Bible Commentaries
Matthew 16

Verses 1-12

Mat 16:1-12

A Sign from Heaven Demanded, Matthew 16:1-4.
(Mark 8:10-12)

J.W. McGarvey

1. with the Sadducees.—This is the first and only time that the Pharisees and Sadducees are mentioned as acting in concert against Jesus. Their extreme jealousy toward each other, and the very different grounds on which they were opposed to Jesus, rendered concert of action almost impossible. The chief cause for which the Pharisees opposed, was his disregard of their traditions; and in this the Sadducees sympathized with Jesus, because they also denied the authority of tradition. In regard to his miracles they occupied common ground, and hence their agreement in asking for a sign from heaven.

tempting.—That is, testing the extent of his miraculous powers. As they could not deny the miracles which he had wrought, they wanted to be able to say that there were some miracles which he could not work. Once before a demand like this had been made of him (Matthew 12:38), and his refusal then inspired them with greater boldness in making the demand again. Thus, with ingenuity truly devilish, they sought an apparent advantage over him before the people.

2, 3. discern the face of the sky.—These signs are good at the present day, and in our own country. It is an almost unfailing sign of foul weather to see clouds about the sun in the morning, and an equally unfailing sign of fair weather to see the sun set clear and fiery.

signs of the times.—The times of the Messiah, and the miraculous evidences which he had given that they were at hand. These were as plainly to be seen as the clouds at sunrise and at sunset, but the Pharisees and Sadducees failed to see them in their real significance.

4. adulterous generation.—From this and similar remarks elsewhere, it has been thought that the Jews of the Savior’s time were a very adulterous people. They certainly were when compared with a perfect standard, but not when compared with the heathen nations about them. The severe penalties of the law against vices of this class placed a wholesome restraint on the passions of the people, and made them very zealous for the punishment of the guilty. (Comp. John 8:3-5.)

but the sign of Jonas.—As on the occasion of their previous demand for a sign (Matthew 12:39), he meant that no sign should be given of the kind which they demanded. He gave many more of the kind which he had been giving. The reference to Jonah was an enigma to both the friends and the foes of Jesus; for neither party as yet anticipated his death, burial, and resurrection. It is one of a number of remarks which Jesus let fall, the very obscurity of which caused them to be remembered and talked about until subsequent developments made them intelligible, and then they furnished very surprising proofs of his foreknowledge.

The Demand for a Sign - Matthew 16:1-4

Open It

1. What are some examples of signs?

2. What is your favorite season of the year? Why?

3. What positive signs give you reason to be optimistic about the days ahead?

4. What negative signs tell you that the world is getting worse?

Explore It

5. Who approached Jesus? (Matthew 16:1)

6. What were the people who approached Jesus really doing? (Matthew 16:1)

7. What request did the people make of Jesus? (Matthew 16:1)

8. Jesus answered the Pharisees and Sadducees by talking about what? (Matthew 16:2)

9. What did a red sky at night mean in this context? (Matthew 16:2)

10. What did a red sunrise indicate in this context? (Matthew 16:3)

11. Why did Jesus chastise the Pharisees and Sadducees? (Matthew 16:3-4)

12. What kind of generation did Jesus say looks for a sign? (Matthew 16:4)

13. What single sign did Jesus offer? (Matthew 16:4)

14. What did Jesus do after speaking with the Pharisees and Sadducees? (Matthew 16:4)

Get It

15. What signs do we already have of Jesus’ power?

16. Why do you think these religious leaders sought a miraculous sign?

17. What are some ways we try to put God to the test?

18. What demands or performance requirements do we sometimes place on God?

19. Why would many of your non-Christian friends still not believe in Jesus even if they saw Him do a miracle?

20. How would you answer someone who said, "I’ll believe in God when I see Him do a miracle right before my eyes"?

21. What signs or proofs of God’s power does our generation already have?

Apply It

22. What are some ways you could use nature or the Bible to share the truth of Christ with a friend?

23. In what way can you show your faith in Christ this week?

24. What has God done in your life that you can use as a sign to others?

Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,
Matthew 15:5-12. (Mark 8:13-21)

5. the other side.—The incident of the last paragraph was located in the vicinity of Magdala (Matthew 15:39), which was on the western side of the lake. When they came "to the other side," then, they were on the eastern side, and as they were on the way to Cæsarea Philippi (Matthew 15:13), they were probably near the northern extremity of the eastern shore.

forgotten to take bread.—This remark shows that they were in the habit of taking bread with them when they went on journeys like the present.

6-7. beware of the leaven.—Jesus was still thinking of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which, like leaven, spreads through society when practiced by influential persons; but the disciples had fallen into other trains of thought, and hence their awkward mistake of supposing that he was reproaching them for bringing no bread.

8-11. O ye of little faith.—Their mistake implies weakness of faith, because Jesus had given abundant evidence of his ability to feed them whether they had with them much bread or little. If they had remembered the feeding of the five thousand and of the four thousand, they would not have been much concerned about bread.

12. Then understood they.—As soon as they learned that he was using the term leaven in a metaphorical sense, they understood the remark, for the metaphor was simple and familiar.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

Matthew 16:5-12

Open It

1. What dates or events do you have a hard time remembering?

2. How has a simple case of misunderstanding recently created problems for you?

3. What philosophies or widely believed ideas do you feel are dangerous?

Explore It

4. Where were Jesus and His disciples traveling? (Matthew 16:5)

5. What did the disciples forget to pack? (Matthew 16:5)

6. What warning did Jesus issue to His followers? (Matthew 16:6)

7. Whom did Jesus mention in His warning? (Matthew 16:6)

8. How did the disciples misunderstand Jesus’ comments? (Matthew 16:7)

9. What did Jesus say the disciples lacked? (Matthew 16:8)

10. What did Jesus’ disciples fail to understand? (Matthew 16:9)

11. What did Jesus’ disciples forget? (Matthew 16:9)

12. What recent incidents did Jesus cite to make His point? (Matthew 16:9-10)

13. How did Jesus clarify His remarks about yeast? (Matthew 16:11)

14. What was Jesus encouraging His disciples to avoid? Why? (Matthew 16:11-12)

15. What happened when Jesus explained His words? (Matthew 16:12)

Get It

16. What truths about God do you have a hard time understanding?

17. What spiritual lessons and truths do you have a tendency to forget?

18. How can one wrong idea get us into trouble?

19. What are some ways we get so caught up in the mundane details of life that we miss the bigger-than-life lessons God wants to teach us?

20. What forgotten experiences or neglected truths do you need to reflect upon more?

21. How can we judge whether the spiritual teaching we receive is healthy or dangerous?

Apply It

22. What can you do today to become more sensitive to what God is trying to teach you through His Word?

23. What nonjudgmental and nonthreatening step can you take this week to warn a friend who is being led astray by unsound teaching?

24. What small evil do you need to root out of your life this week before it spreads and causes much trouble?

Verses 13-20

Mat 16:13-20

Conversation near Cæsarea Philippi, Matthew 16:13-20.
(Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21)
J.W. McGarvey

13. Cæsarea Philippi.—This city was situated at the foot of Mt. Hermon, which rises some seven or eight thousand feet above it, and at the more eastern of the two principal sources of the Jordan. It was built on a limestone terrace, and was strongly fortified. It was a very ancient city, and had been Known by the name of Panium; but it had been recently improved by Philip, tetrarch of Trachonitis, and called by him Cæsarea Philippi, in honor of himself and the reigning Cæsar. It is the most northern point mentioned in the travels of Jesus.

Who do men say.—The world’s greatest question is the one here propounded, Who is Jesus? In answer to it the Nazarenes had said that he was only the son of the carpenter; yet they acknowledged that on this hypothesis they could not account for his wisdom and his mighty works. Throughout the other parts of Galilee it was admitted that he was something more, but what he was more than this was a matter of dispute then, and it has been ever since. Concerning Jesus alone, of all the men of history, has such a question existed.

14. Some say.—The different opinions as to who he was, are accounted for partly by the circumstances of the men who uttered them and partly by the different aspects presented in the career of Jesus. The opinion that he was John the Baptist raised from the dead, as we have already seen (Matthew 14:2), arose from the superstition of the people, and was adopted by Herod, as a natural result of his guilty fears. Some thought that he was the prophet Elijah returned again to earth, because of the boldness with which he denounced the sins of the age; while this characteristic, combined with the sorrowful tone of his speech, suggested to others that he was Jeremiah. Others, unable to decide which prophet he most resembled, thought that he was "one of the prophets." None regarded him as less than a prophet, and therefore all were inexcusable for not accepting the account which he gave of himself. Their unbelief on this point was the result of preconceived opinions as to the character and career of the Messiah, which they held tenaciously, and which were not verified in Jesus.

15. whom say ye.—This is the first time that Jesus formally presented to his disciples this question. He had reserved it until he had given them the means of forming a matured judgment, and until this judgment had actually been formed.

16. Simon Peter answered.—Peter, always first to speak, answers for the whole company. His answer contains two propositions: first, that Jesus was the Christ; second, that he was the Son of the living God. The former identified him as the long-expected deliver of whom the prophets had written; and the latter declared him, what the Jews had not expected their Messiah to be, the Son of God. This was an intelligent confession of the whole truth concerning the personality of Jesus.

17. Blessed art thou.—Simon was blessed because the truth which he had expressed and which he believed, was his as a source of happiness, both temporal and eternal. The statement that flesh and blood had not revealed it to him, but God, is the proof that he was blessed. That it was a revelation from God, and not a discovery made by unaided human reason, was proof that it was a blessing from heaven. God had revealed it through the works and words of Jesus.

Bar-jona.—Son of Jona, a reflection of Peter’s expression, Son of God.

18. upon this rock.—To what the term rock refers, whether to Peter, to Christ, or to the truth which Peter had just confessed concerning Jesus, has been a matter of much disputation. In a highly figurative passage like this, it is important that we take into view all of the imagery employed; otherwise we are likely to overlook the significance of some parts, and to form distorted conceptions of others. This important consideration has not, we think, received due attention from expositors in considering the present passage. Observe, then, that the leading image of this and the following verse is that of two opposing cities, one representing the kingdom of heaven, and the other representing hades. The former is represented as about to be built on a rock, its builder, its gatekeeper, and its keys are mentioned, and the assurance is given that the gates of the latter city shall not prevail against it. Of the former city Jesus is the builder; Peter is the gatekeeper, for to him the keys are given; and the foundation on which its walls were to be erected, like that of Cæsarea Philippi, which was close at hand and in all probability supplied the imagery, is a solid rock.

Now, it is impossible, without throwing this imagery into confusion, to make either Jesus or Peter the rock; for Jesus assigns to himself the position of the builder, or chief architect, and he assigns to Peter that of gatekeeper, or holder of the keys. We can realize this more vividly if we will suppose the entire imagery to be thrown upon canvas. On one side of your picture you see the dark city of hades, out of whose gates are pouring the grim legions of death, led to the assault by Satan himself. On the other, you see a beautiful city in process of construction, with Jesus standing on a finished portion of the wall and superintending the labor of all the workmen, while Peter stands at one of the gates with the keys in his hand, ready to open at the Master’s bidding. You also see that this city is built on a ledge of rock, the precipitous face of which is seen beneath the walls. In gazing on this picture, and seeking to ascertain the symbolic meaning of its parts, you would never conceive that the rock beneath the city symbolizes either Jesus or Peter; for you see them both clearly represented in the picture and occupying positions altogether different.

The rock, then, must represent some other object of thought in the context, and this can be no other than the truth which Peter had just confessed concerning Jesus. This truth, that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God, is the most fundamental truth in the Christian system—it is that on which the whole superstructure depends; and it is therefore most appropriately represented by the rock in the Savior’s picture.

It is objected to this interpretation, that the name of Peter in the original means a stone (John 1:42), and that when Jesus says to him, "Thou art Petros (a stone), and on this rock I will build my church," the term this identifies rock with the stone just mentioned, or the person of Peter. But there are two insuperable obstacles in the way of this objection: first, after saying, "Thou art Petros," he changes the phraseology, as if for the very purpose of avoiding this meaning, and says, "on this petra I will build my church." If he had intended to identify Peter with the rock, he would have repeated the term Petros, instead of introducing the new term petra, which means a ledge of rock, while Petros means a stone. Again, if he had meant that he would build on Peter, it is inconceivable that he adopted so unnatural a method of expressing the idea, instead of saying, "Thou art Peter, and on thee I will build my church."

It is urged by Alford as an objection to our interpretation, that in the New Testament usage, "not doctrines nor confessions, but men are uniformly the pillars and stones of the spiritual building." This is true; but in the passage before us neither the pillars nor stones of the spiritual building are spoken of, but the solid rock on which all the pillars and stones of the spiritual building are erected. The objection, therefore, misses its aim.

If it be asked, why did Jesus say "Thou art Peter," unless he intended to make him the rock, we answer, that, like the expression Bar-jona, it was a very natural reechoing of Peter’s own mode of address. Peter had said, "Thou art the Christ," giving Jesus his official title, and "the Son of the living God." Jesus answers, "Simon, son of Jona," "Thou art Peter"—the symbolical name which had long since been given him (John 1:42), and which referred to the solidity of character he was yet to acquire though he showed very little promise of it at present.

As for the supposition that Jesus is himself the rock, there is nothing in the context to even suggest it. It is suggested by other passages in which he is called a stone or a foundation. But in those passages it will be found that the imagery is entirely different. When Paul says, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11), the image is not that of a city built on a natural rock, but that of a single building (Matthew 16:9), and of its artificial foundation which Paul had laid. Furthermore, the way in which Paul had laid Jesus as a foundation in Corinth was by proving him to be the Christ the Son of God, so that the idea taught in this passage is not materially different from that in our text. When Paul says that the Gentiles are "built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone," the image is that of a temple with the apostles and prophets for the layer of stones at the foundation, and Jesus for the chief cornerstone on which the two walls, Jewish and Gentile, meet, and by which they are held together. Again, when Jesus is represented as a stone rejected by the builders, but made by God the chief stone of the corner, the image is that of a company of men trying to build a house, but rejecting the only stone which had been cut for the chief corner, and therefore unable to go on with the work. (Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:4-7.) As the imagery in all these passages is entirely different from that of the text, the former can not be allowed to control in the interpretation of the latter. We conclude, then, that the interpretation given above is without valid objection.

gates of hell.—Not correctly rendered hell, but hades. As we have remarked above, hades is contemplated as a walled city waging war against the Church. Its gates are made the symbols of its power, because the military forces of an ancient city always issued forth from its gates, and the gates may be considered as sending them out. All the powers by which hades, the place of disembodied spirits, assails the Church, are included in the figure, the powers of demons, of Satan, and of death. The text is a pledge that the Church would never be tempted into total apostasy, nor be depopulated by the death of all its members.

I will build.—Notice the force if the future tense: not, I have built; nor, I am building; but, "I will build." The entire work, from laying the foundation on the solid "rock," to the completion of he superstructure, was yet in the future. The apostles and the New Testament prophets (Ephesians 2:20 to Ephesians 3:5) had yet to be laid on the rock, by being commissioned and qualified; and the cornerstone itself had yet to be fitted and laid in its place by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The idea of a preexistence of the Church, either in the family of Abraham, or among the disciples of John the Baptist, is inconsistent with the language here employed.

19. keys of the kingdom.—As we have already remarked under the previous verse, the promise to give Peter the keys made him the porter, and gave him the power to open the kingdom to those who were entitled to admission. This office he exercised by admitting the first Jews on the day of Pentecost, and the first Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. Since the gates were first opened they have never been closed, and therefore the keys have been used no more. The plural number of the term keys has no significance in the interpretation, but was suggested by the fact that ancient cities usually had a plurality of gates requiring a plurality of keys. The kingdom was not opened to the Jews and the Gentiles by different keys; for both were admitted on the same terms.

bound... loosed.—From the figure of the keys, the symbol of opening and shutting, Jesus passes to the figure of binding and loosing; but the reference is still to admission into the kingdom. To bind represents pronouncing against a man as unworthy of a place in the kingdom, and to loose is to pronounce him freed from condemnation. Peter would do both by laying down the conditions on which men would be admitted into the kingdom. Jesus could safely say that his acts in this particular would be ratified in heaven, because he foreknew that Peter would be guided in all by the Holy Spirit.

20. tell no man.—Though the disciples believed Jesus to be the Christ, they had as yet but a very inadequate conception of what it was to be the Christ, and were not yet qualified to proclaim it aright. It was important that no misconception should now go abroad from their lips which would have to be recalled at a future day; hence the restriction here imposed.

Peter’s Confession of Christ - Matthew 16:13-20

Open It

1. If you could ask any person any question, whom would you ask, and what would you want to know?

2. In what ways do you consider yourself blessed?

3. How would you describe an ideal church?

Explore It

4. In what region did the events of this passage take place? (Matthew 16:13)

5. What broad, impersonal question did Jesus ask His disciples? (Matthew 16:13)

6. What different answers did Christ get to His question? (Matthew 16:14)

7. What pointed personal question did Christ ask His followers? (Matthew 16:15)

8. Who spoke up in answer to Christ’s question? (Matthew 16:16)

9. What answer did Peter give? (Matthew 16:16)

10. Why was Peter blessed? (Matthew 16:17)

11. In what way is coming to faith and understanding the gospel a supernatural event? (Matthew 16:17)

12. What kind of leadership role did Jesus predict for Peter? (Matthew 16:18)

13. What did Jesus promise about the Church? (Matthew 16:18)

14. What authority did Jesus promise to Peter? (Matthew 16:19)

15. Against what did Jesus warn His disciples at the conclusion of this discussion? (Matthew 16:20)

Get It

16. What are some common views of Jesus among our generation?

17. Who do you say Jesus is?

18. What happened the first time you spoke publicly about your faith in Christ?

19. What difference does it make what we believe about Jesus?

20. What forces try to hinder God’s work today?

21. Why should churches not be discouraged in their efforts to carry out God’s work?

Apply It

22. What part in the building of Christ’s Church do you have now?

23. What can you do or say to help a friend overcome an erroneous idea about Jesus this week?

24. What are three ways you could make a public statement of your faith in Christ?

Verses 21-28

Mat 16:21-28

First Plain Prediction of His Death, Matthew 16:21-23.
(Mark 8:31-33; Luke 9:22)
J.W. McGarvey

21. From that time forth began.—Jesus began to give obscure intimations concerning his death at a very early period of his ministry. Two of these are quoted by John as having been uttered during his first visit to Jerusalem (John 2:19-22; John 3:14); one is quoted by Matthew in his reply to the demand for a sign (Matthew 12:38-40); but none of these was understood at the time by either friend or foe. He had wisely postponed a plain declaration on the subject until the faith of the disciples had taken the definite shape just indicated by Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:16), and had acquired sufficient strength to endure the shock which this announcement gave.

22. Peter took him.—The conduct of Peter in taking Jesus aside and rebuking him, shows how severe was the shock which the disciples received from this announcement. Peter seems to have dreaded its effect on the other disciples, as well as on the world; for he thought that such a termination of the -career of Jesus would prove that he was not the Christ. In this Peter exemplified the common weakness of human judgment in spiritual matters, and the proneness of men, through a misguided judgment, to fight against their own best interests.

23. behind me, Satan.—Peter received a severer rebuke than he administered. It was impossible to serve Satan more effectually than by dissuading Jesus from the death of which he had spoken; hence the metaphorical application of Satan’s name to Peter. The vehemence with which Jesus spoke is also accounted for by the fact that he instinctively shrank from the dreaded sacrifice, and needed encouragement in regard to it instead of dissuasion.

savorest not.—Obsolete for "thinkest not." Mr. Green happily renders the clause, "Thy mind is not on the things of God, but those of men." His mind was on the worldly conception of the Messiah’s kingdom which had been adopted by men, and not on that conception of it which was in the mind and word of God.

Self-sacrifice and the Judgment, Matthew 16:24-28.
(Mark 8:34 to Mark 9:1; Luke 9:23-27)

24. deny himself and take up his cross.—To deny oneself is to avoid ease or indulgence; to take up the cross is to endure reproach or dishonor in the eyes of the world. The latter expression came into use from the fact that criminals who were to be crucified carried their own crosses to the place of execution. Peter had objected, as recorded in the preceding paragraph, to the contemplated death of Jesus, and now he and his fellows are taught that not only must this be endured, but they must themselves take up the cross and follow his example; and so must all who would be his followers.

25. save his life shall lose it.—In this verse there is a play on the two meanings of the word life, temporal and eternal. Whoever, by failing to follow Jesus, would save life in the one sense, would lose it in the other, and vice versa.

26. lose his own soul.—The term rendered soul (ψυχή) in this verse is the same that is rendered life in the preceding. There the sense requires it to be rendered life, and as its meaning in this verse is the same, life should be the rendering here. The sense, however, is the same as when rendered soul; for it is the future and eternal life that is referred to, and to lose this is what our translators meant by losing the soul. The solemn truth here declared was most appropriate in this connection, because Peter’s opposition to his Lord’s death was inspired chiefly by his expectation that the latter would establish an earthly kingdom and conquer the whole world. He is taught that something far more valuable than the whole world is to be gained by following Christ, even though it should involve the loss of life.

27. For the Son of man shall come.—The fact here declared furnishes proof of the preceding remarks concerning the loss and gain of life. If men are to be finally rewarded according to their works, all the preceding remarks must be true. That the final coming of Christ is the coming here mentioned is evident from the three facts, that it is a coming "in the glory of his Father;" it is to be "with his holy angels; "and he is then to "reward every man according to his works."

28. coming in his kingdom.—The coming to judge the world naturally suggested the mention of another coming which was nearer at hand, and which also had an important connection with the preceding conversation. If he were destined to die at the hands of his enemies, as stated in the preceding paragraph, it would appear to his disciples that he must fail to establish the expected kingdom; but he assures them that notwithstanding his contemplated death, some of the present company would not taste of death till they would see him coming in his kingdom. The expression "coming in his kingdom" means entering formally upon his reign as a king, which occurred when his exaltation to the right hand of God was first proclaimed on the day of Pentecost, and which they then saw by the eye of faith. (See Acts 2:33-36; also my Commentary on Acts, Acts 1:6.) None but himself and Judas were to die previous to that time; but he intended to be indefinite about the time, and hence the very vague expression, "There be some standing here who shall not taste of death till they see," etc.

Some expositors understand that the coming here mentioned took place at the transfiguration. But that event took place only six days afterward (Matthew 17:1); none of the company tasted death before its occurrence; and Jesus was then no more in his kingdom than at the time of our paragraph. Others, again, refer it to the destruction of Jerusalem; but he came in his kingdom long before this event, and had already been seen in his kingdom as clearly as when that event occurred. (For a statement of these and other opinions, see Lange on this verse.)

Jesus Predicts His Death - Matthew 16:21-28

Open It

1. What are some ways people try to "find themselves"?

2. What is the most surprised you have ever been?

3. What is the best reward you’ve ever received?

Explore It

4. What did Christ begin telling His disciples would eventually happen to Him? (Matthew 16:21)

5. How did Christ say He would suffer? (Matthew 16:21)

6. Who did Christ say would oppose Him and make Him suffer? (Matthew 16:21)

7. What did Christ say would happen after He was killed? (Matthew 16:21)

8. How did Peter react to the news that Jesus would suffer and die? (Matthew 16:22)

9. How did Jesus characterize Peter’s objections? (Matthew 16:23)

10. What is required of the one who would follow Jesus? (Matthew 16:24)

11. What two ways can a person lose his or her life? (Matthew 16:25)

12. A person’s soul is more valuable than what? How? (Matthew 16:26)

13. What did Jesus say would happen after His death and resurrection? (Matthew 16:27)

14. What will happen after Christ returns? (Matthew 16:27)

15. What did Jesus promise His disciples? (Matthew 16:28)

Get It

16. How would you live differently if you knew exactly when and how you were going to die?

17. How does it make you feel to realize that Jesus willingly died for your sins?

18. If a person’s soul is worth more than the whole world, how ought that affect the way we spend our time?

19. What would change in your life if you denied yourself for Christ’s sake?

20. What does it mean to you to "take up your cross" and follow Jesus?

21. In what situations do you find it difficult to follow Christ?

22. How should eternal rewards motivate us to live for Christ?

Apply It

23. What do you need to do this week to center your thoughts on the things of God?

24. What is one way you can deny yourself today for Christ’s sake?

25. What change in your weekly schedule could you make to better reflect what God considers important?