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Matthew 16

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Jesus asks who people say He is, and Peter nails it: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. A few verses later Peter tells Jesus He does not have to die, and Jesus calls him Satan. Peter goes from star student to detention in the same conversation.

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In this chapterThe Big Question · Christians disagreePeter and the Rock · after verse 28

The Demand for a Sign// Mark 8:11–13; Luke 12:54–56

¹Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

²But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, 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 not the signs of the times. ⁴A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

MT 16:4[PROPHECY]The Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, like Jonah in the belly of the great fish → MT 27:59-60; MT 28:6
MT 16:4[FULFILLS]Three days and nights in the heart of the earth ← JON 1:17

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees// Mark 8:14–21; Luke 12:1–3

⁵When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread. ⁶“Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”

⁸Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread? ⁹Do you still not understand? Do you not 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 do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

¹²Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession of Christ// Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–20; John 6:67–71

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned 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?” Jesus 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 flesh and blood, 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 prevail against 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.”

MT 16:18[PROPHECY]You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it → Fulfilled in Acts as Peter becomes central to the church's founding, and beyond in the church's continuation
MT 16:18[FULFILLS]The sure foundation ← IS 28:16
MT 16:18[NOTE]THE ROCK. See Peter and the Rock.

²⁰Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.

Christ’s Passion Foretold// Mark 8:31–33; Luke 9:21–22

²¹From 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 scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

MT 16:21[PROPHECY]Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things at the hands of elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise the third day → Fulfilled in the Passion narratives
MT 16:21[FULFILLS]Messiah would be cut off (killed) ← DAN 9:26a

²²Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”

²³But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

MT 16:23[DEMONIC]Get behind Me, Satan

Take Up Your Cross// Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–27

²⁴Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to 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 My sake will find it. ²⁶What will it profit 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 will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

²⁸Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

MT 16:28[PROPHECY]There are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom → Fulfilled at the Transfiguration six days later (Matt 17:1-8; MK 9:2-8; LK 9:28-36); or at Pentecost (ACTS 2)MEDIUM

The Big Question · Christians disagree

Peter and the Rock

Who Is the Rock?

Matthew 16:13 to 20 · John 1:42 · Isaiah 22:22

WHAT JESUS SAID: Peter says, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, 16:16. Jesus answers: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, 16:18. Then He gives Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, 16:19. Few verses have split Christians more.
THE WORDPLAY: In Greek, Peter is Petros and rock is petra. In Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, both words would be Kepha, which is why Jesus names him Cephas, John 1:42, and Paul calls him Cephas, Galatians 2:9. So it sounds a lot like: you are Rock, and on this rock I will build.
THE CATHOLIC VIEW: Peter is the rock. The keys echo Isaiah 22:22, where the king's chief steward holds the key of the house. Peter led the church and died in Rome, and the bishops of Rome carry on his office. About AD 180 Irenaeus listed the bishops of Rome one after another (Against Heresies 3.3). In 1870 the First Vatican Council said the pope cannot err when he formally defines a teaching on faith or morals for the whole church.
THE ORTHODOX VIEW: Peter was first among the apostles, and Rome was first in honor among the great churches. But the rock is the faith Peter confessed, and every faithful bishop shares it. Rome and the East split in 1054.
PETER IN ROME: About AD 96, 1 Clement 5 says Peter died a martyr. Later writers, like Dionysius of Corinth about AD 170 and Tertullian about AD 200, say it was in Rome under Nero, about AD 64 to 68. The Bible never says he was there, unless Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13 is a code name for Rome, as many think. In 1968 Pope Paul VI announced that bones found under St. Peter's Basilica were likely Peter's. Others doubt it.

Every View · The Rock and the Keys

Matthew 16:18 to 19 · 18:18 · 1 Corinthians 3:11 · 10:4 · Ephesians 2:20

THE ROCK IS PETER'S CONFESSION: Many Protestants say the rock is what Peter said: You are the Christ. The church is built on that truth. Luther attacked the papacy in 1520 on this ground.
THE ROCK IS CHRIST: Others say Jesus pointed to Himself. Paul says no one can lay any foundation but Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 3:11, and the rock was Christ, 10:4. Peter himself calls Jesus the living stone, 1 Peter 2:4 to 8.
WHAT THE KEYS DID: Keys open doors. Peter opened the door of the church to the Jews at Pentecost, Acts 2, and to the Gentiles at Cornelius' house, Acts 10. Many Protestants say that was the job of the keys.
THE ROCK IS PETER, BUT NO SUCCESSOR: Many Protestant scholars today, like Oscar Cullmann in 1952, agree the rock is Peter, the first leader of the church, as in Acts 2 and 10. But they say nothing here passes his role to anyone after him, and Rome is never mentioned.
THE EARLY CHURCH WAS SPLIT TOO: Augustine, about AD 427, said he had explained this verse both ways, as Peter and as Christ, and let the reader choose which was more likely (Retractations 1.21).
THINGS EVERY READER SHOULD SEE: Jesus gives the same power to bind and loose to all the disciples in 18:18. Paul corrects Peter to his face, Galatians 2:11. James speaks last at the Jerusalem council, Acts 15:13 to 21. The church rests on the apostles and prophets, with Christ the cornerstone, Ephesians 2:20.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: Jesus builds His church, and the gates of Hades will not stop it.

Matthew 16

The Demand for a Sign// Mark 8:11–13; Luke 12:54–56

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees// Mark 8:14–21; Luke 12:1–3

Peter’s Confession of Christ// Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–20; John 6:67–71

Christ’s Passion Foretold// Mark 8:31–33; Luke 9:21–22

Take Up Your Cross// Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–27

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