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THE LORD,
The Man, The Church.
A. SERMON
By ROBERT H. HARRIS
Preached at the Dedtcation ol the House ol Worship
ol Pauline Baptist Church, In Brooks County, Ga., .
January 20th, 1911; and Published at the
Unanimous Request ol the Church and
Congregation, Manifested By an
Enthusiastic Rising Vote.
TEXT—‘ 7 say unto thee, Thou art Peter. Upon
this Rock I will build my Church; and the Gates of Hell
shall not prevail against it. I ivill give unto thee the
Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever
thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”—
Matt. 16: IS, Id.
The first time Jesus ever saw Peter, He called him
"‘Cephas.” That was a “nick-name;” as we use the term,
in its pleasanter sense. The name, “Peter,” was, itself, a
•pseudonym, or nick-name. The man’s real name was
neither Peter nor Cephas—but Simon.
The custom of bestowing nick-names, generally illustra
tive of some peculiar trait in the person so characterized, lias
prevailed, from time immemorial. Both ancient and modern
history abound with examples of it. , .
“Belteshazzar,” “Shadrach,’’ “Meshach,” “Abed-
nego,’’ “Israel,” area few among numerous examples found
in The Old Testament Scriptures. Many examples also ap
pear in The New Testament: Boanerges, applied by Jesus,
to James and John, the sons of Zebcdeo; “Didymus,”given
by Him to Thomas; “Kayphas,” (which is written “Cephas,”
in our versions,) and “Petros,” (called by us, “Peter,”)
bestowed by The I xml upon the brother of Andrew; and
others that might be mentioned.
Any number of more modern illustrations might be
given. All arc familiar with the Indian cognomens, “Red
Jacket,** “Sitting Bull,** etc. The honored father of my
brother, there, fought “Billy Bowlegs,** Tustenuggee of the
Seminoles, in the Florida war. Henry McKinnon died in the
Southern army, as “Bill;** Jonathan Cain, known to some
«I you, was “Uncle Tom;*’ and the friends of C. C. Pearce
all eall him “Bob,” today.
The appellation, “Christ,” so often given to our Lord,
was not His name. His true name was Jesus—“Ho Yay-
*ous,” meaning “The Helper,” or “Saviour.’’ “Ho
Christos,” meaning “The Anointed,” the equiva'ent of
^Messiah” in the Hebrew, often used as a pseudonym, was
His “official designation.”
So, the appellations, “Ho Kayphas,” (a Syriac word,
Grecianized by prefixing the definite article) and “Petros,”
(Greek,) bestowed upon Simon, were indicative of something
that Jesus saw in his character; both words having the same
meaning— ‘ ‘Stone. ’ ’
The name, “Peter,” as an appellation of Simon, is
found in the Gospels near the beginning of the record, not
because it was commonly applied to him at first, but only as
a historian might speak of a certain Confederate general, as
“Stonewall” Jackson, before describing the battle in which
Gen. Bee complimented him with an expression which was
afterward crystallized into that honored pseudonym. The
name, “Peter,” or its Greek equivalent, was probably never
used by Jesus until the occasion in the record of which our
text occurs.
In order that the Lord might carry out the great purpose
for which He had come into the world, leaders among men
were necessary. The most notable <tf- such leaders, before
Paul, was Simon. He was not the first person to utter the
declaration which called forth the expression of Jesus, re
corded in our text. The angel had announced His mission
to the shepherds; the wise men of the East “had spoken of
Him in His true character; the aged prophet and prophetess,
Simeon and Anna,had proclaimed Him;John the Baptist had
preached Him; Martha had declared Him over her brother’s
-tomb in almost the very words of Simon; but the virile
brother of Andrew seems to have given an expression of pe
culiar clearness, impressiveness and power, to the most vital
truth in all the universe—“Thou Art The Christ, The
Sox of The Living God! ”
There was revealed the man for the most important
task ever essayed by a human being. And Jesus' declared
what He had known from the beginning, that there was “A
Stone” which should break down the wall of prejudice
creeted by the Jews to shut out the Gentile world from their
God: “Su ei Petros!”
But those words of our Lord, taken in connection with
the rest of the text, have been misconstrued into a teaching
that has promulgated the most destructive of all heresies and'
wrecked un-numbered millions of human souls; to-wit:
that Simon was thus constituted “the first of a line of
popes, vice-gerents of Christ,” on earth! by whom and by
their delegation through the Romish hierarchy,, Divine power
has been—and still is—exercised in the world!
How strange that the other apostles and Simon’s associates,
generally, should never have made that discovery 1 We find
the disciples contending with each other, after those words
had been spoken, as to who of them should hold the highest
position in The Lord’s kingdom! Matthew 18: 1 and Mark
9:33. Listen, as Salome demands places of primacy for the
sons James and John! Matthew 20: 20 21. Hear the Master
denouncing “Pope Peter,” by calling him “Satan!”
only a few seconds after uttering the woids of our text?
Verso 28. Look at Paul, years afterward, withstanding Pe
ter to his face” and “blaming” “the infallible pope,”
because he was wrong! Gal.2: 11.
Furthermore, if “Peter was the Rock upon which Christ
built His Church,” what a flimsy foundation did it have in
the man who denied his Lord, when Heseemed most inneed
of friends! Mutt. 20: 69-74; Mark, 1.4: 0(3-71; Luke 22:54-
00; John, 18: 10-27. And what a church it must bo ‘that
has such aj foundation!
Nay, verily. Jesus did not say, nor did He intimate,
that He purposed to found his church on Simon. The man
had declared with startling emphasis The Great Fundamen
tal Truth of the Christian religion,. when he exclaimed,
“Thou art The Christ, The Son of The Living God!”
Whereupon, the Lord had ejaculated instantly, “Blesed art
thou, Simon-Bar-Jonn! for flesh and blood hath not revealed
this unto thee, hut my Father, who is in heaven.”
Simon Bar-Jona is the Hebrew for Simon Son of Jona,
in English;—or, as we would express it, “Simon Johnson.’
And then followed from the lips of Jesus, the words of
our text: “Su Ei Petros. Epi tautay tay Petra! oikodo-
mayso mou tayn Ekklaysian;” etc.
Whatever mav have been the precise language in which
our Lord spoke and whether Matthew wrote in Highland
Hebrew, (Aramaic,) or in a Grecian dialect, thcic is no
question that the Greek record from which our text is quoted
is a correct expression of The Master’s thought.
Let. us, then, interpret that thought, accordingly.
“Ho Petros,” masculine, and “Hay Petra,” feminine, are
different words and have not the same meaning. And the
difference between them, in our text is emphasized by the
omission of the definite article, in the use of the former.
Petros, equivalent to the Latin, saxum, means “a stone”
that can be handled. Petra, equivalent to the Latin, rupes,
means “a great rock,” that cannot be moved. A true
ranslation, then, of that part of the text is “Thou art A
Stone, (no definite article.) Upon this The Great Rock,
(definite article,) T will bi^ikl as a house, (oikos compounded
with domeo,) of me The Church.” That is “Thou art A
Stone (with which I will break down opposition;) and upon
th’s, The Great Rock (that cannot be put aside—to-wit, the
Grand Fundamental Truth thou hast just uttered in declar
ing me ‘The Anuinted, The Son of the Living God’—) I will
build my church as one erects a house,” Simply “Petros,”
a crusher; “Hay Petra,” (nominative, from which tay
Petra, dative,) the foundation. But only the latter with the
articlein the definite sense: A Crusher; and The Foundation.
Simon was to he the first pre-eminent crusher; others—one
of whom was to be more eminent—were to follow. And,
furthermore, let us not fail to observe that the “Stone”£.in
the. text, is spoken to, in the second person, grammatically;
and “The Rock” is spoke of, in the third person.
Thus, it seems clear that Jesus meant to delare that His
Church, as a refuge, was to be founded upon The Truth,
which is the expression of Himself, and that Simon, special
ly favored of God in having had that Truth 'Divinely re
vealed to him, was to to be used as a battering ram, in
knockiug to pieces and crushing opposition.
Let us view the fulfillment of the prophecy.
After the return of the disciples from witnessing the
ascension of The Lord, we find Simon already coming to the
fore, among the hundred and twenty gathered in that “upper
room.” Those people were a portion of the five hundred
and more, who, Paul says, saw The Saviour after His resur
rection; and of all that whole number, together, was com
posed the “Ekklaysia,”(or the“called-out,” as the word is
defined,) whom The Lord hqd meant to include-in the lan
guage of our text. Those people were assembled, in what
number I know not, on The Day of Pentecost, when The
Holy Spirit rushed into the house with the sound of a storm,
and “cloven tongues” of flame were seen, as the Divine in
fluence took possession of them. Then they all began speak
ing; and a vast multitude having swarmed together, repre
sentatives of eighteen different nationalities, by name—besides
doubtless many more un-named, (for The Scripture says
there were persons present from all the countries known in
that day)—heard the Gospel, in their own several tongues,
preached by a company of uneducated Galileeans! Then
Peter, “The Stone,” arose, as a leader, and proclaimed' JeSiis,
“The Saviour,” declaring that according to the prophccyu’f
Joel, God was now pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon “all
flesh.” That is, making no distinction.
The wall was being pounded down and the doors of
‘“The Kingdom” were being opened, as Peter was being
used by Divine Power for the accomplishment of Divine
ends. The barriers of Jewish ecclesiastical prejudice were
breached; “The Way” was thrown open; and as a conse
quence, “three thousand souls” were saved, that day!
“I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven”—on earth; not of heaven itself, above. “The
Kingdom of Heaven” that John the Baptist had proclaimed
'“at hand.” “The.Kingdom” that Jesus had declared was
“nigh” among men, even in a man’s mouth (by confession.)
“In the heaven” above, God was approving—or “binding”—
as Peter prescribed restrictions—or “bound”—on earsh; wat
releasing—or “loosing”—the hearts of men from spiritual
bondage, as Peter throw legalistic restraints to the winds and
preached deliverance from tlffe bondage of sin, through re
pentance and faith in his Lord. The “Keys” that he used
were the figure of “The Truth” he declared—which is The
Word; Christ Jesus.
As on The Dev of Pentecost, so on the day when he
preached Jesus to Cornelius, did Peter demonstrate that God
was “no respecter of persons,’’ and open wide the door of
The Kingdom to the Gentiles; while Jews in his company
gave him their co-operation in obliterating the wall of He
brew prejudice. And, also, as on The Dny of Pentecost, the
Holy Spirit again manifested Ilis approving presence, by a
mighty stirring of all hearts.
The Lord “opened the doors of the church” through
His chosen apostles, at the beginning; and the assumption
of that authority by a preacher in those latter days is utter
ly unwarranted—if not nctually presumptuous.
I do not understand that, when in his vision upon tho
tanner’s house-roof by the sea-side in Joppa, Peter saw tho
looped-corncred sheet containing all manner of living crea-
tUiies, God commanded him to literally eat gmss-hbpperB,
('ultliimgjj John the Baptist had eaten them,) nor
spiders, scorpions and the like. But. rather, I take it that by
showing him restrictions removed from thd eating of certain
creatures proscribed in the Mosaic law, God qheant to tench
His chosen leader, the crusher and key-bearer, that there
were NO PEOPLE ON EARTH TOO FOREIGN FOR THE
GOSPEL!
• Oh, that both leaders and followers, in this day, would
act on that truth!
.Thus, Peter continued to be the principal wall-demolisher
to the Jews, and door-opener to the Gentiles, until Pkul
appeared upon the scene.
And who was he.
We first notice him, under the name of Saul, standing
by and approving the murder of Stephen. Afterward, we
see him knocked down and blinded by the power of God,
while on his way to Damascus, armed with shrievaltic au
thority to hnie innocent men and women to Jerusalemie
prisons. We listen to the inquisition of Jesus; with Saul’s
responses. Then, we accompany the former persecutor,
now the humble penitent, to the house of Judas, in Damas
cus, where Ananias finds him.
But, in the meantime, what,- of Ananias?
When The Lord directed him to seek Saul, he protested.
But with the assurance ringing in his ears that Saul was
“praying” and the further emphatic assurance that the now
humble man was “a chosen vessel unto the Lord, to bear
His Name before the Gentiles,” Ananias hesitated no longer,
and approaching the penitent, called him “Brother!”
No longer any fear, fhere-
Ah, who is afraid of harm from a truly praying man?
Not one who “repeats prayers,” but one who prays?
Are you, Brothei? Are you? Or you? Are you,
darling little Child?
Oh, no. Oh no. No harm need be apprehended from
a really praying man, or woman.
Biff what a change in Saul! No longer the arrogant,
Pharisaical zealot, using his great learning and powerful in
fluence in the persecution of the inoffensive poor; but now-
meek and gentle as a little child—except when roused to
leonine resistance in defending the interests of his Master’s
Cause. His name, Saul,-^“Sought For—,” had been the
synonym of power. From the time of his conversion, on to
his death, ,he was called by a different name. A pet name,
if you please. An affectionate nick-name. He is said to
have been of diminutive stature. But whether he was phys
ically small, or not, there was something about him that
drew good people lovingly to him. Hence, tho pet name,
“Paul”—which means “Little One.”
It is usual, among all people, to apply “diminutives”
to persons tenderly beloved. A big, strong, loving hus
band thinks and speaks of his “little wife”—regardless of,
her size. Brother, you are called “an old man.” But that
dear mother of yours, whose body rests beneath that marble
monument erected by your love, out yonder in your church
cemetery,felt toward you, up to the day of her recent death,
just as she did when you were a little boy at her knee, or a
little hr by on her bosom.
But that later crusher of opposition and key-bearer to
the Kingdom, the apostle Paul, felt himself “little,” in an
other sense. To use a new figure, Peter had towered above
“the common herd,” as the eucalyptus globulus above the
average trees of the forest; but Paul rose, in a sense soaring
beyond Simon’s highest attainment, until his fronded top
swept the blue sky—like the sequoia gigantea. The “red
wood” of California over-topped the loftiest reach of the
Australian “blue-gum.” Yet Paul honestly felt himself
“the least among the apostles. ’ ’
Ah, brother Preacher 1 You, and you, and you, and
you, who sit there before me and around me! And I! How
small we are? But that is as it should be. Brethren pray
to be kept humble. There is no more detestable thing on
earth than a vain, self-conceited preacher!
But, to go back to the figure of the text.
The battering ram was a beam with a hard stone attached
to the front end, suspended by strong chains Lom the in
side vertex of a pyramid of mighty timbers; the entire frame
work erected upon a staunch platform supported above pon
derous wheels. The great engine was guarded by a cover ar
ranged like a testudo with its over-lapping shields, to pro
tect the artillerymen who operated it against darts, javelins
and stones, hurled from the ramparts of a besieged fortress.
The formidable structure was pushed forward, up to the op
posing granite wall. The tremendous, stone-armed beam was
drawn back to the farthest limit of the supporting chains
and then released, to drive with terrific force of impact
against the mighty rampart. Again and again, the process
was repeated; until, finally, the stones in the wall began to
crack. Then, to crumble. Then to fall out of their places.
At length, whole blocks of stone began to give way and come
rumbling and crashing to the ground. Thus an opening was
effected; through which swift archers and 0 lithe spearmen,
and terrible axemen rushed in to victory!
Somet nes, a catapult or a ballista was used; a ma
chine provided with a tremendous spring, which when re
leased after having been tightly wound up, hurled a stone
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