COMMUNION MEDIT ATION M ost people have experienced the phenomenon of nightmares: scary dreams that wake us up in a panic or with a sense of dread. Sometimes they re caused by a one-time event, like watching a horror movie or reading a tense novel before bedtime (not a good idea). But some of us experience recurring nightmares that come to us repeatedly. Among common nightmares people report having often are some involving a sense of falling from a great height or being pursued by a dangerous animal or human predator. People with PTSD may find themselves reliving vivid moments from their past: a combat experience or car accident. Personally, my most frequent recurring nightmare (probably stemming from the fact that I spent a lot of years in my childhood and youth going to school and working on degrees) is that I arrive in a classroom one morning and discover, to my panic, that there is a test that day for which I haven t studied. (I can t actually recall that ever happening to me, but somehow my subconscious mind has locked on the Surprise Test as being my personal bogeyman.) That nightmare comes back to my mind when I read our scripture text for today. In this story we will find the 12 inner-circle disciples of Jesus (His graduate seminar ) being presented with a surprise quiz from their teacher and with high stakes. A brief background: these dozen men have spent the past year or more traveling with Jesus, getting to know Him, hearing Him say and seeing Him do amazing things that had never been witnessed
before. Every day seemed to bring a dramatic new development. And now, as a brief respite from their breakneck pace, Jesus invites them to get out of town for a few days, traveling far to the north to the border of their country, near a pagan city called Caesarea Philippi. They go for a bit of R&R, and also for what we might label an off-site corporate retreat. This is not an uncommon thing today. The congressional leaders of the two parties take an annual retreat to the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia to discuss strategy. Management of Silicon Valley tech companies routinely take their creative teams to a resort in Napa Valley for a couple days away. This is what Jesus does: He takes His disciples out of town. During this retreat He is going to talk with His team about how things are going, and will lay out the plan for their next steps. Let s eavesdrop on a portion of their conversation: When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? 14 Well, they replied, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. 15 Then he asked them, But who do you say I am? 16 Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. 17 Jesus replied, You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means rock ), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. Matthew 16:13-18 (NLT) The Two Question Quiz When the pop quiz is sprung on the 12 students, it begins with a comparatively easy and safe question: What are you hearing? What are the polls saying? What s the popular opinion, the conventional wisdom, about who this Jesus of Nazareth really is? They 2
jump right in, sharing the latest gossip and conversations they ve been overhearing. Since Jesus was the most controversial figure of their day, and everyone seemed to be talking about Him and forming opinions about Him, there was plenty of data to analyze. But then the test takes an unexpected turn and suddenly becomes very personal in nature. What about you? Where do you stand? Gulp. Now this is much harder. It s easy to be a passive onlooker, but now they re being asked to make a commitment, to identify themselves. Each of the twelve decides it s a good time to intently study the toes sticking through the front of their sandals. Don t make eye contact with the Master! But then, after an awkward silence, their impulsive and extroverted friend Peter decides he ll take a crack at the question. And he gets it right! Way to go, Pete! Like the guy on Jeopardy who bets his whole stake on the final question and nails it, he s the winner. The lights flash and the gong goes off. Jesus commends him: You are blessed, my friend. The Answer What has Peter figured out? That all the evidence he has witnessed for the past year points unmistakably to Jesus being the Messiah, the Son of the living God. The word Messiah and its Greek equivalent Christ are actually quite difficult to properly translate into English. Some have suggested Anointed or Chosen One. One of our leading American New Testament scholars says the best translation is The Answer. How appropriate for this pop quiz: Jesus is truly the Answer! In fact, He is the Answer to the greatest longings and hopes of mankind; He is the Answer to all the prophecies and predictions of the Old Testament Scriptures; He is the Answer to our desperate desire for meaning and purpose, and our dream of living beyond the grave. He is the One we human beings had been longing for, and He is, in fact, God the Son not just a man, but divine, the power that made the universe concentrated in a human body. Jesus then goes on to caution Peter against getting a swelled head. He assures him it was not his cleverness that figured this out. It was God 3
who opened his eyes to see the truth. This is a good reminder to all of us. We believers are not smarter than other people. We are simply blessed, in that God has illuminated our dark minds and granted us the gift of seeing Jesus for who He is. We have no right to brag, or lord it over others who haven t yet believed. We just do everything we can to help them see as well. Peter s faith is not something he came to suddenly. It had taken months. That reminds us that we shouldn t try to pressure anyone to make a premature and hasty decision to trust in Jesus before they understand. Otherwise a commitment might prove to be shallow or superficial. An altar call at a Billy Graham Crusade may have come at the exact right time for some people to take that step of faith, the way Peter did in Matthew 16. But even Billy would have said openly that some people were moved to come forward by emotions, before they really understood and were prepared to make a true dedication of their life. And those superficial conversions often fall away over time. A Closer Look The conversation between Jesus and Peter isn t finished. And on this day when we remember the impact of the church spread around the globe, with followers of Christ in every country and all of us united by our mutual faith, what comes next is worthy of careful scrutiny. You are Petros, Jesus says (meaning Rocky, the nickname He himself gave months earlier to Simon the fisherman). And on this petra [or rock] I will build my church; and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. There are two questions for us to ask: 1. What does Jesus mean by the words on this rock? What is the rock? It actually has a double meaning. The rock is both the statement of faith Peter voiced, and Peter the man, himself. The Church is built on the solid rock of faith in Christ alone, believing Him to be the world s Savior and Answer. That is, in fact, the sole price of admission to the Christian Church: faith in Jesus, and nothing else. You don t have to earn God s grace, you don t have to qualify, you don t have to prove yourself. You just believe and profess that belief. But the rock also means Peter which is why Jesus 4
gave him that nickname. It was a prophecy. The Lord knew that in the early days of the first generation of His church a strong human leader would keep them anchored. And that is exactly what he proved to be, as we read the Book of Acts. Though he was anything but a rock on the night Christ was arrested (denying he even knew Him), with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost Peter at last grew into his rock-like character. Let s take a brief parenthesis, because of a misinterpretation of this passage. The Roman Catholic Church, from the time of the early Middle Ages, has read back into this conversation between Jesus and Peter a justification for their corporate bureaucratic structure. But Jesus says nothing about an ongoing succession plan, wherein men would be granted the same role as Peter, in perpetuity, as determined by a bunch of guys in red hats. It s simply not there. Peter himself did prove to be a rock of strength and courage in those early years. But his role was historically unique and unrepeatable, not one of dynastic succession. Even before Peter s death, other leaders were being raised up by the Spirit of God (notably, the Apostle Paul) who functioned independently of him. There is no universal organizational structure given for the church in the New Testament. And the church must never be dependent on any fallible human. 2. What does it mean that the powers of hell will not conquer the church of Jesus? The original language actually used the common ancient world figure of speech the gates of Hades. And at that time the gates of Hades were considered the entry to the land of the dead, from which no one could ever return. Some Bible scholars believe that this phrase the gates of Hades will not prevail is a prediction of His own resurrection, that Jesus Himself would enter the gates of death and then break them open, returning to life again and guaranteeing eternity to all who trust in Him. That is true. But I believe there is also a double-meaning, which our current translation brings out. No matter how hard-pressed the Church may be; no matter how vicious the attacks of the enemy Satan and his human allies; no matter how 5
hopeless our cause may appear; in the end, our victory is assured. Satan will lose. The church will be preserved and protected for all history. This does not mean that the struggle won t be fierce, nor that at times we will not suffer defeats. There are many enemies against us both without and within. At times the wolves in sheep s clothing like the abusive priests and corrupt pastors who have brought shame and scandal to the modern church will weaken our witness. At times oppressive governments, or jihadists, will attack and kill those who follow the Prince of Peace. But there will always be a remnant, a core of the true church, to await the return of its Lord. Claiming the Promise On this Worldwide Communion Sunday we cling to this promise with confidence. The Church is built ultimately on Jesus, the Answer, the One who conquered death, and who will preserve and protect all who trust in Him. No matter how hard our times might be, Christ will preserve us and bring us through. And maybe that promise is what you need to claim as well. When you re facing hard times, Christ will preserve you. He will keep you secure in the loving arms of your heavenly Father. 9751 Bonita Beach Road Bonita Springs, Florida 34135 239 992 3233 fpcbonita.org