17th July 2026

17th July 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (Matthew 16:13-20 focus v19-20)


Message (Alan Burke)


If you’ve driven through the countryside recently, you can tell who the locals are and who the blow-ins are. Here is my reasoning, and I’ll not hold it against you if you disagree with me, but I think it’s been like this for a while and it’s getting worse. The locals in the countryside have gates, even cattle grates, and you know the gates are lying open, but the blow-ins, well, they have the big black automatic gates and they only get opened if they decide they like you when you press the buzzer. There was someone I called with a while back, and the buzzer connected to his phone while he was in France living it up. Jesus has said that he is building his church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Now, gates are defensive structures, not offensive. If you were building a city or fortress in Jesus’ day, there were gates, strong and secure. Jesus is making it clear that his church, the church that he is building on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, will not be overcome because he has the victory, the dominion of Satan, and death is now on the defensive; it will be unable to overcome the church. It may look like the church is on the retreat, that in the midst of the storms and all that is going on in this world, the church is on the defensive, but that is not the case; it is the dominion of Satan and death that is on the defensive, the victory is secure, and it is already ours through Christ Jesus. 


And to the apostles and to the church, Jesus would give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He tells them whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to the apostles on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they used the keys. To bind and loose. Think of the imagery of keys; they lock and unlock things. If you give someone the keys to your house, you are saying that they are entrusted to come and go. You give the keys to someone who has been given authority on your behalf. Well, the apostles and the church were given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. They are not magical power; the keys are the preaching of the word and church discipline. The Heidelberg Catechism gives this summary in Q83: What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven? A. The preaching of the holy gospel, and Christian discipline, or excommunication out of the Christian church; by these two, the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers, and shut against unbelievers. The church has been given authority by Jesus to preach the word and to correct those whom it cares for; it desires your best. 


As the passage closes, Jesus warns them not to tell anyone. The reason why was that the people were expecting a conquering king, not one who came to die for the salvation of all who would repent and believe. Yes, Jesus had come as a conquering king, but not the type of conquering king that they expected; he would conquer not their Roman oppressors but the devil and death, the greatest enemy of all (Heb 2:14-15). Until he had been delivered into the hands of sinful men and crucified, it was not the right time to tell of the wonder of who he is and what he came to do. It was then and only then would the disciples understand what the Christ, the Messiah, had come to do. Only then would they be equipped to share the gospel around the world. After the ascension, Peter, on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, preached to all who were before him there in Jerusalem. The time not to tell anyone had gone; it was not time to tell all who Jesus was. This Peter proclaimed to all who would listen: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36). We are now tasked as the church to take the good news of Jesus out, and the church will not be overcome for he has given it the keys of the kingdom, it is to preach the word, correct you when you are in error, care for you and it desires your best.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q15 What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.
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