Matthew 16
February 24
Reading: Matthew 16
1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3 And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah."
So he left them and departed.
5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread."
8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 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. 18 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. 19 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." 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
28 "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Matthew 16 constitutes a turning point in Matthew’s gospel. Up to this point we have been seeing that Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of Heaven and has all authority. He has been under attack from the Pharisees and the leaders of the Jews because they think His authority is a threat to theirs. They are right. He has been exposing their hypocrisy.
But now, in chapter 16, Jesus is revealed as the Christ (meaning Messiah) who is the Son of God and begins to tell His disciples that He will suffer and be killed and rise again from the dead. From this point onward in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus will be headed to the Cross.
The chapter begins with Jesus’ response to the Pharisees and Sadducees testing Jesus and demanding a sign from Him. Jesus rebukes them for their spiritual blindness. The sign of Jonah will be Jesus in the grave for three days. (Matthew 12:38-41)
Jesus then warns the disciples of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (vs. 6) They misunderstand Him and think He’s talking about lunch. (vs. 7) The point of verses 8-12 is that Jesus is trying to teach them to trust Him, His words, His provision, His presence with them.
Beginning in verse 13 Jesus turns their attention to who He is. The confession in Matthew 16:16 is moment of clarity for Peter. He could not be more right about who Jesus is, and Jesus praises Peter for the answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In the following verses Jesus declares that He will build His church upon “this rock;” Peter, the apostles, and this confession.
But, as good as this confession of Christ is, Peter gets the next part all wrong. Jesus explains what is coming and Peter is sure it is the wrong path. Peter like Messiah as anointed King, Son of God, but does not like Messiah as a suffering and dying Savior. The reason Jesus calls him Satan is because the temptation that Peter is presenting to Jesus is the same as Jesus faced from Satan in Matthew 4:8-11, to rule as King without going to the Cross.
In verses 24-28 Jesus is telling His disciples that His path, the way of costly suffering, is the only way through this world to the next. What does it mean for you to deny yourself and follow Jesus? What does it mean for you to lose your life so you can find it? What worldly gain do you need to lay aside to follow Jesus?