‘And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and trying him asked him to show them a sign from heaven.' The coming together of the Pharisees and the Sadducees (linked by one article) may suggest an ungodly alliance between the Galilean Pharisees and the Sadducees at Herod's court (Mark 3:6; Mark 8:15), o... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But he answered and said to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the heaven is red'. And in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the heaven is red and lowering.' You know how to discern the face of the heaven, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”... [ Continue Reading ]
“An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will no sign be given to it, but the sign of Jonah.” And he left them, and departed.' Then He points out what the nature is of those who seek spectacular signs in spiritual matters. They are ‘an evil and adulterous generation' (compare... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the disciples came to the other side and forgot to take bread.' With typical Matthaean abbreviation he sums up the situation in few words. ‘The disciples' came to the other side and found that they had not taken supplies of ‘kosher' bread. Jesus is not mentioned simply because He is not involve... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FAILURE OF THE DISCIPLES TO TAKE KOSHER BREAD WITH THEM WHEN GOING TO GENTILE TERRITORY RAISES THE QUESTION OF ‘THE LEAVEN OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES' (16:5-12). Arriving back ‘on the other side' in Gentile territory, the disciples become aware that they have forgotten to bring ‘kosher' bread... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ' Seeing their concern over mere bread (compare Matthew 4:4) Jesus then intervened with a comment which was designed to make them recognise that there was more to worry about than the lack of bread. Let th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “We took no bread.” ' But they misunderstood His words and took them literally. They thought that He also was talking about their having no bread, and so vigorous discussions took place about what they were going to do in order to remedy the situation.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus perceiving it said, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves, because you have no bread?” Jesus is concerned both at their anxiety about shortage of bread and at their inability to discern His meaning, for to Him it reveals their little faith (compared with what it shou... [ Continue Reading ]
“Do you not yet perceive, nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many containers you took up?” So He reminds them how the huge crowds had had no bread, and how the five loaves had become twelve wicker b... [ Continue Reading ]
“How is it that you do not perceive that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” So he asked them how they could possibly have failed to recognise that He was not literally taking about bread. Rather He was saying, ‘beware of the leaven of the P... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then they understood that he bade them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” So the truth finally dawned on them that He was not warning them against physical bread or bribery, but against what the Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching. Perhaps... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” ' Once again Jesus is found in Gentile territory, at Caesarea Philippi, north of the Sea of Galilee, in the territory of Herod Philip. And there He calls on His discipl... [ Continue Reading ]
PETER OPENLY CONFESSES THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH (16:13-20). In Matthew 11:25 Jesus had spoken of the fact it was His Father who revealed things to ‘babes', including the truth about the Son Whom He alone fully knows, and that He Himself as the Son, reveals the Father to whom He wills. Now we are p... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ' Their reply brings out something about Jewish expectations. We already know about the rumour that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead (Matthew 14:2), and it is clear from this that it... [ Continue Reading ]
‘He says to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ' Then Jesus directly challenges His disciples as to Whom they think He is. They had had plenty of time to make their minds up, and He had in the past given them much to think about. Now He will discover what they have really learned.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.” ' As we would expect it is Peter who blurts out a response. The disciples appear to have been quite willing to let him take the lead in such matters, probably due to their own lack of confidence. One thing... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” ' Jesus then commends Peter for his insight. It is something of an official declaration rather than just a reply, as is demonstrated by His giving... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I also say to you, that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (congregation/assembly), and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” And He then declares that Peter is the Rock-man, and that on ‘this Rock', the rock of the words that he has spoken (compare Matthew 7:24 w... [ Continue Reading ]
“I will give to you the keys of the kingly rule of heaven, and whatever you will bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” ' Peter then continues to be honoured for what he has said, but we must remember that the privilege he re... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then he charged the disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ.' Having declared His Messianic purpose Jesus now urged on His disciples the need to not, as yet, proclaim Him as the Messiah to the public. The reason for this was almost certainly because Israel's view of the Messi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.' Now He feels it important to make clear to His disciples the deeper truths concerning H... [ Continue Reading ]
JESUS REVEALS THAT AS THE MESSIAH AND SON OF MAN HE MUST SUFFER (16:21-27). Jesus declares that the way of suffering lies ahead for Him as the Messiah, and when Peter tries to show Him His ‘error', He rebukes Peter and points out that all those who follow Him must choose the way of suffering. That... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Peter took him aside, and began to rebuke him, saying, “Be it far from you, Lord, this will never happen to you.” ' At Jesus' words about rejection by the Jewish leaders resulting in His death Peter felt a need to intervene. He was probably still glowing at Jesus' previous commendation of him.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But he turned, and said to Peter, “Get you behind me, Satan, You are a snare to me, for you do not mind the things of God, but the things of men.” ' So He turned to Peter, and naming Him as Satan ‘the adversary' (satanas), bade him get behind Him, pointing out that he was becoming a snare or stumb... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” ' Jesus then responded to Peter's foolish words with a warning of what it would mean to follow Him. And His first challenge here was this, and it was a vivid one. Were th... [ Continue Reading ]
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it.” On the other hand, He pointed out, in spite of that, there was really only one choice to make, for the alternative was not really a choice at all. Not to respond would be equally fatal. For the... [ Continue Reading ]
“For what will a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?” ' So He puts to those who were following Him (and to us) the ultimate challenge. Of what advantage is there for anyone to gain the whole world and as a result... [ Continue Reading ]
“For the Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then will he render to every man according to his deeds.” The last part of this verse is cited from Psalms 62:12 where it is God Who does this. For in the end all must be judged in the light of the final day. One day Jesu... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HEAVENLY GLORY OF JESUS IS REVEALED (16:28-17:8). His disciples having acknowledged Him as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and He Himself having spoken of His future appearing in glory, He now determines to reveal something of His glory to His three chosen disciples, so that after His r... [ Continue Reading ]