This sermon was preached by Pastor Naftali Ogalo of Grace Baptist Church, Eldoret, Kenya, for the Lord's Day, 18th April, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. We welcome you to join with us for worship at Grace Baptist Church, Eldoret. We are located within West Indies Air State on Kogo or Kago Street behind Kogo Flats, and that is in Eldoret Town. I bring God's Word this morning, and by way of introduction, something that is quite fresh in our minds is many of us would have followed the funeral service and the burial of Prince Philip. But my point of bringing this is Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were married actually for 74 years by the time Prince Philip died. And we can say therefore that they knew each other well, we hope so. You see, the longer we take with a person, we expect to know them better. Now let me ask you, you have heard my voice for over one year now through these sermons. Would you say you know me better? Would you say? But actually, you know, that is really not very important. That doesn't matter very much. However, I want to bring something that matters most. There is someone who matters. And your relationship with him, let me put it this way, is between life and death. Have you known him? what would you say about him? And you could be wondering, who is that? Follow me as we look at the scriptures. Matthew chapter 16, verses 13 to 20. I want to read that passage in your hearing. Matthew 16, I read from verse 13 to verse 20. Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea's Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that the son of man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And he said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. Let us pray. Lord God, Thank you for the reading of your word, but now we look to you for the understanding of it, so that we may draw help for our souls. We may then indeed follow what the Lord Jesus Christ engaged his disciples in, and that we too may hopefully at the end be able to say, yes, we know the Christ, the son of the living God. Oh God, hear our prayer. Bring good from your word this morning. Help me therefore to explain and apply your word to those who hear. For this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, we've read this passage. I am calling my sermon today, Who is the Son of Man to You? It's a passage we commonly know or refer to as the Great Confession. And indeed, I pray that you will be able with Peter to confess Jesus as the Christ. Now, this passage actually begins a new area in our Lord's ministry. And that is so because in verse 21, which God willing we will see next time, but verse 21 then goes on to say, for from that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and so it goes on, the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. You see, the area of ministry marked by suffering, death, and resurrection is what we now begin. Of course, Jesus had earlier talked to them about his death and resurrection. For example, in John chapter 2 verse 19, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He referred to his death and resurrection, but they did not see it. They did not understand it. Now, this time he's clearer in making these truths known to them. You see, in this passage, we have Jesus' true identity as the Messiah set forth. Let's not forget, Matthew actually has taken us on a long but a very helpful road. We have walked with Matthew as it were, we have lived with him through the mighty works of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of course his great teachings, preachings, and that these things helped Peter to come to His great confession. And it is my prayer and hope that like Peter, we also would be able to say, indeed, He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the one I believe in. I want us to therefore see this in this ways. First, I want us to see the questions which drew about this great confession, the questions that were asked. And then in the second place, of course, this is the great questions, but then I want us to see in the second place the great declarations, the great declarations that are then set forth by the Lord Jesus Christ, and finally, we will see the great or the serious warning given to the disciples. And so, first of all, is the great questions, the great questions. And indeed, I want us to notice then as we look at the question, who is the Lord Jesus Christ with? who is accompanying him in this region, in this particular area where he was. And we are told, not the multitude, and they are definitely not the Pharisees nor the Sadducees. However, it is only the company of his own close friends. So this question comes up to those who are very close to Him. And of course, something else to bear in mind is that this question was asked, or were asked, while the Lord Jesus had deep communion with His Father. What do I mean by that? Luke chapter nine actually captures this that it was while he was praying. And so he was having communion, a wonderful communion with his father, from which or from where he then turns to his disciples and set the question before them. And so let's look at the question. In verse 13, we find the first question. Who do people say that the son of man is? Of course, let's understand this. He did not ask to find out as though he was ignorant, no. He knew all things and surely it was for their own good that he would bring this question out this way. So when he asks, who do people say that the son of man is, he got various answers given. There are actually three in three sets. Some say John the Baptist. Now you would remember actually that this was Herod's idea. Herod in chapter 14 verse two, Herod we are told, that when his disciples or his servants were talking about these things for him, that is for Herod, he said, this is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead. That is why these miracles, miraculous powers are at work in him. You see, Herod basically confused Jesus with John the Baptist. Well, so, for Herod and people like him, they thought, ah, this must be John the Baptist. Now, for others, we are told, they said, Elijah, Elijah. Now, we would remember that this, for those who know their scriptures, in Malachi 4, verse 5, with that messianic expectation. And that this referred to John the Baptist in his prophetic office. You can read Malachi chapter four, verse five. And so some people thought he was Elijah. But then there is a third group. They say, but some say, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Okay, again, you'll appreciate these are great figures. They were great figures, and they were admired by the people. However, these three groups, as we can see, they really are not, or nothing, if we may put it that way, compared to the Lord Jesus Christ. because they all needed and looked up to Christ for salvation. And you see, look with me at verse 15, because after he had asked and they gave the answers that they gave, then verse 15, he said to them, verse 15, but who do you say that I am? You who have been with me, you who have seen and witnessed all my deeds, you, my close friends, what is your honest religious conviction about who I am? And of course then, we get the answer given to us in verse 16. Verse 16, Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And this, of course, as I have said earlier, this is what is referred to as the great confession. Let us appreciate that Peter spoke on behalf of the rest because in verse 15, when Jesus asked them, but you, Who do you say that I am? The you there is plural, or if you like, are plural. You, my disciples, what is your confession about me? And Peter, on behalf of the rest, said, you are the Christ. You see, let's ask this question. What is Peter affirming here? What is Peter affirming? And surely we will be right if we say that in line with the Old Testament promised, anointed Messiah, Peter is saying, you are that. You are the Christ. You are the son. You are the son of the living God. You fit that title. And of course, friends, it must be stated, this was not just an off-the-cuff remark. It was not a hit-of-the-moment answer. As we are going to see, this indeed was revealed by God the Father, and we see that in a moment. So, in the first place then, we have seen then the great question, the great question that was set before these people, In the first part of that question, they gave three categories, John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, admirable men, but surely those men could not be compared to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he turned and questioned them, what about you, my disciples? And Peter on behalf of the others say, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. But now that leads us to the second point. And the second point is the great declarations. The great declarations. And we're going to see a number of things here. And I'm calling them great. They are really great. For one, I want us to see the gracious confirmation. The gracious confirmation. And I'm calling it that because we look at just the way the Lord Jesus Christ responds to what Peter has just said. In verse 17, where Jesus responds, or Jesus answered him, blessed are you, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. Okay, blessed are you. And you're blessed, Jesus would be saying. You're blessed because this answer is not based on your own human ability. No, because you are actually human. Now, I'm emphasizing that because when we look at verse 17 there, the way Jesus addresses Peter, he would have just said, And blessed are you, Peter. But no, he does not say that. He says, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. In other words, you, Simon, you're a human. A human, son of a human father. Simon Bar-Jonah. Simon, the son of Jonah. a human son of a human father. That's what you are. You see, and he goes on and he says, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. No, this is not human ability or insight. Instead, this is purely by God's grace. It is through the action of my Father who is in heaven, verse 17, the lower part of it. This action, this response, this answer you have provided is through the activity of my Father who is in heaven. In other words, my Father in heaven has helped you to rightly see and interpret my words and works to the conclusion you have made." So that, honestly, is a gracious confirmation, so gracious. But it's not only that. As we are thinking of these great declarations, we have seen the gracious confirmation. I want us now to spend some time and look at what I am calling the staggering promises. The staggering promises. And that is in verse 18 and 19. Let me read those two verses because they are very crucial, they are important. And I tell you, You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Staggering promises. You see, these are without a doubt some of the greatest words ever uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ to his people, honestly. Of course, he has always uttered gracious and many wonderful things, but the words in these two verses, wow, they are staggering. However, There are also some words that have caused so much heat as people hold different interpretations. Let me give you one very popular interpretation, but unfortunately, it's not supported by faithful handling of the scriptures. Very popular. And with all due respect to my friends, and I have many friends in the Roman Catholic Church, but the Roman Catholic Church says that this passage proves beyond doubt that Peter is the first pope, and as such, is the king of heaven, earth, and hell. and that he wields or he exercises two swords, which are mainly spiritual and temporal. And that's what the Roman Catholic Church holds about this passage. Of course, as you know, this is a great passage in seeking to defend the papacy and they say that Peter was the first Pope. However, this passage honestly, handled faithfully, does not support any such, listen, any such absolute authority on a mere person or his successors for that matter. It's just putting too much upon a person called Peter, one of the apostles of the Lord Jesus. And we are going to see that indeed that is lacking support from scriptures. So that is one view, very common, but it falls short. And of course, the other view that we believe the Bible teaches is this. And honestly, others have stumbled on this passage unnecessarily. They don't need to stumble, but they have stumbled, even evangelicals, Protestants. But let's look at this passage very simply, verse 18. The Greek word for Peter is Petros. Okay? And then the verse goes on. You are Peter. In other words, you are Petros. And on this rock, and rock in Greek is Petra. We must all appreciate that the words Peter and rock are the same in Greek. So what do we make of this? I know up to that point, my good Catholic friends would say, aha, Pastor Gallo, now you have just supported us. Well, we must go on and now see and show that indeed As true as it is that Peter and Rock have the same wording or word in Greek, surely that's not the end of the story. But that leads us to see something very important, great truths that the Lord Jesus Christ sets before us. You see, Jesus, in his following declarations, explains his meaning, and as we will appreciate, he disproves the first interpretation about Peter as the first Pope. So, when Jesus said on this rock, Petra, I will build my church, what did he mean? There are a number of things that he did not mean. Sometimes it's very helpful to answer a question by saying what something is not or does not mean. And we see this. Jesus did not mean Peter in his human frailty. He did not mean that. But as one who is worked upon by God's grace. You see, by nature, Peter was a very unstable and weak person. Very unstable. But grace had begun to work and was continuing to work in him. And this will continue till such times that he will become stable and very fruitful in building the church of Christ. So that first point is important. Jesus did not mean Peter in his human frailty. No. But as one worked upon by God's grace. Okay? And then in the second place, Jesus did not mean Peter as an individual, but as standing together with or alongside his other 11 brothers, that is the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Let me repeat that point. The second point is, Jesus did not mean Peter as an individual, but as standing together with or alongside other of his brothers, the disciples. You see, this we get when we read the scriptures, Acts chapter two, for example. In Acts chapter two, verse 11, we read this, but Peter, standing with the 11, lifted up his voice and addressed the people." Do you see that? Peter's authority, we appreciate that the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to Peter, Petros, and that he will build his church. We are going to see more of that. But you see, this authority given to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, there in verse 16, is equal or equally given to the 12 others. They are given this authority together. And what I'm referring to really is what we will be seeing in the weeks to come, God helping us. But if you turn to Matthew chapter 18, Matthew chapter 18, verse 18. I know it's a long context, a very helpful one about how to deal with a sinning brother, but verse 18, truly I say to you, verse 18, Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now that passage is not referring to Peter, or Peter is not being spoken to as an individual. No, but as a group of disciples, the 12 of them. You see, the same truth is later expressed in John chapter 20. The Gospel of John chapter 20 verse 23, which says, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. So you see, this authority that is uttered on Peter in chapter 16 verse 19, It is also uttered upon all the disciples in chapter 18 and also in John chapter 20. But actually, it is also given to the local church, the local church, because as I've said, chapter 18 of Matthew is a passage talking or dealing The Lord Jesus is showing what the local church will be going through. You read chapter 18, verse 17, if he, this sinning brother, if he refuses to listen to them, the few people who have gone to him, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, then there are actions to be taken. And so this authority, is not exclusively upon Peter but inclusive upon the disciples and indeed upon the church. You see, let us appreciate also something here. The rest of the disciples did not have the common-held view that Peter was the greatest or the boss. No, they did not have that view. And this is easily seen in Matthew, Matthew chapter 18. Now let us look at verse one. Matthew 18, verse one. And at that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? Jesus did not tell them, oh, by now you should have known it is Peter. No. You see, later on we can see it equally in chapter 20. I know I'm taking you to a number of verses, but this is a very important point we are making. Chapter 20 of Matthew, just listen to this from verse 20. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her two sons, and kneeling before him, she asked him for something. And he said to her, What do you want? She said to him, Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom. And Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?' They said to him, We are able. And he said to them, You will drink the cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at their two brothers." So well, you see, there wasn't an obvious thought that Peter is the boss here at all. In fact, Jesus himself rejected the kind of thinking that Peter ever would be the boss, because We have finished our reading where I read chapter 20, verses 20 to 24, but then in verse 25, Jesus is, we are told, verse 25 now, but Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles load it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. And it goes on. And also we find the same truth given in Luke chapter 22, Luke 22 verse 24 onwards. By the way, Peter himself did not have or entertain such a thought that he's the boss. No, Peter did not. Because later in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 3, Peter writes a gracious letter and he says, You don't lead God's people by domineering over those in your church. No, but being an example to the flock. Well, so really it would be wrong for anyone to have a view that Peter was referred to as an individual. But no, Peter saw himself and they worked together alongside each other. In the third place, Peter was not himself the foundation of the church. No. The foundation of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11. He is the foundation, no other can anyone lay. So it is only in a secondary sense that all the 12 apostles are seen as the foundation of the church. And that is in Ephesians chapter two, verse 20, that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles. and the prophets, and it goes on, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone of the cornerstone. You see, so we must have a proper understanding when the Lord Jesus Christ said, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church. But indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ goes on. And now we look at those words, because Jesus declared I will build my church. And don't lose that point. Don't lose it. In other words, Jesus is the builder of his church. Yes, Jesus uses Peter and the rest in building his church, but it is his church. And Acts chapter 20 verse 28 tells us that God has bought the church with his own blood, the blood of Jesus Christ. Acts 20, 28. Well, so our great passage goes on honestly and tells us, as he builds his church, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Of course, the gates of hell, this means Satan and all his evil angels. And here they are pictured, Satan and his evil angels, they are pictured as if rushing out of their camp, okay, rushing out of their camp to go and attack the church of Christ. But Jesus declares that they will not succeed. They will not prevail. Well, Then as we continue with these great declarations, we now see a promise given, the promise of keys, the promise of keys. There in verse 19, I will give you the keys of the kingdom. You see, one who has the key determines who enters and who does not. There are passages, you see, because the language of the key or keys is actually quite biblical. We find in Revelation 1, verse 18, Revelation 1, verse 18, let me pick it from verse 17. When I saw, that is John in the Isle of Patmos, he writes, When I saw him, I fell at his feet. That is, when he saw the Lord Jesus, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his hand, his right hand on me saying, fear not. I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades. Okay. And that's what the Lord Jesus then tells his servant. But then, talking more or as we look further about the keys, then we see in chapter three now, in chapter three and verse seven, as John writes to the seven churches, then in chapter seven, sorry, chapter three, verse seven, to the church in, Philadelphia. We read this, verse 7, and to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, the words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. Okay, and so here again we read about the key. You see, the Lord Jesus indeed has and gives it to whom he will. But the important question in reference to our passage is, but for what? For what would he give this key, or these keys of of heaven or the kingdom of heaven, for what would they be given? These keys were given for two clear purposes. Two clear purposes. Preaching and discipline. Preaching and discipline. You see, When we're thinking of preaching, Jesus gave his disciples the keys of the kingdom as a group, and they exercised the use of it together. They preached, they testified the Lord Jesus Christ. When you look at Acts chapter four, the book of Acts chapter four, And what do we find? Chapter four and verse 33. Acts four, verse 33. And we read this, and with great power, the apostles were giving their testimonies to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all. And this phrase of giving their testimony, to the resurrection is really another way of describing their preaching. They were declaring, they were proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection to the people. And also, we could read chapter two, verse 38. Chapter two and verse 38. where we read, and Peter said to them, Peter said to them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And then in chapter three, verse 16 and onwards, we get the same truth. And I just begin to read, and then you can continue, but in chapter three, verse 16, and his name, by faith in his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. And really, they are declaring about the Lord Jesus Christ, and through that, calling people to repentance, to turn back. So, these keys that they were given were so that they could proclaim, they could declare the Word of God. Okay. and that when people listen, people would repent. People then would, in that sense, have the entrance into the kingdom of God. In that sense then, the apostles, by declaring the word, are opening the kingdom of God and the people, through repentance, are entering. But it's not only preaching. is also discipline. Those who make a profession and they enter, they begin to walk in the kingdom, what about if they fail to toe the line? What about if they fail to be obedient? And we see discipline coming in. You see, the 12 apostles exercised this as they were led by the apostle Paul. And the first one, which I think is very clear, is Acts, where they exercise discipline. Acts chapter 5, verse 1 onwards, about Ananias and Sapphira, and that they had lied to the Holy Spirit, and Peter led the others to challenge them, and indeed they died. And that was serious discipline and shook the church. Later on, when Paul, the apostle, joined them, Paul used this key effectively. And we read in 1 Corinthians 5 about someone who was living in a sinful relationship in the church in Corinth, and Paul rebuked them and said, such a person must be disciplined, and they disciplined him. But beautifully, after he was excommunicated or removed from the church, later on he obviously repented so that Paul writes to the Corinthian church and you know what he tells them? So I beg you, 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 8, Verse eight now, he says, so I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. When one who does wrong repents, then they are brought back in. And the same truth about discipline can be seen also in Titus chapter three, verse 10. Someone who is divisive will be warned once, twice, and in the third time, he will be removed and not considered as a believer. So you see, these truths are great. Friends, we see it going on in verse 19, whatever you bind on earth, or whatever you lose, and this is a very interesting you know, passage. I read it again. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. This is another way of saying what you forbid will be forbidden in heaven. What you permit will be permitted in heaven. In other words, if a person then continues to do or believe what is false and so they behave badly in the things forbidden and they refuse to repent, he would be disciplined, he would be removed. But if he repents from his wrongful ways, then he would be forgiven and brought back as we have indicated sin that Paul told the Corinthians to do. Let me say this by way of application. What a great privilege it is to belong to a local church where both the Word is preached faithfully and discipline is carried on equally faithfully. It is a good place to be. because that is the way the Lord Jesus Christ is leading his people to heaven. If you are not in a church where the word of God is central, if you are not in a church where discipline, genuinely speaking, is carried out in a biblical way, you are missing so much. And you may think you're on your way to heaven, but you may lose out. You need the word to grow. You need the discipline to put you in check, to make sure that you are walking according to God's way. And not only you, then others that may be with you need that too. Ask yourself, where do you belong? Well, in the third and final place, this has been a long passage, but in the third and final place, we see here the great warning, if you like, the serious warning that is now in the third place, the serious warning. There was the great question, the great declaration, And now the great or serious warning. That is verse 20. Verse 20, where we read, he charged them. He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. Two things there. One is the warning, this serious warning. Then he strictly charged them, tell no one I am the Christ. But we ask, What reason is there? What's the reason for this warning? Now, it's not very clear in the text before us, but in the larger context, it is clear. Two things. One, the disciples were not ready to bear proper, balanced witness of Jesus' identity as the Messiah. They were not yet ready. Let me give you a proof of this. You see, when Jesus, as the Messiah, said, I will walk the road of suffering, death, and resurrection, which he begins to teach them in verse 21, chapter 16, verse 21, you know what? Peter quickly, look with me at chapter 16, verse 22, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you. Wow, that is bitter for you. And of course, the Lord Jesus Christ did not stop short of calling him Satan, because his thinking of Messiah was narrow. It was narrow. He still had a long way to go. They were not ready yet to bear this important witness of him as the Messiah. Let me apply this here. And these friends regarding those who'd teach and preach God's Word. Please listen. If you'd teach and preach God's Word, you must be thoroughly able to balance God's Word, to do it rightly. You see, Peter had to learn this so that after Pentecost, yes, after Pentecost, he was able to rightly proclaim Christ. Let me read that. After Pentecost, Peter now was a different man. And just listen to chapter 2, I believe chapter 2, verse 36. We had looked at it earlier, but now, Peter, this is after Pentecost, this is what we read. Peter, in his summon, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus, whom you crucified. Oh, my friends, Peter needed to learn his lesson and he learned it. He's now bold, he's now clear, he's thorough. And every teacher and preacher needs to aim for that. In the second place, the public would have misunderstood him completely. Not only that the disciples were not ready, the public would not have understood him. So they would have misunderstood him completely. You see the mob, the multitude had just a narrow view of him. Their view was drawn from Old Testament, some selected passages in the Old Testament. They held the view of a conquering and triumphing Messiah. But you see, the Messiah of Scripture, yes, glorious King, but also a suffering servant. And that, is one and the same person. When you read Isaiah chapter 52 and Isaiah 53, you find those two combined together, a glorious king and a suffering servant. You see, God would save through a suffering servant. but also through His glorious King. Now, they overlooked the suffering servant part, and they were just excited about the glorious King. And you know what? That problem that was there then is still there today. Many Jewish people cannot stomach a suffering servant as their Messiah. So, you see, the mob did not understand. Just like back in the Old Testament with Moses, when Moses went to deliver the children of Israel, they failed to see him for that and mistook him and uttered the words that he uttered. We must close now. Let me draw one or two areas of application, and it is this. Nothing is more important in life than this question. Please listen to it. Who do you say that I am? That's the Lord Jesus Christ speaking. Who do you say that I am? You see, friend, you and me, we have followed Matthew as he has been tracing for us. the Lord Jesus Christ. His great teachings on the mount, His cleansing the lay person, healing the sick and calming the troubled sea, feeding thousands and casting out demons, restoring sights and withered limbs are restored and raising the dead, all that He did. And we have As it were, we have seen Matthew taking us through different street corners and some wide highways and in some remote places. Even into Tyre and Sidon, we followed Matthew as he traced Jesus. And we saw what he did to that Canaanite woman's daughter. Friend, I ask you, who do you say that Jesus Christ is. You see, making true confession of Jesus Christ is a costly business, but it is mandatory. It is mandatory, but very costly. Do you know why? It carries the death and life tag on it. It carries the death and life tag on it. You confess me before men, I'll confess you before my Father. You reject me, and I will reject you. And of course, by the Lord Jesus Christ saying, I will reject you. And you know what? Those who he rejects will go to hell. Matthew chapter Verse 34, 32 and 33. Friends, I have shown you the Lord Jesus Christ. What do you say about Him? And I ask you to answer that question seriously with yourself. Amen.