01.08 - Section 08. Mat_16:1-28; Mat_17:1-27.

Section 08. Matthew 16:1-28; Matthew 17:1-27. A Prophecy of the Church with a Glimpse of Kingdom Glory

"When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son . . . that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba Father." But even this, great and blessed though it is, is only preparatory to the supreme revelation that God has made of Himself, and to the place of blessing into which believers of the present time are introduced. This is set before the Ephesian saints as the mystery of His will now made known through the apostle, that in the dispensation (or administration) of the fulness of time He might gather together all things in one, in Christ. And then Paul prays that the saints may be brought into the knowledge of the position in which grace has placed them. His desire for them is that they might know: — The hope of His calling. The riches of His grace, and The greatness of His power.

God has put all things under His feet, and given Him to be Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all. To the Apostle Paul it was given "to complete the Word of God," and until the revelation of the mystery of the Church, the body of Christ, His counsels could not be fully known. A glimpse of this wonderful subject comes before us in the section of our Gospel which we now reach. In it we have: —

1 The revelation of the Person of the Christ.

2 The confession of His Divinity by Peter.

3 The promise of the new thing — the Church — which He was about to build.

4 A glimpse of His glory as the One who would be the Administrator for God — Head over all things.

5 The Foundation on which everything would rest in righteousness.

We find here (Matthew 16:1) that Pharisees and Sadducees for the first time join their forces against the Lord. Bitterly opposed to each other both in their politics and their faith, they were united in their opposition to the Lord, and come to Him here only to have their ignorance and wickedness exposed. The solemn thing here is, that there is no longer either teaching or exhortation for them. They seek a sign and get a warning. Able to discern the face of the sky, they were unable, because unwilling, to discern the presence of the Lord in their midst, and if He was rejected, disaster (foul weather) must assuredly follow. The sign of the prophet Jonah could only add to their condemnation. He was, in type, a man out of death, preaching to the Gentiles, but before what that typified could take place, the nation of Israel must be set aside till the fulness of the Gentiles should be come. "And he left them and departed," as very soon He would leave the guilty nation, and that by the way of the Cross then, risen out of death, send the glad news of salvation and blessing far hence to the Gentiles. But even the disciples had much to learn. They could not easily free themselves from the evil doctrines of the Pharisees, nor yet from the opinions of men as to the person of the Master. This point the Lord is about to make clear to them, and in Matthew 16:1-28 there comes before us, in the first place: — The revelation of the Person of the Christ.

Leaving the Sea of Galilee, the Lord journeyed with His disciples to the coasts of Caesarea Philippi. There, in that place of Gentile influence and display — for there Herod the Great had built a royal city in honour of the Emperor — He proposed to them the two great questions which laid bare the hearts of the men of that generation, and the heart of every man and woman since: —

1. "Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?"

This, the first of these two questions, brought out two things. And taking the latter and more important first, He asserts that He is the Son of Man.

He was that sublime Person whom Daniel the prophet had portrayed on his mystic page, as coming to the Ancient of days and receiving "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:14).

He had been rejected as Messiah. He would now take up His title of "Son of Man" and bring in blessing for all the earth.

Every title given to the Lord is of the deepest significance, whether in connection with His official, essential, or acquired glories, and they are ever used in a discriminating way. There are at least 350 such titles, and more might be found by the diligent student. In Matthew 16:1-28 we have (1) the Lord rejected as Messiah, (2) confessed by Peter as Son of Me Living God, and

(3) soon to return in glory as Son of Man. Under this last title, as we have seen, He will dispense blessing world wide. Meantime He demands of His disciples what "men say" of Him, in order to demonstrate that the wisdom of men is but folly with God.

All alike are forced to own that He is some Great One, and their opinions range from the prophet of fire to the prophet of sorrow, but -none are able to see in Him the Sent One of God. This faith alone can discern; and when He demands an answer from His disciples to His second question: —

2. "Whom say ye that I am?"

Peter, taught of God, can answer, unhesitatingly, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

It is faith’s unchanging answer to the question of the ages made good in the experience of every true believer. This confession of Peter’s is twofold. By "The Christ," (Heb.) Messiah, (Eng.) the Anointed One, Peter is led to declare all the official glories which centred in Him as Man upon the earth. He was "The Woman’s Seed," the Root and Offspring of David, the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, the Shepherd of Israel, and the Blesser of every Nation. But in addition to what the Lord was as the Sent One of God, there was also revealed to Peter something of the personal and essential glories of the Eternal Son. He was the Son of the Living God. Peter, taught of God, is led to declare something of that divine mystery as to what the Lord was in His Person, Nature, and Being in relationship to God the Father. This is more fully developed in John 1:1-51, Php 2:1-30, Colossians 1:1-29, Hebrews 1:1-14 : —

"In His Existence — Eternal."

"In His Nature — Divine."

"In His Person — Distinct."

He was the Word in all eternity — the Eternal Son of God. This revelation to, and confession by, Peter gives occasion for the Lord to reveal now, for the first time in Scripture, the secret of the ages — His Assembly. He was about to begin a work of which nothing had ever been revealed to saint or prophet in Old Testament times (Ephesians 3:4-5; Colossians 1:26) Under the new economy believers, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, would be builded together for a holy temple in the Lord. They would be "The Body," "The Bride," "The City." They would be holy and royal priests to God now, and co-heirs in the regal glory of the coming day. This building would be His work alone (Acts 2:47), and would be founded on what He was as Son of the living God, according to the confession made by the apostle. No wonder, then, that the "gates of hell" — all the adverse powers of the unseen world — would not prevail against it. To destroy her, Satan has used his utmost endeavour; the greatest of earthly powers have exhausted all their resources; but the true Church of God continues to triumph over every foe, and continues to point dying men to her risen, living, and glorified Lord, her Head on high, with whom she is united by the Holy Spirit. The Father calls, the Spirit unites, the Lord builds; and not man, angel, or demon can hinder that constructive work of the Son of the living God the formation of His Church, which is, while in the world, the "pillar and ground of the truth."

Following on Peter’s confession, we get Peter’s commission. To this warm-hearted disciple was given the "Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven." That is to say, in figurative language, that into that new economy about to begin on earth, Peter would have the honour of introducing both Jew and Gentile, as we find later in the history of the Acts he did (see Acts 2:1-47 and Acts 10:1-48). And further, we learn from Matthew 18:1-35, that this same power of "binding and loosing" was afterwards conferred upon the whole company of the disciples. But we must keep in mind that it was the "Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" that were given to Peter; not the keys of the Church (if there be such), in spite of all that either Anglican or Romanist may say to the contrary. In the Book of Acts, Peter preached Jesus as "Lord" and "Christ," both titles distinctly connected with the Kingdom of Heaven, and by these names of authority he commanded the Jews to own His rights, bow to His claims, and be baptized in His Name (Acts 2:1-47). Similarly, in the centurion’s house, after Peter had learned the great lesson that all earthly distinctions of clean and unclean had been abolished, and when he had seen the Holy Spirit poured out upon the Gentiles, he commanded them to be baptized in the Name of the Lord (Acts 10:48).

Peter’s ministry never goes beyond this. To another servant was committed a further revelation as to the mystery of the Church, and Paul, immediately after his conversion, began to preach Jesus as "The Son of God" (Acts 9:20). This is the first time we get this title in Acts (Acts 8:37, it should be noted, is, according to the best authorities, not in the original text).

But, returning to our chapter, we here find (Matthew 16:21) a striking dispensational change. The disciples are commanded no longer to testify of Him as the Messiah. As such He had been rejected. For Him there was to be at this time no national recognition of His just rights and divine authority. Instead of a Crown, the nation was about to give Him a Cross. Instead of a palace, a grave. "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day (Matthew 16:21). Only on the ground of death and resurrection could there be either earthly blessing for the Jew, or heavenly blessing for the Christian; and, had Peter known this, he would never have taken upon him to "rebuke" the Lord as he did. Israel will be associated with Him in the day of earthly glory. The Church, on the other hand, will be associated with Him in heavenly glory, but meantime she shares with Him in His earthly rejection.

We have this lesson to learn in a practical way, and so the injunction to every disciple to take up his cross and follow Jesus. The man with a cross on his back being led to the place of execution was finished with the earth for ever. So the figure is here used of the Christian’s relationships to things of the world. The believer is dead to sin (Romans 6:11), dead to the law (Romans 7:4), and dead to the flesh (Romans 8:9); but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:11), and, in the power of resurrection life, he stands fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made him free. He shares with Christ now, in His rejection, as he will share with Him, by and by, in His glory. The world, under Gentile rule, crucified the Son of God, and is fast going on to judgment. The Kingdom of Heaven, in the hands of men, is fast hastening to that terrible climax when it will be seen to be a "cage of every unclean and hateful bird" (Revelation 18:2, compare Matthew 13:32). But before that moment arrives, when "the whole will be leavened," the Lord Himself shall descend (1 Thessalonians 4:1-18), and His waiting Church will be called up to meet Him in the air. Even so, Come, Lord Jesus. Afterwards, as the Son of Man, He will come in the glory of His Father, with His holy angels, and then shall He reward every man according to his works. A glimpse of this Kingdom glory the Lord was now about to give to the three disciples specially chosen to be witnesses of it.

It is a feature of the dealings of God with His people, that He often delivers them from present things whether it be the sufferings, the trials, or the glories of earth — by bringing in the light of the future. So with Stephen amidst his murderers: so with Paul, who counted present sufferings not worthy to be compared with the glory that should follow. On the other hand, Moses was enabled to forsake the glory of Egypt and endure as seeing Him that is invisible, and when the disciples were becoming occupied with the magnificence of their earthly temple, the Lord dispelled their illusion by setting before them the startling truth that the time was near when not one stone would be left upon another. The disciples here, had had their first lesson in Cross-bearing. The Lord was now (Matthew 17:1-27) about to give them a glimpse of the time when the Crown-wearing would begin. The Father had revealed the glory of the Son to their minds. He was now about to reveal it to their eyes. Later on (2 Peter 1:17) Peter would set the glory before the eyes of suffering saints as salvation ready to be revealed at the appearing of Jesus Christ," reminding them also, that he himself had already been an eyewitness of that glory when with Him in the holy mount. And with the Lord were seen Moses and Elias, talking with Him (as Luke tells us) of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. These two blessed men, already in their glorified bodies are talking with the Lord Jesus upon that very subject — His death — on which their present blessing was founded. And so when at home in the glory, the very delights of Heaven will only cast our minds backwards with ever-increasing awe and wonder to THE CROSS on which the Lord of Glory died. There was laid in righteousness the foundation upon which all the grace and glory of God will be displayed, whether in righteously saving sinners of the Gentiles, or righteously gathering out of His Kingdom all things that offend and them that do, iniquity, and casting them into a furnace of fire.

These two honoured servants were also doubtless representative of those, who, in the coming day will "shine forth as the sun" (Matthew 13:43). Moses, a type of those dead and raised again at the first resurrection; Elias, of those translated without tasting death, which will be the happy experience of those "who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:15). And, in addition, there were present in this display of Kingdom glory, the three chosen disciples, typical surely of the nations who walk in the light of the city (Revelation 21:24). The men of the earth will be blessed upon the earth, under the reign of righteousness of the Son of Man.

Well might Peter say, "It is good for us to be here," and well had he said no more. Yet Peter’s mistakes only bring fuller revelations, and the Father’s voice is heard in testimony to the Son. The mental attitude of the devout Jew was summed up in the words, "we are Moses’ disciples"; and nothing but the voice of divine authority could convince the disciples that a "greater than Moses was here." The glory cloud overshadows the mount. Moses and Elias depart, and the Son of Man descends from the mount — to suffer. He might have ascended to reign, but how then could the Scriptures have been fulfilled?

It is interesting to notice that at the four lowest points, if we may so say, to which the Lord went in grace, we get Heaven’s appreciation visibly expressed. Thus, at His humble birth, the angel host came down with the message of peace and goodwill. When He took a place beside the repentant remnant and went down into the waters of. Jordan, Heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. At the close, when He bowed His head in death, and it seemed as if the enemy had triumphed after all, then we read of rending rocks, and quaking earth, and opening graves. And so here, though finally rejected and disowned as King of the Jews, yet Heaven owns Him, and the Voice of the Father proclaims Him as, "My Beloved Son," adding the expressive words, "Hear Him."

Peter, in haste to honour the heavenly visitors, would put all on the same level, but he had to learn what Christendom has not learned yet, that the day of both Lawgiver and Reformer had gone by. What could law do for lost sinners? Only condemn them. What men need is regeneration, not reformation — "Ye must be born again." And in the "Beloved Son," there would be a revelation of God far and beyond any yet given through Old Testament servants, however great these may have been. In Him, God would be known as Father, and to know the Son would be to know the Father also.

Coming down from the mountain the Lord warns His disciples to "tell no man." Further testimony to His Messiahship could only add further condemnation to those who deliberately rejected Him. The shadow of the Cross was fast darkening across His pathway. A few short months, and all that was written of Him would be fulfilled. But the vision would be a stimulus to the disciples’ faith in view of the fact that they would soon be compelled to he the helpless witnesses of His Crucifixion; and the conviction was being gradually forced upon their unwilling minds that there would be no throne for Him in Jerusalem at this time at least. Their great object now was that He should escape that Cross of which He had so recently spoken. Hence their unwillingness to accompany Him on the last journey to the city (see John 11:1-57). The hope of the earthly glory was dying out of their hearts. The dread that He might be taken and slain oppressed them. Faith in the word He had spoken that He would rise again, had, as yet, no place in their hearts. But deep and true affection for their beloved Master comes out in the few simple words in verse 23 — "They were exceeding sorry."

Now, as they tried to reconcile Old Testament prophecy with this new teaching as to His death, they ask a question which gives occasion for the Lord to open up Scripture both for them and for us: —

"Why then say the Scribes that Elias must first come?" If the Son of Man is to be slain, where is the mission of Elias, who is to come as the restorer, before the great and terrible day? And the Lord shows them that in the spirit and power of Elias, John the Baptist had come, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy of a rejected and suffering Forerunner, introducing a rejected and suffering Messiah. Malachi’s prophecies will yet be fulfilled by the prophet of fire, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come; and more signal success will attend his mission in the days of Antichrist than ever attended it in the days of Ahab, great though that was.

But, best of all, immediately following it the conquering and glorified Lord Himself will appear — no longer now as the Star of Bethlehem, but as the Sun of Righteousness "with healing in his wings." What promise of fulness of blessing is contained in that one word — healing. It is just what this poor earth stands most in need of, after centuries of sin and strife, ruin, and want, and war. But if disciples on the mountain top were learning the secrets of Heaven as to the glory of the future, disciples in the plains below were face to face with the power of the devil. If those in the mount saw the King in His beauty and had visions of God, those below saw but the results of Satan’s handiwork in the case of the lunatic son, sore vexed.

Now, so far. the believer of to-day is in both these positions. On the mountain top the Kingdom glory is present to faith, but as to experience, we meet with the power of Satan in evidence in the world every day. He has been defeated, but he is not yet expelled from the scene of his usurpation. And we do well to mark that the cause of the disciples’ failure to cast out the demon was their want of faith. This, on the other hand, brings out the deeply important principle that the man of faith is superior to all the power of evil. If it be the world in its ways, or its influence, or its oppression — "this is the victory that overcometh the world — our faith" (1 John 5:4) If it be the direct assaults of Satan, he can be resisted, if we be "steadfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:9). Here the disciples at the foot of the mountain were out of touch with the Lord above, and there was failure on their part, as there must ever be for us all, under like conditions. Neither is it any guarantee that because a man overcomes at one time, he may not fail before the same difficulty on another occasion. These same disciples had doubtless met cases just the same before (see Chap. 10). Why, then, had they failed here? Because, there they went in the power of the Master, here they went in their own power. "Why could not we cast him out?" they ask. Later on they would learn the great lesson of John 15:5, "Without me ye can do nothing." The two grand principles, against which all the power of Satan is harmless, are prayer and fasting; for prayer brings God in, and fasting puts flesh out, and where there is self-emptiness, and divine fulness, there will ever be overcoming power. The closing incident in Matthew 17:1-27 really comes within the scope of the next section, but we notice it here in order to keep within the present arrangement of chapters. It is also a beautiful introduction to that which characterises the next portion of our Gospel. For while the believer is placed by grace in the highest possible position as a child of God, even while here, yet the same grace enables him to walk through this world seeking no place in it, and accepting no place from it, other than the place given to the Lord Himself — that of being both despised and rejected. And just in proportion as he is true to the Lord, so will he find that the world will treat him as it treated his Master. Here we find that this truth is developed as the outcome of Peter’s hasty assumption that the Lord, as a good Jew (for Peter’s appreciation of the Lord here rises no higher), would necessarily pay the temple tribute. But the Lord takes occasion to teach Peter three lessons.

First, that when the kings of the earth levy tribute, they take it from strangers: their own children are free.

Second, that He, though He was the Son of. God and Lord of the temple, yet claimed no right and demanded no place, but maintained His position of lowly grace, and was willing to be treated, even as the kings of the earth treat "strangers," as indeed He was — the Heavenly Stranger upon the earth. And

Third, He would associate with Himself, His followers, providing for them at the same time and meeting every need of their pathway.

Here, as in other places, our Gospel testifies to the eternal power and Godhead of the Lord Jesus. The following list might be greatly extended.

1 His power over Satan (Matthew 4:4).

2 His power over disease (Matthew 4:23).

3 His power over demons (Matthew 4:24).

4 His power over the elements (Matthew 8:26).

5 His power to forgive sins (Matthew 9:6).

6 His power over death (Matthew 9:24).

7 His power to increase the provision (Matthew 14:1-36, Matthew 15:1-39).

8 His power over creation (Matthew 17:27).

9 His power to foretell the future (Matthew 24:25).

10 All Power in Heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18).

Now all this is very blessed, for it shows that all the power of God is for the believer now, as to the difficulties of his pathway, and it is a matter of individual experience in a scene where everything is against him. But when the Kingdom comes in manifested glory, then will be seen the full display of all that of which we have had but glimpses.

If it be a question of Satan, the accuser of the brethren, he will be bound for a thousand years (Revelation 20:2).

If it be a question of evil men, they will be gathered out of His Kingdom (Matthew 13:41).

If it be a question of disease, "the inhabitant shall not say ’I am sick’." (Isaiah 33:24).

Then Creation itself will undergo a remarkable change: the very nature of the wild beast will be transformed, until the wolf and the lamb shall feed together (Isaiah 65:25).

Under present conditions, the peoples of the earth are taxed to maintain their kings but in that day the order will be reversed. The King will maintain His people, according to the prophecy of Psalms 132:15.

Thus, then, the believer walks through this world in the conscious knowledge that he belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven: that when the Son of Man comes again in power and great glory to establish His rights over the whole earth, he will come with Him, and reign with Him. Surely in the light of these heavenly truths, we may well walk through this world as those, who, though in it, are not of it, for we have been saved out of it and are here only to witness for our absent Lord in this the day of His rejection.