16:1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came,
and tempting {ie., testing} desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
16:2 He answered and said unto them,
When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red.
16:3 And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring.
O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky;
but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times?
16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;
and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.
And he left them, and departed.
the Pharisees... with the Sadducees... desired... a sign-
They wanted a miraculous demonstration that He was the Messiah. cp. Mark 8:10-14
The 'scribes and Pharisees' had made a similar request on a previous occasion. 12:38
From this point on, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were enemies in religious matters (see note at 3:7), joined forces against Jesus.
ye hypocrites...- They were just 'pretending' interest in Him. In reality...
They were searching for ways to discredit Him, and excuses not to believe in Him. cp. 1Cor 1:21-24
They gave more attention to the weather than to the ''signs of the times''. cp. Jer 8:7-9
They disregarded the signs which they had already been given. eg. Mat 15:29-31, 36-38
a wicked and adulterous generation...- Spiritual adultery is unfaithfulness to God,
which is morally equivalent to idolatry. cp. Jer 3:6-15
These men, who were supposed to be serving and seeking the Lord, had hearts far from Him.
16:5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
16:6 Then Jesus said unto them,
Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
16:7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, [It is] because we have taken no bread.
16:8 [Which] when Jesus perceived, he said unto them,
O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember
the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? {14:15-21}
16:10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? {15:32-38}
16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it] not to you concerning bread,
that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
16:12 Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread,
but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
O ye of little faith...- contrast the disciples' faith with 15:28. cp. Mark 8:15-21
Their fleshly minds framed His words with fleshly concepts.
They though He spoke about physical bread, but they were not sure of His concern. Was it...
their lack of bread? - They had already forgotten His ability to provide.
the ritual impurity of available bread? - They had forgotten His focus on matters of the heart. He reminded them. ''Then they understood...'' cp. 15:11,15-20
the leaven... {that Jesus spoke of was} the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees-
'Leaven' is always a principle of evil in Scripture. cp. note at 13:33
The doctrine {teaching} of these two groups was very different in substance (conservative vs. liberal) but similar in basis.
Their teaching was corrupt because it was based on the traditions of men (15:3)
and disregarded (or misappropriated) the Scriptures (15:6,9).
Therefore, they were spiritually blind, especially concerning Christ. v.3,4
16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
16:14 And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist:
some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Then, as now, most people consider Jesus to be someone important...
a great teacher, the founder of a major religion, a good man, a famous man...
But men are confused about Him, and are not in agreement with each other. cp. Mat 21:10; Joh 12:34
Question #2-
16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Whom do you say that I am?- This is the critical question for every man. cp. Joh 20:31
Thou art- (also see Peter's answer in Joh 6:67-69)
- - the Christ- ie., the Anointed One, the Messiah, the King.
Peter answered well, though he did not yet fully understand what these things meant. v.22
16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona:
for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Fleshly wisdom will not lead you to Christ.
It is the Holy Spirit who must make Christ known to any man. cp. Joh 6:63-65; 16:13,14; 1Joh 5:9-12
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.
upon this rock...- Who or what is the rock?
Is it Peter? The grammar implies that Peter and the rock are distinct.
Peter - GK=petros, a stone. The word gender is masculine.
Rock - GK=petra, a large rock. The word gender is feminine.
Is it Peter's confession? (''Thou art the Christ...'' v.16) The grammar allows this. However,
the truth of Christ's identity did not depend on whether Peter confessed it or not.
Peter's confession served only to place him upon the Rock.
The Rock is Christ Himself. (as Peter himself testified later, 1Pet 2:4-9)
He is the foundation of the Church and of the individual believer's life.
I say unto thee... I will build... I will give...- His purposes and work rest upon Him.
I will build my church {GK=ecclesia, assembly of called out ones}-
The word 'ecclesia' can be used of any gathering, secular (Acts 19:41) or spiritual (Acts 7:38, referring to Israel). Christ's Church consists of all who have come out of the world system, by being born again into new life, through faith in Him. cp. Joh 1:12,13; 2Pet 1:4; Heb 12:23,24
Christ builds His church-
will not bring the work of the Church to naught,
just as the Lord's work was established through His death. 1Cor 15:54-58
16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
16:20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
The authority given to Peter here is not authority over the true Church,
but authority relating to the kingdom of heaven (ie., the realm of profession of faith in Christ. See note at 13:11).
According to ch.13, entrance into the Kingdom is granted to those who receive the seed, the Word of God. Therefore, the keys relate to the preaching of the Word.
Peter was given the opportunity to open the door to faith in Christ- - - by being the first to preach the Gospel to the Jews (Acts 2:38 -), and - - by being the first to preach the Gospel to the gentiles (Acts 10:34 -).
These terms are related to forgiveness of sins. cp. Joh 20:22,23 (Note that Christ gave this authority to all of His disciples, not just to Peter.)
Sins are forgiven, not on the authority of Peter or of the Church, but through faith in Christ.
cp. Acts 10:43 (Peter speaking); Acts 13:38,39 (Paul speaking)
tell no man that he was... the Christ-
The Kingdom had been offered and rejected in the hearts. The offer was now withdrawn.
Jesus now begins to move, not to the throne, but to the cross. v.21
After the work of salvation was accomplished, the disciples would again proclaim Him as the Christ. cp. Acts 2:36-38
16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples,
how that he must go unto Jerusalem,
and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying,
Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter,
Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me:
for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
from that time forth...- As noted above, this is a major turning point in Jesus' ministry.
(The previous use of this phrase marked an earlier turning point. cp. 4:17)
Peter began to rebuke Him... this shall not be unto thee-
Peter had just confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God (v.16).
He was expecting that soon the Messiah would become the King. cp. Isa 9:7
How then could He speak of going to the cross?
Get thee behind me, Satan...
Peter's fleshly misunderstanding was also satanic. It denied the only means of salvation. Peter, who had been given responsibility to open the Kingdom to others (v.19), stood in opposition to the only Way of access to God. Tragically, many pastors today proclaim a satanic false gospel which cannot save. cp. Php 3:18,19; 2Pet 2:1 Later, after the Holy Spirit gave him understanding, Peter's message was clear. 1Pet 2:24
16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:
and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? {cp. Luk 12:20,21; Mat 4:8-10}
16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels;
and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death,
till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
let him deny himself - ie., denial of 'self'. cp. 2Tim 3:12; Heb 11:24-26; 1Pet 4:1,2
He is not suggesting that I merely abstain from some luxury, but rather that I lose my life in His. v.25
{let him} take up his cross- He offers me my own cross...
The cross means death. My cross means my death--
Death to self- the calling of all believers. cp. Rom 6:1-7; 8:13; Col 3:5 ('mortify' means 'put to death')
{let him} follow me- GK=akoloutheo, lit. 'to be joined with another on a road'
Once, I was in bondage to sin and unable to serve God.
But by His cross, Christ has opened to me a new path of life & service, in company with Him.
cp. Mat 11:29,30; Joh 8:12; 10:4,5,27; 12:26; Rom 6:11-13
...whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it- cp. Php 1:21
"He is no fool, who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."
[missionary Nate Saint, martyred while seeking to reach the Auca indians for Christ]
the Son of man shall come... then he shall reward every man...-
The believer is not to expect reward in his temporal life. Rather, he looks to the future, when
the Lord Jesus will return, and will establish His Kingdom. Mat 19:28-30; Col 3:1-5
reward... according to his works- Rewards are for faithful service.
Do not confuse 'rewards' with 'salvation' (which cannot be earned, but is received by faith apart from works). cp. Eph 2:8-10 (re: salvation), and 1Cor 3:11-15 (re: rewards).
some... shall not taste of death, til they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom-
This refers to the preview of His kingdom glory, which some of the disciples were given, when He was ''transfigured before them''. (The account is recorded in the next chapter, 17:1-12).