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The Demand for a Sign
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking
him to show them a sign from heaven.
2He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair
weather, for the sky is red,' 3and in the morning, 'Today it will
be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret
the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of
the times. 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous
sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah."
Jesus then left them and went away.
Explanation: Jesus' Opponents Seek a Sign (16:1-4)
This passage offers some significant lessons, both for Matthew's
first audience and for us today.
Asking for a sign after the Lord has already revealed himself is
testing him (16:1; compare Ex 17:7; Ps 78:18-20). Pharisees and
Sadducees were generally at odds, joining forces only under external
duress (compare, for example, Jos. Life 21-22); Matthew reports
that Jesus' mission was one such case of duress (3:7).
This passage refers not to those who genuinely fear God yet ask
for signs as an assurance of God's promise (Gen 15:6, 8; Judg 6:17,
36-39; 2 Kings 20:8), but to those who seek grounds to disbelieve.
Religious leaders had challenged Jesus after other miracles (Mt
15:1-20); the Gospel's first reference to testing (4:1; compare
6:13; 19:3; 22:35) may suggest that the devil is the theological
source of their opposition. Now they ignore the signs of a prophet
(15:21-39) and demand instead a sign from heaven (16:1). A sign
from heaven probably means a sign in the heavens, like those that
many people believed presaged the fall of Jerusalem (Jos. War 6.288-91)
and the end of the age (compare 24:29-31; 27:45, 51-53). Presumably
these leaders ask Jesus to predict a sign in the sky-which essentially
reduces them to the level of astrologers or diviners, something
forbidden in the Hebrew Bible (Deut 18:10). The religious leaders
here contrast starkly with some pagan astrologers who came to worship
King Jesus (2:1-12)!
Jesus is giving them a clearer sign than a sign in heaven would
be (16:3-4). Jesus' questioners could predict many celestial phenomena
with no supernatural inspiration at all; a red sky in the morning,
for example, meant that Mediterranean winds from the west would
be bringing rain. But Jesus was not interested in predicting events
in the sky or using such events to predict the future; they were
overlooking an explicit sign that was nearer at hand. The sinfulness
of that generation could itself constitute one sign, for many Jewish
people understood that a sinful generation would immediately precede
the coming of God's kingdom (CD 20.14-15; 2 Baruch 26:12; m. Sota
9:15). The description of that generation resembles Moses' complaint
against Israel (Deut 32:5), a generation that had repeatedly tested
God in the wilderness and rejected his prophet Moses (Ps 78:18-20).
Jesus' own ministry and resurrection constituted the decisive sign
to that generation (16:4). The resurrection was an end-time event
(Dan 12:2); Jesus' resurrection was a clear indication that the
kingdom time was at hand (Mt 12:39-40).
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread.
6"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard
against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
7They discussed this among themselves and said, "It is because
we didn't bring any bread."
8Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith,
why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do
you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for
the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10Or the
seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you
gathered? 11How is it you don't understand that I was not talking
to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the
Pharisees and Sadducees." 12Then they understood that he was
not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against
the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Explanation: Religious Cancer and Doubting Disciples (16:5-12)
If Jesus' opponents were active in their unbelief (vv. 1-4), his
disciples were passive in their unbelief. Unlike the Pharisees,
Jesus' disciples had stayed with him and witnessed the miracles
of the loaves; nevertheless, they still fail to understand his power.
Jesus warns against testing God as his opponents had just done.
When Jesus warns against Pharisaic leaven (vv. 5-6), hence Pharisaic
teaching (vv. 11-12), he is not implying that he disagrees with
all Pharisaic teaching (23:2); the context specifies which teaching
he means. The Pharisees and Sadducees have posed challenges intended
to discredit Jesus (16:1-4); Jesus' words against the yeast of the
Pharisees and Sadducees in this context must constitute a warning
against such cynicism, which rapidly poisons the attitudes of others.
Yeast was an appropriate metaphor for something that spreads; today
we might employ the negative image of cancer. The disciples' passive
unbelief (v. 8) suggests that the threat of Pharisaic leaven is
closer to them that they would have guessed.
The disciples misunderstand Jesus' point because they are "of
little faith." Perhaps they were headed for "the sparsely
populated east side" of the lake, where bread would be in short
supply (Hoehner 1972:204). At any rate, the disciples had inadvertently
neglected their responsibility to bring bread (v. 5; see comment
on 14:15), and they were so concerned about what their teacher would
think about their lapse that they assumed he was addressing their
own failure (16:7). Yet given what had just transpired (vv. 1-4),
how could they assume that the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
referred to forgetting to take bread? Did they think Jesus was instructing
them to bake bread from scratch once they had crossed the lake,
but to make sure not to borrow yeast from the spiritually unclean
religious elite? The disciples here appear inordinately dense. Thus
they misunderstand because they are self-absorbed (v. 7).
But Jesus is crystal clear why they cannot understand him. Spiritual
understanding cannot come apart from faith (v. 8). Had they simply
forgotten to take bread-a technical rather than a moral failure-Jesus
could have provided bread (vv. 9-10). That Jesus could miraculously
supply bread had already eluded them twice (14:15-17; 15:33; compare
6:11, 25-34); by this point his disciples should have more faith,
so he corrects them. Their real problem is that they are learning
faith so slowly (compare 15:10, 16). He has serious reason for concern:
these are his disciples, by definition apprentices expected to take
over his earthly ministry after his departure! Yet other instances
of his "little-faith" rebuke demonstrate that it represents
a reproof like that of a concerned parent, not that of a harsh drill
sergeant (compare 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 17:20).
Peter's Confession of Christ
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah;
and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say
I am?"
16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God."
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for
this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build
my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will
be loosed in heaven." 20Then he warned his disciples not to
tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Explanation: God's Plan Established on Christ (16:13-20)
The religious elite repudiated Jesus (vv. 1-4); the disciples lacked
sufficient faith in him to understand his most basic warnings (vv.
5-12). But now, informed by Jesus' works (14:33) and perhaps by
a new understanding of Jesus' role vis-a-vis that of their people's
religious establishment (16:1-12), the disciples are on the verge
of a new level of revelation. Even at this point, however, they
do not fully understand their Master's mission (vv. 21-28).
The Revelation of the Gospel Occurs in Pagan
Territory (16:13)
Jesus has taken his disciples northward from predominantly Jewish
territory, presumably to escape the crowds and spend time privately
with his disciples. They have journeyed some twenty-five miles (and
seventeen hundred feet uphill) from the Lake of Galilee to the source
of the Jordan near the ancient city of Dan, the northern boundary
of ancient Israel. The recently renamed Caesarea Philippi was as
pagan a territory as one could find. It was famous for its grotto
where people worshiped the Greek god Pan; its earlier name Paneas
persisted even in its modern Arabic name, Baneas (compare Jos. War
1.404), and public pagan rites reportedly continued there until
a later Christian miraculously demonstrated that Jesus was more
powerful (Euseb. H.E. 7.17). Following Mark, Matthew emphasizes
that God moves where he wills, fitting the theme of Jesus' universal
mission in his Gospel (for example, 1:3, 5-6; 2:1-12; 3:9; 4:15).People
Must Recognize Jesus as the Christ (16:14-16)Outsiders' recognition
of Jesus as a prophet is inadequate (16:14); those who follow Jesus
closely know him as the Christ, God's Son (vv. 15-16). Herod Antipas
thought Jesus was John (14:2); many Jewish people anticipated the
return of Elijah and other prophets like Baruch. Viewing Jesus in
such terms thus fit him into categories of thought that already
existed, rather than letting the Lord redefine their categories
by his identity (see comment on 4:1-11). Christ designates Jesus
as the rightful king of Israel (see introduction).
A Foundational Revelation (16:17-18)
Peter did not receive his revelation from man, literally "flesh
and blood" (compare Gal 1:16), a common expression for "mortals"
or "humans" (as in 1 Cor 15:50; Eph 6:12; Heb 2:14; 1
Enoch 15:4; Mek. Pisha 1.120). Peter's understanding of Jesus' identity
came by divine revelation (Mt 16:17; 11:25), undoubtedly including
God's revelation through Jesus' miraculous acts (14:33; compare
15:22). This revelation of Jesus' identity was foundational for
God's purposes in history.
Jesus then plays on Simon's nickname, Peter, which would be roughly
the English "Rocky": Peter is rocky, and on this rock
Jesus will build his church (16:18). Scholars have debated precisely
what Jesus means by rock. Protestants, following Augustine and Luther,
have sometimes contended that the rock in this passage is only Jesus
himself (references in Cullmann 1953:162 n. 13). But by Jesus' day
the Greek terms petros (Peter) and petra (rock) were interchangeable,
and the original Aramaic form of Peter's nickname that Jesus probably
used (k h phas) means simply "rock" (Cullmann 1953:18-19;
Ladd 1974b:110; Carson 1984:368; France 1985:254; Blomberg 1992:252).
Further, Jesus does not say, "You are Peter, Ãbut on
this rock I will build my church"; he says, ÃAnd on
this rock I will build my church. Jesus' teaching is the ultimate
foundation for our lives (7:24-27; compare 1 Cor 3:11), but here
Peter functions as the foundation rock like the apostles and prophets
in Ephesians 2:20-21. Jesus does not simply assign this role to
Peter arbitrarily, however; Peter is the "rock" because
in this context he is the one who confesses Jesus as the Christ
(Mt 16:15-16; Cullmann 1953:162; Ladd 1974b:110; C. Brown 1978:386).
Others who share his proclamation also share his authority in building
the church (18:18 with 16:19).
The Community Built on This Foundation Will
Prevail (16:18)
Ancient teachers from Greek philosophers to Qumran's founding teacher
established communities of followers to perpetuate their teachings
(as in Culpepper 1975:123; compare Albright and Mann 1971:195; Flusser
1988:35). The Qumran community described themselves as the qahal,
the Hebrew word for God's congregation in the exodus narrative,
which the Greek versions sometimes translate as ekkl h sia or "church."
Jesus thus depicts his followers, his church, as the true, faithful
remnant of God's people in continuity with the Old Testament covenant
community (Ridderbos 1975:328; F. Bruce 1963:84). What marked it
as new, however, was Jesus' specific designation "my community"
(Ladd 1974b:110; France 1985:255).
Biblical tradition had often spoken of "building up" the
community of God (as in Ps 51:18; 69:35; Jer 24:6; 31:4, 28). The
gates of Hades is a familiar Semitic expression for the threshold
of the realm of death. The words used here suggest that death itself
assaults Christ's church, but death cannot crush us (Ladd 1974b:116).
The church will endure until Christ's return, and no opposition,
even widespread martyrdom of Christians or the oppression of the
final antichrist (compare Jeremias 1968:927), can prevent the ultimate
triumph of God's purposes in history.
Jesus Authorizes His Agents to Admit People
to the Kingdom (16:19)
The authority belongs not only to Peter (v. 19) but to all who share
his proclamation of Jesus' identity (18:18). The realm of heaven
here contrasts strikingly with the powers of Hades, or "Sheol,"
the realm of the dead thought to lie beneath the earth (16:18; compare
Heb 2:14; Rev 1:18). Keys opened locked doors or gates, but the
carrying of keys especially symbolized the authority of the person
who bore them. One who carried keys to a royal palace was the majordomo,
as in Isaiah 22:22 and Revelation 3:7. Supervisors held the keys
to the temple courts among Jesus' contemporaries (as in ARN 7, 21B),
and in Jewish lore prominent angels carried certain keys (for example,
3 Baruch 1:2; compare b. Ta`anit 2a).
Whether Peter thus acts as "prime minister" for the kingdom
(see Brown, Donfried and Reumann 1973:96-97) or perhaps as a "chief
rabbi" making halakhic rulings based on Jesus' teachings (Meier
in Brown and Meier 1983:67), he clearly acts with enough delegated
authority (compare Acts 10:44; Gal 2:7). Whereas Israel's religious
elite was shutting people out of the kingdom (23:13; compare Lk
11:52), those who confessed Jesus' identity along with Peter were
authorized to usher people into God's kingdom.
Scholars have proposed many interpretations of "binding and
loosing," but in Jewish texts these terms ('asar and hittir
or sera') could refer to authority to interpret the law, hence to
evaluate individuals' fidelity to the law as in 18:18 (see comment
there). In this context, however, the nuance may be somewhat different
from 18:18: Peter and those who share his role (others share it
in 18:18) evaluate not those who are in the community, but those
who would enter it (10:14-15, 40; this is a role assigned to overseers
in the Qumran community-compare 1QS 5.20-21; 6:13-14). In both functions-evaluating
entrants and evaluating those already within the church-God's people
must evaluate on the authority of the heavenly court. The verb tenses
allow (and according to some scholars even suggest) that they merely
ratify the heavenly decree (see comment on 18:18; compare Mantey
1973 and 1981; Keener 1987).
Peter must thus accept into the church only those who share his
confession of Jesus' true identity (16:16). Of course the church
should emulate Jesus' practice of welcoming the unconverted (9:10),
but this is not the same as acting as if all comers were true disciples
of Christ regardless of their commitment. Today some churches both
admit into membership the unconverted and fail to take the message
of Jesus' identity to the unconverted outside their walls. The danger
of building a church on those not committed to Christ's agendas
is that in time the church will reflect more of the world's values
than Christ's; this was one way some originally abolitionist churches
compromised with the slave trade (Usry and Keener 1996:102-5).
Jesus Admonishes the Disciples Not to Reveal
His Identity (16:20)
The context suggests why Jesus admonished his disciples to keep
his identity secret. Until after the resurrection (17:9) the disciples
were unprepared to understand the cross; and apart from the cross
they could not understand the real nature of Jesus' messianic mission
(16:21-28).
Jesus Predicts His Death
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that
he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the
elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must
be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!"
he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You
are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things
of God, but the things of men."
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after
me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he
gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man
give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to
come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward
each person according to what he has done.
Explanation: The Cost of the Kingdom (16:21-27)
It is not enough to confess that Jesus is Messiah (16:16) if we
do not understand that his messiahship involves suffering and death
(vv. 21-23). And if Jesus' mission involves the cross, those who
would follow him must embrace the same price (vv. 24-27).
The Cross Is Central to Jesus' Mission (16:21)
The gospel message is incomplete without the cross. Recognizing
Jesus as the Messiah was a good first step (vv. 13-20), but not
very helpful when the disciples' concept of Jesus' messiahship differed
so greatly from his own. Jesus' messiahship meant that he would
suffer and die (v. 21); those who wish to follow him must be ready
to pay the same price (v. 24). The cross was the most scandalous
form of criminal execution in Jesus' day (see Hengel 1977:8-9).
Even the term sounded terrible to ancient readers (Hengel 1977:10),
and we may not blame the disciples if they hoped he was speaking
metaphorically.
The Devil Offers the Kingdom Without the
Cross (16:22-23)
If verses 18-19 grant Peter special authority, this passage qualifies
it: his authority functions only when he speaks from God, not when
he speaks human or demonic wisdom (compare Meier 1979:118). When
Peter rebukes Jesus, he oversteps his appropriate bounds as a disciple.
Correcting a teacher was rare (ARN 1A), and some sages believed
teaching the law even in the presence of one's teacher merited death
from God (as in Sipra Shem. Mek. deMil. 99.5.6). Disciples "followed"
their teachers (Mt 8:22; 9:9-10; 10:38; 19:21), literally remaining
behind them out of respect when they walked. Thus though Jesus turned
to confront Peter literally behind him, he now ordered him to get
behind him figuratively (16:23), returning to a position of discipleship.
But Peter was not only out of order; he was the devil's agent. At
the wilderness temptation Satan offered Jesus the kingdom without
the cross (4:8-9); Peter now offers the same temptation and encounters
the same title (Cullmann 1956b:27). The devil has influenced this
world so deeply that the world's values are quite often the devil's
values (Jas 3:15; 4:7); by valuing the things human beings value
(like lack of suffering), Peter shows himself in league with the
devil. The religious leaders later echoed Satan's temptation as
well (Mt 27:42-43). That Peter is a stumbling block (16:23; not
in Mk) again plays on his name: rock (see comment on 16:18) could
have negative as well as positive functions (Meier 1979:117 and
1980:185).That some of Jesus' religious contemporaries were Satan's
mouthpieces need not surprise us: think how many of us prefer comfortable
beliefs to the cross today. (We can wear crosses as jewelry mainly
because the Christian symbol has lost much of its original significance;
as some preachers point out, few of us would enjoy sporting a miniature
electric chair or gallows around our neck.) Some Western Christians
expect unlimited prosperity or teach that Christians will escape
all tribulation, while many of our brothers and sisters elsewhere
(such as in Iran or the Sudan) die for their faith. Is it not possible
that some Christians today still speak for the devil?
Jesus Expects Disciples to Follow Him to Death (16:24)
Summoning others to his revolutionary cause, Garibaldi cried, "He
that loves Italy, let him follow me! I promise him hardship . .
. suffering . . . death. But he that loves Italy, let him follow
me!" (Strong 1907:766). Only a cause worth dying for is truly
worth living for, and a generation of Western youth, deprived of
causes worth their lives and of elders personally committed enough
to point the way, have become restless and disillusioned.
"Taking up one's cross" in antiquity hardly meant simply
putting up with an annoying roommate or having to live with ingrown
toenails. It meant marching on the way to one's execution, shamefully
carrying the heavy horizontal beam (the patibulum) of one's own
death-instrument through a jeering mob (Jeremias 1972:218-19 and
1971:242). Jesus anticipated literal martyrdom for himself and many
of his followers by the Romans' standard means of executing lower-class
criminals and slaves; his kingdom was ultimately incompatible with
Rome's claims (Manson 1979:131; F. Bruce 1972a:19). If disciples
"come after" and imitate their teachers, Christians' lives
are forfeit from the moment they begin following Christ; to come
after Jesus, Peter himself had to return to walking behind him (v.
23).
Although genuine Christians may fall short on their commitment at
times (26:69-75), those who wish to follow Christ should understand
from the start that they are surrendering their lives to Christ.
Those who do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord-as having the right to
demand of them anything, including their lives-have yet to be truly
converted. Today Christians continue to debate the character of
the gospel: to be saved, does one need to accept Christ as Lord
or only as Savior? Throughout the New Testament, however, the question
is more or less a moot one. Jesus came to save us from our sin,
and accepting him must include recognizing his right to rule our
lives. This does not imply that Christians are perfect; it does
indicate that they recognize who their Lord is.
Jesus Is Worth Any Price We Must Pay to Follow
Him (16:25-27)
Losing one's life in this age would be a small price to preserve
it in the eternal age to come (compare 2 Baruch 51:15-16; m. 'Abot
4:17). We must decide whether we "want" to come after
Jesus (Mt 16:24; NIV would) or "want" (the same Greek
term; NIV wants) to save our lives (v. 25); we cannot have it both
ways. The cross means death, and nothing less (10:38-39; Jn 12:25).Yet
the only way to ultimately preserve one's life is to relinquish
it in faith that the Son of Man will someday come with his angels
to execute judgment (Mt 16:27; compare 25:31; 2 Thess 1:7-8; Dan
7:9-14) according to each person's works (for example, Ps 62:12;
Prov 24:12; Rom 2:6; 2 Cor 11:15; Rev 22:12). Those who expected
a period of great suffering before the time of the kingdom, as most
Jewish people did, would hear in such words a radical call to perseverance
(Mt 24:9-13).
In the end God will reward us for what we have done, and eternal
life matters more than our temporary lives in this age. I once shared
Christ with an associate who cared deeply about his friends, prompting
him to consider that eternal life is a gift of far greater significance
than any other he could offer them, but he could not give what he
did not have himself. God's Spirit prompted him to forsake status
and worldly plans, and he became a committed Christian who has touched
countless lives since that day. John dared to believe that God's
eternal riches outweigh any cost in the present, so he became a
true disciple of Jesus Christ. Yet how few disciples we have; except
for going to church and paying tithes, many Christians today do
with their time and money much the same as what morally upright
non-Christians do.
28 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here
will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his
kingdom."
