Matthew 16
16
Chapter 16
The Pharisees ask again to see a miracle
1Some Pharisees and Sadducees went to see Jesus. They wanted to test him to see what he would do. They asked him, ‘Do something powerful for us to see. Then we will believe that God has sent you.’
2Jesus answered them, ‘Sometimes the sky is red in the evening. Then you say, “Tomorrow the weather will be good.” 3Sometimes in the morning the sky is red and there are dark clouds. Then you say, “Today there will be a storm.” So you look at the sky and you know what the weather will be. But special things are happening now. And you do not understand what they mean. 4The people who are alive today are very bad. They do not obey God. They want God to show them something powerful. But God will not do this for them. They will only see the same powerful thing that God did for Jonah.’
Then Jesus went away and left them.
Jesus talks about the Pharisees and the Sadducees
5Jesus and his disciples sailed over to the other side of the lake. His disciples forgot to take any bread with them. 6Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful! Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’
7The disciples began to talk to each other about this. ‘Jesus is saying this because we did not bring any bread with us,’ they said.
8Jesus knew what they were talking about. So he said to them, ‘You should not be arguing with each other about the bread. You should trust me more than you do. 9You still do not understand. You should remember that I used five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men. Think about how many baskets you filled with pieces of food after the meal. 10Also remember that I used seven loaves of bread to give food to 4,000 men. And think about how many baskets you filled with pieces of food then. 11I spoke to you about the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I said that you must not accept it. You should understand now that I was not speaking about bread.’
12Then the disciples understood what Jesus was talking about. They did not need to be careful about the yeast that they used in their bread. Instead, they must be careful about what the Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching. They must not accept it. #16:12 People put yeast into flour and water to make bread. The yeast grows in the bread and it makes the bread rise. The Pharisees were doing wrong things. The people saw what the Pharisees did. And then the people did the same bad things. This is like yeast that is growing through the bread.
Peter says who Jesus is
13Jesus went into the part of the country near Caesarea Philippi. While he was there, he asked his disciples, ‘When people talk about the Son of Man, who do they say that he is?’
14They replied, ‘Some people say that you are John the Baptist. Other people say that you are Elijah. And some other people say that you are Jeremiah, or another prophet of God.’
15‘But what do you think?’ Jesus asked them. ‘Who do you say that I am?’
16Simon Peter answered him. ‘You are the Messiah. You are the Son of God, the God who lives for ever.’
17Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, God has blessed you! No person on earth taught you that. God, my Father in heaven, has shown you this. 18I tell you this. You are called Peter, which means a rock. And I will build my church on this rock. #16:18 Jesus used a house that someone builds on a rock as a picture. The house is like the church. The things that Peter would teach are like the stones under the house. One day soon, Jesus would go back to live in heaven again. Then Peter would be a leader of the disciples to teach the people the true things about God. The people who obeyed Jesus' words would be called the church. Not even the power of death will destroy my church. 19I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. You will tell people here on earth what is right for them to do. And you will tell them what is not right for them to do. God in heaven will give you this authority. He will agree with what you say.’
20Then Jesus said strongly to his disciples, ‘Do not tell anyone that I am the Messiah.’ #16:20 The people were waiting for God to send someone special to them. They called this person the Messiah. Jesus knew that the people had wrong ideas about this person. They thought that he would save them from the Roman government. They thought that he would be a great soldier. So Jesus wanted to teach the people what the Messiah would really do. Then they would understand about the way in which God rules his people. They would also understand that Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus tells his disciples how he would die
21After this, Jesus began to explain everything to his disciples. He told them, ‘I must go to Jerusalem. There, I will suffer in many ways. The important Jews, the leaders of the priests, and the teachers of God's Law will hurt me. Then people will kill me. But three days later, God will cause me to become alive again.’ #16:21 Jesus told his disciples what would happen to him. This is the first time that he told them. But they did not understand his words.
22Then Peter took Jesus away from the other disciples. He began to tell Jesus that he must not say things like that. ‘No, Lord! God will never let this happen to you!’ he said to Jesus.
23Jesus turned round and said to Peter, ‘Satan, go away from me! I must obey God. But you are trying to stop me. Your thoughts do not come from God. Instead, you are thinking like men think.’
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘A person who wants to come with me must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. He must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come with me as my disciple. 25Whoever wants to keep his life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me will have true life. 26A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him. There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life. 27I tell you all this because I, the Son of Man, will come back to this earth with God's angels. When I come, I will have the powerful beauty of my Father. I will see what each person has done on earth. Then I will pay them what is right. 28I tell you this: When I, the Son of Man, come with power, some people who are standing here will see me at that time. Before they die, they will see me begin to rule in my kingdom.’
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Matthew 16: EASY
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Matthew 16
16
Pharisees Test Jesus
1Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus [to get something to use against Him], they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven [which would support His divine authority]. 2But He replied to them, “#Early mss do not contain the rest of v 2 and all of v 3 beginning with “When it is evening” in v 2.When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and has a threatening look.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but cannot interpret the signs of the times? 4An evil and [morally] unfaithful generation craves a [miraculous] sign; but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of [the prophet] Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
5When the disciples reached the other side of the sea, they realized that they had forgotten to bring bread. 6Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard against the #Here, leaven represents the man-made traditions and false teachings of the Pharisees which were preventing the nation of Israel from attaining right standing with God and from recognizing and accepting the Messiah.leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring bread.” 8But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you have no bread? 9Do you still not understand or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up? 11How is it that you fail to understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the [false] teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter’s Confession of Christ
13Now when Jesus went into the #In Jesus’ day this was Gentile territory. Today this region is known as the Golan Heights. The ancient city of Caesarea Philippi was located at the foot of Mt. Hermon, near the Banias Spring, one of the three springs which feeds into the Jordan River.region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God.” 17Then Jesus answered him, “Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood (mortal man) did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18And I say to you that you are #Gr petros, a small or detached stone.Peter, and on this #Gr petra, bedrock or a huge rock. Jesus uses a simple play on the Greek words petros and petra in this verse. Throughout the N.T. Christ is clearly depicted as both the foundation petra and chief cornerstone of the church. Here He praises Peter for his accurate confession of faith in Him as Messiah. Peter explains the role of believers as “living stones” in the church which is built on Christ as the foundation and cornerstone (1 Pet 2:5, 6).#Gr petra, bedrock or a huge rock.rock I will build My church; and the #The physical death of Christ will not hinder the establishment of the church nor will death overtake the church.gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ]. 19I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth #Gr estai dedemenon, future perfect passive referring to a state of having already been bound.will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth #Gr estai lelumenon, future perfect passive.will have [already] been loosed in heaven.” 20Then He gave the disciples strict orders to tell no one that He was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).
Jesus Foretells His Death
21 # This marks a turning point in the book. 4:17 marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry offering the kingdom to Israel. Since Israel rejected the Messiah, the kingdom is held in abeyance and the Messiah must suffer death. But He had to die in any case to provide salvation. From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples [clearly] that He must go to Jerusalem, and endure many things at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be killed, and be raised [from death to life] on the third day. 22Peter took Him aside [to speak to Him privately] and began to reprimand Him, saying, “May God forbid it! This will never happen to You.” 23But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”
Discipleship Is Costly
24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. 25For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity]. 26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory and majesty of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each one in accordance with what he has done.
28 “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of # Undoubtedly a reference to Peter, John, and James, who were to witness the transfiguration a few days later. those standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
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