After warning the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Mt 16:6, aka religion), the Lord Jesus proclaims the building of the Church – which means 1) the Church is not man’s idea, but God’s, and 2) Church has nothing to do with religion. On the contrary, it is founded through the knowledge & confession of the true Jesus – the Messiah, Son of the Living God (V16).
Why at Caesarea Philippi did Jesus ask His disciples about who He is? (V13) Because it was a city dedicated to Caesar, where a temple was built for emperor worship. But Jesus wants His disciples to make up their mind about who they want to follow: Caesar or Him? Therefore, this decision to follow Jesus is not only important for personal salvation, but for the establishment of the true Church. This means that the true Church must be formed by true disciples who only follow Jesus, not half-heartedly or alongside something else. In other words, the moment we truly claim Jesus to be Lord, we would become the true Church. But why are there ‘Christians’ who do not attend church or belong to a church? It means they do not know the true Jesus or never have an encounter with Him. …Read More
The Church that Jesus proclaims is one that must manifest the power & authority (‘keys’) of the Kingdom of Heaven (V19). In specifics, it has power to ‘bind’ & ‘loose’. Binding & loosing are legal terms, meaning to ‘forbid’ & ‘permit’ something. Thus, a Church that moves in the power to bind & loose holds the authority of the Word. This includes the authority to discipline or even excommunicate an unrepentant believer (Mt 18:18). Thus, the true church is not to be messed with, because whatever the Church proclaims or denounces stands – on earth as it is in heaven.
But what hinders this authority of the Church is the incorrect understanding of Jesus. Peter, when told of His Teacher’s suffering & death, opposed Him & was rebuked as ‘Satan’ (V22). Why? Because he had a self-centred understanding of the Messiah – he wanted this Messiah to satisfy his own terms. Likewise, when we pursue the Messiah for our own selfish goals or objectives in life, we become a ‘stumbling block’ (V23) to the Lord and therefore to the church, even doing what the devil does, and eventually kills Jesus.
The ‘things of men’(V23) are, in short, all the things that are not of God, and not according to God’s will. The relationships we prioritise more than God, the life dreams we want to achieve, the comforts of the world that we cannot give up (e.g early retirement) – all which do not involve God and are not for God, are hindrances to being a true disciple, and therefore hinderances to the true church. True disciples are ones who must “deny themselves” – i.e. lay down their life completely, and having nothing for themselves – “carry their cross” – i.e. live a martyr’s faith life, ready to suffer for Christ even to the point of death (V24).
