The Founding of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ

Matthew 16:13-20 – When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

There are at least three things in these verses we need to understand:

1.       We must know who Jesus is.

2.       We must know what the church is.

3.       We must know why Jesus charged his disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.

I.    We must know who Jesus is.

A.     There was a lot of confusion about who Jesus is.

1.       Some said he was John the Baptist.

2.       Some said he was Elijah.

3.       Some said he was Jeremiah.

4.       Some said he was some other of the prophets.

B.     The religious Jews didn’t know who Jesus was and wouldn’t hear even when they were plainly told.

1.       John 10:24-33 states, Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

2.       The Jews asked plainly, and Jesus told them plainly, but they still didn’t understand, and tried to stone Jesus when they understood Jesus to say he was the Son of God.

3.       If the Jews had simply believed the works Jesus did, they would have been able to believe his words.

C.     Jesus stressed that even though there was much confusion about who he was, he did not want the disciples to be confused.

1.       Peter answered for the group when he confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

2.       The word “Christ” means that Jesus is the anointed one of God; he is the Messiah.

3.       The Jews took the Messiah to be the one who would lead the nation of Israel away from captivity of the Romans and to being a world power once again.

4.       Others didn’t know exactly what the Messiah would do; they were simply looking for the redeemer of Israel.

D.     Jesus replied to Peter’s statement, …Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

1.       Jesus is stating that salvation (the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God) does not come by education; it comes by revelation.

2.       God the Father reveals that Jesus is His only begotten son.

3.       It is not head knowledge; it is heart knowledge.

4.       It is not natural knowledge; it is spiritual knowledge.

5.       It is not common sense; it is uncommon sense.  [1]

II.    We must know what the church is.

A.     Note the word “also” in verse 18.

1.       This word means “moreover,” or “in addition to.”

2.       So we see that Christ is revealing something in addition to the revelation that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

a.       Jesus is saying that the church is in addition to salvation.

b.       Salvation comes first, and then the church is the place of service.

3.       Jesus declares, …thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

4.       The word “Peter” is the Greek word “Petros” and means “a piece of stone,” or “a little rock.”

B.     The meaning of Peter’s name.

1.       The purpose of this study is to understand that Peter, nor the confession of Peter, is not the foundation of the church.

a.       Jesus Christ is the foundation of salvation.

b.       Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church and true Christian service.

2.       Peter means “little stone,” while Christ is the “massive rock,” the “Rock of Ages.”

3.       Simon Barjona means:

a.       Simon means “One of the sons of Jacob.”

b.       Barjona means “Son of Jonah.”

4.       The word “rock” is the Greek word “petra” and means a mass of rock, and refers to the Rock of Ages, which is God, or in this case, Christ, the son of the living God.

a.       John 1:42 gives scriptural proof that Peter is not the rock the church is build upon by stating, And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

1.)    The word “Cephas” means a hollow rock, or a rock that bows down to another. 

2.)    This is what Peter did when he was saved: he recognized his depravity, and trusted Christ to forgive him and keep him forever.

5.       The word “stone” is the Greek word “petros” which means a little rock.

a.       Jesus is calling Peter by the name he received from Christ when they were first introduced.

b.       The word is “Cephas,” which is “stone,” and is the Greek word “petros.”

6.       Ephesians 2:20 declares that the apostles are “little stones,” while Jesus is the chief corner stone.  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

7.       I Peter 2:4-5 declares this same truth by stating, To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

C.     What is it that Jesus is going to build?  The definition of the word “church.”  The word “church” comes from the Greek word “ekklesia,” which originally meant “a called out assembly.”  [2]

1.       Men have changed the definition of the word “church.”

2.       The original meaning was a called out assembly.

3.       The meaning has been changed to mean all the saved.

4.       The term “all the saved” in the Bible refers to the family of God.

D.     The word build.

1.       Christ will build his kind of church by adding people to his church from every generation.

2.       There will be many people saved in every generation, but all these people are not added to the Lord’s kind of church – some of them are added.

3.       The Bible term “family of God” refers to all the saved – those adopted into the family of God by salvation.

4.       The Bible term “church” refers to the assembly of scripturally baptized believers who meet together for the explicit purpose of worshipping and serving God together.

E.      There was a time when there was no church.

1.       This may sound like a strange thought, but it is absolutely the truth.

2.       We are accustomed to thinking and talking in terms that leave the impression that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ has always been; that the church never really started.

3.       If the church never started, what did Jesus mean when he said in Matthew 16:18, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it?

4.       Some folks believe the church and Israel are the same, but remember there was a time when Israel began, just as there was a time when Christ originated his church. 

F.      The beginnings of the nation of Israel can be traced back to Genesis 12:1,2 when God spoke to Abram while he was living in Ur of the Chaldees, saying, Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

1.       When God told Abram he would make of him a great nation, he was speaking of building the nation of Israel.

2.       Today, we see the nation of Israel as an already formed nation in its own right, but we must remember there was a time when the nation of Israel didn’t exist.

3.       We must also remember there was a time when the church Jesus founded (organized) didn’t exist and that Matthew 16:18 refers to the time when Jesus would begin to build up his kind of church.

G.     It is perfectly evident that the nation of Israel and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not the same thing.

1.       The nation of Israel has all the privileges and authority of a nation.

2.       The assembly (church) of the Lord Jesus Christ has none of the privileges and none of the authority of a nation.

H.     The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

1.       In every generation there will be a faithful church (assembly) that traces its history (founding) back to Jesus Christ.

a.       This is a blessed promise.

b.       During the dark ages, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ was passed back into obscurity, but it didn’t disappear or go out of existence.

2.       Some trace their history to the reformation but that is not far enough back.

a.       Martin Luther may have been a good man, but he didn’t establish the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

b.       John Calvin may have been a good man, but he didn’t establish the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

c.       There have been many good men, but Jesus established (founded) his kind of church and will be with his church continually.

3.       God gave his promise to Israel and he has been with that nation.

4.       God gave his promise to his church and he has been with his kind of church. [3]

I.        Matthew 16:19 – And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven…  There is a change of authority from Israel to the kind of church Jesus established during his personal ministry.

1.       The phrase “keys of the kingdom of heaven” means authority.

a.       A key to a house is the authority to enter into that house.

b.       A key to a safe-deposit box is authority to look into that safe-deposit box.

c.       A key to a car is the authority to drive that car.  (Every teenager [and every mom and dad] knows that!)

d.       The scriptures will reveal to us that Christ is going to remove the keys of the kingdom from the nation of Israel and give the keys to the church Christ organized during his own personal ministry.

2.       Many people today dislike authority – bumper sticker – Question Authority!

a.       Most everybody wants to believe they are an authority unto themselves – that they are answerable to nobody but themselves.

b.       This is why so many people change the definition of the word “church” from an assembly to mean all the saved.  We must remember that the words “family of God” speaks of all the saved, while the church refers to the assembly of God – the local assembled church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

c.       The fact is we are all answerable to Jesus Christ – He is the final authority.

3.       Scriptures concerning the key.

a.       Luke 11:52 – Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

1.)    Lawyers of Israel are scribes.

2.)    They are Jews who study the law of God and teach the law of God to all the people.

3.)    These lawyers (scribes) had perverted the law of God into the law of man.

4.)    Lawyers had added the traditions of men to the law of God, making the law of God of none effect. (Matthew 15:6 states, …Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.)

5.)    Therefore Christ will remove the keys from the nation of Israel, and will give the keys to his local churches.

b.       Jesus Christ has the right (authority) to give the keys of the kingdom of heaven to whomsoever he pleases.  There are several keys mentioned in the Bible, and all of these keys speak of authority and power.

1.)    Rev. 1:18 – I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 

2.)    Rev. 9:1 – And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 

a.)    When the fifth trumpet sounds, an angel is given the key to the bottomless pit, which turns look terrible creatures on the earth. 

b.)    So Christ is in charge of the key to the bottomless pit.

3.)    Rev. 20:1 – And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  This angel uses the key to lock Satan in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years while Christ rules with a rod of iron on this present earth.

4.)    Christ is also has authority over the keys of David.

a.)    Rev. 3:7 – And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

b.)    The key of David refers to the authority (power) of God over the nation of Israel.

c.)    Isaiah 22:22 states, And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 

1)      God said he would give authority to …Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 

2)      These verses conclusively prove that Christ has authority and will give that authority to whomsoever he desires.

c.       Matthew 21:23-46 speaks about the transfer of authority from the nation of Israel to the church Jesus will build (found, or organize) during his personal ministry.

1.)    Matthew 21:23-27 – The Pharisees ask Christ where he got the authority to teach, and to mighty works.  Christ asked them to tell them where the authority of John came from. When they wouldn’t answer, Christ told them he wouldn’t tell them where he got his authority.

2.)    Matthew 21:28-32 – Christ gave the first of two parables explaining that publicans and harlots will be in the kingdom of heaven before they are because they said they would be obedient to God, but rejected him.

3.)    Matthew 21:33-46 – Christ gives the second of two parables titled “The Wicked Husbandmen.”  In this parable, Christ describes the wickedness of the Jews when they rejected Jesus Christ, and how Jesus will take the kingdom of God from them and give it to another.

d.       Two times Jesus cast out the moneychangers. 

1.)    Once in the beginning and once in the end of his ministry. 

a.)    The first time, he said, …Ye have made it a den of thieves. 

b.)    The second time he said, Your house is left unto you desolate. 

2.)    The principle is that the final cleansing was part of removing the oracles of God from the nation of Israel, and transferring the oracles of God (keys of the kingdom) to his church. 

3.)    See Matthew 21:12-14; Mark 15-19; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-17.

4.)    Jeremiah 7:11 states, Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. 

4.       John 20:19-23 describes the actual transference of authority from the nation of Israel to the newly formed church.

a.       This is when the church received inward power (authority) from Jesus Christ.  This scripture includes the Great Commission (the same as in Matthew 28:18-20), the reception of the Holy Ghost (the church receiving power from on high), and the statement that whatever they (the church) does on earth will be done in heaven.

b.       Acts 2 – On the Day of Pentecost the church received outward power as reflected in the fulfillment of scripture (Joel) and 3,000 people were saved and added to them, Acts 2:41, …and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.  [4]

J.       Matthew 16:19, …and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

1.       Some believe this verse obligates God to whatever the church approves. 

a.       That is obvious error as churches are filled with saved sinners, who might miss the perfect will of God. 

b.       There is ample evidence throughout church history of errors made by God’s people. 

c.       No person or church will ever bind God or force him into error or to do that which is against his eternal will and determination. 

2.       This verse is confirmation of the authenticity of the transfer of authority to the newly established church. 

a.       God will so direct his church (if they submit themselves to his leadership) that whatever he leads them to bind or loose on earth is also bound or loosed in heaven. 

b.       Jesus Christ lead his church while he was upon this earth, and will continue to lead his church from heaven. 

c.       Jesus Christ is the head of his earthly churches, even as he is God. 

III.    We must know why Jesus charged his disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.

A.     Note the word “then” in Matthew 16:20.

1.       This word reveals there is a progression in the language of Christ.

2.       The first part of this message is that it is absolutely essential to know that Christ is the literal Son of God.

3.       The second part of this message is that after knowing that Jesus is the literal Son of God, additional knowledge is gained in understanding how to serve the living God and giving him glory through his local assembly.

4.       The third part of this message comes after salvation and church membership and involves understanding why Christ told his disciples not to tell any man that he was Jesus the Christ.  There are two things to consider here.

a.       This part has to do with authority.

1.)    In Matthew 16:13-20 (when Christ began to organize his kind of church) the authority to preach the everlasting gospel still remained with the nation of Israel.

2.)    The Jews had been warned over and over again that Christ was going to remove his protective hand from them (his authority), and give it to another, but they wouldn’t repent and believe him.

3.)    That authority will not be transferred to the newly formed church of the Lord Jesus Christ until John 20:21-23.  And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

b.       This part has to do with obedience when it doesn’t make any sense to obey.

1.)    Many times we find it easy to obey when we understand why.  But that is not walking by faith.

2.)    Walking by faith is obeying when we don’t understand; we are obeying because God said.

B.     Now, let us look at the statement itself.  The statement by Christ appears in other scriptures as well as the scripture before us, Matthew 16:20.  There are five different occasions when Jesus instructed people not to tell anybody that he is the Christ.

1.       Jesus healed a leper and told him not to tell anybody that Jesus is the Christ.

a.       Matthew 8:4 – And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

b.       Luke 5:14 – And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

2.       As in the occasion in our text: Matthew 16:20, Jesus told his disciples not to tell anybody that he is the Christ.

a.       Matthew 16:20 – Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

b.       Mark 8:30 – And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

c.       Luke 9:21, 22 – And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; 22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

3.       Jesus healed the man that was deaf and told him to tell no man that he is the Christ.  Mark 7:36 – And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

4.       At the mount of Transfiguration, Jesus told his disciples not to tell anybody that he is the Christ.  Mark 9:9 – And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

5.       Jesus brought the 12-year-old girl back to life, and then told her parents not to tell anybody that he is the Christ.  Luke 8:56 – And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

C.     Reasons Jesus told people not to tell that he is the Christ.

1.       According to Matthew 8:4, when Jesus healed the leper, (and when he brought the 12 year old girl back to life as described in Luke 8:56) he instructed him to not tell anybody that he is the Christ, but rather go to the Jews, and offer the sacrifice commanded in the law for a testimony unto them. 

a.       The healed leper offering the sacrifice would show the Jews that Jesus was not against the law, but rather upheld the law. 

b.       Also, when the leper appeared with the proper sacrifice, the Jews would want to know how he was healed. 

c.       The healed man would then tell them, and that would be a witness to them that Jesus is the Christ.

2.       Another reason is given in Luke 9:21,22. 

a.       These verses explain that Christ must suffer many things of the Jews, be rejected of them, crucified, die, and be raised the third day. 

b.       It is seen in Matthew 16:21,22 and Mark 8:30, 31 that immediately after Christ told his disciples not to tell anybody that he is the Christ, he began to teach them that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things, and finally be killed and raised again the third day. 

c.       A premature discovery by the Pharisees of just who Jesus is would cause them to carry out their wicked aims against Him ahead of time.

3.       Mark 7:36 records that telling people that Jesus is the Christ hindered his ministry.  When the deaf man was healed, Jesus …charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

4.       It is only at the Mount of Transfiguration that the disciples obeyed in not publishing abroad what they had seen. 

a.       Mark 9:9,10 records, And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. 10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. 

b.       It is good that the disciples obeyed, and it would be good if we all obeyed the commandments of God, even if we don’t fully understand them. [5]

D.     Another reason. 

1.       Matthew 26:63-66.  During the trial of Jesus Christ, the Pharisees and Scribes called many witnesses against Him, but the witnesses got everything confused and their testimony contradicted each other.  The people then began to question Christ, trying to find some evidence against Him in his answers.  When they brought Him before Pilate, in Luke 23:1-4, they accused Christ of treason (falsely accusing Him of teaching against paying taxes), and that He was a king.  When Pilate asked Christ if He was a king, He said, …Thou sayest it. whereupon Pilate turned to the people and said, …I find no fault in this man. Luke 23:4.

2.       Now read Matthew 26:63-66, But Jesus held his peace.  And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.  What think ye?  They answered and said, He is guilty of death.

3.       Notice that Jesus did not say He was the Son of God.  He said, …thou hast said.  They heard what they wanted to hear and condemned Jesus to death.

4.       Now to tie this in with Matthew 16:20.  If the disciples has openly confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, the Pharisees would probably have killed them too, but that the scripture might be fulfilled, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. (John 18:9)  Jesus commanded His disciples to not confess that He was the Christ.