Matthew 16:13-20 • Don’t Tell
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(This transcript was prepared using software tools and has not been reviewed for complete accuracy.)
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at New City in Chattanooga at Rudy's funeral.
Now when I say Rudy, do some of you know who Rudy is? Yeah. Rudy was the uncle to a thousand people. Right? Yeah. Rudy Schmidt and Colin Schmidt had no children, but they were saints and pillars of the New City Church who said, "The Church of God will not be segregated in heaven. Why should it be now?"
And Rudy and Colin gave themselves to bridging racial barriers and to building a church that would do the same.
And while they had no children of their own, even my children called them Aunt Colin Uncle Rudy, and a thousand other kids did too.
And to hear death is-- I mean, I just can't hear it without thinking of the glory of that funeral.
And praising God for taking Rudy to himself after a grand life.
I'm going to ask that you look in your Bibles this evening at Matthew 16.
When my kids were growing up, the big kids, we call them, they had a very caring teacher who at one point, in order to protect them and other children, taught them a lesson. And it was a real simple lesson. She just said, "Only some secrets are good.
And the only good secrets are about birthdays and Christmas.
And if anybody else tells you to keep a secret, you come tell me."
Well, believe it or not, in this passage of Scripture, Jesus has a secret.
It's one that surprises us and even worries us. Because he is telling his disciples not to tell who he is. The passage that I want to unfold for you begins at verse 13 of Matthew 16.
"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, 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."
Now they're going to come all those important verses about the keys of the kingdom, but go on down to verse 20.
"Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ."
Why would he do that?
Let's pray and ask God to help us understand.
Father, we do thank you for your word,
which has already given inspiration to music that inspires us this evening.
But the music inspires us because of the Son it proclaims.
And here we come across a difficult passage where the Son asks his disciples not to proclaim him.
We need to know why, that we would walk in your truth as you intend.
Help us, we pray, in Jesus' name, Amen.
One of my best stories about someone who made it clear that we were to do as he said and not as he did,
is told by Joe Novinson from Lookout Mountain Church near Chattanooga.
Joe says that when he was in seminary, do a lot of you know Joe Novinson? Do you know that name?
Joe says that when he was at seminary at Westminster Seminary, one of his favorite professors was Jack Miller. I love you know Jack Miller, a name associated with the Sonship Movement, and talking about the reclamation of his daughter at one point, Comeback Barbara, just a wonderful man.
And Jack Miller was taking some students and teaching them about evangelism.
And in the course of teaching them about evangelism, he took them to an apartment complex, and they were doing one of those things that a lot of us did in the 70s and 80s, in order to get an open door to presenting the gospel. Do you remember this? We would take spiritual inventory surveys.
It was the way in which we would trick people to answering questions where we could respond with a God. Well, we weren't tricking them. We were just finding a doorway, right? A way to get in.
And a woman opened the door to one of the apartments, and there she was in her house coat, and curlers, and cigarette, and you know, beer in one hand. And Jack Miller began to, you know, kind of go through the spiritual inventory survey, and she had him figured out like that. She knew what this was about, and she was not about to give in or play along.
Instead, what she began was to yell at them to get away from her door to curse at them and say she wanted nothing to do with what they were talking about. And she just began to go into a tirade. And at that point, Jack Miller, the seminary professor,
just put his hand up, just to quiet her. And when she stopped, he bent over and kissed her on the forehead and said, "God bless you," and they went their way.
When they got out of ear sight, Joe says that Jack Miller turned to him and said, "Don't you ever do that?"
I mean, after all, the best evangelism plans don't involve kissing with the telling.
That's a sure way to get in trouble you don't want.
But here Jesus isn't just saying, "Don't kiss when you tell."
He's saying, "Don't tell at all. Don't you tell people who I am."
Why would he do that?
Now, we have certain intuitions of what it may be. I mean, after all, if we're telling people around us, "Don't tell," we're usually concerned either about trouble or time issues.
"Don't tell" means, "I want to stay out of trouble." "Don't tell."
When our older kids were probably somewhere between about, you know, five and nine in that age bracket, at some point, Kathy had just kind of had her fill of, you know, not only the picking on one another, but the tattling on one another. So we came up with a rule, and here was the rule.
If one cries, Jordan, if one cries, what happens?
Everybody gets spanked.
There is no better plan for developing allies among siblings.
[laughter]
Now, listen, I will grant you, if you've got a true bully in the household, that won't work. Really.
But, I mean, after all, if somebody's used to kind of breaking out in tears to get the other one in trouble, you know, I mean, it's a pretty good plan, right? And as we were kind of getting into new habits with our kids, we would sometimes hear it. We would kind of hear the beginning of a cry, "Don't tell. Don't tell. Don't tell." You know, because everybody was going to get spanked, you know, everybody knew.
If you told, there was going to be trouble.
Now, it's pretty clear that surely one reason that Jesus may have been telling his disciples, "Don't tell,"
was because he wanted to stay out of trouble. If you just look into the next verse, verse 21 of Matthew 16,
"From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed,
and on the third day be raised to life."
You get the impression that if they tell too much, there is going to be a ministry cut short.
The clearest evidence of that, if you'll turn in your Bibles, is in John 11.
In John 11, something amazing has happened. Do you remember? Bethany, Jesus, raises Lazarus from the dead.
I wonder if you know what happened immediately after that. Verse 45 of John 11,
"Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus did put their faith in him." Verse 46, "But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them."
What Jesus had done.
The consequence looked down at verse 53,
"So from that day on," they plotted to do what? To take his life.
"If you tell, they will cut short my life and the ministry I have come to do."
Now, of course, the problem was saying that Jesus tells his disciples not to tell so he would stay out of trouble. It doesn't entirely fit with our image of Jesus, does it?
Don't tell or I'll get in trouble.
After all, you may remember that Luke tells us slightly after this confession period.
Jesus set his face like a... do you remember what it was? He set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem knowing what would happen.
He's not scared of trouble.
That can't fully be the motive to tell people not to tell.
Maybe we get more understanding when we think of other reasons that we tell people not to tell. It's not just to stay out of trouble. Maybe the time isn't right.
You all know, those of you who are members of this church, I travel a lot, and I travel a lot when my kids were in their teens and a lot of responsibility fell to the cafe.
I can remember one particular time of their periods when having some popular boys and a lawn with lots of trees became a magnet for toilet paper.
I mean, we were getting teepee'd over and over again. I don't know how many times I was out in the yard with my rake pulling the toilet paper out of the trees.
So once when I was traveling, our older son, Colin, I won't tell him on Jordan because Jordan's here tonight.
Colin was staying with a friend, and one night he and the friend decided they would get back at some of their friends. So I don't know what time of morning it was, you know. After midnight sometime, they loaded up their knapsacks with rolls of toilet paper and headed out.
Not fully aware that the police of our neighborhood don't really like seeing kids out after midnight with knapsacks on their backs filled with something.
So Colin got picked up.
It was his one experience that I know of, of being arrested.
Now listen, if your kid's got to be arrested, being charged with toilet paper possession is the charge you want.
But I'm out of the country, you know. I don't remember if I'm in Japan or Korea, but I'm making my nightly call, you know, calling home to find out how things are, what's going on.
And of course as I call home, what has Kathy very well schooled the children not to do?
I mean, Dad is, you know, thousands of miles away, so what does she say?
Don't tell.
You know, there'll be time for that when we get back. Now's the right time. He can't do anything about it. He can't fix it. Don't tell.
The time's not right.
Why might the time not be right here as Jesus is hearing his disciples say,
"You are the Christ"?
It's at a place called Caesarea Philippi. This is the trophy room, the outdoor trophy room of the ancient pagan system of the Romans and the Greeks.
This is a place where there are caves and niches that are amidst springs and brilliant crystal clear pools.
And there were sacrifices and idols everywhere, and Jesus apparently is walking through this area of pagan idolatry and says to his disciples,
"Who do people say I am?" And Peter says, "Well, some think you're John the Baptist, some think Jeremiah another prophet, but who do you say that I am?"
"You're the Christ. You're the Son of the Living God."
Why shouldn't that be told everywhere right then?
Well, you already know some of the hearers aren't ready, right?
The leaders of the Jews don't want his message, they want his blood.
But there are other problems too. If you think of the people themselves and what they want when they hear, we do just a few chapters over and go to Mark the first chapter and see how people were reacting to Jesus at this time.
In Mark chapter 1 and verse 40,
"A man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged him on his knees, "If you're willing, you can make me clean."
"Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said, "be clean."
Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
"Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning," verse 44, "see that you don't tell this to anyone."
You're supposed to go to the priest, be declared, but don't spread this around.
Verse 45, "Instead he went out and began to talk freely," spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.
Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. Why do they still keep coming in crowds? And by the way, if you go through the first few chapters of Mark, you'll find it over and over again. He couldn't enter because of the crowd. He couldn't talk to his own family because of the crowd. He couldn't find a place to pray because of the crowd. Some of the hearers want his blood, but more of his hearers just want his goods.
"Heal me, more bread, do another one. I want to see this. This is a circus sideshow."
They don't want the message, they want another miracle.
The hearers aren't ready. But by the way, neither are the witnesses.
You're going to know this without my having you turn to it. There are various places that Jesus begins to heal people, and there are immediate consequences in terms of the nature of the accusation. Jesus heals lepers. Now you need to think in the ancient time what was significant about a leper. If a leper got near to a town or even other people, what did the leper have to say in the ancient culture?
"Unclean, stay away from me." This is more than just the sense of physical contamination. It's the sense of spiritual contamination. Why do you have leprosy? You've obviously sinned in some way. Jesus would heal those who were blind. And even his own disciples had a conclusion about blind people. Do you remember in John 9? "Oh, this man was blind since birth. Who sinned? This man or his parents?"
And of course the worst was to heal somebody who was demon possessed.
Because if that person was demon possessed, surely it meant that they were a sinner. Obviously they were filled with demons.
So that when Jesus healed the lepers, and he healed the blind, and he healed the demon possessed,
what did the leaders of the Jews say was the source of his power?
He can cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. I mean, if you will, for Jesus to get advertising from the lepers, and the blind, and the demon possessed, is really almost to counter his message. It's kind of like Covenant Seminary advertising at the local casino.
Because that might not be the best advertising. For Jesus to be advertised by those who are obvious sinners, or those affected by Satan, may not be the best witness.
But of course there are other witnesses.
Jesus says to Peter, "Who do you say I am?"
Peter says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
But maybe even this witness is not ready yet.
If you'll keep reading in Matthew chapter 16, verse 21, remember, Jesus began to explain that he would have to go to Jerusalem,
and be killed on the third day, be raised to life.
Remember what happens in verse 22?
"Peter took him aside, and began to rebuke him.
Never, Lord," he said, "this shall never happen to you." Jesus turned to Peter and said, "What get behind me, Satan?" Why?
I mean, Peter doesn't want Jesus to die. What could be wrong with that? Because Jesus must die and be raised to life. He must suffer the penalty for the sins of Peter and the world, and be raised the victor of it. And for Peter to say, "Lord, you don't need to do that," is to attest not to the ministry of Christ, but to his own self-sufficiency. I don't need you to do that.
And the message that we don't need Jesus to die for our sin and be raised the victor over them is not the message of Jesus, it is the message of Satan.
The disciples apparently are not just self-sufficient, they are self-serving. Verse 24 of Matthew 16.
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. If whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me will find it." You have to be willing to serve me and not your own self-interest. But if you'll go to chapter 18 in the very first verse, what are these disciples that have just heard that Jesus must suffer, and they must lose their lives in his message? What do these disciples begin to do in Matthew 18 and verse 1? At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
They don't want to sacrifice.
They want to rule.
They are self-serving as well as self-sufficient, and beyond that they are soon to be disappointed.
The end of Matthew 16 says this, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Well, the disciples sure wanted the kingdom to come.
Because what did they think that meant?
Power, rule, the Romans out of here, and we're in charge.
They are self-sufficient, they are self-serving, and they're actually disappointed in the kingdom that Jesus brings. Are these who you want to be your witnesses?
It's obvious they're not ready.
So what is Matthew 28 all about? Now, you even know what's going to be said there, right?
Between Matthew 16 and Matthew 28, something's different. Because by the time you get to Matthew 28 verses 16 through 20, Jesus isn't saying anymore, "Don't tell." What does he say in Matthew 28? He says, "Go tell."
Who?
All nations, tell everybody.
What's different? Well, maybe his enemies now are willing to accept the message. Maybe that's what's different. That's why to tell. Your enemies are pacified, they'll accept. Is that why he says, "Go tell," now?
No, between Matthew 16 and Matthew 28, there has been a crucifixion,
and there will soon be persecution of the church. The enemies are not anymore ready to accept the message.
Well, it must be that the disciples are better prepared now. Surely they have matured.
Surely, you know, they've just, you know, gotten qualified now to tell the message. After all, what has happened to the disciples between Matthew 16 and 28? Let me see. They have betrayed him, denied him three times, doubted him,
and hid from the world.
Somehow, I don't get the feeling that they're more qualified at this point.
Why does he say, "Go tell"?
Go to Matthew 17 and think what's now happened.
The Transfiguration.
This is just after Peter has said, "You are the Christ! You are the Son of the Living God!"
And then said, "I don't really need you."
Jesus goes to a mountaintop, and they're appearing with him are who? Moses and Elijah.
Moses representing the law, Elijah representing the prophets, and the message for all to see as Jesus' face glows like the sun is everything to this point in human history. All the law and the prophets have led to this point. He is the one. This is what this is about. He's the one that everything has been pointing to. And as they're coming down the mountain, verse 9,
"As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen."
Until what?
The Son of Man has been raised from the dead.
What's different in Matthew 28?
It's not that the witnesses are more qualified.
It is that the message is now certified.
What has happened?
The resurrection.
Jesus has now proven something.
He is the one who has pardon and power to deal with those who betray and deny and doubt and hide.
They're not more qualified He is.
The reason they are to speak is that His message now is known for its truth and it is certified to be.
Good for us all despite our great failings.
Even when we're not ready, we proclaim the message because the world is ready to hear what His resurrection has certified.
I couldn't help but think about this when I knew that James was coming.
Some of you know I'm doing a kind of an internet radio program and one of the things that I've been asked to do is kind of get some messages that I did years ago back on recorded form. That's why I'm wearing this microphone like I am tonight.
And one of the messages that I went back 25 years ago to look at was this one.
And I couldn't help but kind of think of the difference of the way I wanted to preach it now and the way I did preach it then.
I had the privilege a few weeks ago of speaking to the officers of this church and talking about what I know they hold so dear.
And it is the nature of grace to transform people.
To actually believe it's not our qualification but God's provision that gives us power and the willingness not just to proclaim Him but to live for Him in every dimension of life.
And I look back over my message where I had gone through the careful exposition of Jesus saying over and over again, "Don't tell, don't tell, don't tell because you're not ready." And you know how I concluded that message 25 years ago? I said to people, "So don't tell anybody until you're ready."
And because that would dishonor God, "Get ready. Get yourselves ready. Get qualified." So you can tell people about, "By the way, when are you going to be qualified?"
It's only I begin to see. What's different? Not in the gospel but in me.
And what I view as the ministry of this church that is so beautiful is that we recognize the reason that we proclaim Jesus is not because we are qualified. It is because the gospel has been certified in the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We tell the world because He's Lord and our Savior, and we know that when we have no deserving of it. And that's what we want to tell. I don't want to tell you I'm qualified. I want to tell you He's qualified to be my Savior and your Lord.
You know, there's a movie that's come out just this weekend. I haven't seen it. I don't recommend it, but I do know this story. It's called The Informant. Some of you are aware of that?
In that movie, there's a man named Mark Whittaker.
And he has been a high executive in Archer's Daniels Midland. And he has been, as this high executive, involved in worldwide price fixing. He's a criminal. He's a crook.
And the FBI begins to investigate this large agricultural conglomerate, finding out what they're doing. But the bosses have well instructed everyone, "Don't tell."
As long as you keep your mouth shut, we can't be caught. Don't tell.
The FBI comes to Mark Whittaker. They begin to question him. And he does not tell.
His wife finds out. And she says to him, "If you don't tell, I will."
We have this huge estate. We have an eight-car garage.
We have a stable on the grounds. And the white fence all around. People go by our house and they say, "The Whittakers have it made."
But you know, and I know, that our lives are empty.
What are you trying to defend?
We don't have anything because of what you're doing. If you don't tell, I will.
Eventually, he tells. And the movie gets made.
But there is something the movie doesn't tell. Do you all know?
The reason she was so confronted with the emptiness of their lives is she was a believer in Jesus Christ.
And she knew that if they continued on the course they were going without telling what had to be told, that this life in itself would be emptiness continued. And so ultimately, he told.
Now the reason I know is because he became a believer too.
And the reason he told and now tells people, this isn't in the movie, but you need to get on YouTube and see some of the interviews with Mark Whittaker,
is he said, "You should not believe what I believe because of me.
I'm bipolar. I've been manic depressive for years.
I suffer with mental illness.
You should not trust Jesus because of me.
You should trust Jesus because he died for you and rose the victor over your sin.
I'm not qualified. He is."
You and I are never going to be ready to tell.
Tell anyway. Because the world is ready to hear and Jesus is ready to save.
Tell Him because He is a certified Savior risen from the dead.
And the world needs to hear that. Though it has betrayed Him, denied Him, doubted Him, and hid from everybody what must now be told.
Tell it now.
And He will save. That's what He says is true.
Father, would you teach us about ourselves?
No better than these disciples. No worse.
Just people unworthy to tell anybody about Jesus.
And yet He counted us worthy to tell the world because He made us worthy through His death and resurrection to tell what He did. Our God and Savior.
Father, let us say that. I've got a message to tell you, my friend, my family.
I'm not qualified to tell you.
But I'll tell you about somebody who's qualified to save you.
His name is Jesus. He loves you. He will forgive you.
And He will enable you to live with Him and for Him forever.
In Jesus name, Amen.