Chapter 16
Matthew 16:1-4
1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and
tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign
from heaven.
2 He answered and said unto them, When
it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
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?
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.
Some Pharisees and Sadducees
came to test Jesus. They asked Him to
show them a sign from heaven to validate His anointing as the Messiah.
Instead of a sign, Jesus
responded with a statement of fact.
“When the evening sky is red, you say, ‘It will be good weather
tomorrow, because the sky is red.’ And in the morning, if the sky is red you say,
‘There will be a storm today, because the sky is red.’ You can recognize the
appearance of the sky, but cannot recognize the signs of the times!”
Then, Jesus told them, “An
evil and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but no sign will be given, except
the sign of Jonah.” At that Jesus left them.
Are we looking for signs
today? I fear that many within the
Church seek after signs and wonders. Our
goal must be an intimate relationship with Christ Jesus. Do you seek signs, or Christ?
Matthew 16:5-12
5 And when his disciples were come to the other side,
they had forgotten to take bread.
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
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?
9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember
the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
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?
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.
When the disciples came to
the other side of the
Then they began to talk among
themselves about why Jesus said what he did.
Was it because they forgot the bread?
Jesus, being aware of what
they said, told them “You of little faith, why are you talking about
bread?” Don’t you understand? Don’t you
remember that a few loaves fed five thousand? And, how many baskets of food were
collected? And, what about the seven loaves of the four
thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you collect after that? Why
don’t you understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But, beware of
the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
Finally, they understood that
Jesus was teaching about the false teachings of the Pharisees and
Sadducees. Many within the Churches
today are too concerned about the physical.
Matthew 16:13-21
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?
14 And they said, Some say
that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias,
or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
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.
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.
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.
20 Then charged he his
disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
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.
When Jesus and His disciples
came near to Caesarea Philippi, He asked them, “Who do others say that the Son
of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John
the Baptist; and others, say Elijah. While still others say you are Jeremiah,
or one of the other prophets.”
They answered His question,
but He was leading them into a correct understanding.
So, He probed deeper, “But,
who do you say that I am?”
Many times we are overly
concerned about what the world thinks of Jesus.
It is our understanding that sets us apart from the heathen of society.
Simon Peter was the one who
answered. “You are the Christ (Messiah),
the Son of the living God.”
Jesus used his response to explain
the source of Peter’s answer.
Jesus replied, “Blessed are
you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not
reveal that to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
We may know about Jesus
through history and reading the Bible, but true knowledge of Christ Jesus comes
only through revelation.
Further, Jesus said,
"And, I tell you that you are Peter (Gr. petros-petroV--a pebble), and upon
this large rock (Gr. petra-petra--signifying a boulder
of revelation knowledge) I will build My church (Gr. ekkleesian-ekklhsian)! And, the gates of Hades shall not overwhelm it!
The Church is built on a
personal revelation of Jesus Christ as the Savior! The rock is not a man called
Peter, it is revelation! You are a
Christian, because God has given you a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Roman Catholics have lied to
the world about this so often that many in the world believe that lie! The Pope is not the Vicar of Christ on earth
any more than any other man. The Pope is
a man---an elected official, and no more.
Verse 18 is the first time
that the word “Church” appears in the KJV gospels. It will appear once again in chapter 18, but
will not appear again in the Bible until Acts 2:47. The word “Church” (Gr. ekklesia-ekklesia/Greek root) and its main equivalent do not appear in
Mark, Luke, or John!
Jesus also said that the
gates of Hades (death and the grave) would not prevail against His Church. Many picture this as the gates of Hades
attacking the Church. That speculation
is false!
Gates do not attack. They are there to prevent some from entering
or leaving. The gates of hell (Hades/the
grave) shall not prevent the
Christ was telling us that the
gates of Hades (death) cannot hold back those that are “born again” into His
Church. The gates of Hades cannot
withstand the attack when we
confront sin.
At the correct moment we
shall rise again. We shall put on immortality, and death cannot stop us!
Then Jesus said, “I will give
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And, whatever you bind on earth shall be
that which has been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is to be
that which was loosed in heaven.”
We are to follow the rules. Christians cannot prohibit things that are
free in heaven! We also cannot free
things that have been prohibited in heaven.
Roman Catholics have abused
that passage to their own use and caused many to misunderstand. The key of revelation knowledge is given to
all Christians, not just the Pope…especially not the Pope!
Notice that Christ said that
He would “give the keys to the Kingdom of heaven!”
What are those keys?
The keys to the Kingdom of
heaven are Revelation and Repentance in that order!
Without the revelation of
Christ Jesus as the Son of God and man’s lost condition true repentance is
impossible!
The revelation of Christ
Jesus precedes true repentance!
Matthew 16:22-23
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him,
saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be
unto thee.
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.
Boldness is not a sign of
intelligence. Many are bold in their
lack of knowledge.
Peter, perhaps the boldest of
the twelve, took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Surely that
can’t happen, Lord! It shall never happen to You."
At that Jesus turned to Peter
(the same one that had moments earlier proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah), and
said, “Get away from Me, Satan! You are being offensive to Me!
You are not focusing on the things of God's, but on vain human interests.”
The Church today is doing
exactly what Peter tried to do, retard the progress of God’s plan for the
ages. Peter could not do it, and we will
not do it!
God’s plan is God’s plan!
Ephesians 1:11
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to
the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
If Christ had not been born,
suffered and died in our place, for our sins, we would be lost---condemned to a
life without hope. Further, any hope we
may have under those circumstances would be completely a matter of human fraud
and deception.
Those that hate Christ are
completely and fully deceived! But, He
gave His life in exchange for their well-being, and reconciliation to the
Father. Just think about your life
before Christ. No matter how “good” it
may have been it was dismal when compared to life with Christ.
Without Christ, we have no
life!
Matthew 16:24-28
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.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
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?
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.
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.
Then, Christ Jesus told His
disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross (Gr. stauron-stauron), and follow Me (Gr. akoloutheitoo-akolouqeitw/imperative-a command).
If any one wishes to follow
Christ, that person must deny his “self!”
He must put aside all his ambitions and personal will, and live his life
in conjunction with the will of God in Christ! That is the test of salvation!
So what is verse 24 teaching
us?
Whoever denies his/her
personal victory (which is a false concept), and instead relies completely on
the victory Christ provided in His cross shall find victory!
Whoever wishes to save his
life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My
sake shall find it. What will a man gain
if he gets the whole world, and surrenders his life? Or, what will a man give in
exchange for his life? The Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the
glory of His Father. And, He will
compensate each person according to his/her deeds. Truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death until they
see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
To Christians, death is an
invalid concept. We live on no matter
what happens to our bodies.