Redeemer Lutheran Church

Matthew 16:13-19 – “Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”

Dear friends in Christ,

This past week I have been thinking about the history of our congregation. According to our church records, Redeemer Lutheran Church was dedicated in November of 1929. That will be 97 years this coming November. I have been serving here at Redeemer for only 10 of those 97 years. But looking back over all those years we see that there have been times of testing for us and there have been times of progress. We became a strong congregation by God’s grace, blessed in so many ways. But now we’ve grown older, weaker – challenged with the work of being Christ’s light in a world that is growing increasingly darker. What does the future hold for us?

We always seem to wonder about the future. We want to know if we will succeed or if we can recover, grow strong again. In the Bible, our Lord encourages us not to worry about the future. In the Old Testament He forbids His people from going to fortune tellers to seek the future, but rather to place their trust in Him. In the New Testament Jesus tells us that worrying about the future will add nothing to our life, but we should rather trust in God who will give us what we need, just as he does the little sparrows and lilies of the field.

Instead of looking ahead, God encourages us to look back. Look back – not to our own successes and failures – but to the faithfulness of God who has given you a strong and solid foundation. In today’s Old Testament lesson, he says: “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug.” He reminds them of his faithfulness to Abraham and Sarah – how he kept the promise to give them more descendants that the stars they could count in the heavens. Even though they were old, God kept his promise and blessed them with a son – and with a multitude of future descendants.

Today’s Gospel lesson also speaks of the foundation on which the church is built. If you want a good building, you need a good foundation. If the foundation is good, the rest of the pieces will fit together. If the foundation is bad, nothing will be plumb or square. The building will never be good in the first place, and far more prone to disaster later on.

Furthermore, if you’re building out of stone, your foundation must have a solid cornerstone if it is to be sound. It must be able to bear the weight and hold the building true.

At times in Scripture, the Church is compared to a building; and if this building is to stand firm and true forever, the cornerstone must be selected carefully indeed.

It is a great mistake to make Peter the foundation and cornerstone on which the church is built. You can understand why people might think that way. Sometimes Peter is so rock solid. He ought to be: After all, the name “Peter” comes from the Greek word petros, which means “rock.” Consider the Gospel lesson for today. Jesus asks the disciples about his identity — who do people think He is, and they respond with the litany of rumors: “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Lots of rumors and sincere beliefs, all of which are wrong. Next, Jesus gets to the point. He asks the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”, and it’s Peter who hits this one out of the ball park. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he confesses, and he is absolutely right. All the “people” out there think that Jesus is some sort of important human being, but nothing more. Peter declares Jesus to be the Christ–the One anointed by God to win salvation for His people; and Peter declares Him to be the Son of the living God–fully divine as well as fully human.

It’s an extraordinary confession of faith, and Jesus tells why: Peter knows this because it has been revealed to him by God. It’s not a logical conclusion arrived at by a smart flesh and blood disciple, but a statement of God-given faith. It’s a rock-solid declaration that Jesus is the long-awaited Savior.

So Jesus continues speaking to Peter: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

In other words, “Peter, you have confessed that I am the Savior, and the church will be built on Me; for I am the rock that will be rejected, but I will be the chief cornerstone. And you, Peter, will proclaim Me to all who will hear, calling all to repent of their sin and believe in Me. When people hear this Gospel and believe in Me, the gates of heaven will be flung wide open for them. But if they refuse to repent and believe in Me, then they will have heard from you that the gates of heaven remain locked to them.”

That’s how Peter and the other Apostles will use the keys of the kingdom: They’ll proclaim the Law and Gospel. They will preach Christ, the Son of the living God and Him crucified. For those who believe, heaven is open. For those who do not, heaven remains shut. Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, and He is the Rock on which the Church is built.

Now, you may well know that some have argued that the rock is Peter, that the Church is built upon this foremost of the apostles. In other words, at that time, all Christians were to submit to Peter’s authority. And after Peter died, all Christians were to submit to whatever bishop took over Peter’s place. To be a Christian, they claimed, one must submit to that authority.

But we must ask the question: Is Peter really the Rock whom Jesus speaks of? Is the Church really built upon this apostle? And, is Peter the Rock that you want the Church to be built on?

You see, sometimes Peter is rock-solid in what he says, as we heard in the Gospel lesson. Sometimes, he is not. What happens in the next few verses of Matthew 16? Now that the disciples know that Jesus is the Savior, Jesus goes on to tell them how He’s going to be the Savior. He tells them that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day (Matt. 16:21). None of the disciples are thrilled with this news, but it’s Peter who pulls Jesus aside and rebukes Him. “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matt. 16:22), he blusters protectively; and for his trouble, Jesus calls him Satan and tells him to step aside. You see, what Peter is saying is, “Lord, there’s no way that You’re going to die on the cross to take away my sins or anybody else’s. I’m going to do my level best to keep You from redeeming us!” Now, I’ll grant that Peter doesn’t understand what he’s doing; but no matter how sincere his misguided intention, he’s trying to keep you from being forgiven. One moment in Matthew 16, Peter is rock-solid. The next, he rolls.

A few chapters later, Matthew 26, Jesus and the disciples are on their way to the Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus is about to be betrayed and crucified. Peter declares boldly, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble” (Matt. 26:33). By the time the cock crows, Peter denies the Lord three times. One minute, he’s a rock. The next minute, he rolls.

Or take the account from Acts 4:8-13. Peter and John have been arrested because Peter healed a man and preached about Jesus, crucified and risen. The same crowd that arranged Jesus’ crucifixion now puts them on trial-a frightening position to be in. What happens? Peter steps up and hits another grand slam: He preaches to the council that they unjustly crucified Jesus Christ, who has since risen from the dead. He tells them that Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 118, that Jesus is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ In other words, Peter tells them that Jesus is the Rock on whom the Church is built. He tells them that there is salvation in no other but Jesus. Look! He’s using those keys of the kingdom: Believe in Jesus and the gates of heaven are open for even you who put Him to death. Reject Him, and the gates stay closed unless you repent.

It’s a gutsy sermon of pure doctrine to those who could have him killed. You’ve got to admire the confession of faith that Peter makes before the council in Acts 4.

But once again, Peter will waver. After preaching salvation in Christ alone in Acts 4, Peter will start to teach that one’s salvation rests partly on his own works. When we get to Galatians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul has to confront Peter and oppose him to his face for teaching false doctrine, and Peter must repent again (Gal. 2:11ff).

Here, he’s a rock. There, he rolls.

Now, don’t misunderstand: I like Peter. I give thanks for the confessions of faith that he makes, and pray that I might follow his example. I’ll even go so far as to give him some primacy among the disciples, for he certainly serves as their spokesman and an ecclesiastical supervisor in the early Church. But he’s not a solid rock who doesn’t move. He rolls. He wavers. He sins. To his credit, he knows this. He doesn’t say that he’s the Rock in Acts 4. Instead, he points to Jesus as the chief cornerstone. In his first epistle, Peter once again declares that Jesus is the living stone and the cornerstone on which the Church is built. He points to Jesus for good reason: Because of his sin, Peter’s not a redeemer, but one in need of redemption. He is saved by Jesus, the chief cornerstone who flings wide the gates of heaven for us.

So, we do not glorify St. Peter. Rather, we give thanks to God for the confession which He gave St. Peter to make. We pray that, by the grace of God, we might follow the example of his bold confession, that we might boldly proclaim Jesus as the only Savior. And we pray that, by the grace of God, we might follow the example of his repentance when we fail. We rejoice in Peter’s confession, because he points to the Rock who will not roll or be moved: He points us to Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Since Peter denies that he is the Rock on which the Church is built, we need to look closely at ourselves because it is a natural temptation for each sinner to consider himself reliable and dependable; if you can’t trust yourself, then who can you trust? Every sinner wants to be a rock who doesn’t roll.

But if you’re so rock-like, how come you still lose your temper? How come you grow impatient? How come you keep falling back into that same old sin you need to be rid of? How come you still nag? How come the half-dressed girl you see on TV still turns your head? How come you still pass on gossip and make groundless assumptions about people? How come you don’t always keep promises, and sometimes make promises that you have no intention of keeping? How come you’re excited about being a Christian at times, and so dissatisfied with it at others? And how come, even when it’s your own fault and failing, your first instinct is to blame others? And how come, even after all this, you still want to trust yourself?

You see, you’re not a rock. You roll, too. You are not a solid foundation, but a sinner in need of forgiveness.

This is why we go back to Peter’s confessions of faith. This is why we turn once again to Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Christ remains the Cornerstone of the church. He does not waver, roll or change His mind toward you. Do you become angry or impatient? He patiently, gently calls you to confess your sin so that you might be forgiven. Do you give in to temptation, greed, lust? The One who selflessly and sinlessly bore your sin to the cross unfailingly offers forgiveness. Do you break promises, tell lies? The Lord speaks the truth and keeps His promises. Do others roll and abandon you? He remains with you always, as promised. Do others forsake? He says, “Here I am-with grace and healing because I’ve won them for you on the cross. Here I am, because I promised at your Baptism that I would never leave you nor forsake you, and I always keep My promises. Here I am, speaking My Word to you, and I always keep My Word to you. Here I am with My body and blood; take and eat, take and drink, for the forgiveness of sins. Here I am, and the gates of heaven are open for you, because I am the Rock and I say so.”

“On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,” we just sang in the hymn. That sinking sand includes all but Christ, including Peter, me and you. But on this day as we remember Peter’s confession, and as you remember 97 years of mission and ministry at Redeemer Lutheran Church, you have reason for great thanks: Jesus remains the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who has purchased your redemption by the shedding of His own blood. He has died, and He is risen; and risen from the dead, nothing can move Him as your rock. Death cannot shift Him even for a moment, and all the devils in all the world cannot prevent Him from telling you that you are redeemed and are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.