[And He Walks With Me] Matthew 16
1-4 The Pharisees and Sadducees were growing more desperate. Typically, these two groups were rivals, but here, they worked together to test Jesus. More specifically, they demanded that he show them a sign from heaven. The exact nature of the sign they were seeking is unclear, but it does not matter. By this time, Jesus had performed many miracles, including several that members of their parties witnessed. Their demand, then, demonstrated the problem with a faith based on signs and wonders: such faith requires a steady stream of signs and wonders. Moreover, the signs and wonders in that stream must progressively increase in magnitude in order to impress an audience which grows progressively accustomed to such things. Jesus did not cater to their demand for more. Rather, he told them to pay attention to the signs that were already being done.
5-12 Yet again, the disciples fumbled by forgetting to bring lunch. Instead of criticizing them for this mistake, Jesus used it as a springboard to warn them, Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Of course, the disciples assumed Jesus’ words were intended as a rebuke for their careless mistake, but Jesus reminded them that he was twice able to feed massive crowds with just a tiny bit of food. Certainly, he could provide for their small group. No, his warning was about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Like leaven or yeast, false teachings tend to pervade a person’s life. Moreover, they can be contagious between people. Thus, it is critical to carefully consider every teaching that we encounter.
13 Caesarea Philippi was originally known as Panias or Paneas. When Philip, son of Herod the Great, became tetrarch of the region, he built a modern Roman city to serve as his administrative capital, naming it in honor of Caesar and himself. (Incidentally, Philip was married to Salome, the daughter of Herodias whose dance prompted Herod Antipas to execute John the Baptist (see Matthew 14:6-11).[205]) The city was located about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Sea of Galilee at the base of Mt. Hermon along the road connecting Damascus with the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon.[206] It was also very near the start of the Jordan River. The area was dominated by Gentiles and known historically for its significance in various religions. For many centuries, it was a center for Baal worship. After the Greeks swept through the region under Alexander the Great, it became a center for worshiping the Greek god Pan. Under Roman rule, it became a center for the imperial cult that worshiped Caesar.[207] As the administrative capital of the region, Caesarea Philippi was Exhibit A of Roman culture, engineering, and strength.
It is interesting that Jesus chose Caesarea Philippi as the place to confront his disciples about his identity. Between the predominantly Gentile population and significance in both pagan religions and the Roman authority, it seems Jesus was intentionally calling them to choose which type of savior they would follow: one that sought power, prestige, and wealth; or one that eschewed all these things in favor of humility, service, and sacrifice.
Son of Man. See note on 8:20.
14 The disciples’ response makes sense in light of Old Testament prophesies predicting God would send a great prophet (e.g., Deuteronomy 18:15-18; Malachi 4:5).[208] On the other hand, it highlights just how far people are willing to go to dismiss Jesus. The notion that Jesus was a reincarnate John the Baptist was absurd: Jesus’ public ministry began well before John’s death. To say he was Elijah could suggest he was the precursor to the messiah, but not the messiah. To identify him with Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
15 Jesus now brought the question home by asking who his disciples thought he was. Even with massive amounts of compelling evidence, people will often refuse to connect the dots and make decisions unless they are confronted.
16 Simon Peter once again rises to the forefront and becomes the spokesperson for the entire group. He voiced what they were all thinking, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Modern Christians, however, should not take for granted what he said here. Jews expected the messiah to be a powerful military commander, but they did not connect the title to divinity. Conversely, Son of the living God was a divine title rooted in the notion that a son was the same as the father. Indeed, modern readers will recognize the phrase, “Like father, like son.” This was a significant revelation. Jewish scholars drew a hard distinction between human and divine, but the disciples could not escape what they had seen. Jesus was clearly a man. Yet, he wielded the power of God in an unprecedented way. Thus, Peter connected the dots and recognized Jesus as both the human messiah and the son of (i.e., same as) God.
17 Flesh and blood often struggles to comprehend new revelation. People tend to cling to their old way of perceiving, understanding, and acting even after they have received a new, better way of seeing and doing things. In this case, flesh and blood drew a hard line between human and divine, but Jesus transcended that line.
18 The name Peter is a masculine form of the Greek noun petra, meaning “rock.” Wordplay was commonly used to connect concepts. Thus, the name stood as a not-so-subtle reminder that the real foundation of the church was the confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God.
This is the first time Jesus uses the word church. The Greek word behind it is ekklesian (ἐκκλησίαν) and originally referred to “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly.”[209] It was typically used to refer to an assembly called “for the purpose of deliberating” a matter.[210] As such, it was appropriately adopted by Jesus to describe those who would gather to deliberate his teachings and example. Only Matthew records Jesus using the term (here and in 18:17), but it appears 24 times in Acts and makes regular appearances throughout the epistles and Revelation as Christians seized upon the term to describe themselves.
It is imperative to recognize that Christ will build [his] church. Church leaders and Christians are responsible to live holy lives and witness boldly. Whether people decide to follow Jesus is up to Jesus and them.
The gates of Hades represents a defensive position. The implication of the statement is that the Church of Jesus Christ will be on the offensive to liberate people and territory that have been dominated by sin and death. Further, Jesus’ promise is that the enemy’s defenses will not overpower the Church on mission.
19 Keys of the kingdom of heaven represent authority. Specifically, Jesus promises to give to the Church built on the confession of vs 16, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, the authority to bind and loose on earth things which have been bound and loosed in heaven. This is not to say that the Church determines what is acceptable or not acceptable in God’s eyes, but rather, that the Church will speak and work on earth in accordance with what God has already determined in heaven. That is, Christians must advocate on earth for that which has been approved or loosed in heaven, and they must oppose on earth that which has been bound in heaven.
20 Jesus instructed the disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah for now. This was a crucial instruction, but several significant contextual matters must be considered. For instance, the Messiah or Christ had been highly anticipated by Jews for centuries. Jewish teachers had identified the promise in Old Testament prophecies, but they had also filled in many of the details of who and what the Messiah was to be with misunderstanding. Thus, the common Jew expected the Messiah to be a purely human king or general who would overthrow those who oppressed Israel on earth. The disciples already recognized that Jesus did things no human could, leading them to conclude that he was human and divine. Thus, part of the misunderstanding was becoming clear, but if anything, that only reinforced the misconception of Jesus’ mission. How much more effective would the Son of the living God be at overthrowing the Roman regime! Thus, Jesus knew that the disciples would be anxious to share their revelation with everyone they met. Oh, the Romans had better be scared now! They had clarified Jesus’ identity, but because they still misunderstood his mission, he knew that his mission could be jeopardized if they were to begin spreading their half-knowledge.
21 From then on, Jesus’ message shifted. He had proven to them who he was. Now, he had to make sure they understood his mission. Thus, he focused much more on telling them it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…. There were, then, two parts of his teachings going forward. First, there was the fact that he was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. He did not want them to be shocked by this. Second, there was the explanation of why this was necessary. Namely, he was less concerned about Roman oppression of Israel than he was about sin’s oppression of all mankind, and this was not an earthly conflict that could be fought by earthly means.
22 Peter’s protest must be seen as the natural response to the revelation that the religious leaders would persecute and kill the Messiah they had long awaited, who the disciples now recognized as God. Surely, God’s people would rally to protect and follow Jesus! If no one else would, then Peter would! And even if Peter could not, then God himself would surely smite all who opposed his Son!
23 This may seem harsh, but Jesus recognized in Peter’s protest the same temptation Satan presented in Matthew 4:1-11 Namely, Peter was suggesting that there was another way to accomplish Jesus’ mission.[211] For Peter, this was an innocent suggestion, but in his zeal, he missed the fact that anything which is not God’s way is Satan’s way, and “God’s ways are often quite different from human ways.”[212]
24 Prior to this detour into Gentile territory, large crowds of people had clamored to follow Jesus, but they were drawn by the spectacular miracles he performed. Here, however, Jesus says that the real measure of a Christ-follower will be the resolve to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. To deny himself means “to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone” and “to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.”[213] That is, it is to willfully prioritize God’s will over one’s own. Jesus further explained the believer will do this to the extent of [taking] up his cross. The reference was specifically to the common practice of making those condemned to crucifixion carry the instrument of their own execution to the crucifixion site, but it alluded to the entire notion of crucifixion. In the first century, crucifixion was reserved specifically for insurrectionists, and it was designed to make the point that the Roman government was absolutely supreme. To this end, death was only the very end of a long and brutal process by which the victim was systematically broken and humiliated. This is critical because many modern readers will interpret this simply “as bearing up under some personal hardship or life’s cruel fate.”[214] They may even fantasize about becoming heroic martyrs. Yet, the meaning of the statement is that one must be willing to prioritize God’s will to the extent of willingly suffering catastrophic humiliation and brutal death for Christ’s sake. This is what it really means to follow [Christ].
25-28 The reasoning behind vs 24 is now made clear. Those who prioritize their own lives and interests will eventually lose it, but those who follow Jesus’ upside-down priorities will receive abundant and eternal life, even if it is in eternity. Indeed, Jesus acknowledged that some may [gain] the whole world in this life by living for themselves. These may not taste death, suffering, or sacrifice until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom, but on that day, they will know eternal death.
[205] Wilkins 2004, Matthew 16:13-14
[206] Rasmussen 2013, 204
[207] Wilkins 2004, Matthew 16:13-14
[208] Arnold 2011, Matthew 16:13-20
[209] “G1577 – ekklēsia – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv)”, n.d.
[210] “G1577 – ekklēsia – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv)”, n.d.
[211] Wilkins 2004, Matthew 16:22-23
[212] Wilkins 2004, Matthew 16:22-23
[213] “G533 – aparneomai – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv)”, n.d.
[214] Wilkins 2004, Matthew 16:24