1732 | Matthew 16:4
how to in ter pret the ap pear ance of the sky, but you can not in ter pret the signs of the times. a f 4 A wicked and adul ter ous gen er a tion looks for a sign, but none will be given it ex cept the sign of Jo nah.” g Jesus then left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 When they went across the lake, the dis ci ples for got to take bread. 6“ Be careful,” Jesus said to them.“ Be on your guard against the yeast of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees.” h
7 They dis cussed this among them selves and said,“ It is be cause we didn’ t bring any bread.”
8 Aware of their dis cus sion, Jesus asked,“ You of lit tle faith, i why are you talk ing among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’ t you remember the five loaves for the five thou sand, and how many bas ket fuls you gath ered? j 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thou sand, and how many bas ket fuls you gath ered? k 11 How is it you don’ t un der stand that I was not talk ing to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees.” 12 Then they un der stood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. l
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
16:13-16pp— Mk 8:27-29; Lk 9:18-20
13 When Jesus came to the re gion of Caes a rea Philippi, he asked his dis ci ples,“ Who do peo ple say the Son of Man is?”
14 They re plied,“ Some say John the Bap tist; m others say Eli jah; and still oth ers, Jer e miah or one of the prophets.” n
15“ But what about you?” he asked.“ Who do you say I am?”
16 Si mon Pe ter an swered,“ You are the Mes siah, the Son of the liv ing God.” o
17 Jesus re plied,“ Blessed are you, Si mon son of Jo nah, for this was not re vealed to you by flesh and blood, p but by my Fa ther in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Pe ter, b q and on this rock I will build my church, r and the gates of Hades c will not over come it.
a 2,3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes... of the
times. b 18 The Greek word for Peter means rock. c 18 That is, the realm of the dead
16:1 – 4 The demand for a sign closely resembles the episode in 12:38 – 42. This time some of the otherwise rival groups, the Pharisees and Sadducees( see note on 3:7),“ tested him”( v. 1). Perhaps the request for“ a sign from heaven”( v. 1) made Jesus think of the“ appearance of the sky”( v. 3). Verses 2 – 3 reflect common weather patterns: clouds in the west at dawn portend rain for later in the day; clouds( only) in the east at dusk mean bad weather has passed. 16:4 the sign of Jonah. See note on 12:38 – 45. 16:6 yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The“ teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees”( v. 12). It could have pervasive influence, like yeast in bread( see note on 13:31 – 33). Misguided teaching is damaging. 16:7 – 8 The disciples’ obtuseness continues as they try to interpret an obvious metaphor literally. Jesus’ rebuke is well deserved. 16:9 – 12 If they thought about the feedings of the 5,000 and 4,000, the disciples would know that Jesus could provide the necessary food. They would also recall the symbolism in those events, especially with Jesus as the bread of life, and they would be looking for the metaphoric meaning in Christ’ s warning about the“ yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”( v. 6; see note there).
16:13 – 20 The narrative segment that began with the people of Nazareth failing to acknowledge Jesus’ true identity( 13:53 – 58) now ends with Peter correctly recognizing that Jesus is the Messiah. 16:13 Caesarea Philippi. In the northern part of Israel. The city had formerly been named Paneas, after Pan, the Greek god of the forest. Renamed for Augustus Caesar and Herod Philip early in the first century, the area was an appropriate one in which to ask people about Jesus’ identity. The correct answer would show Jesus as rival and superior to those other gods and rulers. 16:14 John the Baptist... Elijah... Jeremiah... one of the prophets. All of the suggested options represent prophetic forerunners to the Messiah, but not the Messiah himself. 16:16 – 17 Simon gives the correct answer. Jesus is“ the Messiah, the Son of the living God”( v. 16). He is not just the prophesied Jewish liberator but one in a uniquely intimate relationship with the only true God of the universe. Simon’ s understanding has improved even from 14:33( see note there), hence Jesus’ declaration that this insight was divinely disclosed and not from human beings(“ flesh and blood,” v. 17). 16:18 Peter... rock. Greek petros and petra,
CAESAREA PHILIPPI e r r a
M e d i t n e a n S e a
G A L I L E E
Nazareth
Capernaum
Sea of Galilee
Jordan R.
16:3 f Lk 12:54‐56 16:4 g Mt 12:39 16:6 h Lk 12:1 16:8 i Mt 6:30 16:9 j Mt 14:17‐21 16:10 k Mt 15:34‐38 16:12 l Ac 4:1
16:14 m Mt 3:1; 14:2 n Mk 6:15; Jn 1:21
16:16 o Mt 4:3; Ps 42:2; Jn 11:27; Ac 14:15; 2Co 6:16; 1Th 1:9; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 10:31; 12:22
16:17 p 1Co 15:50; Gal 1:16; Eph 6:12; Heb 2:14
16:18 q Jn 1:42 r Eph 2:20
Mt. Hermon
Caesarea Philippi
0 10 km. 0 10 mi.
respectively, a play on words. Some have thought the difference in endings of the two words distinguishes Peter from the rock, with the rock being Christ or Peter’ s confession about Jesus. But the word for“ rock” in Greek is the feminine noun petra, whereas“ Peter,” a man’ s name, is the masculine petros. The play on words requires the change in gender, even if Peter is the rock. And the wordplay makes best sense this way, because in v. 23 it is Peter himself who suddenly becomes a quite different kind of rock— a“ stumbling block.” build. Most likely refers to those activities Peter undertakes in the rest of the NT— especially leading the church in Jerusalem( Acts 2; 8; 10) and writing authoritative letters to congregations he helped to evangelize( 1 – 2 Peter). Eph 2:20 speaks of the foundation of the church as all of the NT prophets and apostles, suggesting that Peter is merely the chief or representative apostle, with nothing here or elsewhere in the Bible suggesting he is infallible or beginning a process of“ apostolic succession” of church leadership. my church. The assembly( Greek ekklēsia) of God’ s people, akin to the assembly of the children of Israel throughout the OT. That Jesus can speak of it as his church sets him apart from the church’ s members as its Lord.