Matthew 16 KJV
Peter's Confession of Christ
Matthew Chapter 16: Peter's Confession of Christ
This chapter explores themes of The Church. The setting at Caesarea Philippi, a center of Pan worship with a grotto considered an entrance to the underworld, frames Peter's confession as a direct confrontation with pagan powers, culminating in Jesus' reference to the 'gates of hell' as unable to prevail.
1he Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3 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?
4 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.
5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
11 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?
12 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.
13 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?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?cf.
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.cf.
17 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.cf.
18 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.cf.
19 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.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 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.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 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.
24 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.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 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?
27 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.
28 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.
Words in red are the direct words of Jesus Christ.
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Did You Know?
The setting at Caesarea Philippi, a center of Pan worship with a grotto considered an entrance to the underworld, frames Peter's confession as a direct confrontation with pagan powers, culminating in Jesus' reference to the 'gates of hell' as unable to prevail.
Jesus' rebuke 'Get thee behind me, Satan' deliberately echoes his identical command to the devil during the wilderness temptations in Matthew 4, revealing Peter's words as a renewed satanic test of the messianic mission.
The rare alliance of Pharisees and Sadducees to demand a sign highlights their temporary unity against Jesus, despite mutual hostility, underscoring how his ministry disrupted established religious factions.
The 'leaven' warning, tied to the disciples' forgetfulness of the two multiplications of loaves, functions as a metaphor for corrupting doctrine while exposing their persistent failure to grasp Jesus' provision.
Verse 28's promise that some listeners would not die before seeing the Son of Man coming in his kingdom foreshadows the transfiguration in the next chapter as a proleptic vision of eschatological glory.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain For the exposition, see on Mr 8:11-21.
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Matthew 16 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: A sign from heaven sought and refused--caution against the leaven of the pharisees and sadducees; Peter's noble confession of Christ and the benediction pronounced upon him--Christ's first explicit announcement of his approaching sufferings, death, and resurrection--his rebuke of peter and warning to all the twelve. ( = mr 8:27; 9:1; Lu 9:18-27).
- 13
- When Jesus came into the coasts โ "the parts," that is, the territory or region. In Mark (Mr 8:27) it is "the towns" or "villages." of Cรฆsarea Philippi โ It lay at the foot of Mount Lebanon, near the sources of the Jordan, in the territory of Dan, and at the northeast extremity of Palestine. It was originally called Panium (from a cavern in its neighborhood dedicated to the god Pan) and Paneas. Philip, the tetrarch, the only good son of Herod the Great, in whose dominions Paneas lay, having beautified and enlarged it, changed its name to Cรฆsarea, in honor of the Roman emperor, and added Philippi after his own name, to distinguish it from the other Cรฆsarea (Ac 10:1) on the northeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea. [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 15.10,3; 18.2,1]. This quiet and distant retreat Jesus appears to have sought with the view of talking over with the Twelve the fruit of His past labors, and breaking to them for the first time the sad intelligence of His approaching death. he asked his disciples โ "by the way," says Mark (Mr 8:27), and "as He was alone praying," says Luke (Lu 9:18). saying, Whom โ or more grammatically, "Who" do men say that I the Son of man am? โ (or, "that the Son of man is" โ the recent editors omitting here the me of Mark and Luke [Mr 8:27; Lu 9:18]; though the evidence seems pretty nearly balanced) โ that is, "What are the views generally entertained of Me, the Son of man, after going up and down among them so long?" He had now closed the first great stage of His ministry, and was just entering on the last dark one. His spirit, burdened, sought relief in retirement, not only from the multitude, but even for a season from the Twelve. He retreated into "the secret place of the Most High," pouring out His soul "in supplications and prayers, with strong crying and tears" (Heb 5:7). On rejoining His disciples, and as they were pursuing their quiet journey, He asked them this question.
- 14
- And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist โ risen from the dead. So that Herod Antipas was not singular in his surmise (Mt 14:1, 2). some, Elias โ (Compare Mr 6:15). and others, Jeremias โ Was this theory suggested by a supposed resemblance between the "Man of Sorrows" and "the weeping prophet?" or one of the prophets โ or, as Luke (Lu 9:8) expresses it, "that one of the old prophets is risen again." In another report of the popular opinions which Mark (Mr 6:15) gives us, it is thus expressed, "That it is a prophet [or], as one of the prophets": in other words, That He was a prophetical person, resembling those of old.
Read all 16 notes on Matthew 16 โ