Ordinary People Expressing Extraordinary Devotion Exodus 1:8-2:10; Matthew 16:13-21

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1 Ordinary People Expressing Extraordinary Devotion Exodus 1:8-2:10; Matthew 16:13-21 August 27, 2017 By Dr. David B. Freeman, Pastor Weatherly Heights Baptist Church You may know that the Roman Catholic Church considers Peter to be its first pope. Of course, he wasn t called pope at that time, but Peter was the first in the role that evolved into the papacy. They say that in this text from Matthew 16, when Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom, Jesus gave Peter his authority. So whatever Peter bound earth would be bound in heaven. And whatever he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. Before Peter died, he bestowed that authority onto the next pope by the laying on of hands. That pope then bestowed it upon the next, who bestowed it on the next, etc. The Roman Catholic Church now claims that the authority of Christ himself, the keys of the kingdom, has been passed in unbroken succession from Christ to Peter and eventually to the current pope, Pope Frances. Of course, Baptists were not to be outdone. To counter the Catholic Church s claim, Baptists at one time claimed that we too have unbroken succession all the way back to John the Baptist. It was a kind of gotcha game, but it was more than that too. It was about authority, our right to stand before the world with our message. The Catholics claimed that their authority went back to the Bible and to Jesus himself. Baptists, who probably originated in the early 1600s at the end of the Protestant Reformation, claimed that their authority went back to the Bible too, to John the Baptist. And guess what? John was a little older than Jesus. That s the gotcha part. The problem for Baptists was that our claim was not good history. No serious Baptist historian teaches that today. Since I m not Catholic, I ll not argue for or against the papacy, though I really like Pope Frances. But I do want to ask this question of this very important text: What was going on here? What was going on the day Jesus took his disciples to Caesarea Philippi? This was a highly provocative action, and I ll confess that I didn t really understand it until I went there myself and stood beside the gates of Hades. It was about this time of year several years ago that my colleagues and I ascended the Golan Heights in Israel. We visited the little village of Baniass, long ago called Caesarea

2 Philippi. Back then it was the site of a pagan temple dedicated to the ancient Roman god Pan. There is a cave there. We were not allowed to enter the cave, but we could see the entrance. It was at the base of a tall cliff, and water ran out the mouth of the cave. At one time, it was one of the primary sources of water for the Jordan River. Here s a bit of ancient history that creates the setting for this provocative event. The Romans believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld, Hades, during the winter. That was why nature went dormant in winter. The gods returned each spring and brought new life to the earth. They believed that the cave in Caesarea Philippi, there beside the temple to Pan, was the literal gateway into the underworld, the gates of Hades. Those waters flowing from the mouth of the cave provided transport for Pan and other gods. To entice their fertility gods to return each spring and renew the earth, the Romans gathered around the entrance to that cave and engaged in immoral sexual behavior. As a result, Caesarea Philippi came to be known as the red-light district of their world. A good Jew would not even visit that area. So imagine the surprise of the disciples when Jesus took them to the district of Caesarea Philippi. There were probably a few raised eyebrows, a few hushed comments. It was there in the red light district, against the backdrop of that Roman temple to Pan and the cave into the underworld, that Jesus asked them this question, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? They answered that some were saying that he was John the Baptist come back to life. Others were saying that he was Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. That first question was simply a prop, though. It set up this next question, which Jesus made personal: But who do you say that I am? Footnote: the pronoun you here is plural. We might say y all today. Jesus was addressing all the disciples, asking, Who do y all say that I am?

3 Simon, being the leader that he was, stepped forward and answered for the group. He said to Jesus, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. It was the perfect answer. Now listen to what Jesus said in response. This is why he took them to Caesarea Philippi. Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. In the red light district, standing at the very gateway to Hades, beside the temple to a Roman god, Jesus began a movement called ekklesia, the Church, the ones who are called out. It didn t begin with extraordinary men. It began with ordinary men who had extraordinary devotion to Jesus. This movement wouldn t be perfect, no, but it would prevail. It might ebb and flow through time, but it would prevail. It might have been born in the red light district, but that would not matter. Even the gates of Hades would not thwart the work of the church. It was built upon petra, rock, and it would prevail. Perhaps because he stepped forward and spoke for the group, Jesus changed Simon s name to Peter, which means rock, and gave him special authority. Protestants claim that it was teaching authority. Since he answered rightly, he was given authority to be the principal teacher among the disciples. This text then is about the founding of the church, with Peter as its principal teacher. And we have prevailed, haven t we. Weatherly Heights Baptist Church. Hope Presbyterian Church. Latham United Methodist Church. Good Shepherd Catholic Church. The movement, begun in the red light district of Caesarea Philippi, prevails to this day. You and I and countless others are part of that movement, today s disciples, and, like Peter and the early disciples, we stand upon a rock. We stand in a long line of ordinary men and women who have given extraordinary devotion to Jesus. And sometimes we just need to be reminded of who we are. We are the Church, at least a part of it. We belong to that movement that began with ordinary men who had extraordinary devotion to Jesus. And we are

4 called for the same purpose, to the same work, with the same devotion. We are the Church. Let us never forget that. Fall break is approaching. Families with school age children look forward to fall break. Families where one of the adults is an educator look forward to fall break. When I was a student, I had no idea my teachers looked forward to a break as much as I did, maybe even more! Folks will go to the beach, the mountains, the lake, or just catch up on projects around the house. Fall break is a good time, right? Well, that is true in some communities, but in other communities, school age children are not so eager for fall break. The teachers are leery, too. They know that not only will the children not go to the beach or the mountains or the lake; some will not have regular meals that week because the school cafeteria will be closed. The last few years our deacons have led us to adopt a local school and provide food for the children for fall and spring breaks. All of the children. Nearly 500 students this year. Three meals a day for nine days. It s a lot of work. It s expensive. But we do it. Why? A group of people did not forget that they are the Church. We re about to begin a new ministry for young adults. Why, some may ask. The statistics show that young adults are abandoning the church. They are being called the nones. When asked their religious preference, the check the box that says none. You know why I think they re abandoning churches? It s not because they re not spiritual or religious. They are leaving because of excessively rigid dogma. Pretense. Suffocating orthodoxy. Superficiality. Institution that exist just to keep on existing. Young adults aren t bad people. They are more inquisitive, creative, and aware than ever. They re looking for authenticity. A place to be honest. A chance to explore. They want to be challenged by something that is real. I believe in young adults. I believe that the ministry of this church can be an important part of their lives and their families. So we ve got some dedicated people starting a new ministry to young adults. Why? People did not forget that they are the Church. Now multiply that countless times over through the ages and around the world. We may have had a humble beginning there in the red light district of Caesarea Philippi. But this movement was built upon a rock, and it prevails against the gates of Hades and all the other obstacles put in our way. It s our turn now, Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, all of us.

5 Just ordinary people. It s our turn to express extraordinary devotion to Jesus our Lord. Closing Prayer We are yours, Lord. We belong to you and your Church. Help us to be faithful in our place and time. Amen.