The importance of words

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:13-19)

Have you ever thought of words as being solid, permanent things? It sounds odd, I know—after all, spoken words cannot be seen or touched and written words can be erased. Furthermore, words can be contradicted or rewritten—the editors of a new edition of an encyclopedia often rewrite old entries, and a conservative newsman often reports daily events very differently than an announcer who is liberal. Words would not seem to have much in the way of permanence.

But words are much more permanent than you might think. A revised edition of a book might correct typographical errors, yet the first edition is the one that goes up in value. If you hear on the news that a man in town has been arrested for child molestation but he is later found innocent in court, are you more likely to remember the fact that he was acquitted or will you always regard him with disgust and fear because of the accusation? After a fight in which your loved one says something that hurts you deeply, when you offer forgiveness do you completely forget those hurtful words? If you grew up with the King James Version of the Bible, has any other translation taken its place in your heart? As you can see, words can indeed become a permanent part of our lives.

Because words can become a permanent part of us, forever changing how we think about God, the world, and the people in our lives, we must take words very seriously. Words have tremendous power. The person who said "sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me" was a liar—the hurt from a harsh word can take much longer to heal than the bruise gotten during a shoving match. Words have the power to bring about dramatic change. It was by His spoken word that God brought forth light to dispel the darkness—in Genesis chapter one we read: God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. It was by His spoken word that Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead; Mark tells us He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (Mark 5:41). Words are so powerful that the Apostle John even identifies Jesus as the "Word of God" made flesh (John 1:14).

Because words are powerful, we must speak when there is something important to say. When we have words that can permanently change the life of another person for the better, we must speak those words. In Romans 10:9-10 Paul tells us, if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. A Christian is not a silent man or woman who believes in secret; a Christian is a believer who shares Jesus’ words of life with others.

In today’s Gospel reading, Simon Peter says words of lasting importance. Jesus asks him to make a confession, a statement of an important truth. Jesus asks Simon to say out loud what be believes in his heart about his Lord. In response, Simon states a great, life-changing truth: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In this short phrase, Simon Peter sums up who Jesus is, and what Jesus came to earth to do.

First, Simon calls Jesus the Christ. "Christ" means Anointed One. In Bible times, a person was set aside for important work by anointing them. In the name of God, oil was poured on the head of men to consecrate them as kings to lead God’s people or to ordain them as priests who would work for God in His Temple. By referring to Jesus as the Christ, Simon Peter was identifying Jesus as a man who was set apart by God to do a most important work—the work of saving mankind from sin, death, and the devil.

Second, Simon identifies Jesus as the Son of the living God. Jesus is not only a Son of Man chosen by God to reconcile fallen humanity to its perfect Creator, Jesus is at the same time the divine Son of God, existing with the Father from eternity, infinite in power and wisdom and love. Jesus is both fully man and fully God—not a hybrid or crossbreed, but truly two-in-one.

This is the central truth of the entire Bible. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. We have a God, and He is living today—this means that we have a place to go to for help anytime that we are in need! And we can be confident that this living God cares about us, because He cared enough about our eternal welfare to send His Son to personally represent Him to us. This Son was sent to do the work of the Christ. He was sent to tell us about God—that God loves us but that He will not tolerate the sin that every one of us dirties himself with on a daily basis. Jesus was sent to us as God’s Prophet.

The Christ was also sent to rescue us from the problem of sin. Our sin separates us from God, and if we die separated from Him, we will be separated from the only source of love for all eternity. So Jesus came to act as our Priest. Jesus offered to make settlement with God for our wrongdoings—He made this settlement by accepting God’s punishment for our sins as our substitute. Jesus suffered all of God’s anger at human sin as He hung on the cross, culminating with His death—the death-sentence that each of us has earned for ignoring God as we make our decisions as to how to lead our lives. Because Jesus acted as our Priest, we can come to Him for forgiveness and restoration to God’s loving favor.

Finally, the Christ was appointed to be our King. As our King, Jesus gives us protection from our enemy, the devil—Jesus offers us strength to withstand the temptation to do wrong and guarantees that the devil will not claim us for hell, so long as we remain faithful subjects of Jesus our King. As our King, our Lord also shows us how to live happy and fulfilling lives—Jesus instructs us how to love unselfishly, how to forgive, and how to live life with purpose. And as our King, Jesus has the power to call us back from death to life—as citizens of His kingdom, we are promised unending life in a place of perfection and joy.

Simon Peter said it all—with the words "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" Simon summed up what the holy Bible is all about. And this statement was so important that Jesus replied: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Simon’s statement of the truth about Jesus was so important that Jesus built the holy Christian Church upon it!

I said earlier that words can be powerful and permanent in our lives. Jesus illustrates that point by speaking of rocks. First, Jesus gives Simon the name Petros, from which we get the word for something rock-like, petrified. God the Father had revealed to Simon the one truth that can serve as a secure foundation for living life, and Jesus commemorates this revelation by likening Peter, now in possession of this great truth, to a solid rock. Then Jesus tells us that on this rock I will build my church, on this life-changing confession of the truth He will construct a society of believers for all the years to come. How strong is the Church? If the Church remains true in believing this truth and speaking it boldly to others, the gates of Hades will not overcome it; the forces hell will not be able to destroy the community of believers.

This Church established by Christ has an awesome responsibility: our Lord says I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. When God the Father gives us the knowledge of who Jesus is and what He has done, we are given a tremendous responsibility: our actions—or inactions—can impact who will enjoy access to the heavenly realms! What are the keys to the kingdom? What is it that allows entry into the eternal throne room of God? The key is simply this: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). Faith in Jesus is the only key that opens heaven’s gates. And how does a person get his own copy of this heavenly key? In Romans 10:17, Paul tells us faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. This is why Paul tells us that we must speak to others about Jesus; the only way that anyone gets a key to open heaven is by becoming a believer in Jesus as their Savior. And if a person never hears of Jesus, how can they come to have faith in him? Paul asks, how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? (Romans 10:14)

This is the responsibility that you have as a member of Christ’s Church. You can tell what you know of Jesus to other people like Peter did; when you do, they are given the opportunity to come to faith and receive the key to enter heaven. Or you can choose to keep silent about Jesus, hoping that someone else will tell your friend or neighbor about the Lord; but when you make this choice you are hiding the key to heaven, putting the eternal happiness of another person at risk.

Above everything else, Christ's Church is built on a public confession of the truth about Jesus—that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. This statement of Peter is a rock, the only rock that can serve as a safe foundation upon which to build a life, the rock that anchors the Church and provides its strength in a world of confusion and heartache. Words are powerful things—they can destroy a life or redeem a life, as when Jesus says: Friend, your sins are forgiven (Luke 5:20). May you always give thanks that God the Father has revealed this great truth to you, and may you always be proud to speak of the truth that has forever changed your heart.