Matthew 16:17

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. AND JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HIM, BLESSED ART THOU. Though it is not to be doubted that Peter, in this noble testimony to Christ, only expressed the conviction of all the Twelve, yet since he alone seems to have had clear enough apprehensions to put that conviction in proper and suitable words, and courage enough to speak them out, and readiness enough to do this at the right time-so he only, of all the Twelve, seems to have met the present want, and communicated to the saddened soul of the Redeemer at the critical moment that balm which was needed to cheer and refresh it. Nor is Jesus above giving indication of the deep satisfaction which this speech yielded Him, and hastening to respond to it by a signal acknowledgment of Pete...

17._Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona. _As this is life eternal, to know the only true God, and him whom he hath sent, Jesus Christ, (John 17:3,) Christ justly pronounces him to be _blessed _who has honestly made such a confession. This was not spoken in a peculiar manner to Peter alone, but our Lord’s purpose was, to show in what the only happiness of the whole world consists. That every one may approach him with greater courage, we must first learn that all are by nature miserable and accursed, till they find a remedy in Christ. Next, we must add, that whoever has obtained Christ wants nothing that is necessary to perfect happiness, since we have no right to desire any thing better than the eternal glory of God, of which Christ puts us in possession. _Flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee. _In t

13-20 Peter, for himself and his brethren, said that they were assured of our Lord's being the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God. This showed that they believed Jesus to be more than man. Our Lord declared Peter to be blessed, as the teaching of God made him differ from his unbelieving countrymen. Christ added that he had named him Peter, in allusion to his stability or firmness in professing the truth. The word translated "rock," is not the same word as Peter, but is of a similar meaning. Nothing can be more wrong than to suppose that Christ meant the person of Peter was the rock. Without doubt Christ himself is the Rock, the tried foundation of the church; and woe to him that attempts to lay any other! Peter's confession is this rock as to doctrine. If Jesus be not the Christ, those that own him are not of the church, but deceivers and deceived. Our Lord next declared the au...

Verse Matthew 16:17. _BLESSED ART THOU, SIMON BAR-JONA_] Or _Simon, son of_ _Jonah_; so _Bar-jonah_ should be translated, and so it is rendered by our Lord, John 1:42. _Flesh and blood _- i.e. MAN; - _no human being_ hath revealed this; and though the text is literal enough, yet every body should know that this is a Hebrew _periphrasis_ for _man_; and the literal translation of it here, and in Galatians 1:16, has misled thousands, who suppose that _flesh and blood_ signify _carnal reason_, as it is termed, or the _unregenerate principle_ in man. Is it not evident, from our Lord's observation, that it requires an express revelation of God in a man's soul, to give him a...

See also Mark 8:27, and Luke 9:18. CESAREA PHILIPPI - There were two cities in Judea called Caesarea. One was situated on the borders of the Mediterranean (See the notes at Acts 8:40), and the other was the one mentioned here. This city was greatly enlarged and ornamented by Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod, and called Caesarea in honor of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar. To distinguish it from the other Caesarea the name of Philip was added to it, and it was called Caesarea Philippi, or Caesarea of Philippi. It was situated in the boundaries of the tribe of Naphtali, at the foot of Mount Hermon. It is now called Panias or Banias, and contains (circa 1880’s) about 200

EXPOSITION MATTHEW 16:1 _The Pharisees and Sadducees desire a sign. _(Mark 8:11.) MATTHEW 16:1 THE PHARISEES ALSO WITH THE SADDUEEES; rather, _and the Pharisees and Sadducees. _The scribes and Pharisees are often mentioned together as watching or attacking Jesus; but this is the first time that we hear of Pharisees combining with Sadducees for this purpose. The two sects were directly opposed to each other, the traditional belief of the former being antagonistic to the scepticism and materialism of the latter. But both were hostile to Christ, whose teaching, on the one hand interfered with rabbinism, and on the

AND JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HIM,.... Not waiting for any other declaration from them; but taking this to be the sense of them all, he said, BLESSED ART THOU SIMON BAR JONA, or son of Jona, or Jonas, as in John 1:42. His father's name was Jonah, whence he was so called: so we read i of R. Bo bar Jonah, and of a Rabbi of this very name k, ר שמעון בר יונא, Rabbi Simeon bar Jona; for Simon and Simeon are one, and the same name. Some read it Bar Joanna, the same with John; but the common reading is best; Bar Jona signifies "the son of a dove", and Bar Joanna signifies "the son of one that is gracious". Our Lord, by this appellation, puts Peter in mind of his birth and parentage, but does not pronounce him blessed on that account: no true blessedness comes by natural descent; men are by nature children of wrath, being conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity: though he was Bar Jo

BARJONA Son of Jonas....

4. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE REJECTED KING CONCERNING HIMSELF. CHAPTER 16 1. Pharisees and Sadducees Asking a Sign. (Matthew 16:1 .) 2. Instructions Concerning the Leaven. (Matthew 16:5 .) 3. Peter's Confession. (Matthew 16:13 .) 4. The Future Building of the Church Announced. (Matthew 16:17 .) 5. The Announcement of His Death and Resurrection. (Matthew 16:21 .) 6. Peter's Rebuke and the Lord's Answer. (Matthew 16:22 .) 7. The Pa

THE GREAT CONFESSION AND THE FIRST VIEW OF THE CROSS (Mark 8:27 *, Luke 9:18). Omitting the cure of the blind man (but _cf. Matthew 9:27_), Mt. passes to the significant episode of Cæ sarea Philippi. Matthew 16:13 = Mark 8:27, but note the substitution (Matthew 16:13) of Son of Man for I, which gives the position away (especially if we read I, the Son of Man), and the addition of Jeremiah ...