THE PHARISEES AND Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. 2He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
5When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”
8Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Original Meaning
CHAPTER 16 IS a pivotal chapter in Matthew. After the increasing opposition of the Jewish religious leaders to his messianic ministry (12:9–14, 22–37) and the increasing threat of the local political machine (14:1–13), Jesus has been turning to his disciples to help them to understand more clearly his unique identity and mission. He is a prophet, even though he is without honor among his own people (13:53–58). He is the compassionate healer and supplier of Israel’s needs, even though they misperceive his earthly mission (14:13–21). He is the Son of God who can walk on water and calm stormy seas and who is worthy of worship, even though his own disciple(s) falter in fixating on him (14:22–36). He is the true teacher of God’s Word, even though this may threaten the social security of his disciples (15:1–20). He is also the compassionate healer and provider for the needs of the Gentiles, even though his disciples sometimes forget that fact (15:21–31).
Jesus has led his disciples along slowly so that they can try to grasp the magnitude of his true identity. The religious leaders and the crowds have had their opportunity to acknowledge him as their Messiah, but their hardness of heart prevents them from perceiving him clearly (cf. 13:10–17). They will receive no more signs. But the disciples, who have been open to his identity and mission, now receive from the Father the most penetrating revelation of Jesus’ identity (16:13–20). This revelation in turn leads to further revelation from Jesus about his life’s mission—he will be killed and be raised up again (16:21). These are not easy revelations for the disciples to handle, as we will see. The disciples, especially Peter, continue to both understand yet not understand. They stride forward in faith when they focus on God’s revelation, yet falter when they rely on their own understanding (16:22–23).
Jesus Gives No More Signs of His Identity and Mission (16:1–4)
BACK IN JEWISH territory after landing at Magadan (15:39), Jesus and his disciples are confronted again by the religious leaders, possibly the same earlier contingent of leading officials from Jerusalem (15:1). But this time the Pharisees are joined by the Sadducees. Although they were often bitter opponents, the Pharisees and Sadducees joined forces when they saw a threat to their leadership, as they had when John the Baptist arrived on the scene (cf. 3:7).
The Pharisees and Sadducees come to Jesus to test him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven (16:1). A “sign” (semeion) is some kind of visible mark or action that conveys an unmistakable message, such as when Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign from God to certify his healing (2 Kings 20:8–11; Isa. 38:7–8). The Pharisees asked for a sign earlier as irrefutable proof that Jesus’ power was from God, not Satan (see comments on 12:38–42).
But a sign can be interpreted different ways.1 The Pharisees and Sadducees want a sign from God, most likely one that will be displayed in the skies. Although their request appears innocent enough, Matthew emphasizes that they are not asking in good faith. They are looking to “test” or “tempt” (peirazo) Jesus, the same word used for Jesus’ temptations by Satan (4:1). They want a sign that they can use against him.
Jesus sees through their ruse and calls them to be accountable for the signs of his messianic identity and mission that he has already displayed (cf. 11:2–6): “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” People who live close to nature are aware of daily patterns and irregularities in those patterns that might portend future natural phenomena. There are numerous maxims or proverbial expressions that capture such signals from nature. Mariners, for example, are notorious for developing maxims that predict the patterns of weather, which they must heed daily, if not hourly, in order to conduct safe passage on the seas, such as the well-known saying, “Red skies at night, sailor’s delight; red skies in the morning, sailor’s warning.”
Jesus uses a similar maxim drawn from his cultural milieu to contrast the religious leaders’ familiarity with natural phenomena in the “sky” (ouranos, 16:3) with the supernatural phenomena from “heaven” (ouranos, 16:1) that they request, but about which they are so spiritually blind that they cannot recognize it. Because the Jewish religious leaders are not seeking in good faith, the only validating sign Jesus will give them of his messianic authority will be his resurrection, which will be like the appearance of Jonah to the Ninevites (see 12:40–41).
“The sign of Jonah” is not some kind of sign that Jonah brings. Rather, Jonah is the sign. His appearance was the sign to the people of Nineveh that his message was from the God, who had rescued him from death (Jonah 3:1–5). Jesus’ resurrection from the dead will be the sign of judgment to the generation that hears his message.2 The actions of the pagan people of Nineveh who repented at Jonah’s preaching forms the judgment on all who do not repent at Jesus’ announcement of the arrival of the kingdom of God, including the Jewish religious leaders who stubbornly refuse (Jonah 3:1–5; cf. Luke 11:29). The apostle Peter in his dramatic sermon at Pentecost will point to Jesus’ resurrection as the conquest of Hades that seals the guilt of the house of Israel for crucifying Jesus (cf. Acts 2:22–36).
Jesus has already performed many miracles publicly, some of which the religious leaders witnessed firsthand (cf. 12:9–14, 22). To those with eyes of faith, his miracles validate his identity as the Messiah. If the religious leaders were open to God’s message, they had enough of a sign that Jesus truly is the Messiah. Instead, their hard hearts have rejected the miracles’ authenticating power and use those same miracles as the basis of the charge that he is a satanic tool (12:24). Jesus recognizes their evil motive, so he refuses to fall into their trap of giving them further ammunition, and Matthew narrates ominously, “Jesus then left them and went away.”
Spiritual Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (16:5–12)
ONCE MORE CROSSING the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples apparently traverse from the Jewish sector on the northwest shore to the Gentile northeast shore, heading to the district of Caesarea Philippi (cf. 16:13). Jesus has wrapped up the bulk of his Galilean ministry and will return to Jewish Galilee (17:22, 24) only to prepare for his journey south to Judea (cf. 19:1).
Since the disciples have forgotten to bring along provisions for what now appears to be an extended trip (16:5–17:20), Jesus takes the occasion to instruct them about the Pharisees and Sadducees who have just tried to entrap him: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Jesus earlier used yeast as a positive metaphor to represent the permeating nature of the kingdom of heaven (see comments on 13:33). Now he uses it as a negative metaphor to indicate how the evil of disintegration and corruption can permeate what is good (e.g., Ex. 12:8, 15–20).
The prior use of yeast in the parable of the mystery of the kingdom of heaven should have prepared the disciples to understand that he was using it metaphorically again, but they are so preoccupied with their physical needs that they overlook the direction of Jesus’ spiritual teaching. Discipleship to Jesus implies that they should be spiritually sensitive to his teaching, for they have received spiritual eyes and ears for understanding (13:10–17). Their lack of understanding implies that they are not acting like true disciples; instead, they are acting like the crowds, or worse yet, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who demand spectacular signs. The disciples have not remembered the miracles, which all along have acted as a confirmation of his identity and were designed to induce faith in those with receptive ears and hearts.
But Jesus patiently leads these fumbling disciples into the meaning that he intends them to understand. “Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Their openness to his teaching about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees leads to their understanding the threat that these religious leaders are to Jesus and his mission.3
The way Matthew refers to “the teaching [yeast] of the Pharisees and Sadducees” implies a teaching that these two groups hold in common. Jesus knows full well that there are significant differences between the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees (see comments on 22:23–33; see also Acts 23:6–10). Jesus is not suggesting here that the Pharisees and Sadducees share the same overall theological outlook, but he is aware that these two groups have a united conviction about him that is evil. They are cooperating in their opposition to him. Jesus cannot be the fulfillment of messianic expectations because he does not fulfill their nationalistic expectations. In their own unique ways, the Pharisees and Sadducees were each expecting a political/militaristic fulfillment of Israel’s gaining universal preeminence among the nations. Since Jesus is not fulfilling their expectations, these groups attempt to dissuade the crowds, and even Jesus’ disciples, from following him.
Who Is the Son of Man? (16:13–14)
JESUS CONTINUES TO move away from Galilee, going into the predominantly Gentile area to the north-northeast of the Sea of Galilee called Caesarea Philippi. This region was governed by Philip the Tetrarch, one of Herod the Great’s three sons.4 Philip was sixteen years old when he was given the region, and he ruled for thirty-seven years. He married Salome, the daughter of Herodias, the girl who had danced at the infamous scene at which Herod Antipas beheaded John the Baptist (cf. 14:6–11; Josephus, Ant. 18.5.4 §§136–37).
At the time that Jesus and his disciples traveled there, Caesarea Philippi was an important Greco-Roman city, whose population was primarily pagan Syrian and Greek. This region, long a bastion of pagan worship to Baal, then to the Greek god Pan, and then to Caesar, becomes the site where Jesus calls for a decision about his own identity. It is here that the Father reveals to Peter that Jesus is truly the prophesied Messiah (16:13–20).
To this point in his ministry Jesus has used the relatively enigmatic expression “Son of Man” as a title to reveal his true identity and mission (see comments on 8:20; occurrences of this title up to here include 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8; 13:37–43). Other titles that he may have rightfully claimed, such as Messiah or Son of David, evoked popular militaristic and political images among the people that would have caused them to overlook his uniqueness and the message of spiritual salvation and liberation. Jesus will continue to use the expression Son of Man to clarify his identity and mission (see 16:27–28; 17:9–12; 19:28; 20:18, 28; 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 44; 25:31; 26:2, 24, 45, 64), but at this pivotal time, having basically concluded his Galilean mission, he attempts to elicit from his disciples not only what the people have gleaned, but also what his disciples have come to understand about him.
Thus, Jesus asks, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (16:13). The disciples’ response is striking. They have heard several reports from the people about their understanding of the identity of the Son of Man, including some who say that he is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets (16:14). Each response indicates a prophet, in line with one of the popular messianic expectations held in Israel. This goes back to the strand of prediction about a great prophet who would arise. Included in this strand are the eschatological prophet of Moses’ prophecy (Deut. 18:15–18),5 the return of Elijah (Mal. 4:5; see comments on Matt. 17:12–13), and the anticipated return of Old Testament prophetic figures such as Isaiah and Jeremiah (4 Ezra 2:18).6
Like the earlier reaction by Herod Antipas (14:2), some think Jesus is John the Baptist raised from the dead, perhaps revealing a curious strand of superstitious belief in reincarnation. A few Jews like Philo were influenced by Plato and other sources and so accepted reincarnation within their worldview. However, most Palestinian Jews believed in the bodily resurrection anticipated at the end of the age (Dan. 12:2).
Those who thought that the Son of Man was Jesus as John the Baptist raised from the dead possibly thought of the temporary resuscitations that Elijah and Elisha performed in the Old Testament (1 Kings 17:22; 2 Kings 4:34–35). Matthew alone among the Synoptics mentions Jeremiah as one of the prophets associated by the people with Jesus as the Son of Man. Jeremiah is a recurring prophetic voice within this Gospel,7 perhaps recalling the Old Testament prophet as one whose message and ministry were rejected by Israel, just as Jesus’ will be.8 But even the people who have identified him with Jeremiah do not have a clear view of Jesus’ true identity.
Peter’s Confession of Jesus’ Identity (16:15–16)
IT IS NOT enough simply to connect the Son of Man with the prophetic expectation generally. Through the instruction that Jesus has given his disciples about his identity and mission by using the title, they must now give account for whom they understand him to be. So Jesus asks them, “But what about you? . . . Who do you say I am?”
Peter steps forward once again as a leader and spokesperson for the others (cf. comments on 10:29). He declares, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:16). Prior to this, the expression “Christ” has occurred only in Matthew’s narrative; now it is used for the first time by a person to address Jesus directly. “Christ” is a title, the transliteration of the Greek term Christos, which is a translation of the Hebrew term for “anointed” (mašiaḥ). It occurs thirty-nine times in the Old Testament to describe kings (e.g., 2 Sam. 1:14, 16; cf. 1QSa 2:14, 20), priests (e.g., Ex. 28:41; cf. 1QS 9:11), and prophets (e.g., Ps. 105:15; cf. CD 2:12; 5:21–6:1).
“Anointed one” came to be linked in the Jewish mind to David as the anointed king of Israel, with the promise of an “anointed one” who would be the light of hope for the people of Israel. In spite of David’s shortcomings, God had promised him through Nathan the prophet that the house and throne of David would be established forever (2 Sam. 7:11b–16).10 That promise became a fixture of the hope for a coming age of blessing for the nation (e.g., Isa. 26–29, 40), inaugurated by a figure who would bring about the eschatological reign of David’s line (cf. Ps. 2:2; Dan. 9:25–26). By the time of the first century, the term Messiah or Christ denoted a kingly figure who, like David, would triumph in the last days over Israel’s enemies.11
Peter further expresses Jesus’ identity as “the Son of the living God,” an expression that has special significance in the area of Caesarea Philippi with its plethora of ancient Baal, Pan, and Caesar worship. Jesus is the Son of the God who is living, not like those mythical, superstitious figures etched in stone. Even more significantly, this expression bears witness to a relationship that has characterized Jesus and God throughout Matthew. Jesus is uniquely God’s Son—testified as such in his conception (1:21–23), in his return from Egypt (2:15), at his baptism (3:17), at his temptations (4:2, 5), and during exorcisms (8:29). Throughout this Gospel, Jesus continually lays claim to a unique relationship with his heavenly Father.12
This also points back to the profound prophecy of David’s line, “I will be his father, and he will be my son” (2 Sam. 7:14), which spoke immediately of Solomon, but also of the future messianic line. The successor to the line was to be God’s Son, as the Old Testament and later Jewish writings reveal. Psalm 2, one of the magnificent royal psalms that speaks of the consecration and coronation of the Lord’s Anointed, the Davidic King, declares, “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’ ” (Ps. 2:7; cf. 89:27). The first century B.C. Psalms of Solomon express a combined hope of son and king: “Behold, O Lord, and raise up unto them their king, the son of David, at the time you have foreseen, O God, to rule over Israel your servant” (Pss. Sol. 17:21).13
Peter’s confession is not the first recognition of Jesus as Messiah, but it is the fullest to this point.14 The proper sense of Jesus as the “Christ” can only be understood in conjunction with Peter’s additional statement that he is the “Son of the living God.” He has a special relationship to God that sets him apart from any other kind of messianic figure. Jesus is Messiah with a unique status as the Son of God (see the confirmation of this in 16:17).15
But Peter confesses more than he really understands about Jesus’ identity, and he does not yet fully understand Jesus’ mission, because he will soon attempt to deter Jesus from his redemptive objective (cf. 16:22). But his understanding is certainly increasing, as is that of the rest of the Twelve, as they pay attention to God’s revelation of who Jesus is and what he has come to accomplish.
Jesus’ Pronouncements About Peter (16:17–20)
ONCE PETER MAKES his grand confession about Jesus, Jesus in turn makes a grand pronouncement about Peter. These verses have an obvious parallelism that helps to understand Jesus’ words. There are three parallel groups of three clauses (tristichs), with the first line of each unit setting the theme or making a pronouncement about Peter, and the second and third lines (composed in antithetic parallelism) forming an explanation or consequence of each first line.16
(1) Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,
for this was not revealed to you by man,
but by my Father in heaven. (16:17)
(2) And I tell you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (16:18)
(3) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (16:19)
(1) Peter is the recipient of blessed revelation (16:17). Jesus’ first statement concerns the blessing that Peter has received. The Greek word for “blessed’ (makarios) is the same as that found in the Beatitudes of the SM (see comments on 5:3). As there, this is not a conferral of blessing but an acknowledgment that Peter has been blessed personally by a revelation from God, Jesus’ Father (cf. 5:3–11; 11:6; 13:16; 24:46). Peter’s blessed condition results from the privilege of receiving revelation from Jesus’ Father.17 Jesus contrasts what humans have discerned about him on their own (“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”) to what his disciples have gleaned through his instruction and the Father’s revelation.
Although Peter apparently acts as spokesman for the group, Jesus’ reply is directed to Peter himself. Each of his pronouncements about Peter is the second person singular: Peter is the personal recipient of revelation from the Father, which is a personal blessing to him. Nevertheless, what Peter confesses has already been confessed by all the disciples (cf. 14:33),18 and the expression of blessedness is similar to that already attributed to all the disciples, who have received a revelation of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (cf. 13:11, 16).19
Peter is obviously singled out, yet he is still within the circle of disciples, so he is not being set apart from or above the rest.20 Indeed, as spokesman he represents the common view of the group, and the blessing and revelation may be obliquely directed to the group as well. His confession is an answer for the disciples (16:15–16) and provokes a charge to all the disciples (16:20). Perhaps it is best to say that Peter is individually singled out for his act of leadership in making the confession, yet his leadership role is from within the circle of disciples. Even with the pronouncement about Peter’s special role, the rest of the disciples will also be included in similar roles (e.g., 18:18–20).
Peter is “Simon son of Jonah,” which harks back to his original Jewish name (4:18; 10:2; cf. John 1:42, which gives an Aramaic alternative, “son of John”). By calling attention to the full name, Jesus may be emphasizing the “humanness” of Simon and his natural father as opposed to the “supernaturalness” of the revelation-inspired confession from the divine Father of Jesus.
(2) Peter, the rock, and the everlasting church (16:18). The second tristich begins with “and I tell you,” a phrase that carries a tone of consequence stemming from Peter’s statement in 16:16. Jesus calls Peter here by the name he had given him when Simon was first called, transliterated from Aramaic in John 1:42 as Kephas. As John specifies, the name Peter (Petros) is the Greek equivalent for Kephas. Jesus’ earlier statement was prophecy, now it is fact. Some understand this to be the occasion of the giving of the name,21 but more likely this is a pronouncement prompted by the confession of Peter who already bears the name.22
This is one of the most discussed, debated, and researched verses in Scripture,23 and it contains three significant features that must be interpreted to understand clearly Jesus’ intention for Peter and the church to come: the relationship of Peter to “this rock,” the nature of the “church,” and the meaning of the “gates of Hades” in relationship to the church.
(a) Peter and the rock. The first feature is a well-known wordplay in Greek: “You are Peter [Petros], and on this rock [petra] I will build my church.” In Aramaic, almost certainly the language Jesus spoke on this occasion, the same word (kephaʾ ) would have been used for both “Peter” and “rock.” Translating it into Greek, Matthew would naturally use the feminine noun petra for “rock,” since it is the most common and closest equivalent to kephaʾ.24 But when it came to recording the wordplay in Greek, Matthew had to use the less common masculine noun (petros) in the first half of the wordplay, for he would not refer to Peter with a feminine noun.25 Nevertheless, the use of the two different Greek words does not change the basic meaning of the wordplay, for petros and petra were at times used interchangeably.26 In essence Jesus is saying: “You are Rock, and on this rock I will build my church.”
This helps interpret the meaning of the wordplay, which has been interpreted in three primary ways. (i) Drawing on the close relationship of the terms in both Aramaic and Greek and the syntactical prominence of the person confessing, one view stresses that the most obvious intent of the wordplay is to refer to Peter. Peter will play a foundational role in the establishment of Jesus’ church.27
(ii) The second view rejects any notion of the church being built on a human person and bases its argument on the distinction between Petros and petra. The demonstrative pronoun “this” points away from Peter as a person and specifies an aspect of him.28 In this view it is the truth of Peter’s confession29 or his faith30 expressed in his confession that is the rock on which the church will be built.
(iii) The last view likewise claims that Jesus intends a contrast between Petros and petra, but it differs by observing that other New Testament passages refer to Christ as the “rock”31 and the “foundation”32 and that Jesus refers to himself as the rock on which the church will be built. This view likewise contends that the demonstrative pronoun “this” points away from Peter, but it points to Jesus himself.33
Each view has its strengths, but several considerations combine to point to the first view—Jesus intends Peter as the antecedent to “this rock” on which he will build his church. (i) Jesus’ pronouncement is directed toward Peter personally, both before and after the wordplay, and it is unlikely that a change of reference would have been made without some explicit indication. (ii) The copulative “and” (kai) more naturally signals identification of the halves of the wordplay than contrast: “You are Peter and upon this rock. . . .” Contrast is necessary if the saying points to the confession or Christ. (iii) “Peter” is the nearest explicit antecedent to “rock,” and in general the nearest antecedent is preferred over an implied or more distant antecedent unless something in the context specifies another referent. (iv) The Aramaic substratum almost certainly identifies Peter as the intended antecedent (as does the interchangeability of the terms petros and petra). The likelihood of Jesus speaking Aramaic on this occasion is more probable than positing that Jesus was speaking Greek.34
Thus, the most natural reading of the wordplay is to see that Jesus points to Peter as one who will play a foundational role in the establishment of his church. This notion is consistent with the way in which from the beginning Peter has been spokesman and leader of the Twelve. Jesus recognizes the leadership role Peter is beginning to assume by this time and promises to extend it in laying the foundation of the church.
This facet is borne out in the historical record. Jesus appears to Peter after the resurrection (Luke 24:34) and gives him special encouragement to feed Jesus’ sheep (John 21). Peter holds a leadership position among the disciples prior to Pentecost (Acts 1:15–26), at Pentecost (2:14, 37–38), and after Pentecost (e.g., 3:4, 6, 12; 4:8; 8:14–25; 10:9–11:18). Peter has a unique function and position in laying the foundation of the church. This does not mean that he builds the church (Jesus says, “I will build my church”), but he is important in the first days of its formation. Note that he disappears from the narrative of Acts after the foundation is laid (Acts 16 and on).35
Although Peter’s foundational role was later taken to an extreme by the Roman Catholic Church to invest Peter with an authority and a succession of leadership,36 we should not go to the opposite extreme and deny the natural reading of the wordplay. As D. A. Carson notes, “if it were not for Protestant reactions against extremes of Roman Catholic interpretation, it is doubtful whether many would have taken ‘rock’ to be anything or anyone other than Peter.”37
(b) Peter, Jesus, and the church. The second phrase of this first saying to Peter gives a prediction of Jesus’ new community, the church. Matthew is the only evangelist to use the term “church” (ekklesia; cf. 18:18), which brings to mind the “community/assembly [qahal] of the LORD” (Deut. 23:3; cf. 5:22). In his selection of the twelve disciples/apostles to go with his message of fulfillment to Israel (Matt. 10:1–6), Jesus here points ahead to the time when his disciples, his family of faith (12:48–50), will be called “my church.” This will be the fellowship of disciples who, unlike national Israel, will believe in Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, the Son of the living God (16:16), and will leave all other allegiances behind as they receive mercy and forgiveness of sin and likewise demonstrate toward each other mercy and forgiveness (see comments on 18:15–35).
Jesus will build his church, but it will come about through the foundational activity of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20). Peter will be the leader among the apostles, but once he has fulfilled that role, he will pass off the scene. His position is not passed on to others. And it will soon be apparent that unless Peter continues to be open to the leading of Jesus’ Father, he will compromise his leadership role (Matt. 16:22–23).
But even though Peter appears to be the antecedent to “this rock,” the reference should not be understood too narrowly. “Peter” denotes more than just the person. It is the characteristics that make Simon a “rocky ledge” that comprise the wordplay. Note the demonstrative “this.” This rock is everything that Peter is at this very moment. It refers to him as the courageous confessor who steps forward, as the representative spokesman for the disciples, as the blessed recipient of revelation, as the first individual to make a public confession of Christ, and as the one who leads the disciples forward into realms of expression of faith. Upon this Peter Jesus will build his church. If Simon functions in this way, he is the rock; if he does not, he can become a stumbling block (16:23).
At the same time, Jesus’ pronouncement is not a conferral of unique, individual supremacy. Peter is given a special recognition for all he is and is to be, but he is never placed above or apart from the disciples. This is also borne out in New Testament church history. Peter is almost always together with other disciples. Early in Acts he appears as the recognized leader, but at the Jerusalem council James shares the leadership (cf. Acts 15:13–21). Thereafter Peter disappears from the narrative and Paul is the one who receives special notice for continuing the work of the church. Peter is crucial for his role in the foundation of the church, but he is not the only part of the foundation (cf. Eph. 2:19; Rev. 21:14).
(c) Jesus and his everlasting church (16:18). As Jesus looks down the long corridor of history and even at the corridor that leads him to the cross, he gives an absolute promise that his church will endure to the end of the age: “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (18:18). Hades, or Sheol, is the realm of the dead, and the word “gates,” which are essential to the security and might of a city, indicates power. So the expression “gates of Hades” in the Old Testament and later Jewish literature,38 which is basically the same as the “gates of death,”39 referred to the realm and power of death. Jesus thus promises that death will not overpower the church, his own family of faith (cf. Matt. 12:48–50).
In just a short while Jesus will give the first of four predictions of his coming death. This will be hard for his disciples to handle, so here Jesus gives not only an enigmatic allusion to his coming death but also to his power over death. Even though his enemies will kill him, death will not prevail over him.40 Note Peter’s own first powerful sermon at Pentecost, when he declared that in Jesus’ resurrection the reality of the prophetic hope of the conquest of Hades (“death” in NIV) had occurred (Acts 2:31). And even though the new community will face martyrdom and persecution, the church will never die. Jesus’ victory over death is living proof that he will continue to build his church against all the forces of death.41
(3) Peter, the keys, and binding and loosing (16:19). The building metaphor of the preceding pronouncement leads naturally to a discussion of “keys” in this final pronouncement about Peter. In all cases here, the pronouns used or implied are second person singular.
(a) The keys of the kingdom of heaven. The “keys” metaphor could point to a “generic power” given to Peter alone42 or to his “authority” over the house of God.43 But the building metaphor of the preceding saying more closely prepares for Jesus to pronounce Peter’s role in opening or shutting the doors to the kingdom of heaven.44 This saying gives a declaration about entrance to the kingdom, but authority is not too far removed: Peter is given the authority to admit entrance to the kingdom of heaven.
In this way Peter stands in contrasts to the scribes and Pharisees, who shut off entrance to the kingdom (23:13).45 Peter’s mission is to give people access to the kingdom, and this mission involves especially his preaching of the gospel.46 Peter, the representative disciple who gives the first personal declaration of the Messiah’s identity, is the one in the book of Acts who opens the door of the kingdom to the Jews on Pentecost (Acts 2), to the Samaritans (Acts 8), and finally to the Gentiles (Acts 10). The entrance image is foremost in view, and therefore “the keys refer to the fact that chronologically Peter, acting as the representative of Jesus, was the first to announce the message.”47 Note that even though the Samaritans had “believed” through the preaching of Philip (8:4–13), Peter had to go there in order for them to receive the Holy Spirit as confirmation to the early church that God had now included the Samaritans (8:14–17).48 Once Peter used the keys to open the door to the kingdom of God, he passes from the scene. The door to the kingdom now stands open throughout the ages, so the keys are no longer needed.
(b) Binding and loosing. In rabbinic literature, “binding and loosing” describes the authority of the rabbis in teaching and discipline to declare what is forbidden or permitted and thus to impose or remove an obligation by a doctrinal decision.49 Some therefore suggest that Peter is given authority as a “supreme rabbi” who applies binding interpretations in the life of the church.50 However, since the keys metaphor suggests that Peter is given authority to open the door to the kingdom of heaven, the binding and loosing metaphor continues that theme by indicating that Peter is the one who is given authority to declare the terms under which God grants entrance to, and exclusion from, the kingdom.
Peter’s authority is tied directly to his confession. Through the revelation of the Father and the personal confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Peter receives a blessing and becomes the foundation of the church. His confession is a condensation of the gospel, and through Peter’s preaching of the gospel and the preaching of others who follow him, sins are forgiven and entrance gained to the kingdom.
Two passages that help clarify the meaning are Matthew 18:18 and John 20:22b–23. (i) The former passage describes forgiveness or retention of sins within the church and illustrates that the disciples as a whole have a responsibility for declaring the terms under which sins are forgiven or a brother is excommunicated from the fellowship of the local church. As parallel statements, these sayings of Jesus are the basis for entrance or banishment from the kingdom (16:19) and the local church (18:18).51 Both sayings relate to forgiveness of sin.
(ii) John 20:22b–23 also concerns the forgiveness of sins. The reception of the Holy Spirit by all the disciples will enable them to declare the terms under which God has forgiven or retained sins. The periphrastic future tense in Matthew 16:19 (lit., “shall have been bound . . . shall have been loosed”) has the same flavor. The passive voice of these verbs and the phrase “in heaven” are Semitic circumlocutions for describing the action of God.52 In other words, what Peter and the disciples do in this present age has already been determined by God.53 Peter is only an instrument God uses, because God alone can grant forgiveness of sin and entrance to the kingdom. He is given authority to declare the terms under which God forgives or retains sins.54
This third pronouncement isolates both the unique and representative roles of Peter. Peter alone receives the keys because once the door to the kingdom of heaven is unlocked, there is no more need for keys. Once Peter opens the doors to Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles, all the disciples will continue to proclaim the gospel because all of them share the authority of “binding” and “loosing” (cf. 18:18; John 20:22b–23). People who receive the gospel are loosed from their sins so that they can enter the open door to the kingdom. People who reject the gospel message are bound in their sins, which will prevent them from entering the kingdom.
Jesus warns against his public identification as the Christ (16:20). A regular feature of Jesus’ ministry was to demand secrecy about his identity and mission (see comments on 8:4; cf. 9:30; 12:16; 16:20; 17:9). He carefully avoided stirring up in the crowds a misunderstanding of his messianic identity. The title “Christ/Messiah” carried for the populace connotations of political-military liberation, and they could easily misunderstand his message to mean that he had come to begin the revolution. Peter’s confession has released Jesus’ identity as the Messiah/Christ, but it is still subject to misunderstanding by the crowds and even by his own disciples, as even Peter will soon display. So Jesus warns his disciples not to disclose further to the crowds that he is the Messiah. His message must be understood to focus on entrance to the kingdom of heaven, which will come about as people are loosed from their sins.
Jesus Messiah Predicts His Suffering and Resurrection (16:21–23)
MATTHEW NOTES THE transitional nature of this scene in Caesarea Philippi with the phrase “from that time on” (16:21). This phrase has occurred earlier only in 4:17, where it marked the initiation of Jesus’ mission to Israel in Galilee. Here it marks the conclusion of his Galilean mission and the initiation of his journey to Jerusalem and the mission of the cross. The revelation of Jesus’ true identity by his heavenly Father to Peter is now matched by Jesus’ revelation of his true mission to the disciples. It is not an optional mission. Even as the religious leaders came from Jerusalem to try to catch him and his disciples in a transgression of the law, they are even now assembling against him. So he “must go to Jerusalem” to face his suffering at their hands.
The consciousness of the coming cross clearly is not a new idea to Jesus. We do not know when he first understood this to be the fate of his earthly mission, even as we do not know when he first understood his messianic identity. As a boy of twelve he had at least the rudiments of understanding his uniqueness, when “my Father’s house” had a special significance in his self-identity (Luke 2:49). Now he reveals that his earthly mission must involve suffering, and more.
The suffering and risen Messiah (16:21). This is the first of four times in which Jesus predicts his arrest and crucifixion (16:21; 17:22–23; 20:17–19; 26:2), but as much as he tries to get his disciples to understand the necessity of that mission, they continually misapprehend its significance. Instead of being a revolutionary liberator, Jesus will be a suffering Messiah, something that even his own disciples, let alone the crowds, have great difficulty fathoming. By claiming the necessity of suffering death at the hands of the religious leadership of Jerusalem, Jesus begins to reveal the ultimate destiny and purpose for his life’s ministry. Nothing must deter him from his mission. While this in a sense is martyrdom (the act of choosing death rather than renouncing one’s religious principles), it is not martyrdom in the traditional sense.55 While others in Jewish history had experienced martyrdom, it was for them a consequence of their convictions; for Jesus it is the purpose of his entrance to history (cf. 20:28).
The single article that refers to three groups responsible for Jesus’ suffering (“the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law”) indicates the combined leadership of Jerusalem. “Elders” is a generic title for anyone whose age, experience, and character has resulted in a position of leadership within groups such as the Pharisees and Sadducees. The “chief priests” are part of the ruling aristocracy over primarily Judea during the reigns of the Hasmoneans, Herod, and the Roman governors. They came from four prominent families of chief priests who dominated Jewish affairs in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus up to A.D. 70. They alternately supplied the offices of the high priest, captain, and treasurers of the temple.56 The “teachers of the law” or “scribes” were professional interpreters of the law, especially associated with the Pharisees in the Gospels (see comments on 8:19; cf. 12:38; 21:15).57
But not only does Jesus give the first prediction of his impending suffering and death at the hands of the official leadership in Jerusalem, he also gives the first prediction of his resurrection: “and that . . . on the third day [he] be raised to life” (16:21). The passive voice used here testifies to the Father’s activity in protecting his Son from the “gates of Hades” (16:18). Jesus’ earlier allusion to being in the earth three days and three nights is now directly related to his death, burial, and resurrection.58 “After three days” is the typical way of referring to any portions of days and nights (see comments on 12:40). Jesus’ resurrection will be the event that transforms his disciples into the foundation of the church (see comments on 28:1–20), though for now they cannot understand the significance of what Jesus predicts.
Peter’s presumption (16:22–23). With audacious presumption Peter steps forward, likely once again as spokesman for the rest of the shocked disciples, to try to save his Master from the announced fate of suffering. Within Jewish master-disciple relationships it was unthinkable that a disciple would correct his master, let alone “rebuke” him,59 as Peter does here. By addressing him as “Lord,” Peter is not thinking of Jesus as his divine Master but rather is once again trying to fit him into his human understanding, so the title reflects only a respectful form of address. By attempting to admonish Jesus, Peter sinks to new depths of human misunderstanding. The Greek construction used here (ou me plus a future tense verb) is one of the strongest negations in Greek, as though Peter himself will intervene and not let his Master suffer and die at the hands of the religious leadership in Jerusalem.
Although this may appear to reflect appropriate concern, Jesus understands the source of Peter’s admonition: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Satan tried to tempt Jesus away from carrying out the Father’s will at the start of his earthly ministry (see comments on 4:1–11). Now he uses a different strategy by trying to hinder Jesus’ mission through Peter, one of Jesus’ own disciples, the same one who has just been privy to a revelation from God the Father (16:17). A “stumbling block” is an obstacle in a path, but it becomes a metaphor for something that causes a person to sin or falter in one’s faith (cf. 13:41; 18:7; the cognate verb occurs in 11:6).60 Peter has his own ideas about the path of the Messiah, but he must know God’s plans. There are only two choices: God’s way or Satan’s way. God’s ways are often quite different from human ways.
Peter here sets his mind on human ways, not on God’s. He may have gotten carried away with his own significance in understanding Jesus’ identity and mission, which made him vulnerable to Satan’s temptation. He undoubtedly thinks he is protecting Jesus. But as one commentator notes, “Jesus recognizes here His old enemy in a new and even more dangerous form. For none are more formidable instruments of temptation than well-meaning friends, who care more for our comfort than for our character.”61 Jesus will now show Peter that God’s way is the way of the cross, for him and for all disciples.
The Cost of Discipleship (16:24–28)
JESUS NOW TURNS from Peter to all of the disciples to reveal one of the central principles of discipleship: A disciple must take up his (or her) own cross and follow Jesus.
Taking up one’s cross (16:24). In the first century, crucifixion was one of the most feared forms of execution, used effectively by the Romans as a strong deterrent against insurrection or rebellion in the provinces of the empire. It was a dreadful way to die. Condemned victims were often forced to carry a crossbeam to the scene of crucifixion (see comments on 27:26, 35). There they were nailed to the crossbeam, which in turn was nailed to the upright beam, and the entire cross was hoisted into place.
The horror of the cross will be Jesus’ tragic fate. Among the Jews crucifixion was viewed as a terrible and shameful death,62 but it could also be associated with an innocent sufferer or martyr.63 Jesus follows on the latter understanding. But in what must have been to the disciples a shocking shift of emphasis, he uses the cross and crucifixion as an image of discipleship. Although the image is often understood by modern society as bearing up under some personal hardship or life’s cruel fate, as used here by Jesus the cross has a much more profound significance: One must die to his or her own will and take up God’s will (cf. 16:25–26).
Jesus’ path of suffering and death on the cross is the ultimate example of obedience to the Father’s will.64 Indeed, the cross symbolizes the central purpose for Jesus’ life, as he will cry out to the Father in the garden just prior to his betrayal and crucifixion, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (26:39). The cross is for Jesus and those who follow him in discipleship a metaphor of the Father’s will for a disciple’s life. It involves the negative, “denying self” (a person’s own will for his or her life), and the positive, “taking up the cross” (accepting God’s will) and “following Jesus” (putting it into practice).
The apostle Paul points to the cross as the historical event in which Jesus’ death is bound up with all components of salvation and the development of the Christian life, among which are justification (Rom. 3:21–26), reconciliation (Col. 2:11–14), and regeneration (Gal. 2:19–20). This makes the cross not only a horrid reminder of the death of the Son of God but also an irreplaceable symbol of grace and a stark, matchless image of the Christian life of discipleship.
The reasons for taking up one’s cross (16:25–28). Verses 25–27, each beginning with “for” (gar; the NIV does not translate gar in v. 26), give three related reasons for the necessity of taking up the cross of discipleship.65 The first two reasons, set forth in paradoxical rhetorical parallelism, emphasize the urgency of the preeminence of God’s will for a person’s life by a person’s responding to and remaining in Jesus’ summons to experience life in the kingdom of God. The Greek word psyche is behind “life” in 16:25 and “soul” in 16:26; the emphasis is the same in both verses, for this word indicates existence beyond physical survival and success.
(1) Saving and losing one’s soul (16:25). The person who tries to hang on to his own will and reject what God desires for him ultimately loses eternally all that he is attempting to protect in this life. Paradoxically he might go to the most extreme lengths to preserve physical existence or to try to discover the essence of his existence, but in the end, apart from being in the center of God’s will, there is nothing for him but death for his soul. On the other hand, the person who lets loose of her own self-centered desires and accepts God’s will for her discovers true life—salvation and righteousness and the fulfillment that she gains as she receives the reality of life in the kingdom of heaven.
Losing one’s life to Jesus means giving over one’s own will to follow him alone in discovering God’s will as the central, driving force for one’s life. This concept echoes later in Paul’s declaration, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17). The new life of the kingdom of God is discovered only by giving over to Jesus one’s old life and finding new life in following him.
(2) The value of a kingdom soul (16:26). All of the physical riches, pleasures, and powers of this world will do no one any ultimate good if one “forfeits” his or her spiritual existence. The word “exchange” (antallagma), found in the New Testament only here and in the parallel in Mark 8:37, occurs twice in Sirach, both expressing something beyond comparative value: faithful friends and a devoted wife (Sir. 6:15; 26:13–14). Here the term emphasizes the incomparable value of discovering true restoration of life and salvation for one’s soul within Jesus’ summons to the kingdom of heaven. We come into this life with empty hands, and we will go out just as empty. The acquisition of all the world has to offer cannot match the blessed riches of finding true life through obeying God’s will in following Jesus’ summons to the kingdom of God. At the end of this life we are each measured by the health of our souls, not the wealth of our estates. The apostle Paul understood clearly the comparative value of his old life in the religious establishment of Israel versus the life he found in his discipleship to Jesus:
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (Phil. 3:7–9)
(3) The reward of gaining kingdom life for one’s soul (16:27–28). It is urgently necessary to take up one’s cross in discipleship, because the coming of the Son of Man will bring an abrupt accounting as to whether each person has taken up God’s will by responding to Jesus’ call to kingdom life (16:27). Whether at the end of one’s life or at the unexpected time of the return of the Son of Man in glory, we must all account for the choices we have made.
Although the Son of Man will die (16:21), he will also come in glory, an allusion to the prophecy of Daniel 7:13–14 (see further comments by Jesus in Matt. 19:28; 24:30–31; 25:31). The juxtaposition of Jesus’ dying and coming in glory provoked misunderstanding in at least some of his first disciples (cf. 20:17–22), and it also provokes discussion of Jesus’ intended meaning among modern interpreters. Behind the expression “the Son of Man is going to come” is the verb mello (lit., “I am about to”), which is ambiguous. The verb can be used to indicate something that is going to be undertaken in the near future. For example, it is used in the predictions of Jesus’ forthcoming crucifixion (17:12, 22; 20:22; cf. also its use in 2:13 for Herod’s impending search for Jesus). But the verb also refers to the indeterminate time of judgment that John the Baptist said was “about to come” (3:7); it also refers to the age “to come” (12:32) and to the wars and rumors of wars that the disciples “will” hear throughout this age until the end (24:6).
So what does Jesus mean by saying that the Son of Man “is going to come” in his glory? As a general principle, the arrival of the Son of Man in glory with his angels will mean judgment for those who have not taken up the cross and reward for those who have. That is a principle that extends throughout the ages for all those presented with the gospel invitation.
But then Jesus gives a specific application to the Twelve standing there with him: “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” The phrase “I tell you the truth” typically introduces an important declaration. Here it signals a concluding clarification of the reward that will be given to those who have followed Jesus’ form of discipleship by taking up God’s will as symbolized in the cross. The expression “taste death” is an idiom for “die.” Some of the Twelve standing with Jesus in Caesarea Philippi will remain alive until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Thus, the time frame of judgment and reward is narrowed to a near-future event for the Twelve, but this interpretation is also debated. Does Jesus refer to his transfiguration that immediately follows (17:1–8),66 his resurrection,67 the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, the spread of the kingdom in the preaching of the early church,68 the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in A.D. 70,69 or the Parousia, with the second coming and judgment and final establishment of the kingdom?70
With no other hint in the passage, the immediate context suggests that the event Jesus intends as signaling his coming as Son of Man in his kingdom is the Transfiguration, which immediately follows (see also Mark 9:2–10; Luke 9:28–36). It may seem strange to speak of “some who are standing here will not taste death” to refer to three disciples who will witness the transfiguration in a mere six days.71 But we must remember that Jesus is continuing to call for an urgent response to his kingdom mission that is now headed to the cross. Even among his closest followers Peter has tried to hinder him under the influence of Satan (16:23), and Judas under the possession of Satan will soon betray him (26:21–25, 47–50; cf. John 13:27). The time is drawing short for those in his public ministry to respond to his invitation to enter the kingdom of God. Taking up the cross in discipleship is not something that a person can put off, because death or the coming of the Son of Man will bring with it certain accountability and judgment.
In other words, Jesus is saying to the Twelve that they must weigh carefully whether or not they have truly taken up their cross, because judgment is sooner than they think. Although they may believe that they have an extended time to weigh the options, judgment will come soon, as Judas finds out. Peter, who has just experienced the highs and lows of his own commitment in bearing the cross of kingdom obedience, will later connect the Transfiguration with Jesus’ coming in power, which may have struck him as his own flirtation with judgment.72 He writes in 2 Peter 1:16–18:
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Jesus’ saying, therefore, in this context points to the urgency of his disciples’ taking up their cross. As they will see, Jesus will be transfigured in kingdom glory in just a few days. They must not themselves delay to take up their cross and adopt God’s will for their lives, because in some sense, every day brings with it the possibility of impending reward or judgment.
Bridging Contexts
THE GOSPEL OF Matthew, like the other Gospels, is a story about the arrival of Jesus Messiah and his announcement of the kingdom of God. Other characters and issues come on and off the stage and occupy our attention. When we come to chapter 16, we see the spotlight fixed on Jesus. Matthew calls his readers to see Jesus and his mission on his terms, not their own.
Jesus’ identity. Throughout chapter 16, Matthew’s readers are consistently called to view Jesus from God’s perspective, not from a human perspective. The religious leaders want signs of Jesus’ messianic identity on their own terms, not Jesus’, which results in a pronouncement of judgment that will be sealed with Jesus’ resurrection. As a group, Jesus’ own disciples will be able to discern the evil intentions of the religious leaders only as they pay attention to the revelation of Jesus’ identity that comes from the Father. Human opinion of Jesus’ identity is not adequate, because it only partially understands the Old Testament prophetic hopes. Even Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity, inspired as it is by a revelation from God, is subject to limitation when satanic influence tempts him to fit it all into his human understanding. Those who would understand Jesus most clearly must be guided by the revelation of God the Father as it is clarified by Jesus’ own teaching about his identity and mission.
Matthew knows firsthand the danger of relying on only human understanding. During their time together he watched Judas, who was privy to all that was being revealed about Jesus’ identity and mission. But at the end Judas refused to accept that revelation and took matters into his own hand by betraying Jesus for a human ambition (26:14–16). Matthew also watched Peter, who first confessed Jesus’ identity but then almost immediately attempted to hinder him from God’s intended will of going to the cross (16:22–23). Matthew also will later watch Peter deny he even knows Jesus (26:69–75), a sure sign that Peter is still operating with human insight, not God’s.
Matthew allows us to see that even partial human understanding is ultimately catastrophic. He calls his readers to accept Jesus’ identity and mission on God’s terms, not their own. Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ/Messiah, the Son of the living God, is certainly the core creed of Matthew and his church,73 but it is much more than humans can comprehend on their own. As Messiah, Jesus is more than even Peter fully knows on this occasion and more than the kind of deliverer that many of the oppressed crowds of Israel expect. Jesus is the Messiah, who will deliver his people from their sins. The route he will take to Jerusalem will not be one of political and military conquest but of suffering, dying, and rising again (16:21). Jesus has been revealing in his miraculous ministry his role as the anticipated Suffering Servant (cf. 8:17), but now he explicitly reveals that this is the Father’s purpose for his life.
So to discover Jesus’ identity and mission, Matthew’s readers, including modern readers, must not decipher it according to their own understanding but give over their minds and their hearts to God’s revelation. It is only in doing so that we will find the true life that comes, paradoxically, from Jesus’ cross, and the cross that all those must take up who want to follow him (16:24–27).
Jesus’ church and the kingdom of heaven. Arising from a God-revealed awareness of Jesus’ identity and mission comes a clarification of God’s purposes throughout history. Jesus’ announcement of the kingdom reveals God’s purposes in a way not fully understood by most people. Jesus’ pronouncements to Peter about his role in the foundation of the church and entrance to the kingdom reveal some important markers of God’s purposes in this age.
(1) One mark of God’s purposes in this age is the relationship of Jesus to Israel. Jesus came as a Jew to the Jewish people with the offer of the kingdom of God. But, by and large, Israel rejected Jesus and his message about the kingdom. Nonetheless, a substantial group within Israel did respond in faith. Discipleship to Jesus was commitment to him, which meant that a new disciple could enter into the presence of the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus.
The kingdom, therefore, has entered history in the person of Jesus, and its blessings are demonstrated in the lives of his disciples.74 While some suggest that as the recipients of messianic salvation they replace Israel,75 several passages lead us to conclude that Israel will still have a role in the future. We will later see that the role of carrying out God’s purposes through his kingdom has been taken away from the nation of Israel in the present age, and that Jesus’ disciples currently enjoy both the blessings of the kingdom and the role of carrying the message of the gospel (21:43). But Israel is still kept in view as someday receiving the eschatological fulfillment of Jesus’ kingdom promises (Matt. 10:23; 23:37–39; cf. Rom. 11:25–32; 15:7–13; Rev. 7:1–8).76 The Twelve represent the fulfillment in part of the promises to Israel, but they do not replace Israel or become Israel.
(2) Furthermore, the juxtaposition of sayings concerning the church (16:18) and the kingdom of heaven (16:19) gives us further clarification about God’s purposes during this present age. As we noted earlier in Jesus’ ministry, although the kingdom has been inaugurated, its full establishment awaits a future arrival of the King in glory. Therefore, this passage helps us to understand four points about the relationship of the kingdom and the church. (a) The kingdom of God is not the same as the church. The kingdom is the presence of the king who has come to inaugurate the fulfillment of God’s salvation-historical redemptive plan by establishing the new covenant blessings of the Spirit. Confession and forgiveness of sin by God allows one to enter it.
(b) The arrival of the kingdom with its salvation-historical fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption creates the church. Jesus challenged men and women to respond to him and enter the kingdom (5:20), which brought them into a new discipleship fellowship in Jesus (12:46–50). The community he created and will build in this age is the church, which is made up of people who have responded to his invitation and entered into the kingdom in the name of the king and now enjoy the blessings of the new covenant. Those who respond to this invitation and receive the work of the Spirit in their lives in regeneration and sanctification in this age are those who make up the body of Christ, the church.
(c) The church has as its central mission to proclaim the reality of the presence of kingdom of God. It must display in this present evil age the life and fellowship of the reality of the kingdom of God, which is an anticipatory witness to the full establishment of the kingdom in power in the age to come. This witness is especially evident in the humility that disciples display as they serve others, not themselves (20:20–28), and in the forgiveness that those who have been forgiven display as they forgive others (18:23–35).
(d) The church is the guardian and instrument of the kingdom. The declaration to Peter that he will be given the keys to the kingdom of heaven indicates that Peter is the one who offers the message that allows entrance to the kingdom. Peter used the keys to open the doors of the kingdom to all people (16:18); that was a one-time act in history. However, all disciples use the same principle as they carry out the Great Commission (28:18–20), declaring the terms under which God forgives sin and allows entrance to the kingdom (cf. 18:15–20; John 20:22–23). The church during this age is the instrument by which the presence of the kingdom is made known through the work of the Spirit.77 And with the resurrection of Jesus the power of death is broken, a sure promise that the gates of Hades will not prevail against the church (Matt. 16:18).
(3) The selection of twelve disciples/apostles shows both continuity with Israel and discontinuity. The church, no longer Israel, is the primary witness to and guardian of the gospel message in this present age. However, this does not deny Israel its future role as witness (e.g., Rev. 7:1–8), nor does it replace Israel’s promise of being recipients of the gospel message as a nation (Matt. 10:23; 23:37–39; Rom. 11:25–33; 15:7–13). At some time in the future, repentant Israel78 will again play a central role, but in this age the church as the body of Christ is the visible manifestation of the reality of kingdom life.
Peter’s role. This is by far the most important passage in Matthew concerning the role of Peter. Jesus’ pronouncement reveals at least six significant features.79
(1) Peter personally is the recipient of revelation from the Father, which makes him blessed. Peter functions as a leader of the Twelve by acting as their spokesman in his confession, and Jesus designates him to have a personal leadership role in the foundation of the church and in the use of the keys of the kingdom.
(2) Peter acts as the spokesman for the disciples. As he declares Jesus’ identity, Peter’s confession represents the confession of all of the disciples. Therefore, as he receives blessing and honor, Peter represents the blessing and honor that all disciples receive.
(3) Peter functions in at least two important ways in the early days of the church. On the one hand, he leads the church as the confessor. His revelation from the Father and his personal courage to give his confession leads all of the disciples into a clearer understanding of Jesus’ identity and mission. This plays a foundational role and sets a trajectory for the ongoing confession of the church and its future growth. On the other hand, Peter leads the fledgling church to accept all peoples as recipients of God’s kingdom blessings. His presence on three critical occasions (Acts 2, 8, 10) signified that God had bestowed his Spirit on all peoples—Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. As the utilizer of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Peter signifies that God has opened the door of salvation-historical blessing for all peoples.
(4) Peter is especially recognized for all he says and does among the disciples, but is never said to rise above them. His leadership is from within; it is a primus inter pares (“first among equals”). Peter will function foundationally in the church, but the other apostles will share a foundational role in the church as well (Eph. 2:20). Although Peter alone receives the keys of the kingdom, he shares with the disciples the binding and loosing of sins for exclusion or entrance to the kingdom once the doors are opened (Matt. 18:18; John 20:23).
(5) Because of the personal nature of the passage, all that is directed to Peter is temporally limited to his lifetime. It is therefore right for us to give due regard to this blessed apostle as one used in a special way in opening the doors of the kingdom of God and in the establishment of the church. But nowhere does Jesus indicate that Peter will play a perpetual role through successors.
(6) Peter represents all the disciples, and since the disciples in Matthew serve as an example for all believers,80 Peter acts as a personal example for all believers. His confession is a model confession for all believers. His courage in stepping forward exemplifies boldness in the face of diverse opinions about Jesus. The way he acts as a spokesman typifies boldness. He is also an example of how entrance is made to the kingdom: through confession and forgiveness of sin. At the same time, with his unique role as a leader among the Twelve, Peter functions as an example for all church leaders. But as we have seen, Peter is also a negative example, as when he follows his own thinking in trying to deter Jesus from the pathway to the cross.
Contemporary Significance
CONSISTENCY. My wife and I raised our daughters and still live in a nice beach community in Southern California, located about halfway between the metropolises of Los Angeles and San Diego. Two blocks from our house is one of my favorite surf spots. The incoming ocean swells encounter a submerged reef about a hundred yards offshore, causing waves to form and break in deep water. The waves take shape like a big A-frame in a center peak that peel off for both right and left hand rides. Taking off on one of those waves, a person can carve the face of the wave all the way in, where on the inside beach-break the wave reforms for a nice barrel ride.
But although this is a really good wave, I’ve only surfed there maybe two or three times in the last year. That may seem surprising. If this place is so good, why don’t I surf there more often? Am I too busy? No, I try to surf other places at least once a week. Is it too dangerous? No, it’s deep enough so there is no real danger of hitting the reef. Is it too crowded? No, you hardly ever see anyone surfing there. Are there sharks there? No again.
Then why don’t I surf there more often? One word—consistency. On a good day, when the circumstances are just right, when the swell is big enough and the tide is low enough, and all the conditions are just right, this place breaks beautifully. But on a bad day, you won’t see any wave out there. That’s why our local break isn’t known as a great surf spot, for the circumstances determine the wave. And the right configuration of circumstances happens sometimes only once or twice a year, if that.
Now you may wonder where I’m going with this, but we don’t have to look too far when we consider the characters in this chapter. A key element for Peter and the rest of the disciples is learning consistency in their discipleship to Jesus. That means especially not allowing their circumstances to determine their faithfulness.
The disciples’ lifelong story emphasizes for us the astonishing grace and gentle, restoring power available in Jesus. None of us has failed so many times that God cannot use us for his successful purposes. But we must learn to continue to focus consistently on Jesus instead of becoming unsettled by circumstances we have never encountered before. This is a major key for consistent discipleship. We can rely on his presence in our lives whatever the circumstances. He will be there to help us make the right decisions, to give us courage in the face of temptation or opposition, or to comfort us in sorrowful situations. This is a vital ingredient for a Christlike life in this world.
The apostle Peter stands throughout history as a significant example of this principle. His personal potential was noteworthy. He was a successful fisherman in the most important Galilean industry. He was a partner in a flourishing business and a homeowner in an area of dire poverty. He was a Jew committed to accepting the unfolding revelation and establishment of God’s salvation-historical program in history. He displayed remarkable courage, spiritual sensitivity, openness to God’s revelation, and willingness to be used in the establishment of God’s purposes on this earth. But he also was swayed by the circumstances of personal fear, public opinion, political trends, and religious legalism.
It is easy for us to judge Peter. But if I am honest with myself, I see my own propensities to be swayed by the variation of my circumstances. I need to appreciate deeply the powerful, courageous stand and role that Peter played in the outworking of salvation history. Yet I must also learn from Peter’s failures. Again, the key is consistency. If we want to be significant in the outworking of God’s plan, we must yield ourselves consistently to his leading in our lives.
Peter’s greatness in his role in the early church did not come from his personal abilities or giftedness. What led to Peter’s great role in church history ultimately comes down to the development of consistency in his commitment to Jesus in all areas of his life. He was able to give himself consistently to God’s ways, God’s work, God’s will—not his own—whatever the circumstances. For that Peter becomes an important example of the way in which our lives can count for God in his calling in our lives—at our work, in our families, in our church, and in our neighborhood—when we develop consistency in our commitment to Jesus as our Master.
Therefore, in Matthew 16 we can see at least three areas where we must develop consistency in our daily walk with Jesus, regardless of our circumstances: consistency in our spiritual perception and reception, consistency in our motivation to know Jesus on his terms rather than ours, and consistency in our willingness to live with the cross.
(1) Consistency in spiritual perception and reception. The perceptiveness of our hearts is different from the perceptiveness of our intellect or mind. We may be the smartest people intellectually with reference to the material world, but we can also be blind to realities that should guide our spiritual development. Often the fundamental problem is an issue of spiritual receptivity. A heart open to spiritual cues will hear God’s voice, whereas a heart hardened against God cannot hear him or see him.81 Matthew draws a continual contrast between bad and good receptivity to Jesus. The religious leaders reject him, guarding their spiritual blindness with a desire for a “sign,” while Jesus’ disciples are learning to be open to him. Jesus refuses to give a sign to the religious leaders because he knows no sign will convince them. But an indication of faithful discipleship is receptivity to the Father’s revelation of Jesus’ identity, even if the disciples do falter.
For us, too, openness to God as his disciples is related to spiritual perception. Jesus is still looking for obedient disciples who have hearts that are sensitive enough to hear God and to respond to his guidance. As Dallas Willard writes, “Hearing God—as a reliable, day-to-day reality for people with good sense—is for those who are devoted to the glory of God and the advancement of his kingdom. It is for the disciple of Jesus Christ who has no higher preference than to be like him.”82
The voice of God is heard first in the Word of God, but also is heard in the wisdom of godly counsel, in the daily ordering of our path, and in his providential care for our daily lives. Willard comments further on those who consistently say that they do not hear the voice of God and therefore are not obedient to him: “Perhaps we do not hear the voice because we do not expect to hear it. Then again, perhaps we do not expect it because we know that we fully intend to run our lives on our own and have never seriously considered anything else.”83 Obedient discipleship means being receptive to God’s voice.
A specific issue in this passage illustrates the point that sensitivity to Jesus’ teaching and trust in him opens the door to spiritual growth. Lack of trust that focuses too much on trivial concerns prevents us from understanding or even hearing the message of Jesus. The issue surfaces with what may seem like an insignificant narrative aside: “When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread” (16:5). This little notation is a hint of something deeper, because an intriguing interchange immediately occurs between Jesus and the disciples. They are confused about their own forgetfulness about bringing provisions for the trip and what they hear in Jesus’ teaching on the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This distraction over their own inadequacy prevents them from hearing Jesus’ real teaching. Only because Jesus persistently probes their obtuseness and explains what he really means are they able finally to get his point. They have not learned appropriate dependence on Jesus to care for their needs.
The disciples should have been prepared. They have just witnessed the feeding of both the five thousand and the four thousand (14:15–21; 15:32–38), so they should be ready to allow Jesus to take care of their material needs, even if their own forgetfulness gets them into difficulty. And they should have remembered clearly Jesus’ earlier teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, where they were taught to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (6:11), and where they were admonished not to worry about what to eat or drink or wear (6:31). When Jesus’ disciples seek first the kingdom, their Father will supply what they need (6:32–33).
This is a tangible example of what it means to seek first the kingdom of God—placing ourselves in a position where we can learn from Jesus about spiritual realities and then receiving what he desires to give us. We are each called to do so. The disciples get into the boat, so they are in physical proximity to learn. But the condition of their spiritual hearts does not allow them to receive his teachings. Their forgetfulness about their personal responsibility to bring bread causes them to be distracted, so they cannot attune their “spiritual ears” to really hear Jesus’ message. Moreover, their forgetfulness about Jesus’ providential care for their needs in the past causes them to overlook his provision in the present.
That is an important balance. One side of the balance focuses on our responsibility. Appropriate attention to our daily responsibilities—paying our bills, spending time with our children, doing our homework, caring for the elderly neighbor—lessens the emotional distractions that keep us from hearing God’s voice. We can sometimes become so distraught because of our failures that we tune God out. Remember that the devil wants us so discouraged when we’ve failed that we think that God doesn’t care about us any more.
The other side of the balance focuses on God’s providential care. God is the One who supplies all that we have, even if we think that it is through our own successful education that we receive a job, that it is through our own careful manipulation of our budget that we are able to care for our children’s educational needs, or that it is through our own brilliant industriousness that we have received a promotion that enabled us to give to the church fund. The difference between us and pagans is that we know and experience God’s hand in every area of our lives. But it takes careful spiritual sensitivity to see his hand. Each time we see his hand operate in our lives, it strengthens our confident reliance on his sustaining hand in the future.
A right kind of balance lives daily, moment by moment, with both truths. One of the most wonderful experiences of our family life has been learning, often with great difficulty, how to live out this balance. For most of our married life my wife and I, and later our children, lived from month to month. We watched carefully our budget and didn’t get into debt. But at several critical junctures God called us to make sacrifices. For a control person like me, it was difficult not to know for sure how the bills would be paid that month. But in each time of sacrifice he miraculously provided for our needs: going to seminary, doing a church planting, starting doctoral work, and leaving a significant income to teach in a Christian college and seminary.
In each of those situations we continued to watch our budget closely and never went into debt, but when we heard God’s voice calling us to a time of sacrificial service, we knew that he would not call us to anything for which he did not supply our needs. I would literally moan and groan and pull at my hair at the beginning of the month as I looked at the budget books. We had been so scrupulous about groceries and buying our daughters adequate clothing, but the month ahead looked bleak. But during the month I’d get an unexpected odd job. Or the family across the street brought over a supply of groceries from the family reunion that didn’t come off. Or my wife’s parents would say that they got an unexpected bonus check and wanted us to have it. I’m an overly proud person and often resisted these acts as though they were an affront to my adequacy. But my wife, who is often much more spiritually attuned to God’s graciousness, would point to God’s hand behind the act. Each time that we saw his providential care, we were more firmly prepared to trust him at the next time of need.
This reinforces the importance of placing ourselves in proximity to where we can learn, such as in a church setting or an individual or group Bible study. But mere proximity doesn’t guarantee adequate reception. Our receptivity to God’s leading and teaching must balance appropriate personal responsibility with adequate reliance on God’s provision.
(2) Consistency in knowing Jesus on his terms, not ours. As we have seen at regular stages through Matthew’s Gospel, consistency was an urgent need for Peter’s development. Peter had his own ideas about the path of the Messiah, but he needed to know God’s plans. God’s ways are often different from our human ways. Peter partially understood Jesus’ messiahship, but when it came to an aspect of God’s program that he did not understand (i.e., Jesus’ going to the cross), he tried to force it into his own understanding. Jesus then referred to him as a “stumbling block.” This was an ominous pronouncement, for it shows that without consistency in his sensitivity to God’s will, Peter “the rock” becomes Peter “the stumbling stone.” Peter has set his mind on human interests, not God’s (cf. 16:21–23).
Peter is often described as a person who is “up and down” in his spiritual development, which we have graphically displayed on page 31 in the introduction. In this passage Peter goes from the highest high to the lowest low. I doubt that there is a Christian who has not shuddered at the potential consequences for Peter, but also for all of us as followers of Jesus, and especially for Christian leaders. We must cling to the restoring grace of God, because in the next chapter Peter will be called with the others in the inner circle to witness Jesus’ transfiguration (17:1). Peter will continue his up-and-down pattern until that fateful time when he denies Jesus. With the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost we can see a dramatic empowering, although he will continue to experience highs and lows in his spiritual development.
The one primary lesson that I take away from Peter’s experiences is that I must not force Jesus into my own understanding but must allow his presence in my life to transform me into his image. That means that in my own personal life as well as in my life as a Christian leader, I must know my God-given potential and then focus on maximizing all to which God has called us. Peter likely got carried away with his importance as the “rock man” and overstepped his responsibilities. At times his passion for living bordered on arrogance. No self-respecting disciple of a rabbi in the first century would have dared rebuke his teacher. Yet Peter tried to hinder Jesus, whom he had just declared to be more than any other rabbi. This was a satanically induced temptation to determine Jesus’ fate.
Arrogance, cockiness, and self-sufficiency are all counterfeits of confidence. Confidence is simply the recognition of what God has given us to do and that we can do it in his strength. To conduct ourselves appropriately as Jesus’ disciples is to understand that we can do nothing of eternal value apart from clearly knowing his will and to experience deeply his enablement. We can each display a rocklike consistency in our lives if we know who we are as created and gifted and called by God (and no more!), and if we then commit ourselves to maximizing all God wants to do through us as his uniquely gifted vessels. To do so is to be motivated only to know Jesus on his own terms, not ours, and to take his calling on our life with deadly seriousness—but not take ourselves too seriously in the process.
(3) Consistency in living with the cross as both invitation and instruction. Another way of learning consistency in our discipleship to Jesus is illustrated by the metaphor of the cross. It not only is the cruel instrument of Jesus’ death and the symbol of the purpose for his incarnation, but it is also emblematic for following him in our own lives. Consistency in our discipleship involves a continual willingness to live with the cross, because taking up our cross to follow Jesus involves both the initiation of the Christian life as well as the ongoing standard of discipleship.
A comparison of the parallel in Mark’s Gospel makes this plain. Mark 8:34 tells us that along with directing this saying to the disciples, Jesus calls the crowds and addresses the saying to them as well. This follows a regular pattern in the Gospels. When Jesus addresses the crowds, he is inviting them to enter the kingdom of God to find salvation in discipleship to him—evangelism. When he addresses the disciples, he is instructing them about their developing life of discipleship—edification (see comments on 5:1–2). Therefore, this saying not only characterizes the way that we enter into the Christian life of discipleship, but also the way in which our devotion to Jesus develops.
This ongoing kind of denial, cross-bearing, and following Jesus is not meant for solitary periods of isolation from regular life, regardless of how helpful some may find those times. Rather, Jesus shows how we are to conduct ourselves in the everyday routines of life. We must learn consistency in living with the cross. To deny ourselves and take up our cross points to the overriding principle of adopting God’s will for our lives over our own will. This initiates our discipleship as we find God’s gracious salvation through Jesus’ own sacrifice of his will to accomplish our redemption on the cross.
But denying our own will for our lives in exchange for God’s will should also characterize our discipleship to Jesus. Do we regularly, day by day, moment by moment, examine what we want in the light of what God wants for us? The further we get along in the kind of exchange, the further our hearts are transformed to love like Jesus (John 13:34–35; 15:12) and the more our minds are trained to think like Jesus (Rom. 12:1–2; Phil. 2:5). We will then experience the kind of life where our daily actions reflect him (2 Cor. 3:16), and the kinds of prayers where we can ask anything in Jesus’ name and have it answered (John 15:7).84
We should note also that Jesus, in directing this teaching to the disciples, is calling them to evaluate themselves even after having made a commitment. He must be poignantly directing this at least in part to Judas, who has not truly denied himself and taken up his cross to follow Jesus. He is a false disciple. He remains his own man, not truly Jesus’ man, with his own eternal dark destiny of judgment. We should not emphasize examining ourselves so heavily that we dissolve the confidence that we should have when we believe on Jesus as the true Son of God for eternal life (cf. 1 John 5:13–15). But persons who have truly denied themselves and have taken up the cross will stand out in this world as they follow Jesus and live his kingdom values in transformed lives.