# Matthew 16 📖: Peter's Confession of Christ [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Matthew Overview]] | [[Matthew 15]] | [[Matthew 17]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### The Demand for a Sign **Principle**: There’s Already Enough in God’s Word to Lead People to Salvation. [[#Verse 01]] Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.  [[#Verse 02]] He said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’  [[#Verse 03]] and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.  [[#Verse 04]] A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away. [[-Jonah Overview]] ### The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees **Principle**: [[#Verse 05]] When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread.  [[#Verse 06]] “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  [[#Verse 07]] So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.”  [[#Verse 08]] When Jesus learned of this, he said, “You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread?  [[#Verse 09]] Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000, and how many baskets you took up?  [[#Verse 10]] Or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you took up?  [[#Verse 11]] How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”  [[#Verse 12]] Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ### Peter’s Confession **Principle**: When we discover Christ, we discover our purpose as well. [[#Verse 13]] When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  [[#Verse 14]] They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  [[#Verse 15]] He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  [[#Verse 16]] Simon Peter answered,“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  [[#Verse 17]] And Jesus answered him,“You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!  [[#Verse 18]] And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.  [[#Verse 19]] I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”  [[#Verse 20]] Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. ### First Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection **Principle**: Follow Jesus at the exclusion of all else. [[#Verse 21]] From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.  [[#Verse 22]] So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!”  [[#Verse 23]] But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”  [[#Verse 24]] Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross,and follow me.  [[#Verse 25]] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.  [[#Verse 26]] For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?  [[#Verse 27]] For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then _he will reward each person according to what he has done_.  [[#Verse 28]] I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” # ==📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary== ##### Verse 01 ##### Verse 02 ##### Verse 03 ##### Verse 04 - This ratifies that Jonah belongs in the OT Tanakh. ##### Verse 05 ##### Verse 06 ##### Verse 07 ##### Verse 08 ##### Verse 09 ##### Verse 10 ##### Verse 11 ##### Verse 12 ##### Verse 13 ##### Verse 14 ##### Verse 15 ##### Verse 16 ##### Verse 17 ##### Verse 18 ##### Verse 19 ##### Verse 20 ##### Verse 21 ##### Verse 22 ##### Verse 23 ##### Verse 24 ##### Verse 25 ##### Verse 26 ##### Verse 27 ##### Verse 28 ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. The Pharisees and Sadducees usually opposed each other, but they came together to test Jesus (16:1). 2. Caesarea Philippi (16:13) lay at the foot of Mount Hermon, about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. 3. Caesarea Philippi was a center for the worship of the Greek god Pan, with a cave and shrines dedicated to him. 4. Peter's name in Greek (*Petros*) sounds like the word for rock (*petra*) in 16:18. 5. This is the first time the word "church" (*ekklesia*) appears in the Gospels. It appears only here and in 18:17. 6. The "gates of Hades" (16:18) picture the power of death, which cannot overpower Christ's church. 7. Keys (16:19) were a symbol of authority given to a household steward, as in Isaiah 22:22. 8. "Bar-Jonah" (16:17) is Aramaic for "son of Jonah." 9. Jesus calls Peter "Satan" (16:23) right after blessing him, because Peter was urging Him to avoid the cross, just as Satan did in the wilderness. 10. "From that time on" (16:21) marks a turning point, when Jesus began to teach openly about His coming death and resurrection (compare 4:17). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (16:16). He builds His church on this confession, and He came to suffer, die, and rise on the third day (16:18, 21; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Jesus asked His disciples who they say He is (16:15). How would you answer that question in your own words? 2. Peter went from confessing Jesus to rebuking Him within minutes (16:16, 22-23). What does that teach us about our own understanding? 3. Jesus says following Him means denying ourselves and taking up our cross (16:24-26). What does that look like for you this week? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 15-16: Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. - 📖 verse 18: Jesus will build His church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. - 📖 verse 24: Followers of Jesus deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. - 📖 verse 26: Gaining the whole world is worthless if a person forfeits his life. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Matthew 12#Verse 39.|Matthew 12:39-40]] - The sign of Jonah. - 🔗 [[1 Corinthians 05#Verse 06.|1 Corinthians 5:6-8]] - A little yeast works through the whole batch. - 🔗 [[Malachi 04#Verse 05.|Malachi 4:5]] - The expectation of Elijah's return. - 🔗 [[John 06#Verse 68.|John 6:68-69]] and [[John 11#Verse 27.|John 11:27]] - You have the words of eternal life; You are the Christ. - 🔗 [[Ephesians 02#Verse 20.|Ephesians 2:20]] and [[1 Peter 02#Verse 04.|1 Peter 2:4-6]] - The church built on Christ the cornerstone. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 22#Verse 22.|Isaiah 22:22]] and [[Matthew 18#Verse 18.|Matthew 18:18]] - The keys, binding and loosing. - 🔗 [[Mark 08#Verse 31.|Mark 8:31]] - The Son of Man must suffer, die, and rise. - 🔗 [[Luke 09#Verse 23.|Luke 9:23-24]] and [[Galatians 02#Verse 20.|Galatians 2:20]] - Daily cross-bearing; crucified with Christ. - 🔗 [[Psalm 62#Verse 12.|Psalm 62:12]] and [[Daniel 07#Verse 13.|Daniel 7:13-14]] - The Son of Man coming to repay each person. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Matthew 16 - SOAP|The Price of Life]] ## 📂 Internal Notes