Matthew 16
CHAPTER 16
Jesus describes the Pharisees and Sadducees as evil and leaves again
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test him, and asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 But he answered and said to 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 foul weather 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 after a sign, and there shall be no sign given to it except the sign of Jonah. And he left them and departed.
Jesus teaches the meaning of yeast
5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 And Jesus said to them: Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 7 And they discussed this among themselves, saying: We did not bring any bread. 8 And Jesus, aware of it, said: O you of little faith! Why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered 10 nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you took up? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 12 Then they understood that he told them not to be careful concerning the yeast in bread but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Jesus leaves Israel again and tests His disciples’ understanding
13 Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying: Who do men say that the Son of Man is? 14 And they said: Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 15 He said to them: But who do you say that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said to him: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the grave shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20 Then he ordered the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Jesus teaches His disciples about His forthcoming death and resurrection
21 From that time Jesus began to explain to 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 and began to rebuke him, saying: Be it far 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 said Jesus to his disciples: If anyone wants to be my follower, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life shall lose it, and whoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what shall a man be profited if he shall gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then shall he repay every man according to his deeds. 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.
Commentary
16:11 Again note Jesus’ frustration with His followers’ lack of understanding. We should so seek to understand Him, for clearly it’s pleasing to anyone who loves us that we understand them. See on 15:16.
16:12 Doctrine is compared to yeast; it influences a large mass of dough, out of proportion to its own volume. This is the power and importance of doctrine. We must understand correctly.
16:18 The rock was the rock of Peter’s belief that Jesus was God’s Son (:16), and Peter’s personal preaching of it. ‘Peter’ means ‘rock’; it was a nickname, something like ‘Rocky’.
16:19 This was promised to all the disciples- Mt. 18:18. The Roman Catholics misuse this verse to claim that Peter and therefore the Pope has this power. But there’s no reason to think that any authority was passed on from Peter, nor the other disciples, to any subsequent generation.
16:23 Peter is called ‘Satan’, ‘an adversary’, showing that ‘satan’ doesn’t mean a sinful Angel. The word simply means ‘an adversary’. Jesus turned to speak to Peter- Peter had been walking behind Jesus- and tells him to really ‘get behind me’. Hence He says in v. 24 that to follow behind Him means taking up a cross. Peter didn’t want Jesus to die on the cross because this meant that those who followed Jesus should also likewise die. But Jesus tells him to really get behind Him, to be a real follower of Him, not just externally but in the spirit of carrying His cross. Peter failed badly here, so soon after his spiritual peak of 16:17,18. Our spirituality- and that of our brethren- goes up and down dramatically.
16:28 This is a reference to the transfiguration which we now read of in chapter 17.
