Matthew 16:13–20

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” ¹⁴ So 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 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Commentary

Vs. 13-14 ¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” ¹⁴ So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

The Lord Jesus now along with the disciples leaves the small villages and such near the shores of the Sea of Galilee and moves northward into the region of Caesarea Philippi, the city where Herod Philip (one of the sons of Herod the great), ruled and made his home. And so, it is here (outside of the pinnacles of power that then ruled the Jews) that the Lord Jesus Christ will ask the disciples about who they believe His Person to be. Now Jesus will first ask them, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” And so, they respond by telling Him that some say that Jesus is John the Baptist (i.e. John the Baptist raised from the dead as Herod thought). While others say Jesus is Elijah (likely linking the Lord Jesus’ miraculous works with that of Elijah who did some similar works but nothing on par with His), while others said Jesus was Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Yet none (and this is important) had yet rightly identified the Lord Jesus Christ for who He truly is. For as God had not yet revealed the true identity of His Son to the multitudes, for this could not take place before Christ’s Crucifixion and then later Resurrection from the dead. 

Vs. 15-17 ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

Having heard the disciple’s response, the Lord Jesus Christ now pointily asks them who they believe His Person to be (vs.15). Simon Peter then often being the disciple’s spokesmen is the first to respond, saying to the Lord Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

Now Peter’s response is without doubt or reservation, for it is a heart felt declaration of just who he had rightly come to believe Jesus to be, and that is the Promised Messiah (i.e. The Christ=Christos which is the Greek rendering for Messiah) the Son of God. Now with Peter’s heart felt declaration the Lord Jesus Christ says to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” ^{Vs. 17} Therefore though Peter’s response came from the heart it was God Himself who had first revealed His Son to Peter, something which He does for each and everyone of us, in His own timing and in His own way He reveals His Son to us. Now what we do with that revelation is up to us. For we all must decide for ourselves whether we will repent and believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ for ourselves. For God allows each and every one of us to choose for ourselves whether we will have Him or not (John 1:12; Rev.3:20).

Vs. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Now the Lord Jesus Christ’s declaration in verse eighteen is not that Peter is the Rock on which He will build His church for that designation belongs to Christ Himself. For Jesus is referred to throughout the Scripture as God’s living Rock or Stone, just Peter himself calls Him (see 1 Peter 2:4-8, and also see Ephesians 2:20-22 where the Lord Jesus is rightly referred to as the Chief Cornerstone of all that God is building, i.e. all the people of God made up of both Jews and Gentiles redeemed by His shed blood, 1 Peter 2:9-10). Therefore, the rock on which the Lord Jesus Christ will build His church is the testimony that the Apostle Peter gave of Him, that is Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. For that is the foundation of the Church, Jesus Christ Himself and our declaration of Him as the Christ the Son of the living God. Now in rightly declaring the Lord Jesus Christ (and thus the church being built upon the testimony of His Person) the Lord also says of His church that “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”. Therefore, the gates of death (and all the forces of hell itself) will not prevail against either the Lord Jesus Christ Himself or His people in His church, for the everlasting life which He purchased and then paved the way for us all by His own Sacrificial Crucifixion death and then His Resurrection from the Dead and then His Ascension back to God in heaven assures us all that we who believe in Him will be with Him forever and ever in heaven.

Vs. 19 “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

When the Lord Jesus Christ declared to Peter that He gave him the keys to the Kingdom of heaven He was referring to Peters having rightly declared His Person as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, therefore Peter could by that Word given him by God likewise declare men and woman to be either loosed from their sins and transgression (or still bound) by their own confession (or not) of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this privilege Peter first exercised on the Day of Pentecost, when He received all the people who repented and believed at his preaching Christ to them (Acts 2:38-41). Now that privilege is likewise extended to every disciple of Christ to likewise declare and receive the same (John 2:20-23).  

Vs. 20 “Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”

Having then made the confession of His Person as the Christ, the Son of the Living God the entrance requirement into the Kingdom of heaven the Lord Jesus Christ now tells the disciples to tell no one that He is the Christ. For that confession could invoke salvation for no one until the Lord Jesus Christ first suffered His Sacrificial Crucifixion death on the Cross for us all.

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Matthew 16:5-12

 ⁵ Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” ⁷ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹ How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Commentary

Vs. 5 “Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.”

Now the disciples rejoin with the Lord Jesus Christ, however having arrived there they remember that they had forgotten to take bread with them.

Vs. 6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

Now when the Lord Jesus meets them (knowing that they had not brought any provisions with them) He first say’s to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” This Jesus says to them having just had an encounter with the Pharisees and Sadducees whose “leaven” had kept them blinded to Him.

Vs. 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”

The disciples though are still focused on their lack of bread; though Jesus said nothing of bread, but “leaven” which makes bread rise.

Vs. 8-11 ⁸ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹ How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Now the Lord Jesus being aware of the disciples still focusing on their lack of bread now reminds them how He first fed the five thousand (which left them five baskets full of fragments that were leftover) and then later how He fed the four thousand (with this time seven baskets full of fragments left over). Therefore, their lack of bread should not be a concern to them for as the Lord Jesus has already demonstrated He can provide all the bread that they will need. Therefore, the Lord Jesus pointedly asks them, “How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Vs. 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The disciple’s now understand that the Lord Jesus was not concerned with the leaven of bread, but rather with the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees which as previously noted not only blinds one to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, but also it only enslaves one to serving the man-made and misleading commands and traditions which they held so dearly too but do nothing to bring one into a personal and everlasting and fully satisfying relationship with God, but only leave ones person and soul decimated in the end, and that is the danger of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees (who are likewise dangerous in that they deny key Biblical doctrines) for they always supplant the Word of God with their own ideals. Therefore the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (and all like them) will form something in you, but it won’t be faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and obedience to His Word, but rather theirs.

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Matthew 16:1-4

 ¹ Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. ² 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.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

Commentary

Once again, the Pharisees; but this time coming with Sadducees who were arch rivals of the Pharisees in regards to the Jews religion and its interpretations of the Law; come seeking a sign from the Lord Jesus (see Matt 12:38-45). Now unlike the Pharisees who held to key Biblical doctrines like the resurrection of dead, the judgment to come, the spirit, heaven and hell, even the immortality of the soul (Acts 23:8). The Sadducees denied all these things and yet they had by the time of Jesus largely supplanted the Jews priesthood; which was only to draw priests from the direct descendants of Aaron; by claiming to be the direct descendants of Zadok, who was the high priest during King David’s reign. And so, by Rome’s permissive will they were the ones who largely made up the Sanhedrin Counsel which exercised judicial authority over the Jews in regards to matters concerning their religion, and to a lessor degree the affairs governing their lives when these were outside of Roman laws (Nonetheless the Roman Governor always had the finial say in regards to the death penalty and it’s being applied). Now by doing so the Romans kept themselves, and Herod their appointed ruler of the Jews arms length out of the religious affairs of the Jews (something which appeased the Jewish people) but still kept the Sadducees, and to a much lessor degree the Pharisees, within their reach and control. Now the Sadducees themselves were mostly aristocratic and wealthy Jews who wanted to preserve their elite and powerful positions in the religious and social lives of the Jews. Therefore, their interest in the Lord Jesus Christ was not in seeking to know Him as the Messiah, (rather their concern like all of the various religious and political factions in Israel was just what sort of influence was Jesus having on the people that they themselves bore rule over. And so, their initial antagonism and then later fierce hostility towards the Lord Jesus Christ (and His disciples) was far more than just a doctrinal disagreement, it was their wanting to preserve the status quo, something which Herod (and later his sons) along with all of Jerusalem was also concerned with doing when the Lord Jesus Christ’s arrival (consider Matt. 2:1-3). And so, from the elders of the Jews who bore rule over the people in everyday affairs of life, to the scribes who interpreted how the people were to live their lives according to the law of Moses, along with the Pharisees who likewise taught and enforced their “fathers” traditions which they believed was preserving the Jews faith. Every religious, social, and political faction in Israel during the time of Jesus was not looking to Him as their Messiah Promised them through the Scriptures. But all of them, from the least to the greatest were only concerned with preserving their own “slice of the pie” that was then ancient Israel. And so, if that meant forming a “confederacy” with those they were at odds with to try to hinder or undermine the Lord Jesus Christ then they would. For that is what unites them all, their own rejection of Jesus Person, as the Son of God, the Lord and Savior of the world, and thus the Rightful Ruler and Heir of Israel, (indeed of the whole world), which then leads to their own fierce hostility of His Person and everyone who belongs to Him. Something which is true in every generation where the Lord Jesus Christ is preached, but then rejected, those people will find common ground in their opposing and persecuting Him and His own, regardless of their other beliefs. Now the Pharisees were much more traditional in their beliefs then the Sadducees (who controlled the Temple and the priesthood there) and so, they were much more revered and respected by the common folk from where they came. However as previously noted the Pharisees often made their own scribes interpretations of the Law (or worse their own man-made traditions) as being on par with the Law itself. Therefore, the Pharisees interest in the Lord Jesus Christ was much more concerned with whether or not He was teaching and keeping their interpretations of the Law. For to them that was their measure of the Messiah, if He was just like them, something which the Lord Jesus Christ time and again intentionally sought not to be like, especially when it came to healing and helping people in their very presence; showing the mercy of God time and again; especially on the Sabbath which was God’s commanded day of rest which the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated to them time and again by doing so, bringing rest to weary and heavy laden souls (consider Matt. 11:28-30) and thus not laying “religious” burdens upon people as they frequently did in their observing it.

Now with Jesus being in area which was largely “Romanized” it makes sense that the Pharisees; who would’ve been outside of their comfort zone; would bring with them the Sadducees who would be more comfortable there. Now that they both came to the Lord Jesus seeking a sign from heaven from Him only shows their own spiritual blindness to Him, something that will remain unchanged. And so even if the Lord Jesus Christ showed them a sign from heaven; they would only dismiss it; just as they had already dismissed His own Person time and again; from the testimony of John the Baptist of Christ; to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself whose Words and Works no man had ever spoken or done. For the Lord Jesus Christ by the Authority and Power of God cast out demons, miraculously healed the blind and lame and sick, raised the dead, miraculously fed thousands at one time, He even calmed the stormy seas with a Word; but most importantly the Lord Jesus Christ declared to them the Word of God hidden from previous generations but now is being openly declared just as He came in fulfilment of it. Therefore, if they would not believe in Him as the Son of Man, Son of God, no sign from heaven would be given them; because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the Sign from Heaven that God has come, and it is every person’s responsibility to believe in Him and receive Him and obey Him as Lord and Savior, for it is Jesus Christ God has given everything too, and He will make everything to be in subjection to Him. Therefore, the Lord Jesus will not show them or anyone else signs to verify His Person. Instead Jesus thoroughly rebukes the Pharisees and Sadducees for their own spiritual blindness and hardness of heart, because they do not see Him nor do they seek Him for who He is, instead they only seek a “sign” from heaven from Him. Yet as He says to them, they can so easily discern the face of the sky as to discern what the upcoming weather will be, and yet with all of their Scriptural knowledge they are unable to discern “the signs of the times” that God’s Son our Lord and Savior, was living and walking and doing the very Works of God as He said He would in His Word right amongst them. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ will not show them (or anyone else) a sign from heaven, for as He says again to them, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” That is the Lord Jesus’ own Resurrection from the Dead will be the finial sign that justifies His Person. Therefore, having rebuked them the Lord Jesus Christ departs from there, and leaves them to their own unbelief. 

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Matthew 15:32-39

 ³² Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” ³³ Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” ³⁵ So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. ³⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. ³⁸ Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

Commentary

Vs. 32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Now in what will be a parallel of the Lord Jesus feeding the five thousand (who had followed Him and His disciples when He crossed the Sea of Galilee) He will now feed the multitudes Gentiles who had now come to Him to have Him heal their sick. A ministering to them that had lasted three days. Therefore, whatever food they had brought with them would’ve been used up. And so, Jesus calling the disciples to Himself now says to them, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Vs. 33 Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”

The disciples, like when Jesus fed the five thousand, are again overwhelmed with the enormity of the task at hand, and thus they are only focused on it, and their lack of abilities and resources, rather than focusing on what the Lord can do through them. Therefore, they say to Jesus, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”

Vs. 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”

Once again, the disciples find but seven loaves, and a few little fish. Now with the parallel (and seven being a perfect number throughout the Scriptures) the disciples should’ve been awakened to the fact that it is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who multiplies our resources, (whether little or much) when we in faith deploy these for His work and service. Nonetheless like us, the disciples were going to have to learn this lesson again.

Vs. 35-36 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.

The Lord Jesus now commands the multitudes to sit down on the ground and having received the seven loaves and few small fish from the disciples, Jesus gives God thanks for them, then He breaks them and gives them to the disciples, who in turn distribute what Jesus has given them to the multitudes. Notice then the order, first we give our resources to the Lord (and not just our money, but our talents and time and abilities, indeed our whole lives) then He multiplies them and gives them back to us so that we too might have something to minister God’s blessings to the multitudes of people whose hearts are hungering for the Gospel.

 Vs. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.

With the disciples having distributed the bread and fish to the multitudes, the Scripture says the all ate and they all were filled (vs. 37). And so, they were not just fed, they were filled! Filled with the blessings and goodness that the Lord Jesus Christ had given them through His disciples. Now the Scripture also says after feeding the crowds that seven large baskets full of the fragments were taken up by the disciples, now if they thought they’re would be nothing left afterwards they were mistaken because what was left was way more than what they began with!

Vs. 38-39 ³⁸ Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹ And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

The amount who ate were four thousand plus the woman and children. And so, with very little from us, the Lord Jesus Christ can feed many! Therefore, with the multitudes properly fed and well nourished the Lord Jesus Christ sends the multitudes away, and having sent them away as a proper host would, Jesus gets into the boat and comes to the region of Magdala, (the region or birth place of Mary Magdalene), a thriving fishing region (where fish was first processed and then preserved by salt) it is thought to have been more “Romanized” than the rest of Israel (Harper’s Bible Dictionary).

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.