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

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Well, for the last time,
brothers and sisters, good

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morning.
It’s really been a pleasure to

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spend time with you.
Thank you for inviting me back

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so quickly.
Alyssa and I feel like we had

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many friends here and it is a
real pleasure, don’t we Alyssa?

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It’s a real pleasure to renew
those friendships again and to

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spend time with you around the
word to to have spiritual

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fellowship, to have hugs.
I’m a hugger.

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So listen as I’m saying goodbye.
If I come in for a hug, you

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know, don’t be, don’t be ashamed
by that or worried about it.

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So just thank you.
Thank you for having us here and

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for inviting us to share this
time with you all and to open up

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the Word of God and to see how
how interesting it is, how

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relevant and useful it is, how
helpful and strengthening the

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Word of God is even in this one
chapter.

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We’ve gotten so much out,
haven’t we?

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So now we come to the end of the
chapter and I just want to start

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by recalling that in Matthew 16,
we see Jesus and Jesus was

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constantly faced with hostility
everywhere he turned.

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I try to just point out, except
in few occasions and, and some

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of those occasions being in
Gentile areas, everywhere he

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turned, he seems like he’s
facing hostility and opposition.

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So when when Peter gives Jesus
that confession of faith, even

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though Jesus had been
withholding from both publicly

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and privately, he had not been
teaching about who he was and

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and flesh and blood had not
revealed it, God had revealed

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it.
And when and when Peter had had

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confessed that and brought that
before Christ, that that meant

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everything to Christ.
And so he receives this

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blessing.
This blessing is to unlock this

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truth, the truth that Peter
understood.

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You are the Messiah, the Son of
the living God.

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That that would be unlocked.
And Peter would be re given the

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responsibility to unlock that
truth to the Jews and to the

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Gentiles.
And that Peter would lead the

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effort to establish an ecclesia,
a group of called out ones.

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And those that group of called
out ones would fundamentally

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share the same belief that Peter
had just provided.

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But this required a lot of
Peter.

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This required him to reinterpret
the Scriptures.

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The Jews for for hundreds of
years had been interpreting the

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prophets wrongly.
They thought the Messiah was

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going to be someone to save them
from political opposition.

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They thought the Messiah was
going to save them, not save

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them.
They wanted salvation before

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they were converted.
They didn’t want to repent and

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and so Peter would be given the
responsibility.

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You have to understand how
difficult this is.

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He had to reinterpret hundreds
and hundreds of years of wrong

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rabbinic teaching.
Think about the responsibility

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of that and, and, and that that
reinterpretation, accurate

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reinterpretation of what the
messianic texts were all about.

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That would not be according to
Peter’s private interpretation.

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Peter would not be offering up
his private interpretation of

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these passages.
He would be doing so with us,

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with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit.

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And so you can understand that
Peter had to interpret

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Scripture.
He had to loosen certain

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interpretations.
He had to bind other

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interpretations because everyone
was confused and that and that

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he was going to give that given
that authority to do that on

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earth in alignment with heaven,
because people had to understand

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how to correctly understand the
prophecies.

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And this is a big job.
It’s difficult to understand

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completely the mood of the
people regarding Messianic

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prophecy at this time in the 1st
century in Israel.

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But fortunately for me, I love
history and I’m.

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So I’m going to look at Josephus
because I can’t stop myself,

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right?
And, and Josephus gives a sense

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of the mood of the people at
this time regarding their

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understanding about the Messiah.
So in the Jewish Wars, Book 6,

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chapter 5, Section 4, Josephus
is going to say what more than

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all else incited them to war was
an ambiguous Oracle, that one

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from their country would become
the ruler of the world.

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Josephus is trying to explain to
the Romans, what were these Jews

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thinking?
He says, well, they they’re

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understanding prophecy that
someone from their own race

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would be the ruler of the world.
Now they weren’t wrong about

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that, but they were wrong about
that.

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That’s not the only thing he
also writes in in Antiquities of

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the Jews, Book 20, chapter 8,
section 6.

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The Jews were greatly excited,
expecting that at any moment God

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would give them freedom and the
power to rule over all men.

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And of course, what would they?
What prophecies would they be

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basing this on?
Well, for prophecies like Daniel

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Chapter 7, verses 13 and 14, I
saw in the night visions.

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Behold, with the clouds of
heaven there came one like the

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Son of Man and was presented
before him, and to Him was given

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dominion and glory in a Kingdom
that all peoples, nations and

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languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting

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dominion which shall not pass
away His Kingdom, one that shall

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not be destroyed.
So you look at passages like

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this and they’d understand what
that meant and they would be,

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they would be interpreting these
passages and not only this one

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to others like Jeremiah 23 verse
five and six.

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Behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord.

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I will raise up for David our
righteous branch.

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He shall reign his king and deal
wisely and execute justice and

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righteousness in the land in his
days.

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Judah shall be saved.
Israel will dwell securely.

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This is the name by which he
shall be called.

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The Lord is our righteousness.
Now Jesus was not ignorant of

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the interpretations around these
passages.

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He, he knew that the common
Jewish interpretation needed to

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be clarified and, and Peter, as
demonstrated in in Acts 2, he

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was going to play a central role
in giving people an accurate

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understanding of the role of the
Messiah.

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And that was a big task.
And yet it was not a task that

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Peter would have to face alone,
that the Holy Spirit would help

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him, that Peter’s
reinterpretation of messianic

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text and its purpose and the
place of the law was going to be

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based on Heaven’s guidance.
It would not be based on

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personal interpretation.
And this explains why it was

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necessary for Peter to bind and
loosen, to align earth with

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heaven and, and actually this,
this understanding of binding

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and loosening, this is not
simply the way that I’m choosing

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to explain to you.
I would put forward to you.

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This is the way Peter explains
it himself.

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Now where would Peter give an
explanation that he was guided

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by heaven in interpreting
prophecy and not according to

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his own private interpretation?
Where would he say that?

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Well, in Second Peter chapter 1,
Peter was being accused by some

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within the ecclesia of
interpreting Scripture according

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to his own ideas.
It’s just the way that you want

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to understand it, Peter.
And so Peter needs to explain

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now how will my interpreting
Scripture?

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What’s the basis on which I’m
interpreting Scripture?

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And the question is, does heaven
lead or does Peter lead?

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Who leads, Who leads in the
binding and loosening as it

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were, interpreting Scripture?
Is it Heaven’s guidance or is

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that my ideas that then heaven
ratifies?

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And so Peter will say this in
Second Peter chapter 2, verses

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16 to 21.
I’m going to read out the NET.

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For we did not follow cleverly
concocted fails when we fables,

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when we made known to you the
power and the return of our Lord

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Jesus Christ.
No, we were eyewitnesses of his

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grandeur, For He received honor
and glory from the Father when

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that voice was conveyed to him
by the majestic glory.

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This is my dear Son, in whom I
am delighted.

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When this voice was conveyed
from heaven, we ourselves heard

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it, for we were with Him on the
holy mountain.

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That’s Matthew 17.
Moreover, we possess the

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prophetic word as an altogether
reliable thing.

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You do well if you pay attention
to this, as you would to a light

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shining in a murky place, until
the day dawns and the morning

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star rises in your hearts.
Above all, you do well to

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recognize this.
No prophecy of Scripture ever

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comes about by the prophet’s own
imagination, for no prophecy was

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ever born of human impulse.
Rather, men carried along by the

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Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Now do you see what Peter’s

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saying here?
What he’s saying is I didn’t

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make this up when I spoke to
you, When I reinterpreted

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prophecy, I did so with Heaven’s
guidance.

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Why?
I was an eyewitness to His

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glory.
I heard the voice of God

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directly.
I was carried by the Holy

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Spirit.
So the prophetic words he’s

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saying, the prophetic words we
speak are reliable because

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Scripture’s reliable.
They are not born of human

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imagination.
They are not born of human

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impulse.
I’m suggesting you this passage

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carries the essence of what it
means to bind and loosen.

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His clear emphasis is that he’s
not inventing rules.

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He’s not teaching from his own
imagination.

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He’s speaking with heaven’s
endorsement, the things he’s

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heard from God through the power
of the Holy Spirit.

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His words carry authority
precisely because they are in

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alignment with God’s will.
So Peter and the other apostles

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has significant task in front of
them.

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And Jesus now needs to reveal
the Messiah’s true mission.

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He needs to reveal the basis on
which to interpret all those

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passages.
And yet it was a mission, a

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mission which the apostles had
not expected and didn’t want to

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hear.
So the record says in Matthew

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chapter 16 and verse 21.
From that time forth, Jesus

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began to show the disciples how
that he must go to Jerusalem and

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suffer many things of the elders
and chief priests and scribes

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and be killed and raised again
the third day.

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Now Peter, he had a hard time
listening to these words because

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they contradicted his
understanding of messianic

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prophecy, which he was going to
be in charge of reinterpreting.

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See a little bit of an irony
here?

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Jesus gives him the
responsibility of interpreting

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messianic Scripture, binding,
listening.

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And so Jesus begins to explain
the basis on which they should

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be properly understood.
And what does Peter do?

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He resists it.
Now the Scripture has a lot to

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say about Peter’s ambitions and
I think it’s useful for us to

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just rehearse a little bit of
those things.

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Jesus says in this chapter that
that that Peter was savoring the

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things of men.
Jesus says that about Peter,

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you’re saving the things of men.
Well, what were those things

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that Peter savored?
We have several scriptures

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returned to to try to understand
that.

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Here’s 4 scriptures that help us
understand what Jesus means when

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he says to Peter, you savor the
things of men.

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For example, in Matthew 18 verse
one at that same time came to

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the disciples, and the Jesus
saying, Who is the greatest in

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the Kingdom of heaven?
How about this Matthew chapter

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19 verse 27?
Then answered Peter, and said

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unto him, Behold, we have
forsaken all, and follow thee,

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what shall we have?
Therefore Mark Chapter 9 verses

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33 to 34.
And he came to Capernaum, and

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being in the house, he asked
them, What was it that ye

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disputed among yourselves by the
way?

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But they held their peace, for
by the way, they dispute among

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themselves who should be the
greatest.

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And Luke chapter 22, verse 24.
And there was also strife among

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them.
Which of them should be

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accounted the greatest?
There’s not just one passage

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talking about this, is there?
You think this was a theme?

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They think this was a
conversation they had more than

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once brothers and sisters.
And why did they have this

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conversation so often?
They were really bound up in it,

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weren’t they?
Would you call this savoring the

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things of men?
What would you call this?

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You got a better name for it?
But it’s not only this in

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general who is the greatest, but
Peter often seeks to separate

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himself from the others.
Like I’m this, but they’re that.

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This is what I’m going to do.
I’m special.

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00:15:08,080 –> 00:15:09,760
Forget all of them.
Jesus.

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00:15:10,560 –> 00:15:12,000
They, they might do these
things.

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00:15:12,000 –> 00:15:13,520
But look, this is what I’m going
to do.

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00:15:14,880 –> 00:15:17,920
He separates himself from his
disciples.

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00:15:18,360 –> 00:15:22,360
He thinks he’s better than them.
Which is, by the way, why Jesus

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00:15:22,360 –> 00:15:26,000
says when you are converted.
What’s the thing that Jesus says

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00:15:26,000 –> 00:15:27,400
that Peter needs to do when he’s
converted?

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00:15:29,200 –> 00:15:35,360
Why does he say that?
Why does he say you need to

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00:15:35,360 –> 00:15:38,600
strengthen your brethren?
Because you know what Peter’s

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00:15:38,600 –> 00:15:44,080
idea was, He, he, he leans over
to John, He says, John, you find

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00:15:44,080 –> 00:15:46,840
out who he’s talking about,
who’s going to betray him?

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00:15:46,920 –> 00:15:48,520
Because you know what Peter’s
idea was?

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00:15:49,320 –> 00:15:51,600
Well, I’m going to take the
betrayer and I’m going to get

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00:15:51,600 –> 00:15:57,440
rid of him.
So Peter’s idea is, well, I’m

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00:15:57,440 –> 00:15:58,720
not going to strengthen my
brethren.

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00:15:58,720 –> 00:16:00,720
What I’m going to do is I’m
going to purge the weak ones,

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00:16:04,160 –> 00:16:08,120
which is why Jesus has to say to
Peter in John 21, you know, your

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00:16:08,120 –> 00:16:13,000
job is to feed the sheep, Your
job is to feed the lambs.

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00:16:13,000 –> 00:16:17,000
Your job is to tend the sheep.
Your job’s just.

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00:16:17,040 –> 00:16:19,920
And when you’re converted,
Peter, you’ll understand that.

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00:16:21,280 –> 00:16:24,920
Don’t get rid of the weak ones.
What’s an alternative to getting

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00:16:24,920 –> 00:16:28,960
rid of the weak ones,
Strengthening them.

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00:16:29,640 –> 00:16:31,080
Do you know who wanted to get
rid of the?

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00:16:31,200 –> 00:16:34,200
Do you know who really, really
wanted to find who was the weak

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00:16:34,200 –> 00:16:38,280
one among all the disciples, who
was really looking for the weak

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00:16:38,280 –> 00:16:44,480
one?
The high priest was, and he

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00:16:44,480 –> 00:16:48,760
found him.
Are you going to be like that,

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00:16:48,760 –> 00:16:51,720
Peter?
You want to be like Satan,

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00:16:53,880 –> 00:16:57,040
separating the wheat from the
chaff, finding the chaff,

250
00:16:57,040 –> 00:16:58,920
burning it away.
Is that what you want to do?

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00:16:58,920 –> 00:17:00,280
That’s what the high priest is
trying to do.

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00:17:00,280 –> 00:17:06,760
You see what a challenge that
was, The Peter.

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00:17:07,000 –> 00:17:10,640
You see it because you know
Peter was saying these things

254
00:17:10,839 –> 00:17:14,400
that last night he said.
Peter said though all men should

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00:17:14,400 –> 00:17:17,560
be offended of thee, yet I will
not be offended.

256
00:17:19,359 –> 00:17:23,440
He was saying, though I should
die with thee, I will not deny

257
00:17:23,440 –> 00:17:26,599
thee.
I’m ready to go with thee both

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00:17:26,599 –> 00:17:31,360
to prison and to death.
I will lay down my life for thy

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00:17:31,360 –> 00:17:33,200
sake.
It’s me, Lord.

260
00:17:34,640 –> 00:17:37,120
Maybe some of those other ones,
maybe they would.

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00:17:37,280 –> 00:17:40,600
Yeah, yeah, they might betray
you, Lord, but not me.

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00:17:42,920 –> 00:17:45,520
So we just kind of summarize
where, where Peter’s at in terms

263
00:17:45,520 –> 00:17:48,160
of his ambitions.
Peter sought to distinguish

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00:17:48,160 –> 00:17:51,720
himself as more loyal and
steadfast than others.

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00:17:52,080 –> 00:17:55,200
Peter desired rewards in
positions of authority in Jesus

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00:17:55,200 –> 00:17:57,560
Kingdom.
Peter desired to be the greatest

267
00:17:57,560 –> 00:18:00,000
in the Kingdom.
Peter struggled with the idea of

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00:18:00,000 –> 00:18:06,600
humility and and servanthood.
Now these ambitions go a long

269
00:18:06,600 –> 00:18:09,720
way to explain why Peter
resisted the idea of

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00:18:09,720 –> 00:18:16,280
persecution, why he resisted the
idea of tribulation both for

271
00:18:16,280 –> 00:18:23,480
himself and for Jesus.
These ambitions reveal to us

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00:18:23,760 –> 00:18:31,120
where Peter is at in Matthew 16.
Now, I’m going to suggest to you

273
00:18:31,480 –> 00:18:36,400
the scripture contains a hidden
little summary of Peter that

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00:18:37,320 –> 00:18:40,000
although you would have read it
100 times, I don’t know that you

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00:18:40,000 –> 00:18:42,600
would have seen it.
You know the scriptures that

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00:18:42,600 –> 00:18:45,400
way.
Young people, sometimes you look

277
00:18:45,400 –> 00:18:49,240
at a story that you’ve been, but
you’ve been taught this story

278
00:18:49,240 –> 00:18:53,280
since since the first years of
Sunday school, and you think to

279
00:18:53,280 –> 00:18:54,760
yourself, oh, not this story
again.

280
00:18:54,760 –> 00:18:56,600
What could I possibly learn from
this?

281
00:19:00,400 –> 00:19:06,680
Yet sometimes there’s hidden
things lying in plain sight, and

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00:19:06,680 –> 00:19:10,200
I suggest there’s a little
hidden thing about Peter that’s

283
00:19:10,200 –> 00:19:12,680
been lying in plain sight for a
long time now.

284
00:19:12,680 –> 00:19:15,880
Maybe you’ve noticed it, but
maybe you haven’t.

285
00:19:17,040 –> 00:19:19,280
There’s a Scripture is a lot
more interesting than you think

286
00:19:19,280 –> 00:19:25,600
it is if you just stop and read
it carefully and and it’s going

287
00:19:25,600 –> 00:19:30,360
to explain to us why Peter
resisted so much.

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00:19:30,520 –> 00:19:33,840
The idea of persecution now
seems like he tells us that he’s

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00:19:33,840 –> 00:19:37,640
happy to be persecuted.
But when it comes down to we

290
00:19:37,640 –> 00:19:41,400
know that’s not true.
And we know that when Jesus

291
00:19:41,400 –> 00:19:44,080
talked about his persecution,
Peter wanted no part of that.

292
00:19:47,360 –> 00:19:51,000
So what’s this thing?
What’s this thing hiding in

293
00:19:51,000 –> 00:19:52,880
plain sight?
Well, let me just consider this.

294
00:19:52,880 –> 00:19:55,080
In Matthew 13, you maybe want to
look it up in your in your

295
00:19:55,080 –> 00:20:00,360
Bibles, Matthew 13, it’d be in
verses 20 to 21, but I’ll put it

296
00:20:00,360 –> 00:20:02,480
on the board.
But the thing about turning it

297
00:20:02,480 –> 00:20:07,160
up, and I like that sound of
pages rustling, is, is that you

298
00:20:07,160 –> 00:20:08,840
can write things in your margin
that way.

299
00:20:09,600 –> 00:20:12,040
Right, if you look it up, you
can write things in your margin.

300
00:20:12,280 –> 00:20:14,000
And if you don’t look it up, you
can’t do that.

301
00:20:14,080 –> 00:20:17,880
So even though I put verses
behind me, I, I encourage you to

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00:20:17,880 –> 00:20:20,600
look them up and, and if you, if
you find something you find

303
00:20:20,600 –> 00:20:24,800
helpful, then write it down.
Now in Matthew 13, we have the

304
00:20:24,800 –> 00:20:27,600
parable of the sower.
So what could possibly be the

305
00:20:27,600 –> 00:20:29,320
interesting thing in the parable
of the sower?

306
00:20:29,320 –> 00:20:33,240
Well, how about this?
I want you to think about Peter

307
00:20:33,240 –> 00:20:40,120
as I read this.
But he that received the seed

308
00:20:41,240 –> 00:20:49,040
into Stony places, the same is
he that heareth the word, and

309
00:20:49,040 –> 00:20:57,680
Anon receiveth it with joy.
Yet hath he not root in himself,

310
00:20:58,720 –> 00:21:02,200
but dureth for a while.
And when tribulation or

311
00:21:02,200 –> 00:21:09,240
persecution ariseth because of
the Word by and by, he is

312
00:21:09,240 –> 00:21:14,680
offended.
Now I suggest to you that Peter,

313
00:21:14,680 –> 00:21:23,000
as we read about him in Matthew
16, is pretty well described as

314
00:21:23,000 –> 00:21:24,760
Stony ground.
Now the young people, what you

315
00:21:24,760 –> 00:21:29,040
have to do is you have to tell
me later before I leave, what’s

316
00:21:29,040 –> 00:21:31,080
the best person that describes
the thorny ground?

317
00:21:32,040 –> 00:21:33,280
That’s something for I’m not
going to tell you.

318
00:21:33,280 –> 00:21:34,600
You have to figure that out
yourself.

319
00:21:34,800 –> 00:21:36,400
But you got to let me know,
right?

320
00:21:37,200 –> 00:21:39,360
And if you get it right, I get
to give you a hug.

321
00:21:39,360 –> 00:21:44,560
All right.
So Peter, I think is well

322
00:21:44,560 –> 00:21:49,960
described as the Stony ground.
Now the word Stony, by the way,

323
00:21:50,040 –> 00:21:54,000
is the word petrodus.
It’s very similar to English,

324
00:21:54,000 –> 00:21:59,000
where stone and Stony, Petros
petrodus, it’s ground full of

325
00:21:59,000 –> 00:22:04,440
Peters.
Those who represent this Stony

326
00:22:04,440 –> 00:22:07,720
ground hear the word and receive
it with joy.

327
00:22:07,720 –> 00:22:11,120
They spring up fast.
They make decisions quickly,

328
00:22:11,600 –> 00:22:14,360
almost impulsively.
I’m going to spring up and grow.

329
00:22:15,760 –> 00:22:19,120
But what’s the thing that seems
to unsettle this group?

330
00:22:21,640 –> 00:22:26,200
Tribulation or persecution?
And they falter and they’re

331
00:22:26,200 –> 00:22:28,080
offended.
And I’m going to suggest you

332
00:22:28,080 –> 00:22:33,080
this word offended is pretty
helpful in helping us understand

333
00:22:33,560 –> 00:22:39,840
about Peter.
The word offended implies that

334
00:22:39,880 –> 00:22:44,440
that hardship or persecution is
so affronting, it’s so

335
00:22:44,440 –> 00:22:49,000
challenging that it makes even
someone who wants to grow turn

336
00:22:49,000 –> 00:22:54,200
from faith now.
Now, Peter did not think this

337
00:22:54,200 –> 00:22:57,960
would apply to him for sure.
He was sure that this didn’t

338
00:22:57,960 –> 00:23:00,440
apply to him.
Maybe he was too confident

339
00:23:00,720 –> 00:23:04,760
because we read there in Matthew
chapter 26 verse 31 and 33,

340
00:23:04,760 –> 00:23:08,080
which might be a good cross
reference here to this word

341
00:23:08,080 –> 00:23:09,640
offended.
So you take the word offended,

342
00:23:09,760 –> 00:23:12,640
you draw a little line, and then
you write in a cross reference,

343
00:23:12,640 –> 00:23:13,960
right?
And the cross reference you

344
00:23:13,960 –> 00:23:18,160
might draw in young people is
Matthew 26 verses 33 to 31.

345
00:23:18,480 –> 00:23:27,280
Because that says Jesus saith
unto them, all Ye shall be

346
00:23:27,360 –> 00:23:31,520
offended because of me this
night, for his ridden I’ll smite

347
00:23:31,520 –> 00:23:34,440
the shepherd, and the sheep of
the flock shall be scattered

348
00:23:34,440 –> 00:23:36,760
abroad.
And Peter answered and said,

349
00:23:37,040 –> 00:23:41,640
Though all men shall be
offended, because of thee, I

350
00:23:41,640 –> 00:23:47,400
will never be offended.
So Peter was convinced he would

351
00:23:47,400 –> 00:23:54,560
never be offended, but he was
that very night.

352
00:23:55,040 –> 00:23:59,440
Why Plus curse?
Because persecution came.

353
00:24:01,560 –> 00:24:07,840
The persecution that we are told
about in the parable of the

354
00:24:07,840 –> 00:24:14,560
sower and that Jesus suggested
would come in Matthew 16.

355
00:24:18,200 –> 00:24:21,280
And if you look at this parable
at the Stony ground is a good

356
00:24:21,280 –> 00:24:24,560
description of Peter.
It helps us to understand what

357
00:24:24,560 –> 00:24:29,480
Peter is struggling with and
that why will we encounter him

358
00:24:29,480 –> 00:24:35,560
resisting Christ in Matthew 16
about persecution, why

359
00:24:35,560 –> 00:24:40,000
persecution was particularly a
problem for someone of Peter’s

360
00:24:40,000 –> 00:24:47,480
disposition.
Now Jesus says about Matthew 13.

361
00:24:47,640 –> 00:24:51,960
He says, yet he hath not root in
himself.

362
00:24:54,200 –> 00:24:57,280
Now the scripture has a little
bit to say about roots and I

363
00:24:57,280 –> 00:25:00,200
just want to, I want to look at
that just briefly, this idea of

364
00:25:00,200 –> 00:25:04,400
roots, because Colossians says
this about roots.

365
00:25:04,880 –> 00:25:08,360
Therefore, as you receive Christ
Jesus of the Lord, so walk in

366
00:25:08,360 –> 00:25:15,840
him, rooted and built up in him
and established in faith, just

367
00:25:16,000 –> 00:25:19,040
as you were taught.
Now the idea to be rooted and

368
00:25:19,040 –> 00:25:21,760
the idea of being built up.
Now being built up is a useful

369
00:25:21,760 –> 00:25:24,080
reference because, you know,
Matthew 16 is kind of about

370
00:25:24,080 –> 00:25:30,480
building, building on something
and, and what happens is a root.

371
00:25:30,480 –> 00:25:32,840
And you know this, you know, you
don’t have to be a

372
00:25:32,840 –> 00:25:34,800
horticultural.
Is there any horticultural

373
00:25:34,800 –> 00:25:36,640
experts in the room?
Right.

374
00:25:36,800 –> 00:25:38,240
So if I get this wrong, let me
know.

375
00:25:38,240 –> 00:25:42,880
But when a root root bores down
into the soil and it roots

376
00:25:42,880 –> 00:25:47,360
itself firmly in the soil and it
it gets nourishment from that

377
00:25:47,360 –> 00:25:50,560
and it gets it gets moisture
from that.

378
00:25:51,200 –> 00:25:53,640
Now the idea being rooted and
build up are very similar.

379
00:25:53,640 –> 00:25:57,120
And the idea in common of those
two things is that what’s

380
00:25:57,120 –> 00:26:02,120
beneath must be deep, it must be
solid, it must be reliable.

381
00:26:02,240 –> 00:26:07,800
You cannot build up unless
what’s below is reliable, is

382
00:26:07,800 –> 00:26:11,880
strong.
And Paul’s going to elaborate

383
00:26:11,880 –> 00:26:15,440
that on in Ephesians chapter 3
verses 1718, because he says

384
00:26:15,880 –> 00:26:19,080
Christ may dwell in your hearts
by faith that being rooted and

385
00:26:19,080 –> 00:26:20,680
grounded in love.
Whose love?

386
00:26:21,640 –> 00:26:24,240
Christ’s love.
How, how do you get roots that

387
00:26:24,240 –> 00:26:27,480
go down so that when persecution
comes, you got something to hang

388
00:26:27,480 –> 00:26:32,560
on to?
Well, they can only be rooted in

389
00:26:32,720 –> 00:26:35,480
in Christ’s love.
They can only be rooted in his

390
00:26:35,480 –> 00:26:36,920
faith.
They they can’t be rooted in

391
00:26:36,920 –> 00:26:39,520
anything else.
Don’t build your roots on

392
00:26:39,520 –> 00:26:42,040
people.
Don’t build your roots on on

393
00:26:42,040 –> 00:26:45,000
sinful men.
Don’t build your roots on what

394
00:26:45,000 –> 00:26:46,680
this brother or that brother
does.

395
00:26:46,800 –> 00:26:49,040
It will not work.
It will fail you.

396
00:26:49,880 –> 00:26:54,320
You have to root into Christ.
You got to root into his

397
00:26:54,320 –> 00:26:59,440
character, into his love, into
his attitude, into his faith.

398
00:27:01,560 –> 00:27:06,160
Because when persecution comes
that won’t wigger because he was

399
00:27:06,160 –> 00:27:09,480
persecuted, your faith won’t
fail.

400
00:27:09,560 –> 00:27:14,720
His faith didn’t fail.
Your strength won’t dry up.

401
00:27:14,800 –> 00:27:16,560
Because his strength didn’t dry
up.

402
00:27:19,840 –> 00:27:24,080
He will not fail you.
You build on a man.

403
00:27:26,640 –> 00:27:30,520
Well, what’s the history of
that?

404
00:27:41,540 –> 00:27:49,420
So Peter’s roots could not be
built on the shallow foundations

405
00:27:49,460 –> 00:27:55,880
of his ambitions into the Stony
ground of his ambitions.

406
00:27:57,200 –> 00:28:02,200
Could not.
They had to go into something

407
00:28:02,200 –> 00:28:10,960
with depth.
And the thing that has depth is

408
00:28:10,960 –> 00:28:16,040
not the triumphant Lord, The
thing that had depth is the

409
00:28:16,040 –> 00:28:18,720
suffering Lord.
Think about that.

410
00:28:23,000 –> 00:28:27,240
Not a Lord that didn’t suffer,
but a Lord that suffered and

411
00:28:27,240 –> 00:28:31,560
overcame.
That’s what he needed to have

412
00:28:31,560 –> 00:28:37,520
rude into.
That brings us back to Matthew

413
00:28:37,520 –> 00:28:40,560
16, and here’s the point I’m
trying to make.

414
00:28:40,680 –> 00:28:43,680
It’s no surprise Peter doesn’t
want to hear about persecution

415
00:28:43,680 –> 00:28:46,360
or hardship in Matthew 16.
He’s the Stony ground.

416
00:28:46,360 –> 00:28:48,600
Of course he doesn’t want to
hear about persecution or

417
00:28:48,600 –> 00:28:53,600
hardship.
The implication, by the way, if

418
00:28:53,600 –> 00:28:57,240
that’s true, is that the soil is
currently shallow.

419
00:28:58,200 –> 00:29:00,280
He’s full of joy when things are
going well.

420
00:29:00,880 –> 00:29:03,360
But when Jesus speaks of
suffering, he rejects it.

421
00:29:03,360 –> 00:29:09,240
He rebukes Jesus for even
suggesting such a thing, that

422
00:29:09,240 –> 00:29:13,480
his ambitions were still rooted
in shallow soil.

423
00:29:13,960 –> 00:29:18,520
Things that men savor, not
things of God.

424
00:29:20,000 –> 00:29:23,480
So this is what Jesus says in
Matthew chapter 16 verse 23.

425
00:29:23,560 –> 00:29:29,600
He turned and said to Peter, Get
behind me, Satan, thou art an

426
00:29:29,600 –> 00:29:38,880
offense unto me.
For thou savours not the things

427
00:29:38,880 –> 00:29:41,600
that be of God, but those that
be of men.

428
00:29:41,600 –> 00:29:45,520
And here’s the question.
Of all things Jesus could have

429
00:29:45,520 –> 00:29:51,120
said to Peter, why does he say,
get behind me?

430
00:29:51,120 –> 00:29:58,550
Satan?
Let me suggest to you that that

431
00:29:58,550 –> 00:30:07,760
Peter’s resistance to Jesus in
Matthew 16 was very similar to

432
00:30:07,800 –> 00:30:10,960
the resistance Jesus had to have
on another occasion.

433
00:30:11,280 –> 00:30:12,800
Can you think what occasion that
was?

434
00:30:13,160 –> 00:30:18,360
Think for a moment.
What was the temptation that

435
00:30:18,360 –> 00:30:20,640
Peter was putting before Jesus
here?

436
00:30:21,280 –> 00:30:26,680
The temptation was Lord, you
don’t need to suffer in order to

437
00:30:26,680 –> 00:30:30,600
have the glory.
You can have all the things, all

438
00:30:30,600 –> 00:30:34,200
the messianic triumph, all the
kingdoms of the world, all the

439
00:30:34,200 –> 00:30:37,360
you’re going to have dominion
over nations and peoples, and I

440
00:30:37,360 –> 00:30:39,360
mean over all.
You can have all those things,

441
00:30:39,360 –> 00:30:42,520
Lord, and you don’t need to
suffer to get them.

442
00:30:43,680 –> 00:30:48,960
Now tell me, young people, had
Jesus ever faced that temptation

443
00:30:48,960 –> 00:30:55,160
before?
Raise your hand if you think you

444
00:30:55,160 –> 00:30:57,720
know.
Raise your hand if you really

445
00:30:57,720 –> 00:31:01,200
think you know.
When had Jesus faced that

446
00:31:01,200 –> 00:31:05,240
temptation?
Someone shouted out, Say again,

447
00:31:06,600 –> 00:31:09,400
Yeah, but I’m going to go the
Matthew reference rather than

448
00:31:09,400 –> 00:31:13,600
Luke.
OK, so Matthew chapter 4 verses

449
00:31:13,600 –> 00:31:15,840
8 to 10.
And again the devil taketh him

450
00:31:15,840 –> 00:31:19,880
up to an exceeding high
mountain, showeth him all the

451
00:31:19,880 –> 00:31:22,560
kingdoms of the world and the
glory of them.

452
00:31:23,000 –> 00:31:26,800
And Seth unto him, all these
things I will give thee, if thou

453
00:31:26,800 –> 00:31:31,680
will fall down and worship me,
then Seth, Jesus unto him get

454
00:31:31,800 –> 00:31:33,600
thee.
Hence Satan.

455
00:31:33,840 –> 00:31:43,920
Same exact words as Matthew 16.
For it is written, thou shalt

456
00:31:43,920 –> 00:31:47,040
worship the Lord thy God, in him
only shalt thou serve.

457
00:31:47,880 –> 00:31:51,640
So at Matthew chapter 4, the
temptation presented to Jesus is

458
00:31:51,640 –> 00:31:57,040
simply bypass the suffering and
the trials and the missions and

459
00:31:57,040 –> 00:32:00,400
instead immediately claim the
power over all the kingdoms of

460
00:32:00,400 –> 00:32:03,200
the world.
Essentially, the temptation is

461
00:32:03,200 –> 00:32:05,360
this, you don’t need to endure
hardship.

462
00:32:06,200 –> 00:32:08,160
You don’t need to follow God’s
plan.

463
00:32:08,600 –> 00:32:11,320
You can take the kingdoms now
and all the glory with it.

464
00:32:12,960 –> 00:32:15,960
But if he was to do that, He
would be savoring the things of

465
00:32:15,960 –> 00:32:22,680
men, not the things of God.
So Jesus resists the temptation

466
00:32:22,680 –> 00:32:25,000
in Matthew 4 saying get thee,
hence Satan.

467
00:32:27,040 –> 00:32:32,320
Now Fast forward to Matthew 16.
Peter unknowingly is echoing the

468
00:32:32,320 –> 00:32:36,080
exact same temptation when he
says, be it far from thee, Lord,

469
00:32:36,080 –> 00:32:40,360
that shall not be unto thee.
In essence, Peter’s saying you

470
00:32:40,360 –> 00:32:42,880
don’t need to suffer.
You don’t need to endure the

471
00:32:42,880 –> 00:32:44,240
difficult work you’re talking
about.

472
00:32:44,240 –> 00:32:47,880
No, you can have the Kingdom.
Now can you see it?

473
00:32:48,120 –> 00:32:52,640
It’s the same temptation.
Take the crown, forget the

474
00:32:52,640 –> 00:32:57,440
cross, claim the glory.
Don’t worry about the suffering.

475
00:32:59,200 –> 00:33:03,440
So just as he did in Matthew 4,
he’s going to resist it the same

476
00:33:03,440 –> 00:33:06,360
way he does now.
He turns to Peter.

477
00:33:06,360 –> 00:33:09,360
He says, get thee behind me or
sense, get thee.

478
00:33:09,360 –> 00:33:14,520
Hence Satan.
Now this is a classic reference

479
00:33:14,520 –> 00:33:18,240
that Christadelphians use to
show what Satan really is.

480
00:33:18,400 –> 00:33:20,960
And it’s even, it’s even better
than you think it is when you

481
00:33:20,960 –> 00:33:23,680
show that, right?
Because what happens is we look

482
00:33:23,680 –> 00:33:27,720
at this reference and we say,
look, see Satan, Peter’s calling

483
00:33:28,400 –> 00:33:31,480
Jesus calling Peter Satan, Satan
is, is simply an adversary to

484
00:33:31,480 –> 00:33:37,320
God and to God’s thinking.
But you got to notice Jesus

485
00:33:37,320 –> 00:33:40,120
words there in Matthew chapter
16.

486
00:33:41,040 –> 00:33:44,560
He says, there you turn in
Peter, he says, get behind me

487
00:33:44,560 –> 00:33:46,840
Satan, you are hindrance unto
me.

488
00:33:48,400 –> 00:33:52,320
For you savor not the things of
God, but the things of what?

489
00:33:54,400 –> 00:34:00,720
Of men.
Now if, if he really thought

490
00:34:00,720 –> 00:34:04,760
this was a supernatural devil,
he’d be saying you don’t savor

491
00:34:04,760 –> 00:34:08,440
the things of God, you savor the
things of supernatural devils.

492
00:34:11,120 –> 00:34:14,880
But what’s he savoring?
The things of men?

493
00:34:15,679 –> 00:34:19,440
Because what is Satan really is
the things of men.

494
00:34:20,639 –> 00:34:24,400
That’s what it is.
We don’t need a supernatural

495
00:34:24,400 –> 00:34:32,639
devil because we’re men.
And that’s what Peter was

496
00:34:32,639 –> 00:34:38,880
savouring.
So notice now how the words in

497
00:34:38,880 –> 00:34:41,800
Matthew chapter 16 verse 26 now
tie.

498
00:34:41,960 –> 00:34:45,920
Now now of course, in the
wilderness, Jesus, he, you know,

499
00:34:45,920 –> 00:34:50,239
he goes up on a high mountain,
you know, in a vision probably,

500
00:34:50,280 –> 00:34:52,760
and he’s seeing all the kingdoms
of the world, right?

501
00:34:53,120 –> 00:34:57,360
And so wouldn’t have been funny
if I just tripped on myself

502
00:34:57,360 –> 00:34:59,520
right there.
I, you know, that that was very

503
00:34:59,520 –> 00:35:02,040
likely to happen and it didn’t.
So I’m happy about that.

504
00:35:03,080 –> 00:35:07,960
So it sees all the kingdoms of
the world, young people.

505
00:35:09,680 –> 00:35:12,720
And, and I want you to think
about that now.

506
00:35:12,760 –> 00:35:18,920
That idea is in Jesus mind.
Now look at Matthew 16 right?

507
00:35:19,080 –> 00:35:24,440
Now look at Matthew 16 in front
of you and tell me if you think

508
00:35:24,440 –> 00:35:29,240
that this is on Jesus mind.
When you look at verse 26, what

509
00:35:29,240 –> 00:35:39,530
does verse 26 say?
For what does a man profited if

510
00:35:39,530 –> 00:35:46,850
he gained the whole world and
lose his own life?

511
00:35:48,210 –> 00:35:50,730
What shall a man give in
exchange for his life?

512
00:35:52,610 –> 00:35:57,680
You see, it was that not
squarely on Jesus mind because

513
00:35:57,680 –> 00:36:04,520
that was the temptation and he
stared it down in Matthew 4 and

514
00:36:04,520 –> 00:36:07,200
now it’s come back up in Matthew
chapter 16.

515
00:36:07,320 –> 00:36:12,000
There’s a reason that the
temptations he suffered in the

516
00:36:12,000 –> 00:36:14,000
wilderness, he had to suffer
them.

517
00:36:15,080 –> 00:36:18,040
And in in this one chapter we’ve
seen all three of them come up,

518
00:36:18,040 –> 00:36:20,600
haven’t we?
And I would suggest to you they

519
00:36:20,600 –> 00:36:22,400
don’t just come up simply in
this chapter.

520
00:36:22,400 –> 00:36:25,560
They come up over and over again
in the Gospels.

521
00:36:30,830 –> 00:36:34,870
So Peter wanted the Kingdom
without repentance.

522
00:36:35,990 –> 00:36:39,430
He wanted the Kingdom without
submission to God’s will.

523
00:36:39,510 –> 00:36:46,430
He wanted the prophet.
He just didn’t understand yet

524
00:36:47,430 –> 00:36:52,150
that in grasping for the prophet
he would be forfeiting his life.

525
00:36:53,470 –> 00:36:57,200
So Peter in Matthew 16 has a lot
to learn.

526
00:37:00,280 –> 00:37:06,600
And so Jesus is going to say in
verses 24 and 25 this Jesus said

527
00:37:06,600 –> 00:37:11,880
unto his disciples, If any man
will come after me, let him deny

528
00:37:11,880 –> 00:37:14,120
himself and take up the cross,
and follow me.

529
00:37:14,560 –> 00:37:17,320
Now whosoever will save his life
shall lose it, and whosoever

530
00:37:17,320 –> 00:37:19,480
will lose his life for my sake
shall find it.

531
00:37:20,600 –> 00:37:23,960
Now these words and you know
this are immediately after the

532
00:37:23,960 –> 00:37:26,320
rebuke of Peter.
So there rebukes them.

533
00:37:26,320 –> 00:37:30,160
Get thee behind me, Savior.
So and then Jesus says these

534
00:37:30,160 –> 00:37:31,800
words.
Now I would just suggest to you

535
00:37:32,040 –> 00:37:39,160
that Peter heard these words
intensely, you know, just after

536
00:37:39,160 –> 00:37:42,600
you’ve been rebuked, right?
And you’re just, you’re just,

537
00:37:42,600 –> 00:37:45,440
you’re almost just in shock
because you thought you were

538
00:37:45,440 –> 00:37:49,000
doing the right thing.
And, and Jesus has just rebuked

539
00:37:49,000 –> 00:37:50,360
you in front of all your
friends.

540
00:37:50,880 –> 00:37:54,200
And Jesus says this now he was
saying that to all his

541
00:37:54,200 –> 00:37:57,200
disciples, right?
But Peter heard these words.

542
00:37:57,960 –> 00:38:02,840
He heard them and he, he was
thinking to himself, not me,

543
00:38:02,880 –> 00:38:09,560
this won’t be me.
I’d like to suggest you that

544
00:38:09,560 –> 00:38:12,960
Peter really heard these words
and you can see the echoes.

545
00:38:13,080 –> 00:38:17,040
Let me show you some echoes that
would show up later in terms of

546
00:38:17,040 –> 00:38:20,760
Peter’s own statements, for
example, lose his life.

547
00:38:20,800 –> 00:38:23,840
What does he say in Luke chapter
22 verse 33 and he said to them,

548
00:38:23,840 –> 00:38:27,120
Lord, I’m ready to go with thee
both into prison and to death.

549
00:38:27,560 –> 00:38:32,200
I’m willing to lose my life.
Peter saying that’s not the only

550
00:38:32,360 –> 00:38:35,880
reference here.
What about follow me John

551
00:38:35,880 –> 00:38:39,000
chapter 13 verse 37.
Peter said to them, Lord, why

552
00:38:39,000 –> 00:38:46,200
can I not follow thee now I will
lay down my life for thy sake on

553
00:38:46,200 –> 00:38:48,560
the one that I’m sure you know
the deny himself.

554
00:38:48,920 –> 00:38:52,720
Luke 22 verse 34 And he said, I
tell thee, Peter the Cox should

555
00:38:52,720 –> 00:38:55,960
not crow this day before thou
hast denied me three times that

556
00:38:55,960 –> 00:39:02,880
thou knowest to me.
Can you see Peter heard the

557
00:39:02,880 –> 00:39:05,960
words, these words if any man
come after me, let him deny

558
00:39:05,960 –> 00:39:10,080
himself and take up his cross
and follow me like Jesus said

559
00:39:10,080 –> 00:39:12,600
this to all the disciples.
But these words were personal,

560
00:39:12,800 –> 00:39:16,600
for Peter was saying no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, not me.

561
00:39:17,720 –> 00:39:21,240
I’m going to follow you.
I’m not going to deny you if I’m

562
00:39:21,240 –> 00:39:29,290
going to die for you.
So when do all, when do all

563
00:39:29,290 –> 00:39:31,610
these things?
What evening do all these things

564
00:39:31,610 –> 00:39:35,210
come into a focus point?
Of course they come to a focus

565
00:39:35,210 –> 00:39:39,050
point in Matthew chapter 26.
All these things that Jesus is

566
00:39:39,050 –> 00:39:43,650
speaking about in terms of
revealing what would happen to

567
00:39:43,650 –> 00:39:46,130
him.
They all start to come to pass

568
00:39:47,170 –> 00:39:50,090
in Matthew chapter 26.
And I want you to take you there

569
00:39:50,480 –> 00:39:53,880
and, and, and, and kind of see
how this story unfolds itself.

570
00:39:57,480 –> 00:40:00,320
We’re told in verse 21 that he
would suffer many things of the

571
00:40:00,320 –> 00:40:02,120
elders and the chief priests and
the scribes.

572
00:40:02,120 –> 00:40:05,680
OK, well, the suffering of many
things in terms of the elders

573
00:40:05,680 –> 00:40:09,560
and chief priests of scribes are
unfolded in Matthew chapter 26.

574
00:40:11,840 –> 00:40:15,840
So we read there in Matthew 26
and verse 57 and 58 this.

575
00:40:18,840 –> 00:40:23,680
And they that had laid hold on
Jesus led him away to Caiaphas

576
00:40:23,720 –> 00:40:27,680
the high priest, where the
scribes and the elders were

577
00:40:27,680 –> 00:40:30,880
assembled.
And Peter followed him afar off

578
00:40:31,280 –> 00:40:34,920
onto the high priest palace and
went in and sat with the

579
00:40:34,920 –> 00:40:38,480
servants to see the Lord.
Now what was happening, why

580
00:40:38,480 –> 00:40:41,520
Peter was in the courtyard?
Well, I’ll tell you what was

581
00:40:41,520 –> 00:40:44,240
happening.
What was happening in the palace

582
00:40:44,680 –> 00:40:49,840
is that Jesus was on trial in
front of the chief priests.

583
00:40:51,200 –> 00:40:56,480
And at that trial we’re told
that a false witness came and

584
00:40:56,480 –> 00:41:00,680
said, the fellows said I’m able
to destroy the temple of God and

585
00:41:00,680 –> 00:41:02,480
build it in three days.
And I would tell you that’s the

586
00:41:02,480 –> 00:41:06,240
question, I believe, of Matthew
chapter 16.

587
00:41:06,920 –> 00:41:13,120
What building are we building?
Jesus is saying, I have a rock,

588
00:41:13,480 –> 00:41:16,760
it’s a foundation and I’m going
to build an ecclesia on it.

589
00:41:16,920 –> 00:41:19,480
That’s the question in Matthew
chapter 16.

590
00:41:19,840 –> 00:41:22,640
Christ is going to build an
ecclesia of called out ones.

591
00:41:22,880 –> 00:41:26,080
And the question is, what is the
rock of that building?

592
00:41:28,760 –> 00:41:31,680
And so the, the, the, the
question in, in, in Matthew

593
00:41:31,680 –> 00:41:35,200
chapter 26 is this temple of
God, he’s going to destroy, he’s

594
00:41:35,200 –> 00:41:37,400
going to build in three days.
They thought he was talking

595
00:41:37,400 –> 00:41:39,080
about one thing.
He thought he knew he was

596
00:41:39,080 –> 00:41:52,120
talking about another.
And so the building that they

597
00:41:52,120 –> 00:41:55,080
thought he was talking about
was, of course, the temple of

598
00:41:55,080 –> 00:41:59,800
Herod, the second temple.
But what did Jesus said about

599
00:41:59,800 –> 00:42:04,640
that building?
Well, Jesus about that building

600
00:42:04,640 –> 00:42:07,080
had said it’s not going to be
rebuilt in three days.

601
00:42:07,520 –> 00:42:11,040
Jesus has said there should not
be left one stone upon another

602
00:42:11,040 –> 00:42:14,920
that should not be thrown down.
That temple’s not being rebuilt

603
00:42:14,920 –> 00:42:19,840
in three days.
In fact, Josephus will say this.

604
00:42:20,120 –> 00:42:23,240
The temple was burning down, and
the flames were carried far

605
00:42:23,240 –> 00:42:26,480
beyond the building itself.
The temple was so magnificent

606
00:42:26,680 –> 00:42:30,400
and so much a symbol of their
religion and identity that the

607
00:42:30,400 –> 00:42:32,520
Jews could hardly bear to see it
destroyed.

608
00:42:32,520 –> 00:42:35,000
The cries of the defenders
mingled with the noise of the

609
00:42:35,000 –> 00:42:38,640
flames and the shouting of the
Roman soldiers created an

610
00:42:38,640 –> 00:42:43,280
overwhelming din.
That temple was burned to Hades

611
00:42:46,280 –> 00:42:52,080
Jewish War book 4 chapter 4.
That wasn’t the temple that

612
00:42:52,160 –> 00:42:54,720
Jesus was talking about and they
didn’t understand it.

613
00:42:57,600 –> 00:42:59,560
Would the foundation of the
temple be this?

614
00:43:01,000 –> 00:43:05,360
Or would it be the temple made
of those that are baptized into

615
00:43:05,360 –> 00:43:08,840
Christ’s death that become
spiritual stones that are

616
00:43:08,840 –> 00:43:14,160
founded on his perfected life?
That temple would be destroyed

617
00:43:15,160 –> 00:43:20,800
and rebuilt in three days.
And yet at these accusations in

618
00:43:20,800 –> 00:43:27,240
Matthew 26, Jesus is silent.
And so in Matthew chapter 26

619
00:43:27,240 –> 00:43:33,120
verse 62, it says there the high
priest arose and said unto him,

620
00:43:33,280 –> 00:43:36,640
answer is thou nothing?
What it is that these witness

621
00:43:36,640 –> 00:43:39,120
against thee?
So the high priest is in fury.

622
00:43:39,120 –> 00:43:43,080
He’s in anger and, and all over
his face.

623
00:43:43,720 –> 00:43:47,200
It would have been distressed
and and vain, bulging.

624
00:43:47,200 –> 00:43:51,640
And I imagine he, he’s pointing
a finger right at Jesus and he

625
00:43:51,760 –> 00:43:54,240
and he’s asking a question and
he asked a question.

626
00:43:54,240 –> 00:43:57,080
I, I listen and as he asked this
question, I want to ask you this

627
00:43:57,080 –> 00:44:01,160
question.
Tell me if anything about the

628
00:44:01,160 –> 00:44:05,040
question that the high priest
asked Jesus reminds you of

629
00:44:05,040 –> 00:44:14,320
anything you’ve heard before.
Because what question does the

630
00:44:14,320 –> 00:44:18,200
high priest then point his
finger in anger and fury and ask

631
00:44:18,200 –> 00:44:21,040
the Lord, Do you want a
question?

632
00:44:21,040 –> 00:44:30,360
That is, the high priest
answered and said to him, I

633
00:44:30,360 –> 00:44:40,160
adjure thee by the living God,
that thou tell us whether thou

634
00:44:40,160 –> 00:44:51,840
be the Christ, the Son of God.
Now there’s a question I want to

635
00:44:51,840 –> 00:44:53,840
put forward, an assertion I
cannot prove.

636
00:44:56,880 –> 00:45:01,120
The assertion is that the high
priest had not asked that

637
00:45:01,120 –> 00:45:04,080
question in a quiet or demur
voice.

638
00:45:05,800 –> 00:45:08,560
I’d like to put forward the idea
that given that the high priest

639
00:45:08,560 –> 00:45:13,680
is about to rent his clothes,
that the high priest perhaps

640
00:45:13,800 –> 00:45:16,920
asked that question in a voice
that might be better considered

641
00:45:16,920 –> 00:45:22,240
a shout.
And if the high priest asked

642
00:45:22,240 –> 00:45:29,640
that question in anger and in a
shout, then just maybe, maybe a

643
00:45:29,640 –> 00:45:38,040
man working outside in the
courtyard may have heard the

644
00:45:38,040 –> 00:45:43,760
high priest ask that question.
Maybe he was the man who was

645
00:45:43,760 –> 00:45:51,160
warming himself by the fire.
Because approximately 6 months

646
00:45:51,160 –> 00:46:02,920
before, Jesus had said to that
man, Who do you say that I am?

647
00:46:09,320 –> 00:46:14,600
But now, in the midst of
persecution, persecution that he

648
00:46:14,600 –> 00:46:25,200
had predicted that very day, the
question hangs in the air, out

649
00:46:25,200 –> 00:46:30,040
of the mouth of the high priest.
Who are you?

650
00:46:35,890 –> 00:46:46,400
And at that moment, while being
persecuted, was Jesus still the

651
00:46:46,400 –> 00:46:54,760
Son of the living God?
And I don’t know if Peter heard

652
00:46:54,760 –> 00:47:00,040
the high priest shout that
question, but I know this.

653
00:47:01,360 –> 00:47:08,840
Maybe he heard it.
Peter didn’t answer, And I don’t

654
00:47:08,840 –> 00:47:12,080
know how to hang all these
events together, of course, but

655
00:47:13,240 –> 00:47:20,880
just imagine if that rings
through into Peter’s ears.

656
00:47:23,520 –> 00:47:27,080
And then one standing by the
fire hears those same words and

657
00:47:27,080 –> 00:47:33,320
says, surely thou art one of
them.

658
00:47:35,720 –> 00:47:42,160
And Peter says, cursing and
swearing, I know not the man.

659
00:47:50,390 –> 00:47:55,710
If he had remembered the words
of Jesus, of course he

660
00:47:55,710 –> 00:47:59,990
remembered that Jesus had told
him that before the cock crew he

661
00:47:59,990 –> 00:48:05,190
would deny his Lord.
But perhaps he had also

662
00:48:05,190 –> 00:48:12,630
remembered, If any man come
after me, let him deny himself

663
00:48:15,920 –> 00:48:19,200
and take up his cross and follow
me.

664
00:48:21,520 –> 00:48:34,160
Do you see how profound that is?
For a moment I want to go back

665
00:48:34,160 –> 00:48:37,440
into the High priest palace
because there’s another point I

666
00:48:37,440 –> 00:48:41,640
want to make.
The Gospel witnesses that in

667
00:48:41,640 –> 00:48:46,120
front of his accusers that night
that Jesus was mostly silent.

668
00:48:47,360 –> 00:48:50,400
For example, it says answers
thou nothing.

669
00:48:50,400 –> 00:48:52,120
What is that?
These witness against thee, and

670
00:48:52,120 –> 00:48:57,320
Jesus held his peace.
But there’s one thing that

671
00:48:57,320 –> 00:49:09,360
Matthew 26 does tell us that
Jesus said, and he said it when

672
00:49:09,360 –> 00:49:15,160
asked the very question, I adore
thee by the living God that thou

673
00:49:15,160 –> 00:49:18,200
tellest, whether thou be Jesus,
the Son of, excuse me, the

674
00:49:18,200 –> 00:49:21,960
Messiah, the Son of God.
Jesus answers that question.

675
00:49:23,960 –> 00:49:25,360
And do you know what his answer
is?

676
00:49:28,120 –> 00:49:33,320
His answer is to give them the
sign of the prophet Jonah,

677
00:49:40,770 –> 00:49:44,520
because he says, Nevertheless, I
say unto you, hereafter you

678
00:49:44,520 –> 00:49:51,280
shall see the Son of Man sitting
on the right hand of power and

679
00:49:51,280 –> 00:50:00,160
coming in the clouds of heaven.
That’s his answer.

680
00:50:04,240 –> 00:50:09,000
You’re going to see it.
You know.

681
00:50:09,120 –> 00:50:14,160
You know that Jesus is quoting,
I think from Daniel Chapter 7

682
00:50:14,160 –> 00:50:18,360
verse 13.
And if you remind yourself of

683
00:50:18,360 –> 00:50:21,680
what Daniel Chapter 7 verse 14
says, and I know that we looked

684
00:50:21,680 –> 00:50:24,480
at a couple times, so it’s
probably familiar to you, this

685
00:50:24,480 –> 00:50:27,000
is how that verse ends.
And I don’t think this would

686
00:50:27,000 –> 00:50:30,680
have been lost at all on the
high priest that evening in his

687
00:50:30,680 –> 00:50:35,480
palace because it says there and
there will be given him dominion

688
00:50:35,480 –> 00:50:39,440
and glory and a Kingdom and all
peoples, nations and languages

689
00:50:39,440 –> 00:50:41,920
will serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting

690
00:50:41,920 –> 00:50:45,360
dominion which shall not pass
away, His Kingdom, that which

691
00:50:45,360 –> 00:50:47,440
shall not be destroyed.
And you know what is the

692
00:50:47,440 –> 00:50:50,120
interesting thing, brothers and
sisters, is that passage.

693
00:50:50,360 –> 00:50:56,240
Daniel chapter 14 encapsulates
everything Peter ever wanted

694
00:50:56,240 –> 00:51:01,040
from the Lord.
It was encapsulates everything

695
00:51:01,040 –> 00:51:04,120
that Pharisees or Herodians ever
would demand of him.

696
00:51:04,760 –> 00:51:09,960
For surely here was a sign from
heaven, and on that day when

697
00:51:09,960 –> 00:51:11,960
they pose the question, who are
you?

698
00:51:13,800 –> 00:51:22,240
Jesus says that they’ll get
their sign from heaven, but when

699
00:51:22,240 –> 00:51:25,920
they see it, they’ll have no
part in the dominion.

700
00:51:27,360 –> 00:51:29,160
They’ll have no part in the
Kingdom.

701
00:51:30,680 –> 00:51:32,640
They’ll have no part in the
glory.

702
00:51:33,840 –> 00:51:39,320
Because they built their house
not on that which would be

703
00:51:39,320 –> 00:51:41,680
destroyed and rebuilt in three
days.

704
00:51:43,720 –> 00:51:53,080
They built their house on the
den of thieves where there would

705
00:51:53,080 –> 00:51:55,920
not be 1 stone left upon
another.

706
00:52:00,360 –> 00:52:06,000
Jesus House isn’t built on the
stumbling stones of burning

707
00:52:06,000 –> 00:52:12,120
destruction, it’s built on the
stone carved out of the mountain

708
00:52:12,120 –> 00:52:18,080
without hands, which becomes a
mountain and fills the whole

709
00:52:18,080 –> 00:52:22,640
earth.
It’s all about what we build on.

710
00:52:29,180 –> 00:52:32,180
And to bring this full circle,
brothers, sisters, it’s not an

711
00:52:32,180 –> 00:52:37,700
accident that on the road to
Caesarea Philippi six months

712
00:52:37,700 –> 00:52:42,160
earlier, Jesus said to Simon,
blessed are you Simon bar Jonah.

713
00:52:44,360 –> 00:52:48,720
You know, son implies
relationship, it implies

714
00:52:48,920 –> 00:52:53,640
lineage, It implies similarity.
And you know, there’s an eerie

715
00:52:53,640 –> 00:53:00,400
similarity between Peter and the
prophet Jonah.

716
00:53:02,160 –> 00:53:07,200
The prophet Jonah was a prophet
of the true God, but he resisted

717
00:53:07,200 –> 00:53:12,840
God’s message.
He desired national glory of

718
00:53:12,840 –> 00:53:17,560
Israel and didn’t understand
God’s purpose, so he needed to

719
00:53:17,560 –> 00:53:22,400
be humbled.
And I suggest to you that Peter

720
00:53:24,280 –> 00:53:27,640
was a disciple of the true
Messiah but resisted the

721
00:53:27,640 –> 00:53:31,080
message.
He desired the national glory of

722
00:53:31,080 –> 00:53:37,240
Israel, didn’t fully understand
God’s purpose and need to be

723
00:53:37,240 –> 00:53:42,920
humbled.
Peter’s the son of Jonah,

724
00:53:46,320 –> 00:53:50,680
probably why he found himself in
Joppa just like Jonah before.

725
00:53:50,720 –> 00:53:54,280
Begin using the key that God
gave him to unlock the Kingdom

726
00:53:54,280 –> 00:53:59,680
to the Gentiles.
But for all of that to happen,

727
00:54:01,120 –> 00:54:03,920
Peter would need to learn to
savor and set his mind on the

728
00:54:03,920 –> 00:54:07,840
things of God, even if it meant
tribulation or persecution.

729
00:54:07,840 –> 00:54:10,760
Picking up his cross and
following Christ’s example.

730
00:54:11,040 –> 00:54:15,840
Not being rooted in the shallow,
rocky soil of his own ambitions,

731
00:54:16,080 –> 00:54:19,760
but being rooted in Christ’s
example, in Christ’s love, in

732
00:54:19,760 –> 00:54:23,400
Christ’s faith, in Christ’s
mind, in the things that endure

733
00:54:23,400 –> 00:54:26,960
trial.
Peter may not have understood

734
00:54:27,400 –> 00:54:33,840
Christ’s suffering in Matthew
16, but you know he came to

735
00:54:33,840 –> 00:54:41,400
understand it later because in
first Peter chapter 4 verses one

736
00:54:41,400 –> 00:54:45,800
and two, we have a very clear
evidence that Peter understood

737
00:54:45,800 –> 00:54:48,160
suffering.
He understood trial.

738
00:54:48,280 –> 00:54:51,040
He was no longer rooted in
shallow soil.

739
00:54:51,160 –> 00:54:56,400
He was rooted deep into Christ
because he says this.

740
00:54:57,480 –> 00:55:04,640
For as much then as Christ has
suffered for us, arm yourselves

741
00:55:04,640 –> 00:55:12,280
likewise with the same mind.
For he that has suffered in the

742
00:55:12,280 –> 00:55:17,640
flesh has ceased from sin, that
He no longer should live the

743
00:55:17,640 –> 00:55:22,960
rest of his time in the flesh.
To the lusts of men, the things

744
00:55:22,960 –> 00:55:30,560
that men savor, but to the will
of God, the things that God

745
00:55:30,560 –> 00:55:36,760
savers.
Boy, He was rooted then, He was

746
00:55:36,760 –> 00:55:41,200
rooted then.
You know what?

747
00:55:41,240 –> 00:55:43,920
How do you take Stony soil and
make a good soil?

748
00:55:45,480 –> 00:55:51,680
How do you do it?
You take the stones out, you

749
00:55:51,680 –> 00:55:56,360
know, as a stone is just useless
on the ground.

750
00:55:57,920 –> 00:55:59,320
It’s just something you throw
away.

751
00:56:00,440 –> 00:56:06,360
But what happens when you shape
that stone and you build it on

752
00:56:06,360 –> 00:56:09,720
the foundation of the foundation
stone?

753
00:56:09,920 –> 00:56:15,560
You chisel away the edges, you
chisel away the sharp bits.

754
00:56:16,000 –> 00:56:19,600
You change it.
You know, you build.

755
00:56:19,600 –> 00:56:22,240
You take a stone, you dig up
from the ground and you plant

756
00:56:22,240 –> 00:56:24,920
that on a foundation.
Is that building going to be

757
00:56:24,920 –> 00:56:27,600
very secure?
Course not.

758
00:56:27,840 –> 00:56:29,960
The mortar’s not going to be
able to hold that, that

759
00:56:29,960 –> 00:56:32,080
misshapen stone onto the
foundation.

760
00:56:32,080 –> 00:56:37,480
They it doesn’t fit.
But if you shape it well, how do

761
00:56:37,480 –> 00:56:39,000
you shape it?
You use a chisel.

762
00:56:40,400 –> 00:56:41,920
Sounds a lot like suffering to
me.

763
00:56:43,560 –> 00:56:45,680
You know, there is a brother in
Christchurch who just passed

764
00:56:45,680 –> 00:56:49,200
away.
His name is Uncle Paul Vogel and

765
00:56:49,200 –> 00:56:57,520
he died of cancer and he had a
big influence on me and his wife

766
00:56:57,520 –> 00:57:03,400
told me that, he said with my
dying breath, I want to praise

767
00:57:03,400 –> 00:57:10,920
God.
Every time I met that man, he

768
00:57:10,920 –> 00:57:15,800
would talk about his hope.
And what he’s really saying is,

769
00:57:15,800 –> 00:57:17,520
Ben, I want to give you this
hope.

770
00:57:17,760 –> 00:57:20,120
I spent my whole life thinking I
wasn’t good enough.

771
00:57:20,320 –> 00:57:22,720
I spent my whole life thinking
that God will reject me.

772
00:57:22,880 –> 00:57:26,920
I spent my whole life thinking
that that that I was going to be

773
00:57:27,000 –> 00:57:30,800
cast out.
What foolishness and what a

774
00:57:30,800 –> 00:57:34,720
waste of time that was.
He said God is able to save.

775
00:57:35,880 –> 00:57:38,920
I showed you young people at the
Bustleton camp a video of that

776
00:57:38,920 –> 00:57:42,160
man.
He’s passed away now.

777
00:57:46,400 –> 00:57:51,080
I loved that man.
But you know his, his stone was

778
00:57:51,080 –> 00:57:55,120
shaped.
His ground was deep.

779
00:57:57,720 –> 00:58:00,160
He took the stones out of the
ground.

780
00:58:00,680 –> 00:58:04,840
He took those petros and he
shaped them, and it was made

781
00:58:04,840 –> 00:58:08,160
into a living stone built up on
Christ.

782
00:58:08,800 –> 00:58:24,660
And so strong, not shallow,
strong as Jesus would say, Thou

783
00:58:24,660 –> 00:58:31,540
shalt worship the Lord thy God
and him only shalt thou serve.

784
00:58:37,730 –> 00:58:41,930
So Peter understood, didn’t he?
He got it.

785
00:58:43,770 –> 00:58:46,770
He put down his roots deeply
into Christ.

786
00:58:51,880 –> 00:58:55,160
So now I need to conclude these
studies that we’ve had together,

787
00:58:55,160 –> 00:58:57,160
brothers and sisters, and it’s
hard to do that.

788
00:58:58,160 –> 00:59:00,240
How do I conclude them?
I don’t even know.

789
00:59:02,800 –> 00:59:08,920
But I will tell you this.
I hope that these studies have

790
00:59:08,920 –> 00:59:11,320
allowed you to better understand
the Lord Jesus Christ.

791
00:59:11,320 –> 00:59:14,640
What I want to do is help you
and help me build a relationship

792
00:59:14,640 –> 00:59:18,680
with this man.
See, see, we can read about the

793
00:59:18,680 –> 00:59:22,440
Lord and not, not get his
frustration, not see him sigh

794
00:59:22,440 –> 00:59:26,480
deeply, not not see how
desperately he wanted to be

795
00:59:26,480 –> 00:59:29,840
known, but he wouldn’t reveal it
of himself because he would not

796
00:59:30,520 –> 00:59:35,800
allow his his ego and his pride
to to get in the way of God

797
00:59:35,800 –> 00:59:38,200
revealing him in his time.
He wouldn’t do it.

798
00:59:40,680 –> 00:59:45,320
He would wait on God.
I never, I, I didn’t realize

799
00:59:45,320 –> 00:59:49,320
that before.
I didn’t see that trial for the

800
00:59:49,320 –> 00:59:57,400
Lord like I could hear.
I hope in these studies you see

801
00:59:57,400 –> 01:00:01,440
him in faith.
I hope you see the rock on which

802
01:00:01,440 –> 01:00:04,520
you need to build and that you
build on no other rock.

803
01:00:06,440 –> 01:00:09,640
And I hope you see the contrast
between the things that men

804
01:00:09,640 –> 01:00:12,080
savor.
You know, there’s a lot of

805
01:00:12,080 –> 01:00:17,840
things our brotherhood is not.
We basically have no money in

806
01:00:17,840 –> 01:00:20,960
our brotherhood and we have no
power.

807
01:00:21,880 –> 01:00:29,160
We have no Princess, no
rulership where there’s a bunch

808
01:00:29,160 –> 01:00:34,720
of small communities.
And maybe that means you think

809
01:00:34,720 –> 01:00:38,320
we’re highly inefficient.
Has anyone here thought that

810
01:00:38,320 –> 01:00:39,720
Chris elephants are highly
inefficient?

811
01:00:39,760 –> 01:00:41,600
We do.
We do the same thing 100 times

812
01:00:41,600 –> 01:00:47,840
badly rather than once.
Well, right, Thank goodness.

813
01:00:49,920 –> 01:00:54,840
Thank goodness there’s no money.
There’s no power or any of the

814
01:00:54,840 –> 01:00:59,960
things that men savor in this
community because it would

815
01:00:59,960 –> 01:01:04,600
corrupt it.
I would take the inefficiency

816
01:01:04,600 –> 01:01:11,840
100 out of 100 times to not have
institutionalized the truth.

817
01:01:13,400 –> 01:01:16,680
We are a group of people who
simply love the word together.

818
01:01:17,880 –> 01:01:27,120
We have no Princess, we have no
kings because we have a king and

819
01:01:27,120 –> 01:01:29,840
we are built on him.
And whether we meet in

820
01:01:29,840 –> 01:01:30,600
Christchurch.