MattheW 16:13 | 1563 sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bring ing the lame, the blind, the crip pled, the mute and many oth ers, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The peo ple were amazed when they saw the mute speak ing, the crip pled made well, the lame walk ing and the blind see ing. And they praised the God of Is ra el.
32
Jesus called his dis ci ples to him and said,“ I have com pas sion for these peo ple; they have already been with me three days and have noth ing to eat. I do not want to send them away hun gry, or they may col lapse on the way.”
33
His dis ci ples an swered,“ Where could we get enough bread in this re mote place to feed such a crowd?”
34
“ How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.“ Sev en,” they re plied,“ and a few small fish.”
35
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
36
Then he took the sev en loaves and the fish, and when he had giv en thanks, he broke them and gave them to the dis ci ples, and they in turn to the peo ple.
37
They all ate and were sat is fied. Af ter ward the disci ples picked up sev en bas ket fuls of bro ken piec es that were left over. 38 The num ber of those who ate was four thou sand men, be sides wom en and children. 39 Af ter Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vi cin i ty of Mag a dan.
The Demand for a Sign
16:1-12pp— Mk 8:11-21
16
The Phar i sees and Sad du cees came to Jesus and test ed him by ask ing him to show them a sign from heav en.
2
He re plied,“ When eve ning comes, you say,‘ It will be fair weath er, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morn ing,‘ To day it will be stormy, for the sky is red and over cast.’ You know how to in ter pret the ap pearance of the sky, but you can not in ter pret the signs of the times. a 4 A wick ed and adul ter ous gen er a tion looks for a sign, but none will be giv en it ex cept the sign of Jo nah.” 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 care ful,” Jesus said to them.“ Be on your guard against the yeast of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees.”
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, why are you talk ing among your selves about hav ing no bread? 9 Do you still not un derstand? Don’ t you re mem ber the five loaves for the five thou sand, and how many bas ket fuls you gathered? 10 Or the sev en loaves for the four thou sand, and how many bas ket fuls you gath ered? 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 tell ing them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teach ing of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees.
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 Phi lip pi, he asked his dis ci ples,“ Who do peo ple say the Son of Man is?”
a
2,3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes... of the times.
15:32 – 39 This passage presents the second mass feeding in Matthew’ s Gospel. This account, coupled with vv. 29 – 31, mirrors 14:13 – 21. See the table“ Miracles of Jesus” on p. 1741.
15:37 seven basketfuls The number seven is frequently used to express totality or completeness. See 14:20. 15:39 the vicinity of Magadan The location is unknown, but it might be an alternate name for Magdala on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
16:1 – 4 The Pharisees and Sadducees— who were often opposed to each other— unite in order to test Jesus. They demand a sign to authenticate his credentials as Messiah. Having already performed many signs, he refuses their request, instead choosing to comment on their spiritual blindness.
16:1 Pharisees See note on Jn 1:24. Sadducees See note on Mk 12:18. a sign from heaven A means of authentication. Prophets who claimed to speak on God’ s behalf often had to prove their assertions( see Ex 4:1 – 9; 7:8 – 13).“ Heaven” is likely a figurative reference to God, although the Jewish leaders may have wanted to see a celestial sign( e. g., Mt 24:27,30). 16:3 you cannot interpret the signs Jesus’ point is that the Jews could predict the weather based on simple observations, but they could not discern the presence of the kingdom of heaven through his miracles(“ the signs of the times”; compare 4:17). 16:4 sign of Jonah See note on 12:39.
16:5 – 12 Jesus warns his disciples about the misguided teachings of the Jewish leaders. He speaks metaphorically, and, as usual, the disciples misunderstand. Jesus then warns them plainly and reminds them that he can meet their needs.
16:5 across the lake Refers to the Sea of Galilee. 16:6 yeast Yeast or leaven typically symbolizes sin or impurity in the Bible, though Jesus used it earlier as a positive metaphor( 13:33). 16:12 teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees Likely a reference to their oral traditions( see 15:2 and note), as well as their opposition to Jesus.
16:13 – 20 Peter reaffirms Jesus’ identity as Messiah( compare 14:33 and note). In response, Jesus promises to establish his church in an enduring way through Peter.
16:13 Caesarea Philippi City about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, at the base of Mount Hermon and near the source of the Jordan River. In NT times, a cult