see that you want Him to
be something?

447
00:29:06,920 –> 00:29:10,400
You would definitely say He’s
not nothing, He’s something, but

448
00:29:10,400 –> 00:29:17,800
is he everything?
Do you see the power of this

449
00:29:17,800 –> 00:29:19,600
question?
If I was to ask you who is the

450
00:29:19,600 –> 00:29:27,040
Lord Jesus Christ, does your
heart give you a halfway house

451
00:29:27,040 –> 00:29:32,760
answer?
Don’t condemn yourself if it

452
00:29:32,760 –> 00:29:34,400
does.
We all have to be.

453
00:29:34,640 –> 00:29:36,320
We have to all growing up into
this thing.

454
00:29:37,160 –> 00:29:39,800
I’m just identifying that when I
was your age I had a halfway

455
00:29:39,800 –> 00:29:42,920
house answer.
He was important, He just wasn’t

456
00:29:42,920 –> 00:29:46,360
everything.
And that’s what the people of

457
00:29:46,360 –> 00:29:48,800
his own day wanted him to be.
He was important, he was a

458
00:29:48,800 –> 00:29:52,000
prophet.
God’s with him, but he’s not

459
00:29:52,000 –> 00:29:55,680
everything.
He’s not the Savior.

460
00:30:01,520 –> 00:30:05,880
So our point #5 is this.
People think they know who Jesus

461
00:30:05,880 –> 00:30:11,200
is, but do not really.
Who Jesus is is the pivotal

462
00:30:11,200 –> 00:30:20,880
question even today.
And at that moment in Jesus

463
00:30:20,880 –> 00:30:23,000
ministry.
Who knew who he was?

464
00:30:24,800 –> 00:30:28,960
Who will step forward?
Was he alone?

465
00:30:31,960 –> 00:30:36,760
And Peter does step forward and
Peter says you are the Christ,

466
00:30:38,440 –> 00:30:43,280
the Son of the living God.
And there it was.

467
00:30:44,800 –> 00:30:49,400
Faith.
Do you believe what Peter said

468
00:30:49,400 –> 00:30:53,400
there is true?
Of course you do.

469
00:30:55,320 –> 00:30:58,240
I would just suggest that that
puts you, if you do, in pretty

470
00:30:58,240 –> 00:31:01,560
rare company.
Because this statement brings

471
00:31:01,560 –> 00:31:05,520
together 3 ideas that are very
rarely believed in combination.

472
00:31:08,240 –> 00:31:13,960
Those three ideas are this Jesus
is the Jewish Messiah, anointed

473
00:31:13,960 –> 00:31:16,280
to save his people, because
that’s what Christos means.

474
00:31:17,920 –> 00:31:27,000
Secondly, there is a living God,
and Jesus is his Son and thus

475
00:31:27,000 –> 00:31:31,200
subordinate to him.
Tell me who believed that today

476
00:31:32,880 –> 00:31:34,800
out of the billions of people on
this planet?

477
00:31:39,320 –> 00:31:44,200
But you believe it.
See what a statement that is?

478
00:31:46,000 –> 00:31:47,480
And that brings us to our sixth
point.

479
00:31:48,600 –> 00:31:53,240
Even to this day, very few know
and believe who Jesus really is.

480
00:31:55,440 –> 00:31:59,320
And if you think you know who He
is, it’s a privilege because

481
00:31:59,320 –> 00:32:04,480
there are very few, and it’s
very easy to take that for

482
00:32:04,480 –> 00:32:08,960
granted.
Here’s another question that

483
00:32:08,960 –> 00:32:11,640
seems obvious on the surface,
but there might be more to it.

484
00:32:12,440 –> 00:32:18,560
Who’s the living God?
You know why they called

485
00:32:18,600 –> 00:32:23,960
Caesarea Popi Caesarea?
Because it was a city that had

486
00:32:23,960 –> 00:32:26,200
been dedicated to a Roman
emperor.

487
00:32:26,600 –> 00:32:28,200
You would have heard of him
called Augustus.

488
00:32:28,920 –> 00:32:34,280
Now, this is a representation of
Augustus’s temple that was built

489
00:32:34,280 –> 00:32:36,520
in Caesarea Philippi.
It’s very difficult to know

490
00:32:36,520 –> 00:32:39,440
exactly how it looked, but they
reckon that this is probably how

491
00:32:39,440 –> 00:32:43,600
the temple of Augustus and
Caesarea Philippi looked right

492
00:32:44,960 –> 00:32:49,600
there It is.
OK, that was a temple to

493
00:32:49,600 –> 00:32:56,600
Augustus erected in that city
around the year 19 BCE by Herod

494
00:32:56,600 –> 00:33:00,680
the Great.
So in fact, I’m going to give

495
00:33:00,680 –> 00:33:02,480
you a picture of Caesarea
Philippi.

496
00:33:02,480 –> 00:33:04,360
This is a great picture.
You can find it on the Internet

497
00:33:04,360 –> 00:33:08,920
if you want to find it yourself,
and it really gives you insight

498
00:33:09,200 –> 00:33:13,120
about this area of the world.
This is Caesarea Philippi,

499
00:33:13,360 –> 00:33:15,280
during the time of the Lord
Jesus Christ.

500
00:33:17,000 –> 00:33:20,480
And what you can see there is
that’s the temple to Augustus.

501
00:33:22,480 –> 00:33:29,080
That’s the temple of Zeus.
That’s the grotto of Pan and the

502
00:33:29,080 –> 00:33:32,240
court of Pan.
And before they called Caesarea

503
00:33:32,240 –> 00:33:35,400
Philippi.
Caesarea Philippi, its name was

504
00:33:35,720 –> 00:33:39,640
Pannoneus.
Now it was named after Pan

505
00:33:39,720 –> 00:33:43,160
because Pan was a God of
sensuality.

506
00:33:44,600 –> 00:33:48,560
It was a God of human or
animalistic instincts.

507
00:33:49,160 –> 00:33:53,280
For example, you might have
heard the word panic, right?

508
00:33:53,360 –> 00:33:56,480
What’s panic?
It’s when your feelings inside

509
00:33:56,640 –> 00:34:00,000
are so overwhelming that they’re
causing you to act in crazy

510
00:34:00,000 –> 00:34:02,320
ways.
That’s named after the God Pan.

511
00:34:03,120 –> 00:34:06,640
Or how about pandemonium?
That’s when whole crowds of

512
00:34:06,640 –> 00:34:08,600
people are feeling that way,
right?

513
00:34:08,719 –> 00:34:11,800
And what’s what’s common in
these words is that you are

514
00:34:11,800 –> 00:34:15,159
feeling your human instincts
totally overwhelm you.

515
00:34:17,199 –> 00:34:21,960
So what is Pan, right?
Pan is a God of sensuality.

516
00:34:22,560 –> 00:34:28,880
Pan is a God of, of natural
feelings, of, of raw senses.

517
00:34:31,800 –> 00:34:35,880
And there’s something common
about Pan and Matt Augustus and

518
00:34:35,880 –> 00:34:38,560
about Zeus.
And do you know what the common

519
00:34:38,560 –> 00:34:43,480
thing is with all of them?
They were dead.

520
00:34:46,920 –> 00:34:56,880
Augustus was dead, Pan never
lived, neither did Zeus, neither

521
00:34:56,880 –> 00:34:59,680
would they have any life.
And this is a, this is so, this

522
00:34:59,680 –> 00:35:03,000
is so worth unpacking.
There’s so many, there’s so many

523
00:35:03,200 –> 00:35:04,920
insights here into Caesarea
Philippi.

524
00:35:05,120 –> 00:35:07,960
I’m going to save that to the
next study because I have a lot

525
00:35:07,960 –> 00:35:10,680
more to say about that.
But for the moment, I just want

526
00:35:10,680 –> 00:35:14,480
to point out Caesarea Philippi
was a very significant place to

527
00:35:14,480 –> 00:35:19,320
acknowledge that Jesus was the
son of the living God because

528
00:35:19,320 –> 00:35:23,000
there’s a lot of contrasting
ideas about what that was in

529
00:35:23,000 –> 00:35:29,840
that place.
But God lives, Jesus is his son,

530
00:35:29,840 –> 00:35:32,760
and his Son is the Messiah.
Now, how did Peter know?

531
00:35:35,480 –> 00:35:36,680
Maybe you think that’s a silly
question.

532
00:35:36,680 –> 00:35:38,360
How did Peter know?
Well, how did Peter know?

533
00:35:38,560 –> 00:35:41,320
How did Peter know that Jesus
was the son of the living God?

534
00:35:45,680 –> 00:35:50,320
Did Jesus tell him you think
Jesus told him you’d find me the

535
00:35:50,320 –> 00:35:53,280
passage where did Jesus tell him
that he was the son of the

536
00:35:53,280 –> 00:35:57,120
living God?
Andrew thought it grab Peter

537
00:35:57,360 –> 00:36:03,640
John one, but where did what did
Jesus tell him and I think

538
00:36:03,640 –> 00:36:05,760
that’s the exact point because
that’s the only way to

539
00:36:05,760 –> 00:36:09,280
understand this next verse
Matthew chapter 16 verse 17,

540
00:36:09,560 –> 00:36:15,840
which says blessed are you Simon
Barjona for flesh and blood has

541
00:36:15,840 –> 00:36:20,440
not revealed this to you.
But my father, which is in

542
00:36:20,440 –> 00:36:22,800
heaven.
What does he mean that flesh and

543
00:36:22,800 –> 00:36:25,360
blood has not revealed this to
him.

544
00:36:25,800 –> 00:36:30,120
Simply this Peter did not reach
the conclusion because Jesus

545
00:36:30,120 –> 00:36:33,720
talked him into it in any human
way.

546
00:36:35,200 –> 00:36:39,800
That’s what Jesus saying my
flesh and blood because I Jesus

547
00:36:39,800 –> 00:36:41,640
wanted to be known.
That was the second temptation

548
00:36:41,640 –> 00:36:43,520
in the orderness he wanted to be
known.

549
00:36:45,040 –> 00:36:47,920
Jesus is saying I did not talk
you into this.

550
00:36:48,640 –> 00:36:54,960
My flesh and blood did not
reveal this to you, but God did.

551
00:36:55,920 –> 00:36:58,000
God revealed it.
Flesh and blood just simply

552
00:36:58,000 –> 00:37:01,280
represent the way that people
come to conclusions through

553
00:37:01,280 –> 00:37:06,120
natural means, through logic,
through cultural expectations,

554
00:37:06,120 –> 00:37:08,680
through personal experience.
None of those was enough.

555
00:37:09,080 –> 00:37:13,200
You could not understand who
Jesus was simply by human logic.

556
00:37:16,360 –> 00:37:21,080
Jesus did not coerce belief.
He did not manipulate belief.

557
00:37:21,640 –> 00:37:25,440
He did not need Peter to affirm
his identity to validate his

558
00:37:25,440 –> 00:37:28,400
ego.
If you read the Gospel of John,

559
00:37:28,400 –> 00:37:30,800
you know one thing for certain.
Jesus knew who he was.

560
00:37:34,200 –> 00:37:37,960
Instead, what Jesus does is he
waits for his Father to reveal

561
00:37:37,960 –> 00:37:41,080
it.
And this is what gives Jesus so

562
00:37:41,080 –> 00:37:44,160
much joy that finally someone
sees.

563
00:37:44,320 –> 00:37:48,440
Not because Jesus coerced it,
not because Jesus manipulated

564
00:37:48,440 –> 00:37:52,600
it, not because Jesus flesh and
blood demanded it, because God

565
00:37:52,600 –> 00:37:57,960
revealed it in his own time.
So our next point is simply

566
00:37:57,960 –> 00:38:00,560
this.
Jesus waited on God to reveal

567
00:38:00,560 –> 00:38:04,280
who he was in God’s time and
doing that he denied his own

568
00:38:04,280 –> 00:38:10,120
desires.
And I reflected on this a little

569
00:38:10,120 –> 00:38:13,920
bit because when I’m teaching
first principles to young people

570
00:38:14,600 –> 00:38:18,520
in Christchurch and other
places, and I, and I’m trying to

571
00:38:18,520 –> 00:38:20,920
teach you, Jesus is, I don’t do
it this way.

572
00:38:21,360 –> 00:38:23,080
I do it with flesh and blood,
right?

573
00:38:23,400 –> 00:38:27,800
I, I, I give them the answer,
you know, and then I say, and

574
00:38:27,880 –> 00:38:29,760
you never give someone an
answer, then ask the question

575
00:38:29,760 –> 00:38:31,600
and just want them to repeat
back to you what you said,

576
00:38:31,640 –> 00:38:33,240
right?
And if they do, you give them a

577
00:38:33,240 –> 00:38:36,920
lolly.
That’s a little bit how I try to

578
00:38:36,920 –> 00:38:39,160
teach people who Jesus is,
right?

579
00:38:39,520 –> 00:38:44,320
I mean, what if I did something
on the lines of here, You read

580
00:38:44,320 –> 00:38:47,960
the Gospel of Matthew and then
come back to me and tell me who

581
00:38:47,960 –> 00:38:56,400
you think Jesus is.
Because on some level, you don’t

582
00:38:56,400 –> 00:39:01,240
get to have a faith that you get
to keep because someone else

583
00:39:01,240 –> 00:39:05,600
gave it to you.
Maybe that’s going to work for a

584
00:39:05,600 –> 00:39:08,600
little bit of time, but that’s
never going to survive trial.

585
00:39:09,760 –> 00:39:11,800
And people in this room know
what trial is about.

586
00:39:13,000 –> 00:39:15,640
They’ve been through trials.
Some of you have been through

587
00:39:15,800 –> 00:39:18,480
horrific trials, much more
difficult than I’ve experienced

588
00:39:18,480 –> 00:39:20,560
myself, and I’ve had my fair
share of trials.

589
00:39:21,920 –> 00:39:24,960
You do not get to keep your
faith because someone else’s

590
00:39:24,960 –> 00:39:30,200
flesh and blood gave it to you.
You only get to keep your faith

591
00:39:30,720 –> 00:39:34,440
because it’s yours.
And if it’s yours, it’s yours

592
00:39:34,440 –> 00:39:39,080
because it’s been revealed to
you by God, not because someone

593
00:39:39,080 –> 00:39:42,400
coerced you, not because someone
manipulated you, because it

594
00:39:42,400 –> 00:39:48,040
becomes your own.
And the word revealed itself is

595
00:39:48,040 –> 00:39:50,640
made-up of of 2 words.
And I think you know these

596
00:39:50,640 –> 00:39:54,600
words.
Apocalypto Apocalypse.

597
00:39:56,960 –> 00:40:00,000
Jesus saying flesh and blood is
not apocalypsed.

598
00:40:00,240 –> 00:40:02,640
This to you has not revealed.
You probably know the word

599
00:40:02,640 –> 00:40:05,560
apocalypse by it’s more common
English translation of

600
00:40:05,560 –> 00:40:09,120
Revelation, right?
And what does Revelation really

601
00:40:09,160 –> 00:40:11,800
mean?
Well, oppo means away and

602
00:40:11,800 –> 00:40:15,800
calypto means to cover or to
veil or to conceal, right?

603
00:40:16,120 –> 00:40:21,040
So it’s taking away something
that’s covered or veiled or

604
00:40:21,160 –> 00:40:25,720
concealed.
OK.

605
00:40:26,720 –> 00:40:30,760
The verb for learning by
instruction in Greek is

606
00:40:31,160 –> 00:40:34,480
manthano.
So if I learn by instruction,

607
00:40:34,480 –> 00:40:37,480
which is kind of what we do
mainly in classrooms, we learn

608
00:40:37,480 –> 00:40:39,600
by instruction.
That’s not this word revealed.

609
00:40:41,160 –> 00:40:45,560
Or if I discover something by
reason, that’s conosco in Greek.

610
00:40:46,600 –> 00:40:51,800
And if I’m taught something with
facts, that’s Didasco in Greek.

611
00:40:51,800 –> 00:40:55,840
Now there’s lots of room for
Montano or Gnosco or Didasco.

612
00:40:55,960 –> 00:40:57,520
Those are the ways that we
teach.

613
00:40:58,120 –> 00:41:01,080
We bring kids into Sunday school
and we Didasco them and we

614
00:41:01,080 –> 00:41:03,400
Gnosco them and we Montano them,
right?

615
00:41:03,600 –> 00:41:07,080
And, and that’s what we do.
And all those things have value,

616
00:41:07,080 –> 00:41:10,640
and they’re actually used in
positive ways in scripture and

617
00:41:10,640 –> 00:41:14,040
in negative ways.
But apocalypse does not mean

618
00:41:14,040 –> 00:41:17,320
those things.
Apocalypse is something that

619
00:41:17,320 –> 00:41:19,440
cannot be perceived with human
effort.

620
00:41:20,680 –> 00:41:25,320
God has to act to reveal it.
In other words, Peter didn’t

621
00:41:25,320 –> 00:41:28,680
reason his way into
understanding who Jesus is.

622
00:41:29,880 –> 00:41:32,480
What this word implies is that
God pushed back the veil.

623
00:41:36,160 –> 00:41:39,720
OK, now if I look at this word
veil, this version of it, I can

624
00:41:39,720 –> 00:41:41,480
find out another place of the
New Testament.

625
00:41:41,480 –> 00:41:44,000
One of them is in First
Corinthians chapter 2 verses 9

626
00:41:44,000 –> 00:41:48,680
and 10 where it says,
interestingly, eye has not seen

627
00:41:50,400 –> 00:41:53,720
nor ear hurt.
You see, our eyes are going to

628
00:41:53,720 –> 00:41:54,400
let us down.
We’ve been.

629
00:41:54,400 –> 00:41:57,720
That’s what we covered in our
last subject and our ears are

630
00:41:57,720 –> 00:42:02,360
going to let us down.
The things which God has

631
00:42:02,360 –> 00:42:05,560
prepared for them that love him,
but God has revealed it.

632
00:42:06,360 –> 00:42:09,760
They revealed them unto us by
spirit.

633
00:42:12,040 –> 00:42:17,960
So spiritual truth is not
inaccessible, Brothers, sisters,

634
00:42:17,960 –> 00:42:19,680
and young people.
It’s not inaccessible because

635
00:42:19,680 –> 00:42:23,840
it’s complicated.
It’s just that there’s veils

636
00:42:23,840 –> 00:42:29,680
over your eyes.
See, the Greeks wanted wisdom,

637
00:42:31,400 –> 00:42:33,640
and the wisdom veiled their
eyes.

638
00:42:35,400 –> 00:42:39,960
The Jews wanted signs, and the
signs veiled their ability to

639
00:42:39,960 –> 00:42:42,320
see the truth.
In front of them, there’s a

640
00:42:42,320 –> 00:42:46,280
veil.
And when you talk to someone

641
00:42:46,280 –> 00:42:49,240
about the truth and, and I’m
sure a lot of you had

642
00:42:49,240 –> 00:42:51,760
experiences of talking to people
about the truth, people that

643
00:42:52,160 –> 00:42:54,240
when they have a different faith
or a be of a different

644
00:42:54,240 –> 00:42:55,800
persuasion, are you talking to
them about the truth?

645
00:42:55,800 –> 00:42:58,680
What you can see is you can see
the veils over their eyes, can’t

646
00:42:58,680 –> 00:43:00,920
you?
You can see that they’re veiled.

647
00:43:01,000 –> 00:43:04,280
They can’t see.
And what has to happen is God’s

648
00:43:04,280 –> 00:43:07,000
got to push that veil away.
And you, and what you realize

649
00:43:07,000 –> 00:43:09,560
when you start teaching people
the truth is that you can’t push

650
00:43:09,560 –> 00:43:13,600
that veil away.
You can’t, you can’t take that

651
00:43:13,600 –> 00:43:16,160
veil, the scales or their eyes.
You can’t take those things

652
00:43:16,160 –> 00:43:18,160
away.
And you might give the same

653
00:43:18,160 –> 00:43:20,680
lesson to 1 and they get in,
they grab hold of it and then

654
00:43:20,680 –> 00:43:22,240
same lesson to another and they
don’t.

655
00:43:22,240 –> 00:43:24,760
And you’re like, well, I’m, I’m
the same teacher teaching the

656
00:43:24,760 –> 00:43:27,040
same lesson.
And why is it this person gets

657
00:43:27,040 –> 00:43:29,840
it and that person doesn’t.
And God’s revealed it to that

658
00:43:29,840 –> 00:43:31,520
one.
He’s taking away the veil.

659
00:43:31,520 –> 00:43:33,000
And this one, the veil’s still
there.

660
00:43:33,000 –> 00:43:36,120
They cannot see it.
And you’re thinking, what, what

661
00:43:36,120 –> 00:43:38,160
do I have to do?
And you can’t do anything about

662
00:43:38,160 –> 00:43:40,200
it.
You can’t take away the veil.

663
00:43:41,240 –> 00:43:44,400
God has to take away the veil.
And you ask yourself the

664
00:43:44,400 –> 00:43:47,480
question, well, how do you take
away veils?

665
00:43:48,960 –> 00:43:51,600
Well, we’re told this in Second
Corinthians chapter 3, verses 15

666
00:43:51,600 –> 00:43:53,840
and 16.
But even to this day, when Moses

667
00:43:53,840 –> 00:43:56,360
is read, the veil is upon their
heart.

668
00:43:56,840 –> 00:43:59,760
This is true.
Jews try teaching them about

669
00:43:59,760 –> 00:44:01,560
Christ, and the veil is over
their heart.

670
00:44:04,680 –> 00:44:06,520
So what do you do?
How do you take the veil away?

671
00:44:06,800 –> 00:44:10,880
Well, I have no idea, because
nevertheless, when it the heart,

672
00:44:11,200 –> 00:44:13,920
when the heart shall turn to the
Lord, the veil should be taken

673
00:44:13,920 –> 00:44:22,120
away.
And only you can decide when the

674
00:44:22,120 –> 00:44:29,200
heart is turned to the Lord.
You can only answer for yourself

675
00:44:30,680 –> 00:44:35,680
when you care so deeply about
this man that compels you to

676
00:44:35,680 –> 00:44:41,360
follow him where he goes.
You want to go where he stops.

677
00:44:41,360 –> 00:44:44,440
You want to stop what he cares
for.

678
00:44:44,560 –> 00:44:48,600
You want to know more about why?
Because your heart has turned to

679
00:44:48,600 –> 00:44:52,040
him.
Because God has taken away a

680
00:44:52,040 –> 00:44:57,400
veil.
And the truth is, we all have

681
00:44:57,400 –> 00:45:01,480
veils.
Peter had several veils, and

682
00:45:01,480 –> 00:45:06,120
this one was removed.
But in this chapter we’re going

683
00:45:06,120 –> 00:45:13,600
to see another veil still there.
And young people, you think to

684
00:45:13,600 –> 00:45:22,000
yourself, what veils do I still
have over my heart?

685
00:45:24,440 –> 00:45:29,160
You know that word turned there.
This word is often translated

686
00:45:29,160 –> 00:45:31,280
converted.
In fact, it’s translated

687
00:45:31,280 –> 00:45:35,240
converted here about Peter,
Jesus says about Peter in Luke

688
00:45:35,240 –> 00:45:38,040
22.
I prayed for you Peter, that

689
00:45:38,040 –> 00:45:43,160
your faith failed not but when
you are turned, when you are

690
00:45:43,160 –> 00:45:46,560
converted, strengthen your
brethren.

691
00:45:51,160 –> 00:45:54,640
And that’s when So clearly,
whatever veils were pushed aside

692
00:45:54,840 –> 00:46:00,080
in Matthew 16, guess what?
He still had more veils.

693
00:46:03,600 –> 00:46:06,080
Now the question is, what’s
veiling your heart?

694
00:46:08,200 –> 00:46:17,840
What veils are over your heart?
What is stopping you from

695
00:46:17,840 –> 00:46:21,760
following this man for knowing
who he is?

696
00:46:22,320 –> 00:46:28,840
For taking Jesus out of the
halfway house and accepting who

697
00:46:28,840 –> 00:46:37,240
He truly is, what is in the way.
And I don’t know how to take

698
00:46:37,240 –> 00:46:48,760
that thing away, but whatever it
is, if you identify it, you can

699
00:46:48,760 –> 00:46:55,960
ask God to remove it.
And when it is, there’s going to

700
00:46:55,960 –> 00:46:58,600
be a blessing.
So here’s our ninth point.

701
00:47:00,640 –> 00:47:03,120
God must reveal to us who Jesus
is.

702
00:47:03,240 –> 00:47:05,200
We all have fails that obscure
this truth.

703
00:47:06,560 –> 00:47:11,560
We must pray God to help convert
us that our faith fail not and

704
00:47:11,560 –> 00:47:18,640
that we can be of service.
And what that leads us is to our

705
00:47:18,640 –> 00:47:23,640
next question.
If that’s true, then what’s the

706
00:47:23,640 –> 00:47:25,640
rock on which we must build our
ecclesia?

707
00:47:28,040 –> 00:47:30,200
We’re told in Matthew chapter
16, verse 18.

708
00:47:30,200 –> 00:47:34,560
And I say unto thee, that thou
art Peter.

709
00:47:35,160 –> 00:47:42,400
Upon this rock I will build my
ecclesia, and the gates of Hades

710
00:47:42,560 –> 00:47:46,720
shall not prevail against it.
So my questions, several

711
00:47:46,720 –> 00:47:48,400
questions arise here.
A few.

712
00:47:48,520 –> 00:47:50,840
What’s the rock on which he’s
going to build the ecclesia?

713
00:47:51,920 –> 00:47:54,040
Why will he build his ecclesia
on this rock?

714
00:47:54,280 –> 00:47:58,120
What are the gates of Hades?
Why won’t they prevail against

715
00:47:58,120 –> 00:48:01,280
the ecclesia?
So let’s start by just looking

716
00:48:01,280 –> 00:48:03,080
at some of the words here,
because they matter.

717
00:48:03,320 –> 00:48:08,240
OK, so this word for Peter, this
is this word petros.

718
00:48:09,200 –> 00:48:11,920
And this word rock is the word
Petra.

719
00:48:12,640 –> 00:48:14,320
Now these are different words,
right?

720
00:48:14,560 –> 00:48:19,240
So a petros is a piece of rock
or stone.

721
00:48:20,520 –> 00:48:23,120
It’s like a single stone.
It’s like a movable stone.

722
00:48:23,360 –> 00:48:25,520
I, I could have gone outside and
grabbed 1.

723
00:48:25,520 –> 00:48:28,200
And I, if I, if I put a stone
here on the ground and I could

724
00:48:28,200 –> 00:48:32,200
sort of kick it and move it
right, And then that would be a

725
00:48:32,200 –> 00:48:34,480
petros.
I, I could, I could pick it up

726
00:48:34,800 –> 00:48:38,240
and stack it on something.
I could pick it up and throw it

727
00:48:38,240 –> 00:48:41,240
aside.
It’s a movable stone.

728
00:48:41,240 –> 00:48:44,840
It’s a, it’s a piece of stone
that it can have two purposes of

729
00:48:44,840 –> 00:48:47,360
petros.
It can get in your way and

730
00:48:47,360 –> 00:48:50,680
therefore you Chuck it aside, or
you can you can use it to build

731
00:48:50,680 –> 00:48:54,120
on something and make it useful.
But either way, that’s what the

732
00:48:54,120 –> 00:48:57,520
Petros is.
Now that’s very different than a

733
00:48:57,520 –> 00:49:00,760
Petra.
A Petra has a rock or a Cliff or

734
00:49:00,760 –> 00:49:02,600
a projecting rock.
It’s a mother rock.

735
00:49:02,600 –> 00:49:05,840
It’s a huge mass, a solid
formation.

736
00:49:06,200 –> 00:49:10,320
It’s fixed, it’s enduring, it’s
immovable.

737
00:49:10,600 –> 00:49:15,640
So let me take you to a picture
of the, of this cave, this that,

738
00:49:15,640 –> 00:49:18,000
that, that they call the gates
of Hell, right?

739
00:49:18,200 –> 00:49:20,600
And this there it is in, if you
take a trip to Caesarea

740
00:49:20,600 –> 00:49:23,640
Philippi, you can climb on this
area.

741
00:49:23,640 –> 00:49:25,360
And if you do, you can see all
the ruins.

742
00:49:25,360 –> 00:49:27,920
And that’s The Cave there,
right?

743
00:49:28,360 –> 00:49:35,160
And that is a Petros and that is
a Petra.

744
00:49:36,920 –> 00:49:38,000
Do you see that they’re
different?

745
00:49:47,960 –> 00:49:52,080
So what is the Petra on which
Christ is going to build as

746
00:49:52,080 –> 00:49:59,400
ecclesia?
I put forward to you that Petra

747
00:49:59,400 –> 00:50:09,200
is Christ himself, and not only
him, but the belief that he is

748
00:50:09,200 –> 00:50:11,080
the Christ, the Son of the
living God.

749
00:50:11,880 –> 00:50:15,360
If we build and build on this
and if we stumble, we stumble on

750
00:50:15,360 –> 00:50:17,120
this.
And there’s never been a

751
00:50:17,120 –> 00:50:23,800
question maybe as dichotomous in
the in the history of humanity

752
00:50:23,800 –> 00:50:28,120
in this very question.
Now that Jesus is himself, the

753
00:50:28,120 –> 00:50:33,600
rock is suggested by many New
Testament passages, and I’ll

754
00:50:33,600 –> 00:50:37,040
just show you 3 for example, in
Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20.

755
00:50:37,320 –> 00:50:39,320
And ye are built on the
foundation of the apostles and

756
00:50:39,320 –> 00:50:42,680
prophets, Jesus Christ being the
chief cornerstone.

757
00:50:43,440 –> 00:50:45,360
You might want to write that as
a cross reference here in

758
00:50:45,360 –> 00:50:47,800
Matthew chapter 16.
But that’s not the only verse

759
00:50:47,800 –> 00:50:49,120
you might want to write as a
cross reference.

760
00:50:49,280 –> 00:50:51,160
In fact, he’s probably in your
margin already.

761
00:50:52,280 –> 00:50:54,080
Acts chapter 4, verses 11 and
12.

762
00:50:54,280 –> 00:50:57,040
This is a stone which is set at
not of you builders which has

763
00:50:57,040 –> 00:51:01,240
become the head of the corner.
Neither is there salvation in

764
00:51:01,240 –> 00:51:03,640
any other.
If you build on any other stone

765
00:51:03,640 –> 00:51:05,680
than this one, there’s no
salvation.

766
00:51:05,840 –> 00:51:09,920
The only rock on which you can
build and have salvation is this

767
00:51:09,920 –> 00:51:14,960
rock or first Peter chapter 2
verse 7 unto you, therefore,

768
00:51:14,960 –> 00:51:17,520
which believe he is precious,
but under them which be

769
00:51:17,520 –> 00:51:19,720
disobedient.
The stone which the builders

770
00:51:19,720 –> 00:51:22,600
disallowed the same as the maid,
the head of the corner.

771
00:51:24,200 –> 00:51:27,600
See the the the New Testament is
that is that pains to establish

772
00:51:27,600 –> 00:51:32,280
to us that Jesus is this rock.
And so our 10th point is simply

773
00:51:32,280 –> 00:51:39,920
this, the rock is Christ.
But if we turn to first Peter

774
00:51:39,920 –> 00:51:44,720
chapter 2 verses 4 to 8 that we
just quoted from in small part,

775
00:51:45,520 –> 00:51:49,000
I believe we see Peter
commenting on Matthew 16.

776
00:51:49,000 –> 00:51:54,000
So let’s take a deeper dive on
that first Peter chapter 2

777
00:51:54,000 –> 00:51:57,920
verses 4 to 8.
We read there so long passage,

778
00:51:57,920 –> 00:52:02,320
so bear with me.
To whom coming as into a living

779
00:52:02,320 –> 00:52:08,400
stone disallowed indeed of men,
but chosen of God and precious,

780
00:52:10,040 –> 00:52:14,520
ye are also lively stones.
So what I want to see here is I

781
00:52:14,520 –> 00:52:16,800
want to see that there’s two
different types of stones in

782
00:52:16,800 –> 00:52:20,160
this passage.
Everyone follow that there’s a

783
00:52:20,160 –> 00:52:27,680
living stone disallowed of men,
and ye also are lively stones.

784
00:52:28,200 –> 00:52:30,360
Do we see that there’s two
different stones, two different

785
00:52:30,360 –> 00:52:35,880
types of stones in this passage?
Wherefore also it is contained

786
00:52:35,880 –> 00:52:37,760
in the Scripture.
Behold, I lay in Zion a chief

787
00:52:37,760 –> 00:52:43,160
cornerstone elect precious, and
he that believeth on Him shall

788
00:52:43,160 –> 00:52:47,480
not be confounded unto you
therefore which believeth He is

789
00:52:47,480 –> 00:52:51,120
precious, but to him which is
disobedient.

790
00:52:51,120 –> 00:52:53,480
The stone which the builders
disallowed the same as made the

791
00:52:53,480 –> 00:52:55,960
head of the cornerstone of
stumbling a rock of a fence,

792
00:52:56,400 –> 00:52:59,280
even of them which stumble at
the word being disobedient,

793
00:52:59,280 –> 00:53:03,680
where unto they were appointed.
So what’s this first saying

794
00:53:03,680 –> 00:53:05,360
really?
It’s saying that Jesus is a

795
00:53:05,360 –> 00:53:06,840
living stone.
He’s chosen.

796
00:53:06,960 –> 00:53:10,160
He’s the precious cornerstone
which men rejected and along

797
00:53:10,160 –> 00:53:13,320
with Jesus we are stones, but
we’re a different type of stone.

798
00:53:14,280 –> 00:53:19,000
He’s the foundation stone, He’s
the Petra he and and we are the

799
00:53:19,000 –> 00:53:22,120
living building stones.
We’re built on the foundation to

800
00:53:22,120 –> 00:53:26,480
create a house for God, where
God lives and where God receives

801
00:53:26,480 –> 00:53:30,000
acceptable sacrifices.
And of course, this, this leads

802
00:53:30,000 –> 00:53:32,760
to the question, what is a
cornerstone?

803
00:53:33,000 –> 00:53:35,320
Now, if you knew anything about
me, and I don’t know that you

804
00:53:35,320 –> 00:53:37,640
know much about me, you know
that I know nothing at all

805
00:53:37,640 –> 00:53:40,400
whatsoever about building.
I’m useless.

806
00:53:41,560 –> 00:53:43,760
I mean, if you want, if you have
a question about financial

807
00:53:43,760 –> 00:53:46,640
advice, I might be your man, but
not about building.

808
00:53:46,640 –> 00:53:49,240
I know nothing about building.
So I have to look.

809
00:53:49,240 –> 00:53:51,160
Well, what is a chief
cornerstone?

810
00:53:51,160 –> 00:53:52,480
What is that all about?
Right.

811
00:53:52,760 –> 00:53:56,280
So how do we understand what a
cornerstone is, what it does?

812
00:53:57,360 –> 00:54:01,280
OK, so a cornerstone is the
first stone laid in creating a

813
00:54:01,280 –> 00:54:06,480
foundation for a building and
being the first stone in these

814
00:54:06,480 –> 00:54:10,240
two essential qualities, right?
And the first quality is that

815
00:54:10,240 –> 00:54:14,400
it’s sides must be perfectly
angled, because if it’s sides

816
00:54:14,400 –> 00:54:17,680
are not perfectly angled, the
whole building will take a shape

817
00:54:17,760 –> 00:54:23,200
which is structurally unsound.
So if the edges must be straight

818
00:54:23,200 –> 00:54:26,080
up and down, the top of it must
be totally flat.

819
00:54:26,240 –> 00:54:32,080
It must be a perfect stone in
every regard, right?

820
00:54:32,360 –> 00:54:37,920
So if the cornerstone is not
perfect and level, the building

821
00:54:37,920 –> 00:54:40,560
won’t be square.
So in ancient times, they use

822
00:54:40,560 –> 00:54:44,760
instruments, right, in order to
ensure that the stone was level.

823
00:54:44,920 –> 00:54:47,160
One of those instruments is
something that looks like this.

824
00:54:47,160 –> 00:54:51,040
This is a Plumb line and this is
a perfect 90° angle.

825
00:54:51,800 –> 00:54:56,680
So by by putting that perfect
90° angle on a stone, you

826
00:54:56,680 –> 00:55:00,200
measure that the gravity pulls
that Plumb line straight down.

827
00:55:00,200 –> 00:55:03,720
And what you’re looking for is,
is there any angle such that

828
00:55:03,720 –> 00:55:07,360
this this this cornerstone is
going to lead the building to

829
00:55:07,360 –> 00:55:13,480
not being not being square.
So a lot of care was taken in

830
00:55:13,480 –> 00:55:16,560
ancient times to ensure the
foundation was a perfect shape.

831
00:55:17,520 –> 00:55:20,680
So what’s the next quality of a
cornerstone that you need?

832
00:55:20,840 –> 00:55:22,800
Well, the next quality is it
needs to bear exceptional

833
00:55:22,800 –> 00:55:27,400
weight.
The foundation stone must be

834
00:55:27,400 –> 00:55:31,040
strong and durable.
So when the builders reject a

835
00:55:31,040 –> 00:55:33,720
stone, they’re essentially
saying that isn’t straight

836
00:55:33,720 –> 00:55:38,000
enough or it’s not strong enough
for the building in question.

837
00:55:38,560 –> 00:55:41,800
And of course you would reject a
stone because you don’t, you

838
00:55:41,800 –> 00:55:44,000
don’t put a cornerstone in a
building going, I hope this is

839
00:55:44,000 –> 00:55:48,360
good enough, this one, right?
Unless it’s perfect, you reject

840
00:55:48,360 –> 00:55:53,320
it, it has to be perfect.
So you’d see a lot of stones out

841
00:55:53,320 –> 00:55:55,600
there that were they’re just not
quite good enough for the

842
00:55:55,600 –> 00:55:57,360
building, we’re going to reject
that stone.

843
00:55:58,680 –> 00:56:02,160
So it’d be common for a builder
to start to start making a

844
00:56:02,160 –> 00:56:04,440
building and go, that
cornerstone’s not good enough.

845
00:56:04,960 –> 00:56:07,120
We cannot begin the building
with that stone.

846
00:56:07,120 –> 00:56:08,400
We’re going to reject that
stone.

847
00:56:08,520 –> 00:56:10,520
I need another one.
I need one whose lines are

848
00:56:10,520 –> 00:56:12,600
perfectly straight.
I need one that can bear

849
00:56:12,600 –> 00:56:14,320
exception or wait.
There can’t even cracks or

850
00:56:14,320 –> 00:56:17,080
fissures in the in the stone
because everything is going to

851
00:56:17,080 –> 00:56:27,160
be built on that stone.
So of course, the Jews in the

852
00:56:27,160 –> 00:56:29,520
midst of building the Second
Temple did reject Christ.

853
00:56:30,360 –> 00:56:33,400
Christ wasn’t straight enough.
How so?

854
00:56:33,400 –> 00:56:34,800
Well, he didn’t keep their
traditions.

855
00:56:37,040 –> 00:56:38,760
He wasn’t strong enough.
Why?

856
00:56:38,760 –> 00:56:43,520
He lacked physical beauty.
He was a Nazarite, essentially.

857
00:56:43,640 –> 00:56:47,080
That Jesus wasn’t what they want
him to be, so they rejected him.

858
00:56:48,080 –> 00:56:51,920
So he became a stone over which
they stumbled time and time

859
00:56:51,920 –> 00:56:55,960
again.
So what does it mean if Jesus is

860
00:56:55,960 –> 00:57:01,720
a cornerstone for us?
It means that his lines are

861
00:57:01,720 –> 00:57:05,680
straight without question.
What that means is that when

862
00:57:05,760 –> 00:57:10,040
Jesus says something is right,
it’s right.

863
00:57:12,280 –> 00:57:14,360
I, I, I just want to impress
that upon you.

864
00:57:16,680 –> 00:57:20,880
When Jesus says something is
right, it is right.

865
00:57:23,680 –> 00:57:29,720
It’s not for us to evaluate it
and say, well, my interpretation

866
00:57:31,000 –> 00:57:33,520
or I’m going to change it to
make it more acceptable to me.

867
00:57:34,600 –> 00:57:38,520
I’m going to change the
cornerstone so that the Petros

868
00:57:38,520 –> 00:57:43,360
is more comfortable.
When Jesus says something is the

869
00:57:43,360 –> 00:57:50,520
way it is, it is that way
because his lines are perfectly

870
00:57:50,520 –> 00:57:55,320
straight.
It means that Jesus can bear

871
00:57:55,320 –> 00:58:01,520
exceptional weight.
It means that he’s the Son of

872
00:58:01,520 –> 00:58:07,840
God.
We do not conform him to our

873
00:58:07,840 –> 00:58:09,960
shape.
It’s not like we’re, we’re,

874
00:58:09,960 –> 00:58:12,560
we’re a lumpy rock with lots of
imperfections in it.

875
00:58:12,760 –> 00:58:15,720
And we think, Gee, how can I,
how can I just chisel out the

876
00:58:15,720 –> 00:58:18,520
cornerstone so that the lumpy
rock gets sits more comfortably?

877
00:58:21,760 –> 00:58:29,240
We have to be conformed to him.
If our angles don’t match his,

878
00:58:30,520 –> 00:58:34,040
ours need to change.
We don’t change him.

879
00:58:38,000 –> 00:58:44,080
If we build, we build on him, we
conform ourselves to his shape.

880
00:58:44,080 –> 00:58:47,760
Romans chapter 8, verse 29 says
for those he foreknew, he

881
00:58:47,760 –> 00:58:52,360
predestined to be conformed to
the image of his son.

882
00:58:52,440 –> 00:58:55,400
And what I want you to do is get
this picture and the picture is

883
00:58:55,480 –> 00:58:57,480
that I see a Petros on the
ground.

884
00:58:58,480 –> 00:59:00,680
It’s it’s a it’s, it’s a, it’s a
rock.

885
00:59:01,000 –> 00:59:03,360
It’s it’s an imperfect rock
because it’s, you know, it’s,

886
00:59:03,640 –> 00:59:06,440
it’s, it’s fallen from the
mother rock and it’s just

887
00:59:06,440 –> 00:59:08,440
sitting on the ground.
I think I said, I want to build

888
00:59:08,440 –> 00:59:11,120
with this rock.
I want to make this rock useful.

889
00:59:11,800 –> 00:59:14,040
So what am I going to do?
Well, my cornerstone is sitting

890
00:59:14,040 –> 00:59:16,080
over there.
My cornerstone is perfect.

891
00:59:17,440 –> 00:59:19,000
So what do I got to do with this
rock?

892
00:59:21,360 –> 00:59:29,720
I’ve got to chisel it to make
its lines match the cornerstone.

893
00:59:32,000 –> 00:59:34,560
I don’t take the rock and go.
It’s not really perfect, but

894
00:59:34,560 –> 00:59:36,760
what I can do is I can change
the cornerstone so this rock

895
00:59:36,760 –> 00:59:42,280
fits.
You see, there’s two different

896
00:59:42,280 –> 00:59:44,200
kinds of stones.
There’s a Petra and there’s a

897
00:59:44,200 –> 00:59:46,480
Petros.
They’re not the same.

898
00:59:46,560 –> 00:59:53,640
You don’t treat them the same.
And So what do I mean by that?

899
00:59:53,640 –> 01:00:05,680
I mean, I mean that for us to be
God’s children, we got to

900
01:00:05,680 –> 01:00:08,240
confess that this man is God’s
child.

901
01:00:09,480 –> 01:00:12,000
And in doing that, we changed to
be like him.

902
01:00:14,280 –> 01:00:17,480
And it’s hard, actually, I think
that’s hard.

903
01:00:18,320 –> 01:00:20,040
I think getting chiseled is
hard.

904
01:00:20,560 –> 01:00:29,680
Ever felt a bit chiseled?
And I, I don’t, I don’t know how

905
01:00:29,680 –> 01:00:32,680
to take a heart that’s full of
imperfections and make it more

906
01:00:32,680 –> 01:00:36,440
like the Lord.
But I know a prayer you can say

907
01:00:39,080 –> 01:00:43,600
and and maybe you’re at bed at
night and you know your mind’s

908
01:00:43,600 –> 01:00:46,240
going all sorts of funny places.
Does anyone’s head go funny

909
01:00:46,240 –> 01:00:48,000
places at night on bed?
Right.

910
01:00:48,560 –> 01:00:50,200
Just me and Caleb.
All right, cool.

911
01:00:52,640 –> 01:00:56,360
And because my I have a busy
mind, that probably doesn’t

912
01:00:56,360 –> 01:00:58,400
surprise you very much.
I have a busy mind.

913
01:00:59,880 –> 01:01:02,200
So.
So maybe you want to meditate on

914
01:01:02,200 –> 01:01:06,000
something while you’re in bed.
Here’s 1:00.

915
01:01:07,040 –> 01:01:11,320
What if you said on your bed as
your mind is busy going all sort

916
01:01:11,320 –> 01:01:14,680
of different directions?
I believe that Jesus is the

917
01:01:14,680 –> 01:01:16,280
Messiah, the Son of the living
God.

918
01:01:17,840 –> 01:01:20,880
What if you said that and then
you say it again?

919
01:01:21,560 –> 01:01:24,960
I believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of the living

920
01:01:24,960 –> 01:01:27,960
God.
I believe that Jesus is the

921
01:01:27,960 –> 01:01:29,880
Messiah, the Son of the living
God.

922
01:01:30,440 –> 01:01:33,880
I believe that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of the living

923
01:01:33,880 –> 01:01:37,560
God.
What if you meditated on that?

924
01:01:39,200 –> 01:01:43,480
What if you got that message so
deep down in your heart?

925
01:01:45,240 –> 01:01:49,880
What would that change?
So our next point is simply

926
01:01:49,880 –> 01:01:52,600
this.
As living stones, we’re

927
01:01:52,600 –> 01:01:56,360
conformed to and then built on
the foundation stone.

928
01:01:59,840 –> 01:02:02,880
So let’s talk about what is
built on the rock.

929
01:02:03,880 –> 01:02:07,160
What’s built on the rock, we’re
told, is the ecclesia.

930
01:02:07,600 –> 01:02:11,680
On this Petra, I’ll build my
ecclesia, and the gates of Haiti

931
01:02:11,680 –> 01:02:15,280
shall not prevail against it.
Now, you might want to write,

932
01:02:15,280 –> 01:02:18,200
and I know it says in the King
James Version, it says church.

933
01:02:18,480 –> 01:02:21,160
You might want to cross out
church and write ecclesia

934
01:02:21,360 –> 01:02:24,520
because this is the first use of
the word ecclesia in the entire

935
01:02:24,520 –> 01:02:32,160
New Testament.
And the word ecclesia is

936
01:02:32,160 –> 01:02:33,720
made-up.
What happened there?

937
01:02:34,320 –> 01:02:38,320
Let’s put you back.
All right, I was told this might

938
01:02:38,320 –> 01:02:38,680
happen.
All

939
01:02:58,120 –> 01:03:01,160
right, well, I’m going to let
Dan you deal with that and I’m

940
01:03:01,160 –> 01:03:04,200
going to move on because my
slides aren’t very good anyways.

941
01:03:04,200 –> 01:03:10,040
You guys know that.
The word ecclesia is made-up of

942
01:03:10,040 –> 01:03:16,400
2 words right?
The word ECH means out of and

943
01:03:16,400 –> 01:03:23,480
the word cresia means a call.
So we think of a church as a

944
01:03:23,480 –> 01:03:27,280
building.
Now calling ourselves a church

945
01:03:27,280 –> 01:03:31,120
would be like the 1st century
believers calling themselves a

946
01:03:31,120 –> 01:03:35,000
synagogue right?
Jesus is not creating.

947
01:03:35,000 –> 01:03:39,880
Now this is the important thing.
Jesus is not creating a man made

948
01:03:40,240 –> 01:03:43,320
building.
The whole point is he’s not

949
01:03:43,320 –> 01:03:46,960
building something man made.
This is exactly Peter’s point in

950
01:03:46,960 –> 01:03:51,840
first Peter chapter 2.
You are being built up as living

951
01:03:51,840 –> 01:03:54,480
stones.
We’re not building a building.

952
01:03:55,720 –> 01:03:59,080
We are living stones.
You know what is it that the

953
01:03:59,080 –> 01:04:02,720
world, let’s say the world,
destroyed every Christadelphian

954
01:04:02,720 –> 01:04:07,920
hall in the world.
They wouldn’t destroy us, would

955
01:04:07,920 –> 01:04:10,360
they?
We are not a building.

956
01:04:10,840 –> 01:04:13,600
It does not matter that we do
not have property.

957
01:04:14,880 –> 01:04:19,080
We will meet in alleys, we will
meet in homes, we will meet in

958
01:04:19,080 –> 01:04:21,520
hired halls.
It does not matter.

959
01:04:21,600 –> 01:04:26,760
We are not tied to property.
The ecclesia is not property.

960
01:04:27,080 –> 01:04:29,400
The Ecclesia is not something
man made.

961
01:04:31,640 –> 01:04:34,680
We are a spiritual house made
from living stones.

962
01:04:41,080 –> 01:04:45,040
If you build a stone onto a
cornerstone, it’s useful.

963
01:04:45,840 –> 01:04:49,680
Now, it’s not that a Petros is
intrinsically useful.

964
01:04:50,400 –> 01:04:53,560
It’s useful because it’s part of
something larger than itself.

965
01:04:54,760 –> 01:04:58,000
If you take a Petra, if you
take, if you take a a brick or a

966
01:04:58,000 –> 01:05:01,400
stone built on a house and you
throw it to the ground, it’s

967
01:05:01,520 –> 01:05:05,200
it’s now useless.
The stone is not useful because

968
01:05:05,200 –> 01:05:08,560
it’s useful in and of itself.
It’s useful because you put it

969
01:05:08,560 –> 01:05:11,080
on a foundation and it becomes a
building.

970
01:05:11,760 –> 01:05:17,240
It’s not intrinsically useful.
All right, so there and then.

971
01:05:43,520 –> 01:05:52,200
OK, sorry for the interruption.
We’re not in Ecclesia because we

972
01:05:55,440 –> 01:06:00,560
because we have buildings.
We’re ecclesia because we’re

973
01:06:00,560 –> 01:06:07,360
built on Christ.
It’s because brothers, sisters,

974
01:06:08,680 –> 01:06:11,400
it’s because we know a unique
truth about the Lord Jesus

975
01:06:11,400 –> 01:06:16,440
Christ.
We’re in an ecclesia because we

976
01:06:16,440 –> 01:06:21,440
know and believe that this man
is the Son of the living God.

977
01:06:26,640 –> 01:06:31,000
And because of that, we are
built into a building that has

978
01:06:31,000 –> 01:06:35,360
not that’s not made of material
things.

979
01:06:35,360 –> 01:06:38,240
It’s a spiritual building, you
see.

980
01:06:38,240 –> 01:06:42,480
You know, Augustus Caesar, he
built a vast empire and it’s

981
01:06:42,480 –> 01:06:50,200
destroyed.
Our Aquisia rejects man made

982
01:06:50,200 –> 01:06:54,040
monuments.
We reject temples.

983
01:06:54,600 –> 01:07:00,320
We have no temples.
Ecclesia rejects man made

984
01:07:00,320 –> 01:07:05,640
religion.
It rejects Pagan understandings

985
01:07:05,760 –> 01:07:08,640
of things like God and pain that
have been rejected long ago.

986
01:07:08,760 –> 01:07:11,600
It rejects man made ideas about
God.

987
01:07:14,240 –> 01:07:19,160
Those things are dead, those
things can be burned, those

988
01:07:19,160 –> 01:07:22,680
things can be consumed, and
those things can be destroyed.

989
01:07:24,480 –> 01:07:29,640
The true ecclesia is called out
to believe the truth about Jesus

990
01:07:29,640 –> 01:07:32,800
and His Kingdom and reject man
made objects that will be

991
01:07:32,800 –> 01:07:39,320
destroyed and burned.
So in our last few moments I

992
01:07:39,320 –> 01:07:42,440
want to consider the much
debated words of Matthew 16

993
01:07:42,440 –> 01:07:44,240
verse 18 and what they actually
mean.

994
01:07:44,760 –> 01:07:49,600
So Matthew chapter 16, verse 19
says this.

995
01:07:50,360 –> 01:07:53,120
And I will give unto thee, to
thee the keys of the Kingdom of

996
01:07:53,120 –> 01:07:55,240
heaven, And whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth shall be

997
01:07:55,240 –> 01:07:58,200
bound in heaven, And whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall

998
01:07:58,200 –> 01:08:00,920
be loosed in heaven.
Now it’s tempting to comment on

999
01:08:00,920 –> 01:08:04,240
what these words don’t mean, but
we’ll save that for our next

1000
01:08:04,240 –> 01:08:08,280
class.
I want to stop and ask the

1001
01:08:08,280 –> 01:08:10,600
question, What would the
disciples who have heard, who

1002
01:08:10,600 –> 01:08:13,080
heard this, what would they have
understood Jesus to mean here?

1003
01:08:13,480 –> 01:08:14,880
So we got to take it piece by
piece.

1004
01:08:14,880 –> 01:08:17,120
First, the keys, what are keys
used for?

1005
01:08:17,279 –> 01:08:20,560
Well, keys unlock things.
They grant access.

1006
01:08:20,800 –> 01:08:23,920
So when Jesus giving Peter the
keys to the Kingdom, he’s saying

1007
01:08:23,920 –> 01:08:27,000
that Peter is being given the
responsibility to open the door

1008
01:08:27,000 –> 01:08:30,399
of the Kingdom based on the
faithful statement that he just

1009
01:08:30,399 –> 01:08:33,399
uttered.
Now, how do we know that this is

1010
01:08:33,399 –> 01:08:36,319
what Jesus understands when he
uses the word key?

1011
01:08:36,560 –> 01:08:39,240
How do we know that Jesus is
using the word key about

1012
01:08:39,240 –> 01:08:42,640
understanding things, about
understanding the kind of things

1013
01:08:42,640 –> 01:08:46,680
that Peter had just said about
who Jesus really was?

1014
01:08:46,680 –> 01:08:49,640
Because Jesus is going to use
the word key himself in Luke

1015
01:08:49,640 –> 01:08:52,800
Chapter 11 verse 52, which is a
good cross reference to have in

1016
01:08:52,800 –> 01:08:54,240
your margin if you haven’t
already.

1017
01:08:54,479 –> 01:08:57,640
Next to this verse where he says
why won’t you lawyers for ye

1018
01:08:57,640 –> 01:08:59,600
have taken away the key of
knowledge.

1019
01:08:59,840 –> 01:09:03,920
So the key is knowledge.
What is knowledge do it unlocks

1020
01:09:03,920 –> 01:09:08,560
things and and the problem with
the lawyers is that ye entered

1021
01:09:08,560 –> 01:09:12,279
not in yourselves and you’re
keeping keeping them that were

1022
01:09:12,279 –> 01:09:18,600
entering hindered so so having
knowledge and refusing to pass

1023
01:09:18,600 –> 01:09:21,960
it on or passing on the wrong
knowledge is refusing to open a

1024
01:09:21,960 –> 01:09:23,800
door so that people can come
through.

1025
01:09:23,800 –> 01:09:26,680
It’s hindering them.
So this is how Jesus understood,

1026
01:09:26,680 –> 01:09:30,760
understands what a key is.
And in Acts chapter 2, what

1027
01:09:30,760 –> 01:09:34,399
happens is that Peter stands up
the day of Pentecost and he

1028
01:09:34,399 –> 01:09:37,120
preaches the gospel for the
first time and he gives them

1029
01:09:37,120 –> 01:09:40,240
knowledge about Jesus, about his
death and resurrection, and

1030
01:09:40,240 –> 01:09:41,840
about the hope of the Kingdom of
God.

1031
01:09:42,840 –> 01:09:46,359
It says there in in Acts chapter
2, verse 36.

1032
01:09:46,520 –> 01:09:49,800
Therefore let all the House of
Israel know assuredly that God

1033
01:09:49,800 –> 01:09:54,320
hath made that same Jesus whom
you crucified, both the Lord and

1034
01:09:54,320 –> 01:09:56,640
Christ.
And thousands of people respond

1035
01:09:56,640 –> 01:10:00,480
and repent and are baptized and
Jesus, excuse me, Peter has just

1036
01:10:00,480 –> 01:10:05,520
unlocked the Kingdom for them.
And then in Acts 10, Peter uses

1037
01:10:05,520 –> 01:10:07,640
the keys again, this time for
the Gentiles.

1038
01:10:07,640 –> 01:10:10,960
He goes to Cornelius and he
preaches the gospel and suddenly

1039
01:10:10,960 –> 01:10:13,400
the doors open for people that
aren’t Jews to come into the

1040
01:10:13,400 –> 01:10:16,000
Kingdom.
So when Jesus says Peter will

1041
01:10:16,000 –> 01:10:19,360
have the keys, disciples would
understand that if Peter has

1042
01:10:19,360 –> 01:10:22,920
been given the responsibility to
open the way for others to have

1043
01:10:22,960 –> 01:10:25,840
access to the Kingdom through
the gospel message, through the

1044
01:10:25,840 –> 01:10:29,640
knowledge of the gospel message
based on that same faithful

1045
01:10:29,640 –> 01:10:32,880
confession.
This is how John Thomas puts it

1046
01:10:32,880 –> 01:10:35,320
in Alpis Israel.
He says if a reader peruse the

1047
01:10:35,320 –> 01:10:39,200
second chapter of Acts, he
learned there how Peter used one

1048
01:10:39,200 –> 01:10:42,320
of the keys of the Kingdom given
to him by its king.

1049
01:10:43,160 –> 01:10:46,120
On that occasion, I say he used
one of the keys.

1050
01:10:46,360 –> 01:10:52,480
He revealed the mystery of the
gospel of God’s Kingdom to the

1051
01:10:52,480 –> 01:10:55,080
Jews.
So what’s the point there?

1052
01:10:55,680 –> 01:11:00,360
The point there is that the keys
represent knowledge of the

1053
01:11:00,360 –> 01:11:05,120
gospel and the authority to
proclaim it, and that’s what

1054
01:11:05,160 –> 01:11:07,440
Jesus was granting.
But what about binding and

1055
01:11:07,440 –> 01:11:10,760
loosing?
Well, binding and loosing was

1056
01:11:10,760 –> 01:11:14,360
actually a common phrase in
Jewish culture and had to do

1057
01:11:14,360 –> 01:11:17,600
with making decisions about what
was allowed or not allowed.

1058
01:11:18,160 –> 01:11:22,480
So things that are bound are
forbidden and things that are

1059
01:11:22,480 –> 01:11:27,240
loose are permitted.
So what happened is the Jewish

1060
01:11:27,240 –> 01:11:30,760
rabbis would go look at the
scriptures and they’d, they’d

1061
01:11:30,760 –> 01:11:34,480
look at the law of Moses.
And if I’m a rabbi and, and I

1062
01:11:34,480 –> 01:11:36,960
have disciples around me and
maybe they’re even sitting at my

1063
01:11:36,960 –> 01:11:41,640
feet and I’m discussing with
them a passage from the from the

1064
01:11:41,640 –> 01:11:43,680
law.
And I would look at that passage

1065
01:11:43,800 –> 01:11:49,280
and I would either bind them to
obey certain interpretations of

1066
01:11:49,280 –> 01:11:51,360
that.
So let me take an example.

1067
01:11:52,160 –> 01:11:55,280
Let’s say that that I look at
the at the passage that says you

1068
01:11:55,280 –> 01:11:57,800
shall not boil a kid in its
mother’s milk.

1069
01:11:59,720 –> 01:12:03,720
Now I might then interpret that
and say, not only are you not to

1070
01:12:03,720 –> 01:12:08,640
show cruelty to animals, but I
bind you to never eat milk and

1071
01:12:08,640 –> 01:12:11,800
meat together because you can
never tell when what’s the milk

1072
01:12:11,800 –> 01:12:16,040
from the mother or from the kid.
Now what I’ve done is that’s

1073
01:12:16,040 –> 01:12:18,240
very that’s my own
interpretation, of course, but

1074
01:12:18,240 –> 01:12:22,080
I’m binding my disciples that
they have to follow that.

1075
01:12:22,080 –> 01:12:25,880
And another rabbi might come and
say, well, that’s not necessary

1076
01:12:25,880 –> 01:12:26,920
at all.
It means this.

1077
01:12:27,040 –> 01:12:30,120
And so I’m losing my disciples
from following the

1078
01:12:30,120 –> 01:12:34,400
interpretations of that one.
So this is now you will know

1079
01:12:34,400 –> 01:12:39,960
this because in Matthew chapter
23, and I think verse 4, Jesus

1080
01:12:39,960 –> 01:12:44,920
says to about the Pharisees, you
bind burdens grievous to be

1081
01:12:44,920 –> 01:12:47,000
born.
Remember that passage?

1082
01:12:47,120 –> 01:12:49,160
You bind burdens grievous to be
born.

1083
01:12:49,280 –> 01:12:52,680
And that’s the idea you look at
the law of Moses, you interpret

1084
01:12:52,680 –> 01:12:55,320
it more stringently than God
even intended.

1085
01:12:56,080 –> 01:12:59,320
And on that basis, you you take
your interpretations and you

1086
01:12:59,320 –> 01:13:03,720
bind them on your disciples.
So they have to follow your

1087
01:13:03,720 –> 01:13:06,760
interpretation.
And of course that makes you

1088
01:13:06,760 –> 01:13:10,240
very important.
And so you bind these burdens

1089
01:13:10,400 –> 01:13:12,120
grievous to be borne.
So what?

1090
01:13:12,120 –> 01:13:15,040
What exactly does that mean in
terms of Jesus saying what you

1091
01:13:15,040 –> 01:13:17,800
bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, What you loosen earth

1092
01:13:18,000 –> 01:13:22,280
shall be loosed in heaven?
Well, first of all, Ettersheim

1093
01:13:22,600 –> 01:13:26,640
in his Life and Times of Jesus
the Messiah, book 2 chapter 5,

1094
01:13:26,640 –> 01:13:29,600
says the same.
To bind and loose was simply to

1095
01:13:29,600 –> 01:13:33,680
forbid or to permit.
And in the rabbinic age, usage

1096
01:13:33,680 –> 01:13:38,320
of the words, the binding or the
loosening all had had always

1097
01:13:38,320 –> 01:13:41,120
ultimate reference to the
observance or non observance of

1098
01:13:41,120 –> 01:13:45,280
certain laws, traditions or
customs as interpreted by the

1099
01:13:45,280 –> 01:13:50,520
authority of the rabbi’s.
So what’s Jesus saying?

1100
01:13:50,520 –> 01:13:53,960
He’s giving to Peter and by
extension in Matthew 18, all the

1101
01:13:53,960 –> 01:13:56,040
apostles.
He’s giving them the authority

1102
01:13:56,040 –> 01:14:00,840
to make decisions to forbid and
permit in how they interpret

1103
01:14:00,840 –> 01:14:05,200
Scripture, but he’s not giving
it to them this power in a

1104
01:14:05,200 –> 01:14:07,640
vacuum.
He’s not saying they can just

1105
01:14:07,640 –> 01:14:10,400
make things up as they go.
He’s saying that authority

1106
01:14:10,560 –> 01:14:14,520
derives and accords with heaven.
It’s about applying the

1107
01:14:14,520 –> 01:14:16,640
principles of the gospel in real
life situations.

1108
01:14:16,640 –> 01:14:17,800
Well, let me give you an
example.

1109
01:14:17,960 –> 01:14:19,760
Let’s look at the example of
Acts 15.

1110
01:14:20,560 –> 01:14:22,760
What happened in Acts 15?
We have the the issue of

1111
01:14:22,760 –> 01:14:26,040
circumcision and does every
believer in Christ have to be

1112
01:14:26,040 –> 01:14:29,360
circumcised?
And what the, what the, what

1113
01:14:29,360 –> 01:14:33,720
they, the apostles figured out
in Acts chapter 15 was that,

1114
01:14:35,360 –> 01:14:38,320
that they loosed the requirement
of circumcision for the

1115
01:14:38,320 –> 01:14:42,600
Gentiles, but they bound the,
the Gentiles to not commit

1116
01:14:42,600 –> 01:14:45,520
fornication or, or eat things
strangled or things with blood,

1117
01:14:46,040 –> 01:14:47,840
right?
So, or eat meat offered to

1118
01:14:47,840 –> 01:14:51,040
idols.
So they bound them with certain

1119
01:14:51,040 –> 01:14:52,760
things and they loosed other
things.

1120
01:14:52,880 –> 01:14:55,440
Now they didn’t do that in
contradiction to heaven.

1121
01:14:55,600 –> 01:14:57,320
They did that in accord with
heaven.

1122
01:14:58,040 –> 01:15:00,920
That was already heaven’s
decision and the disciples were

1123
01:15:00,920 –> 01:15:08,120
applying now on earth.
So .14 is simply this binding

1124
01:15:08,120 –> 01:15:10,400
and loosening refers the
apostles authority to make

1125
01:15:10,400 –> 01:15:13,120
binding decisions about the
application of the gospel,

1126
01:15:13,560 –> 01:15:17,200
guided by the Holy Spirit and
aligned with God’s will.

1127
01:15:18,040 –> 01:15:20,440
I have a lot more to say about
that, but we’ll leave that to

1128
01:15:20,440 –> 01:15:23,520
the next class.
So if you’re a disciple

1129
01:15:23,520 –> 01:15:28,000
listening to Jesus say this,
what you’re hearing is that

1130
01:15:28,000 –> 01:15:31,720
Peter’s being given authority to
preach the gospel and make

1131
01:15:31,720 –> 01:15:35,880
decisions about how to interpret
Scripture that accords with

1132
01:15:35,880 –> 01:15:38,960
heaven.
And that’s a big responsibility.

1133
01:15:39,800 –> 01:15:43,000
It’s not about personal power or
control.

1134
01:15:43,520 –> 01:15:45,840
It’s about being a faithful
steward to the message that

1135
01:15:45,840 –> 01:15:48,000
Jesus has entrusted to them.
It’s not just Peter.

1136
01:15:48,200 –> 01:15:51,760
The authority in Matthew 18
verse 18 is given to all the

1137
01:15:51,760 –> 01:15:55,840
apostles.
Well, how does that help us

1138
01:15:55,840 –> 01:15:59,280
today?
Well, firstly, the keys to the

1139
01:15:59,280 –> 01:16:02,840
Kingdom are still here because
the keys of the Kingdom are the

1140
01:16:02,840 –> 01:16:05,000
gospel message.
And every time we open our

1141
01:16:05,000 –> 01:16:08,360
Bibles and every time we share
the truth about God’s Kingdom

1142
01:16:08,360 –> 01:16:11,280
and the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we’re using the keys

1143
01:16:12,280 –> 01:16:15,120
because we’re showing someone
who’s outside of salvation the

1144
01:16:15,120 –> 01:16:18,320
way to salvation.
So the keys are still here.

1145
01:16:19,240 –> 01:16:22,200
And secondly, the idea of
binding and loosening reminds us

1146
01:16:22,360 –> 01:16:25,160
that the apostles did have the
authority to interpret

1147
01:16:25,160 –> 01:16:27,040
Scripture.
So if we look in the New

1148
01:16:27,040 –> 01:16:30,440
Testament young people and we
see the apostles interpret

1149
01:16:30,440 –> 01:16:33,600
Scripture, somehow they’re doing
that with heaven’s authority.

1150
01:16:35,320 –> 01:16:40,120
And so their interpretations are
still binding on us today.

1151
01:16:42,400 –> 01:16:46,720
We are still bound by how the
apostles interpreted the

1152
01:16:46,720 –> 01:16:48,480
Scriptures.
So we want to understand, how do

1153
01:16:48,520 –> 01:16:50,680
I understand the Scriptures?
Look at the New Testament, well,

1154
01:16:50,680 –> 01:16:55,400
how do they understand them?
And if they bind us to certain

1155
01:16:56,000 –> 01:16:59,560
responsibilities, whether they
be moral laws or they be

1156
01:16:59,560 –> 01:17:02,760
cultural laws, we are still
bound by those things today.

1157
01:17:07,800 –> 01:17:10,040
So .15 is this.
This is our last point.

1158
01:17:11,200 –> 01:17:15,280
We have the key to unlock the
truth of Jesus identity and the

1159
01:17:15,280 –> 01:17:18,040
responsibility to live by what
the apostles have taught,

1160
01:17:18,760 –> 01:17:25,520
helping others to do the same.
But once the keys were used to

1161
01:17:25,520 –> 01:17:29,080
open the doors, the doors
remained open.

1162
01:17:31,840 –> 01:17:34,720
See, it wasn’t for Peter to open
the door and then shut the door

1163
01:17:34,720 –> 01:17:36,880
or open the door.
Then that’s what the Catholics

1164
01:17:36,880 –> 01:17:39,480
think He can open or shut it,
open or shut it open or shut it.

1165
01:17:40,160 –> 01:17:42,200
See what Peter did is he opened
and they stayed open.

1166
01:17:42,960 –> 01:17:46,240
This is what John Thomas says in
Help Us Israel, Part 1, chapter

1167
01:17:46,240 –> 01:17:48,680
3.
When he had accomplished this

1168
01:17:48,680 –> 01:17:51,600
work with the Gentiles through
Cornelius, Peter no longer

1169
01:17:51,600 –> 01:17:55,000
retained the power of the keys.
They were transferred to the

1170
01:17:55,000 –> 01:17:57,080
multitude of believing Jews and
Gentiles.

1171
01:17:57,320 –> 01:18:01,680
The keys became the common
property of all believers.

1172
01:18:03,280 –> 01:18:05,880
So Jesus was giving the apostles
the authority to lay the

1173
01:18:05,880 –> 01:18:11,600
foundation of the ecclesia.
But the work they started now

1174
01:18:11,600 –> 01:18:16,520
continues.
What I’m saying to you is this,

1175
01:18:18,400 –> 01:18:19,920
from the sisters, we have the
keys.

1176
01:18:22,040 –> 01:18:26,880
We’ve been entrusted with the
message, the message that Jesus

1177
01:18:26,880 –> 01:18:28,360
Christ is the Son of the living
God.

1178
01:18:29,520 –> 01:18:32,240
It’s only on that basis that God
builds his ecclesia.

1179
01:18:33,200 –> 01:18:37,920
And it’s our job, with heaven’s
help, to continue building that

1180
01:18:37,920 –> 01:18:43,560
ecclesia where God can dwell,
using the keys to unlock the way

1181
01:18:43,560 –> 01:18:48,480
of salvation to others.
And it’s a reminder to stay

1182
01:18:48,480 –> 01:18:54,920
faithful to what the apostles
have done in interpreting the

1183
01:18:54,920 –> 01:19:01,520
law and to share that with
others around us.

1184
01:19:02,200 –> 01:19:06,040
And that’s the expectation.
Take the keys, open the door,

1185
01:19:06,800 –> 01:19:08,640
and help others to find the way
to the Kingdom.

1186
01:19:09,800 –> 01:19:11,440
And I’m a little bit over, so
I’ll stop there.

1187
01:19:11,440 –> 01:19:28,160
Thank you.
Thank you for listening to the

1188
01:19:28,160 –> 01:19:29,760
Good Christadelphian Talks
podcast.

1189
01:19:30,600 –> 01:19:33,040
We hope this talk helped you in
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1190
01:19:33,040 –> 01:19:35,400
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1191
01:19:35,400 –> 01:19:37,160
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1192
01:19:37,560 –> 01:19:40,800
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1193
01:19:41,920 –> 01:19:44,400
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01:19:47,240 –> 01:19:49,920
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1196
01:19:49,920 –> 01:19:53,800
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1197
01:19:53,800 –> 01:19:57,520
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01:19:57,520 –> 01:20:00,560
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1206
01:20:20,200 –> 01:20:22,120
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