Matthew 16
The Demand for a Sign
1Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
Jesus had already shown many signs. Unless God opens the eyes of His elect, there are no miracles that will cause the natural man to believe.
2He said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.
The Jewish leaders could read the weather signs of nature, but they could not understand the signs of God.
4A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
Jesus was not a seeker-friendly teacher. He called the chosen people of God “a wicked and adulterous generation.” The only sign that He will give this evil generation is the sign of the resurrection from the dead.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread.6“Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” 8When Jesus learned of this, he said, “You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up? 11How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 12Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Yeast is a sign of evil. Jesus warned the disciples to beware of the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter’s Confession
13When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
The Son of Man was a title from the Book of Daniel, meaning the Messiah who will knock down the last Gentile Kingdom and establish His Messianic Kingdom for 1000 years.
14They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
God will open the eyes of the elect so that they can see the deity and Messiahship of Jesus. The others will use their human viewpoint and claim that Jesus is less than God.
15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Jesus wanted the disciples to tell Him His identity.
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter identified Jesus as the Messiah. The Messiah was predicted in the Old Testament to be the eternal God who would become an earthly king via the virgin birth. Peter also recognized Jesus as the living Son of God. This was a statement of the deity of Jesus.
17And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!
Peter could not understand this information unless it was revealed to him from above.
18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
The Greek word for “Peter” is Πέτρος (petros), a masculine noun, meaning pebble, or the little rock which was broken from the big rock. The Greek word for “rock” is πέτρᾳ (petra), a feminine noun, meaning the mother rock.
The Greek word for “church” is ἐκκλησία (ekklasia), meaning called-out ones. The called-out ones are those who were chosen for salvation before the foundations of the world were created. Many English translations falsely translate this word as “church” so that they do not make the Arminians angry. The Arminians are those who falsely believe that man has enough good inside them, that he will choose God on his own. Most English translations are written for profit. The Bible selling businesses want Arminians to purchase their Bible so that they can make more profit.
The called-out ones are not built upon Peter, but upon the πέτρᾳ (petra). Peter is just a pebble who was broken off from the mother rock. The mother rock is the messianic and deity character of Jesus. The church will not be built upon Peter (as the Catholics falsely claim). The church will be built upon the mother rock, which is Jesus.
Satan and his demons will attempt to overcome the ἐκκλησία (ekklasia), but they will not be able to overcome God’s called-out ones.
19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”
The keys open doors. In the Book of Acts, Peter will open the doors of the called-out ones. He will open the doors “in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world.” The entire Book of Acts was the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Binding and releasing (or loosing in some English texts) refers to Peter’s apostolic authority in establishing the church. Whatever new laws and regulations that Peter makes for the church will be God-ordained.
Catholics falsely teach that this verse makes Peter the first Pope. However, this same authority will be given later to the other apostles.
20Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
The Jewish leadership had already rejected the claims of Jesus. His Messianic Program had been postponed temporarily.
First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
21From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
This was the new ministry of Jesus. Jesus was heading to the cross to atone for the sins of mankind. His ministry now was on the individual salvation of the elect.
22So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!”
Peter was rebuking Jesus for His divine appointment of dying for the sins of the world.
23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”
Jesus has already confirmed that Peter was a believer. Notice that Satan cannot possess a believer, but he can influence him. Satan can even influence the #1 disciple of Jesus who holds the keys to the kingdom.
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
There is a price for following Jesus. One must be willing to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, even if it means martyrdom. Every one of these disciples (except John) who heard this statement of Jesus accepted martyrdom.
25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
This is a divine paradox. One must give up his life for Christ in order to save it. No other religious leader in the world makes a statement with this much eternal depth.
26For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
If a person gains all of the wealth and power of the world, but he does not have Christ, then he loses all of it at death. He will burn in the Lake of Fire forever.
27For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
The prophet Daniel predicted that the Son of Man will destroy the last Gentile Kingdom and bring in the Messianic Kingdom. At the Bema Seat Judgment, Jesus will give rewards to some (but not all) believers.
28I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
This will be fulfilled when some of the disciples (Peter, John, and James) will witness the transfiguration of Jesus.