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Jesus, The Chief Cornerstone
Matthew 16:18, 'And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'
MATTHEW 16:13-19
Some people have mistakenly interpreted this passage to say that Peter was the foundation on which Christ would build His Church. However, that would violate many scriptures that refer to Jesus as the 'chief cornerstone.'
Ephesians 2:20 does mention the apostles as being part of the foundation stones of Christ's church, but it doesn't single Peter out above any of the other apostles, This same scripture once again mentions Jesus as the 'chief cornerstone.'
There are two different Greek words used for 'Peter' and 'rock'...
Petition Not Repetition
Mark 8:24-25, 'And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.'
MATTHEW 7:7-11; MARK 8:22-25
It was unusual for Jesus to inquire about the results of His ministry as He did in verse 23. It was even more unusual that Jesus laid hands on this man a second time. This is the only example in the New Testament where Jesus had to minister to any need more than once to affect a total healing.
Many people request things from God and then look at their circumstances to see if God answered their prayer. That is walking by sight and not by faith. If they can't 'see' God's answer, then they...
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Symptoms Of A Hard Heart
Mark 8:17, 'And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?'
MATTHEW 16:1-12; MARK 8:11-21
Just a few days before this instance, hardened hearts caused Jesus' disciples to be amazed when they saw Jesus walk on the water to them. Here, Jesus' statements reveal some of the characteristics of someone with a hardened heart.
First, a hard heart keeps us from perceiving spiritual truths. This is why everyone in a church service hears exactly the same message yet, some will receive it while others won't. It's not the Word that is the variable, but rather the condition of the hearts. A hard heart stops...
Jesus Challenges The Sadducees
Matthew 16:1, 'The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.'
MATTHEW 16:1-4
The Sadducees were a Jewish sect (Acts 5:17), of both a political and religious nature, that was best known for its opposition to the more popular party (the Pharisees), because of differences in various doctrinal and political questions. Sadducees rejected the oral tradition of the Pharisees who made a 'mountain' of burdensome legislation and accepted only the written law. We are told they believed there is 'no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit' (Acts 23:8). From Josephus, we learn that the Sadducees believed that the soul perishes with the body (Antiq. XVIII....
The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit
Mark 8:12, 'And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.'
MARK 8:11-13
The Greek word used here for 'sighed deeply' means an intense grieving, inaudible prayer, or groan. This is intercession of the Holy Spirit, with groanings that cannot be uttered. Some Spirit-filled Christians believe this means groanings that cannot be uttered in normal speech and that this refers to speaking in tongues. However, this actually refers to a type of intercession different than speaking in tongues.
In John 11:33 and 38, Jesus groaned in the Spirit twice, and in those cases there were no words...