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!
It was the Pope who taught
that the earth was flat when the Bible speaks of the earth’s circle or
sphere. Most Popes have been biblically
ignorant politicians.
Then, Jesus admonished His
disciples, telling them not to tell others that He was the Christ.
From that moment, Christ
began to explain to His disciples that He must go to
And yet, when it actually
happened they had trouble believing it!
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). Because, 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.