Matthew 16

Matthew 16:1-12

Chapter 40 “Show us a sign.” “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:1-12) Since the beginning of time, unbelieving men and women have always demanded signs to corroborate the Word of God. Before he will believe God, the unregenerate, unbelieving man wants signs and evidences to convince him that what God says in his Word is true. The rich man in hell foolishly imagined that if his brothers could hear a preacher who was risen from the dead they would believe God. But God says, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). God often confirms his Word to those who believe him by special providential occurrences, even as he once confirmed it to his people by special miracles. He show Noah the sign of his covenant by putting a rainbow in the sky. He showed Gideon a sign, using the fleece Gideon spread before him. He showed Elijah a sign on Mt. Carmel. And our Lord performed many miracles himself and by his Apostles, called “signs and wonders” (Hebrews 2:4), by which he confirmed to us that he is the Christ. But any faith that is built upon signs, miracles, and evidences is a false faith (John 2:23). Our faith must be based upon the Word of God alone, not upon signs and miracles, scientific evidence, human reason and learning, or even our own emotions and experiences. As Luther put it… “Feelings come, and feelings go, And feelings are deceiving. I trust the Word of God alone; Naught else is worth believing!” Lost religionists as well as scoffing blasphemers have always demanded what God will never give them, a convincing sign from heaven, a carnal sign to convince their carnal minds that his word is true. That is exactly what we have before us in Matthew 16:1-12. A Wicked Alliance First, the Holy Spirit describes and sets before us the wicked alliance of the Pharisees and Sadducees. “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven” (Matthew 16:1). — The Pharisees and Sadducees hated each other. Normally, they would have nothing to do with one another. The Pharisees were conservatives, fundamentalists, who would never consider working with the Sadducees, free-thinking liberals. And the Sadducees were just as adamant in their hatred of the Pharisees. But both the Pharisees and Sadducees so thoroughly despised Christ and the gospel of God’s free grace in him that in order to oppose and persecute him, they laid aside their differences and formed the unholy alliance Matthew describes. How often we see the exact same thing happening in our day. Men and women who despise each other, who have nothing to do with each other, will unite and work feverishly together to oppose the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ. I have often seen church members, who cared nothing for one another, unite in opposition to a faithful gospel preacher, and churches that are doctrinal opposites, unite to oppose a gospel church. “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Notice the method employed by these pompous, religious, hypocritical friends of hell – “Tempting desired him that he would show them a sign.” Those words mean that these men came to Christ “scrutinizing and testing him with questions.” It is always the method of heretics to ask leading questions with the hope of entrapping the one whose doctrine they despise. They are never open and honest (Jude 1:4). God’s servants are not of their mold. The heretic tries to entrap you. God’s servant simply, forthrightly declares the truth to you. Lost religionists, like dogs, may fiercely bite and devour one another, but unite to pursue their common prey. Commenting on this verse, John Trapp quotes Zanchius, who said of the heretic Socinus, “He was a learned man, and of unblameable behavior, but full of heresies, which he never propounded to me otherwise than by way of question, as seeming desirous to be better informed. By this subtle means, he drew away many.” These Pharisees and Sadducees came asking the Lord Jesus to “show them a sign from heaven.” They could not deny the miracles he had performed before so many. So they pretentiously acted as if they would believe him if he would prove himself to them by a sign from heaven. They were asking for some very unusual sight in the heavens as proof of his mission from God. They wanted him to produce a miracle in the visible heavens, to prove that he had come from heaven and that he is the Son of God, and the true Messiah. They wanted him to do something like God did when he set the rainbow in the sky, or dropped manna from heaven. Of course, it was nothing but a hypocritical desire. Had our Lord suddenly formed fifty rainbows, turned upside down and covered the earth with manna, they would have found a very “obvious” and “reasonable” flaw in the sign. We would be wise, as our Lord did here, never to honor ungodly religionists with an answer to any of their “learned” objections to the gospel. “Foolish and unlearned questions avoid” (2 Timothy 2:23). If every question raised by carping infidels could be answered irrefutably, they would still be carping infidels. The best thing to do with them (always) is leave them alone. A Wise Answer He who is the Wisdom of God and Wisdom incarnate here gives us a great display of his great wisdom. Notice how he dealt with these people. First, he exposed their spiritual ignorance. — “He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2-3) They could predict the weather with a fair measure of ease and accuracy by observing the sky. But they were so blinded by religious tradition that they could not see the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets when he stood square in their face. The natural man, no matter how thoroughly educated, no matter how religious he may be, is totally ignorant of all things spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Every thought he has, every opinion he forms about man, sin, God, Christ, redemption, salvation, righteousness, faith, justice, truth, mercy, love, and grace is totally wrong. Faith in Christ is a matter of divine revelation (Matthew 16:18). No man can see the things of God until he is born of God (John 3:5-7). That means that the opinions of people who do not believe God are totally irrelevant, and should be looked upon with utter contempt by those who do believe God. When our Savior here speaks about “the signs of the times,” he is referring to the undeniable fact that all the signs given in the Old Testament of the times of the Messiah were fulfilled in him and by him. They have nothing to do with people today being able (as multitudes imagine they are) to discern the time when prophetic events connected with our Lord’s second coming are to take place (Acts 1:8). Second, the Lord Jesus exposed the utter hypocrisy of these pretentious, religious deceivers. – “O ye hypocrites!” When it came to dealing with the deceivers of men’s souls, the Son of God did not mince words. He frankly and publicly declared them to be “a wicked and adulterous generation” (Matthew 16:4), because they not only forsook God; but they attempted to justify their unbelief because they lacked sufficient proof. Third, our Lord declared that one solemn, indisputable sign would be fulfilled by him, — “The Sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 16:4). Jonah was sacrificed, one man for many, to save all who were in the ship with him from the wrath of God. So the Lord Jesus was sacrificed as our Substitute, one Man for many. He died to save all God’s elect (John 11:47-52) (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 1:18). As Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of God was buried in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. As Jonah was delivered from the whale’s belly, so the Lord Jesus was raised up from the dead on the third day.

Having put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself, he was “justified in the Spirit” when God raised him from the dead. As Jonah declared, so the Son of God declared, in all that he did and suffered for us, “Salvation is of the Lord!” Then, at last, “He left them” (Matthew 16:4). Oh, what a solemn word! “He left them and departed;” and the people of that place saw him no more. Because they would not hear him and would not believe him, he left them to themselves! This is horrible to consider; but it is his just judgment upon men who will not receive his Word (Hosea 4:17; Proverbs 1:23-33). What great wrath our God heaps upon those who refuse to believe him! He orders his servants to preach no more to them.

He allows none to tell them of the good news of life and salvation by him. He even commands his prophets not to pray for them. And even if they try to do otherwise, they simply cannot. What a solemn passage this is to read! Here is a band of lost men showing great concern for the things of God. There are multitudes in every age who amuse themselves and deceive others by falsely interpreting the Scriptures to suit themselves, and by misrepresenting God’s faithful servants to get people to follow them.

Like Diotrephes, they love to have the pre-eminence. The cross of Christ is always an offense to them. They want something more, “a sign from heaven.” But no sign shall be given them. And they shall only be offended more, if God has given them up to their reprobate minds. A Warning Announced In Matthew 16:6; Matthew 16:12 our Savior announces an ageless warning to his disciples. — “Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees…Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” If you will read the four gospels carefully, paying attention to what our Savior taught, you cannot miss the fact that he warned us more often against false religion and false prophets than anything else. Nothing else is so dangerous to your soul. Nothing else is so deadly! Let us be wise and hear what the Savior says. To whom is the warning given? “Then Jesus said unto them,” his disciples, “take heed and beware.” This is a warning given to the apostles themselves. If these men needed warning, how much more do we need it (1 Corinthians 10:12). What is the danger against which the Son of God here warns us? “The doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” The warning goes beyond the spirit of hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and ritualism in the Pharisees. It goes beyond the spirit of the free-thinking, compromising, half-infidel intellectualism and rationalism of the Sadducees. Our Lord warns us to take heed and beware of their doctrine. But the doctrines of the Pharisees and the Sadducees were totally different. They did not agree about anything. Their creeds were as opposite to one another as any two religious creeds could be. That is how it appears; but that is not really the case. True, the Sadducees denied the authority of the prophets, which the Pharisees defended. The Sadducees denied the resurrection and future judgment, which the Pharisees vigorously maintained.

Yet, the Pharisees and the Sadducees really believed the same thing. Their doctrine was the result of human tradition, the commandments of men, and the inventions of religious leaders being mixed with the Word of God. They taught the freewill of man, justification by works, and religious ritualism. The Holy Spirit calls it “the doctrine,” not doctrines, “of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” There are many churches and denominations in this world. Some are liberal. Others are conservative. Some are large, wealthy, and influential. Others are small, poor, and insignificant. But, if you cut through all the trappings of the various religions of the world and get to the heart of things, you will find that really there are only two religions in the whole world. The one is true. The other is false. True religion, the religion of the Bible, is the religion of free grace. It traces salvation to God. It ascribes the entire work of salvation to God alone. It makes election, redemption, regeneration, preservation, and glorification to be the works of God’s free grace alone. All false religion is the religion of freewill. No matter what denominational name it wears, freewillism traces salvation to man. It does not omit God altogether. (Satan is too sly for that!) But it ascribes salvation to man, not to God. It makes the determining factor in salvation to be the will, work, and worth of man. Whereas the Word of God makes salvation to be determined by the will of God (Romans 9:11-18), the worth of Christ (1 Peter 3:18; Romans 3:24-26), and the work of God the Holy Spirit (John 6:63). Is your religion true, or false? Think about it? Does your religion glorify God, or man? Read Proverbs 16:25. The religion of the Bible honors the triune God alone (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). What word does our Lord use to describe the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees? — “Leaven.” Leaven once admitted, even in the smallest quantity, works secretly, without noise, and gradually changes the whole character of the loaf. So false doctrine and heresy works in the church to corrupt it from “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). If the church of Christ is to be strong and established in the faith of the gospel, the pulpit must be strong, relentlessly proclaiming the faith of the gospel. It is the responsibility of every faithful pastor to see to it that he faithfully preaches the doctrine of Christ. It is also his responsibility to see to it that everything taught in the assembly trusted to his care is consistent with and reinforces the message of God’s free and sovereign grace that he proclaims in the pulpit. Every piece of literature in the assembly ought to reflect the message of the pulpit.

If it does not, it is because the pastor is weak and irresponsible. The hymns sung must be gospel hymns. It is inconceivable to me that any pastor would preach free grace in the pulpit and then allow freewill hymns (if that title can be used for such trash) in the congregation. Yet, many do. If that is the case, it is because the pastor is weak and irresponsible. A faithful father would never allow poison to be served at the family table, no matter how much his wife and children were addicted to it. This is a warning for all ages. We must add nothing to the gospel. We must take nothing from the gospel (Galatians 1:6-8). Any human additions or subtractions are “the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” A Wretched Assumption In Matthew 16:5-12 we see our Lord’s disciples make a wretched assumption. Because of the weakness of their faith, they assumed that the Lord Jesus was talking about their failure to bring food with them and almost missed the lesson he was teaching. How much we are like these poor disciples! “And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Their reasoning was carnal. “They reasoned among themselves”(Matthew 16:7). Such reasoning is always carnal and leads to error. The poor disciples had forgotten their past experiences (Matthew 16:8-10). It was their lack of faith that caused them to misunderstand the Savior’s words. Spurgeon said, “If it were not for our wretched little faith and our reasoning among ourselves, the memory of our former deliverances would lift us beyond all tendency to mistrust God.” But our Lord is always better to us than our fears. We have a gracious and faithful Savior and Teacher who mercifully causes us to understand his Word, even as he did these disciples. As we read and study Holy Scripture, we should always look for an obvious, personal and spiritual application, not merely the facts contained in the letter of the Word. — “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Let us ever keep in memory the wondrous works of our God on our behalf, and review them often, so that we may learn to trust him implicitly. That which he has done, he will do. He will always care and provide for his own.

Matthew 16:13-20

Chapter 41 “Thou Art the Christ” “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.” (Matthew 16:13-20) What is the meaning of our Lord’s statement — “Upon this rock I will build my Church?” Without question, the papists’ fabrication that Peter was to be the foundation of the church is ludicrous. To speak of a fallen, sinful, depraved son of Adam as the foundation upon which God’s holy temple is built is contrary to Scripture. Such an exaltation of Peter above the rest of the Apostles would have been contrary to the plainest teachings of our Lord (Matthew 20:1-28). The rock upon which the Church of God is built is Peter’s confession, not Peter (Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Corinthians 3:11). Christ himself is the Rock God has laid in Zion (Isaiah 28:16). Peter himself, writing by divine inspiration, tells us this (1 Peter 2:6-8).

When the Lord Jesus said, “Upon this rock will I build my church,” he was, obviously, referring to himself. He is the Rock upon whom Peter and all true believers are built by God’s saving grace (1 Peter 2:5). Being built on him, we are safe and secure. Hell itself can do us no harm. What is the meaning of our Lord’s promise — “I wilt give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven?” Again, the papal doctrine that Peter and his successors, the popes, and priests of Rome (as they dream) have the power to admit souls into heaven is a delusion. Peter does not open and close the gates of heaven. That prerogative belongs to Christ alone (Revelation 1:18). This sentence appears to have no greater meaning, and no less, than this. By God’s special decree Peter was ordained to be the first messenger, the first preacher of the gospel after the resurrection, by whom (as God’s mouthpiece and instrument) the doors of salvation were thrown open to both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 2:10, Acts 15:7-9). What do the last words of Mat 16:19 mean? — “Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Our Lord did not give Peter the power to forgive and absolve sins! And this promise of our Lord has nothing to do with church discipline. What the text does teach is this: – Peter and the Apostles were commissioned to teach the way of salvation with inspired authority (Acts 15:9-11; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-13). J. C. Ryle wrote, “As the Old Testament priests declared authoritatively whose leprosy was cleansed, so the apostles were appointed to ‘declare and pronounce’ authoritatively whose sins were forgiven.” As the Apostles of Christ they were inspired to lay down and establish the rules and regulations by which the church and kingdom of Christ must be governed. Those things which they made binding are binding. The doctrine of Christ’s church and kingdom is the gospel, “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The ordinances of the kingdom are believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The divinely appointed rulers of the kingdom are faithful pastors. All matters of indifference they left as matters of indifference. Those things they “loosed,” so that each believer is free to decide what is best for himself (Acts 15:19; Romans 14:4-5). It is important to state that this authority and power to bind and loose things in the kingdom of heaven was confined to the apostles. It began with them. And it ended with them. It has never been given to anyone else. I am not an infallible teacher. Neither is any other man. No pastor, no church, no denomination has any right or power to lay down any laws, rules, or guiding principles for the kingdom of God. The Word of God alone is our only rule of faith and practice. Remember, that which Peter here confessed is the Rock of Foundation upon which the Church and Kingdom of God is and must be built. Here are five blessed things spoken of in this passage of Scripture. A Blessed Confession “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13-16). At first glance, the careless reader might pass over these words, thinking there is nothing extraordinary in them; but such thoughts arise from great ignorance. Peter’s confession here is truly remarkable. The more I study it, the more remarkable and blessed it appears. Consider it carefully. This confession put Peter at odds with the rest of the world. Few were with Christ in those days. Many were against him. But Peter confessed him. When the rulers of his own nation and all the religious people he knew, the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests, and the people, all opposed Christ, Peter confessed him. Many would gladly acknowledge him to be a prophet, even a great prophet, even a resurrected prophet. But Peter confessed him to be “The Christ, The Son of the living God.” This confession of faith came from a man of tremendous faith, character, commitment, and zeal. Say what you will about Peter. He had his faults, I know. But do not underrate this man. His heart was under the rule of Christ. Grace is evident in him. Peter was a true-hearted, fervent, faithful servant of our God. Now, look at the content of Peter’s confession. Looking in the face of the Son of man, Peter said to that man, “Thou art the Christ, The Son of the living God.” Peter confessed that the Man Christ Jesus is God, the eternal Son; that the despised Nazarene is the Christ, the promised Messiah, the One of whom all the prophets spoke. In a word, he confessed that the Man, Jesus, is God come to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). I do not know what all Peter knew or did not know. But he knew Christ and confessed him. Do you? A Blessed Man “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). — Peter was a truly blessed man. His blessedness was manifest, not in his lifestyle, or his freedom from trouble and sorrow, but in the grace of God he had experienced, as was evident in his confession. Like all who are born of God, he was blessed with spiritual understanding (John 6:44-45; 1 Corinthians 2:11-16; 1 John 2:20). He was blessed by divine decree (Ephesians 1:3-14). And he was distinctively blessed by distinguishing grace (1 Corinthians 4:7). Who can describe the blessedness of knowing him, whom to know aright is eternal life? As it was in Peter’s day, so it is today, and so it is in every age. The people of this world, religious and irreligious, have many and varied opinions about Christ. But only one opinion is right; and that is the opinion formed in the heart by divine teaching and illumination. If we know him, our Savior says, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.” That is to say, we did not come to know him on our own, and no mere man revealed him to you. We do not know Christ after the flesh, or by human learning (2 Corinthians 5:16). “But my Father which is in heaven.” God himself, by his Holy Spirit, has revealed him to us and in us by the preaching of the gospel (Matthew 11:25-27; John 6:45-46; Galatians 1:15-16; Ephesians 1:17-18; Ephesians 3:14; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:14-17). A Blessed Foundation. The Foundation upon which God’s church is built, the Foundation on which our souls are built, the Foundation on which our faith and hope is built is the Rock Christ Jesus. He is the Foundation laid by God’s Decree (Isaiah 28:16), the sure Foundation, a precious Foundation, an indestructible Foundation (Matthew 7:24-27), and a tried Foundation. Christ is the Rock upon which we must be built. — “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). He is the precious Corner Stone the Lord God has laid in Zion. Those who believe on him shall never perish, but have everlasting life. Those who build on the sand of their own works shall be buried in the everlasting ruins of their own confusion in hell. Faith in Christ is compared to the building of a house of refuge (Matthew 16:24). Sooner or later your house will be tested by earthly trials, spiritual trials, rains of trouble, floods of sorrow, and winds of adversity (Matthew 16:25). If your house is built on Christ the Rock, it will endure the trial and stand the tests of time. If your house is built on the sand, anything other than Christ, sooner or later the rains and floods and winds will bring it crumbling down around you. Everything built upon the sand will crumble. Only that which is built upon Christ, the Stone that God has laid, will stand. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Foundation, and God’s elect are the building reared upon that Foundation. He alone is the Rock of our salvation. A Blessed Promise “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). — Perhaps no word in the Bible has been more misunderstood, more abused, and more confusing to men than the word “church.” Man’s misunderstanding of this word has led to bigotry, sectarianism, strife, isolationism, and even persecution. What is this Church, which the Son of God calls, “my church”? The word “church” is used in three ways in the New Testament. Sometimes, the word “church” is used to describe local, visible assemblies of professed believers in a given place. In every local church there are both believers and unbelievers, wheat and tares, sheep and goats, true possessors of faith and false professors of faith. Every local church has in its membership both the true and the false; but still every local assembly of men and women, who profess faith in Christ and the gospel of God’s free grace in him, is set forth as a local church and is called, “the church of God” (Romans 16:1-5). Sometimes the word “church” is used to describe all true churches at any given time in the world. Obviously I do not suggest that the church of God is made up of all churches and denominations, but it does include all New Testament churches at any given time in the world. We are one in Christ, one in purpose, one in heart, and one in desire. All true gospel churches in this world in Jesus Christ are one (1 Corinthians 10:32; 1 Corinthians 12:28). The word church, as it is used here, does not refer to any local church, or any denomination, but to “the church which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23), the family of God, the redeemed and called ones of Christ, “of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Ephesians 3:15). Here, as in many other places in the New Testament, the word “church” is used to describe all true believers of all ages, from the beginning of the world to its end, all the saints of the Old Testament and New Testament ages, all of God’s elect upon the earth and in heaven. This is what we call the universal church. It is the mystical body and spiritual bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is the Head (Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 5:23-25). What does the Lord Jesus here promise his church? He promised to build it. “I will build my church.” It is his church. He chose it. He redeemed it. And he builds it, calling his elect to life and faith by his Spirit. And he promised to protect it. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Local churches do wither and die. How often we have seen the Lord remove the candlestick from different places! But not one member of Christ’s mystical body shall perish (John 10:28). A Blessed Gift “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). — The Lord Jesus gave to Peter and the Apostles the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and he has given them to us by them in the Volume of Holy Scripture. Christ brought in everlasting righteousness by his obedience to God as our Representative. He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself as our sin-atoning Substitute. And the gospel declares that every sinner who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ “hath everlasting life”(1 John 5:1). Now, look at Matthew 16:20. Here is a charge our Master has reversed. He told his disciples to “tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ,” because his hour was not yet come. But now he commands us to tell all men everywhere that he is Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 28:18-20). It is the business of his church in this world (the only business of his church) to proclaim the gospel to all. And by this means the Lord God our Savior builds his church.

Matthew 16:21-28

Chapter 42 “Get thee Behind Me, Satan” “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how 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. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:21-28) In this passage of Holy Scripture there are some deep mysteries and profound spiritual truths that need to be both carefully studied and laid to heart. Here we see the eternal God talking about a death he must die, a faithful disciple of Christ rebuking his Master, the Lord Jesus calling one of his beloved servants “Satan,” the necessity of self-denial and commitment to Christ, the incomparable value of our souls, the second advent of our Lord and the judgment that shall accompany it, and the spiritual reign and kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Without question, in these verses there are some things hard to be understood. May God the Holy Spirit, who inspired Matthew to write these things, be our teacher as we study them. “He Must” “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how 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). — First, we see that as a Man, as our Mediator and Substitute, as Jehovah’s Servant, there are some things that the Lord Jesus Christ must do. As God, it could never be written, “He must.” But as the Surety of the covenant, in order to fulfil the terms of the covenant, because he is Jehovah’s voluntary Servant, there are some things that the Scriptures declare the Lord Jesus Christ “must” do. He told his parents that he must be about his Father’s business (Luke 2:49). He said, “I come to do thy will, O my God.” He said to his disciples, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me.” He told a chosen sinner, at the appointed time of mercy, “I must abide at thy house” (Luke 19:5). He must do so because the time had come when that chosen sinner must be called and saved by his omnipotent grace (Psalms 110:3; John 10:16). We read in John 4:4 that “he must needs go through Samaria,” because there was another chosen sinner there for whom “the time of love” had come. Here our Lord told his disciples that he must go up to Jerusalem, suffer, and die, and rise again, the third day. Why must he? It was because the Father ordained it, the prophets revealed it, the types portrayed it, God’s justice demanded it, and the time appointed for it had come. We cannot imagine how shocking this was to the disciples. Like the rest of the Jews, they were not anticipating a Messiah who would suffer and die. They looked for a political Messiah. It seems that all of the disciples were confused about our Lord’s teaching regarding his death until it actually happened, all except for the woman who anointed him for his burial. This is what led to Peter’s error. True, but Weak Second, we are once again taught that a man can be a true disciple and yet be a weak disciple, ignorant about many things. “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:22-23). The issue of great importance is not what do you know, but who? It is not doctrine that saves, but Christ. I do not suggest for a moment that a person can be saved trusting a false Christ. But the Scriptures do show us, by numerous examples, that people who truly trust Christ are ignorant of many, many things. Peter was, without a doubt, born again and a true believer (Matthew 16:16-19). He was a man taught of God (Matthew 16:17). Who can read the conversation between Christ and Peter in the preceding verses and imagine that Peter was not yet converted? Such an idea is too ludicrous to mention. Yet, there are some who, attempting to defend an erroneous system of doctrine, dogmatically assert that neither Peter, nor any of the other apostles and disciples of Christ, were converted until after the Lord’s resurrection! This faithful and gracious man behaved very foolishly and ignorantly. – “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” Peter actually rebuked the Lord Jesus and sought, like Satan, to hinder him from doing what he did come to do! This man, who was so faithful in so many, many things, became an instrument of Satan in his time of weakness. Because he had become an instrument of Satan, the Lord Jesus rebuked his disciple as Satan. — “He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” He spoke to Peter as though he were himself Satan, because he had become Satan’s instrument. He said, “Thou art an offence unto me,” a stumbling block. “Thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Peter was looking at things, judging things, and acting from a purely human, carnal, and emotional point of view. His flesh was in the way. His flesh kept him from seeing, at the time, the blessed necessity for our Savior’s death. Is this Peter? Is this the same man that our Savior had just declared “blessed” of God? Yes, he is the same man. Yet, to this man, beloved of God, chosen, redeemed, and called by grace, to this man so highly favored and blessed of God, the Lord Jesus spoke as he never spoke to any other. — “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Let us lay this to heart. If the Lord God is pleased to leave us, even momentarily to ourselves and to our own judgment, we are sure to fall into great and grievous evil. Perhaps, it is for just this reason that the Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to record both our Savior’s great love for us and Peter’s terrible, inexcusable weakness at the same time. So great is our need and so great is the determination of his love for our souls that the Lord Jesus Christ zealously longed for the hour when, by his sufferings and death upon the cursed tree, he would accomplish redemption for us. He was, as he put it, “straitened” until it was finished. Substitution Third, this exchange between Peter and the Master teaches us that there is no doctrine in the Bible so important as the doctrine of Christ’s sin-atoning death as our Substitute. That man who denies the doctrine of Christ’s effectual atonement, who deny the merit and efficacy of Christ’s death as our Substitute, no matter what else they say that is true, do not savor “the things that be of God.” C. H. Spurgeon wrote, “He knows not the taste, the aroma, the essence of spiritual things; and however much he may honor Jesus in words, he is an enemy, a real Satan towards the true Christ.” The death of Christ is, as J. C. Ryle stated, “the central truth of Christianity.

Right views of his vicarious death and the benefits resulting from it, lie at the very foundation of Bible-religion. If we are wrong here, we are ruined forever. Error on many points is only a skin disease. Error about Christ’s death is a disease at the heart.” Whatever we think about the death of Christ, let us always remember four things about it: (1.) Our Savior’s death was accomplished by his own sovereign will and purpose (John 10:17-18). (2.) The Lord Jesus Christ died as the Substitute for his elect (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 10:11; John 10:15). (3.) When he died for us, bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, being made sin and a curse for us, the Son of God fully satisfied all the demands of divine justice for us (Isaiah 53:10-11). And (4.) he was completely successful in his work redemption (Isaiah 42:4; Galatians 3:13; Matthew 1:21). Whatever he intended to accomplish, he accomplished. All he intended to redeem, he redeemed. Self-denial “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). Fourth, the Lord Jesus teaches us that true, saving faith involves deliberate and persevering, self-denial and consecration. Matthew Henry wrote, “The first lesson in Christ’s school is self-denial.” Those who deny themselves here for Christ shall enjoy themselves in Christ forever. Grace is free; but it is not cheap. Faith in Christ involves the total surrender of myself to him, to his dominion as my Lord and Savior, my Priest and King. That is what it is to take up your cross and follow Christ. Christianity, true Christianity, true saving faith involves a total surrender to Christ the Lord. Either you will be a servant under the dominion of King Jesus, voluntarily giving up all to his claims, or you will go to hell. You may not have to give up anything in actuality. But surrender to Christ must be just as real and complete in your heart as if you had actually given up everything, even down to life itself. Our Lord Jesus Christ requires total and unreserved surrender to himself. Christ will be Lord of all, or he will not be Lord at all. Is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, your Lord? Is he truly your Lord? But we must never imagine that this is a matter dealt with only in the initial experience of grace and in the initial act of faith. Here our Lord Jesus addresses these words to men who had been his faithful disciple for a long time. How graciously he warns us and teaches us to guard against the terrible tendency of our sinful flesh to rebel against his rule and his will. How much evil we bring upon ourselves by our carnal misapprehensions! We are all, like Peter, inclined to judge things by our emotions and personal desires. We must not. Rather, we must seek grace to know and bow to the will of God our Savior in all things. Oh! for grace to savor the things which are of God, and not those which are of men!“His Own Soul” Fifth, we are again taught that there is nothing so precious and valuable as your soul. — “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (v.26) — Here is a question so well known and so often repeated that I fear that few take it to heart. It ought to sound in our ears like a trumpet, whenever we are tempted to neglect our eternal interests. There is nothing the world can offer, nothing money can buy, nothing a man can give, nothing to be named in comparison with our souls. We live in a world where everything is temporal. We are going to a world where everything is eternal. Let us count nothing here more valuable than we shall when we have to leave it forever! Our Reward Sixth, in Matthew 16:27, our Savior, having declared the value of our souls, assures his disciples and us that our reward is yet to come. — “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” In the day of judgment, every man will get exactly the reward that he deserves, according to the books, the ledgers of heaven. The wicked shall be judged according to their own works. The righteous shall be judged according to their own works, too, – the works of Christ imputed to us in free justification. The Connection Seventh, in Matthew 16:28 the Lord Jesus shows the connection between his death, his resurrection, and his kingdom, or his spiritual reign as King. — “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” This text has caused much controversy among those visionaries who think they can predict or have figured out what they call God’s “prophetic time table.” This is not talking about the second coming and a millennial reign, or the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The only thing that this text can possibly refer to is Christ’s spiritual kingdom, into which he entered when he ascended up to heaven, which was signified by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:32-36; Galatians 3:13-14). Have you entered into Christ’s Kingdom? Have you come under the rule of the Son of God? Yet, our Lord seems to blend into one his glorious second coming (Matthew 16:27), and his coming in grace (Matthew 16:28). The fact is ¾ all his works are one. And every coming of Christ is glorious, both when he first comes in grace to awaken our souls and in all the visits of his grace that follow, until he finally comes to take us home to glory. As Simeon of old could not die until he had seen the Lord Jesus and held him in his arms, so there are some (a great multitude that no man can number) who shall not taste death until Christ is revealed to them and embraced in their arms of faith. And just as this prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, it is fulfilled every time a chosen, redeemed sinner is called to life and faith in Christ.