From the geographical note given in Matthew 15:39, we learn that Jesus has returned to Jewish territory on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (with His disciples, cf. Mark 8:10).¹ Almost immediately, He is met by a delegation of Pharisees and Sadducees demanding a sign from Him (Matt 16:1–4). Then Jesus and His disciples return to the boat and head to the northern side of the lake near Bethsaida (cf. Mark 8:22), because their eventual destination is Caesarea Philippi in the far north of Israel (Matt 16:13).² Upon reaching the shore, a discussion ensues in the wake of Jesus’ warning about His opponents’ leavening influence (Matt 16:5–12). Subsequently, on their journey north, Jesus elicits reflection on who He is, Peter confesses Him as the Christ, and Jesus reveals for the first time to His disciples that He will suffer and die (Matt 16:13–23). Utilizing a teachable moment, Jesus emphasizes the cost and reward of discipleship (Matt 16:24–27), concluding with a somewhat startling statement about the kingdom (Matt 16:28).

Interpretation of Matthew 16

1. Verses 1–4

• Interestingly, this is the first time in Matthew that the Sadducees confront Jesus. We see their somewhat unexpected alliance with the Pharisees also in connection with the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt 3:7; cf. John 1:19, 24). Apparently, both men were perceived as a significant threat to the religious status quo.

• The request to “show them a sign from heaven” (Matt 16:1)³ is really a demand that Jesus prove His messianic credentials with incontrovertible evidence (such as that given by Moses at the time of the exodus). Their evil intent is indicated by the word peirazō (“test, tempt,” cf. Matt 4:1, 3) found in all three Gospel accounts of this demand (see also Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; cf. 1 Cor 1:22). Jesus’ healing and freeing people of demon possession had already been used as supposed evidence of His being in league with the devil (Matt 12:22–24, 38; cf. 10:25). According to John, even the miraculous feeding of the five thousand was not convincing enough (John 6:30; cf. 5:36).

• Frequently, as also here, Jesus turns the tables on His would-be interrogators; He notes their ability to read signs in the sky to tell the weather, yet their utter inability to discern the more vital “signs of the times”— how Jesus’ kingdom message and ministry fulfills prophetic expectations. He likens these leaders to the wicked wilderness generation who saw miraculous signs but perished without entering the promised land because of their unbelief (Num 14:22–23, 32–35; Deut 32:20). Consequently, only “the sign of the prophet Jonah” would be given to them (cf. Matt 12:39–40).⁴ The sorrow Jesus felt at the unbelief of these leaders is described by Mark: “He sighed deeply in His spirit” (Mark 8:12).

2. Verses 5–12

• The sudden departure by boat may have led the disciples to forget to buy more bread, providing the background for the ensuing discussion of “leaven.” Earlier this same image was used positively to describe the spread of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 13:33), but here it is used negatively, of something evil and harmful (cf. 1 Cor 5:6; Gal 5:9). Its previous metaphorical usage should have alerted the disciples that Jesus probably meant it metaphorically here also (cf. Matt 13:10–17).

• The importance of Jesus’ warning is underscored with two Greek words in the imperative, horate (“take heed”) and prosechete (“beware”). Used frequently by Jesus invarious admonitions and warnings, they a ppear together only here.

• Jesus is concerned that the minds of the disciples not be negatively influenced by the unbelief of the Jewish leaders, especially since He is about to give them more focused attention and instruction regarding who He is and what He is about to suffer.

• Unfortunately, the disciples took Jesus’ saying about leaven literally, fretting over the fact that they did not bring enough bread. Jesus, aware of their thoughts (cf. Matt 9:4; 12:25), gently reproves them and, in the process, identifies the reason for doubts that hinder a correct understanding of His words: “little faith” (cf. Matt 14:31; 17:20).

• Interestingly, rather than explaining directly what He means by “leaven,” Jesus asks a series of questions regarding the twin feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand from just a few loaves of bread to open theirunderstanding—an essential preparation for them to understand what He is about to disclose about the nature of His messiahship, which was so sharply different from the expectations of the Pharisees and Sadducees of a militaristic messiah that would deliver Israel from Rome and raise it to worldly preeminence.

3. Verses 13–20

• According to both Matthew and Mark, it is not in Caesarea Philippi itself, but in the vicinity of nearby villages that Jesus asks (while they are still on the road, Mark 8:27) about people’s understanding of His identity. From Bethsaida, this journey would have taken at least two days.

• Jesus uses the title “Son of Man” of Himself, especially in connection with His identity and mission (nine times so far; Matt 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40; 13:37, 41).⁵ Going forward, it is used nine times of His sufferings and death (Matt 17:9, 12, 22; 20:18, 28; 26:2, 24 [2x], 45) and nine times of His future coming in glory (Matt 19:28; 24:27, 30 [2x], 37, 39, 44; 25:31; 26:64).

• From the disciples’ answer to Jesus’ question, most seem to consider Him a prophet but none, apparently, consider Him the Messiah. The mention of John the Baptist and Elijah together reminds readers that Jesus has identified the two (Matt 11:14), and the mention of Jeremiah is significant because Matthew sees Jesus fulfilling some of his prophecies (Matt 2:17; 27:9).

• Clearly expecting a better answer from His closest followers, Jesus asks the twelve (literally translated), “And you men—who do you say that I am?” The disciples saw the miracles Jesus performed, listened carefully to His teachings, and repeated and explained them to others (Matt 10:7). Now Peter sums up the faith of the disciples, identifying Jesus as the Messiah, and, more specifically, not just as the messianic “son of David,” but as “the Son of the living God” (cf. Matt 22:41–45). They accept Jesus’ claim of having a unique relation to God as His Father (Matt 7:21; 10:32–33; 11:25–27; 12:50; 15:13).

• Jesus does not credit Peter, a “flesh and blood” human being, with insight, but attributes his understanding the truth about Jesus to a special revelation given to Peter by the Father (cf. Gen 41:16; Dan 2:27–28).

• In commending Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus hints that the meaning of the apostle’s words are much deeper than any of His followers may have realized. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, as expressed by Isaiah, “Mighty God, Everlasting Father,” the one in whom “all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Col 2:9, NAS95).

• Jesus’ famous words about the “rock” as the foundation on which the church is to be built have been interpreted in three main ways: 1) the rock is Peter (whose name means “rock”), 2) the rock is the faith confession articulated by Peter, or 3) the rock is Jesus in contrast to Peter. Catholics generally affirm the first interpretation and most Protestant scholars today endorse the second. Nevertheless, there remain good reasons to affirm the third possibility—that Jesus points to Himself as the Rock on which He will build His church.

  • God as Israel’s Rock is frequent in Scripture (Deut 32:4, 30–31; Ps 18:2, 31, 46; 31:3; 62:2, 6–7; 71:3).⁶ Prophecies also describe the coming Messiah as a foundation stone and rock (Ps 118:22–23; Isa 8:14; 28:16; 32:2), which Jesus Himself and other New Testament writers point to as fulfilled in Him (Matt 21:42; Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6–8). In another context, Jesus points to Himself as the source of living water (John 7:37), alluding to the water God supplied to Israel from the rock struck by Moses (Exod 17:6), which points to Christ being stricken for us, a connection recognized also by Paul in his identification of Jesus as this Rock (1 Cor 10:4).

  • The difference in Greek between Peter (Petros) and rock (petra) suggests both a comparison and a contrast between the two. “Petra refers not to a small stone but to a massive rock, including bedrock.”⁷ Peter was supposed to be like a rock (cf. Gal 2:9), which is why Jesus gave him this name (John 1:42) but, unfortunately, he did not always live up to his name. Moments later he rebukes Jesus who deservedly calls him satan or adversary because Peter sought to keep Him from His mission to die for us (Matt 16:22– 23). During the trial he denies Jesus three times (Matt 26:69–75), just as Jesus predicted in light of Peter’s boastful claim (Matt 26:33–35). Many years later, Peter acts hypocritically by separating from Gentile Christians when Jewish Christians arrive (Gal 2:11–14). The contrast between Peter’s unreliable disposition and the solid foundation on which the church must be built is emphasized by Jesus’ use of the demonstrative pronoun this Rock.

  • The only other reference by Jesus to petra in Matthew is in the Sermon on the Mount. Those who hear Jesus’ words and do them are likened to a wise man who builds his house on a rock. The same parable in Luke describes digging down deep to a solid foundation made of petra, “bedrock” (Luke 6:48).

  • Importantly, not only Paul but Peter also refers to Jesus either as the stone or rock (petra, 1 Pet 2:4, 7–8) or the foundation (themelios) of the church (1 Cor 3:11).

• There is no need to see a contradiction in the idea of Jesus both building the church and being the Rock on which it is built. Paul describes Jesus in a similarly active role in His leadership of Israel in the wilderness: “For they drank of that spiritual Rock [petras] that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor 10:4).

• The “gates of Hades” (Heb. she’ol), mentioned also in the Old Testament (Job 17:16; Isa 38:10), refer to the “gates of death” (Job 38:17; Pss 9:13; 107:18). Therefore, Jesus promises that the church—believers who proclaim His teachings—will help others to be saved from death by following Jesus in the path to the heavenly kingdom and eternal life (Matt 7:14; 19:16–17, 29).

• The “keys of the kingdom of heaven” present a similar picture and refer to the power given to Peter and the other apostles, who represent the church (Matt 18:18; cf. Isa 22:20–23; Acts 15:14–17), to open the way to life through their preaching of the gospel of Christ and teaching what it means to follow Him (Matt 28:19–20).⁸

4. Verses 21–28

• The command to tell no one that He was the Messiah (Matt 16:20) was necessary because of the false conceptions people had been given, whereas the Scriptures foretold that Christ would suffer and on “the third day” be resurrected (e.g., Isa 53; cf. Matt 12:40; Luke 24:46; Acts 17:2–3; 1 Cor 15:3–4).

• Just as Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness to avoid the cross (Matt 4:8–10), so now he uses Peter to try to turn Him from the path of suffering and death.

• There is an implied sequence of steps in following Jesus: 1) deny oneself, meaning to give oneself to Jesus and submit to His will; 2) take up one’s cross, meaning a readiness to suffer any cost, even surrendering life itself, to further the gospel; and 3) follow Jesus in the path of obedience, “who for the joy that was set before Him,” of seeing people saved in His kingdom, “endured the cross” (Heb 12:2). “Jesus did not count heaven a place to be desired while we were lost.”⁹

• Jesus’ reference to His coming “in the glory of His Father with His angels” and rewarding “each according to his works” points to the pre-advent, investigative judgment in the time of the end (cf. Rev 22:11–12), a glimpse of which He promises to some of His disciples (Matt 16:28), a prophecy that meets its fulfillment just six days later (Matt 17:1).

Application of the Chapter

Some of the lessons we may glean from Matthew 16 include:

1. Jesus’ reply to well-educated skeptics is a reminder that knowledge by itself, even a knowledge of the Scriptures, is not enough; we should also see the big picture as presented in prophecy, type, and their fulfillment.

2. Doubt and skepticism—as expressed in the demand for a sign—may, like leaven, work invisibly in the heart and will eventually control what a person thinks, says, and does. Even worse, its influence may taint the minds of others, blinding them to the truth and, through them, spread doubt and unbelief still further.

3. Like the disciples who worried that they didn’t bring enough bread, often we worry and fret over things that don’t matter nearly as much as other things to which we give little or no attention; we “strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!” (Matt 23:24). We may, for example, be so preoccupied with physical needs that spiritual needs are underestimated or even completely overlooked (Matt 6:25–34).

4. Since spiritual things, which by their nature are not physical or tangible (e.g., Matt 16:6; John 3:3–8), must necessarily be explained in metaphorical terms, the Holy Spirit is needed for spiritual discernment (cf. 1 Cor 2:13–14), and the Bible is to be its own interpreter when seeking the meaning of words, phrases, and images (Luke 24:27; John 5:39).

5. Unfortunately, sometimes major theological disagreements are ignored or deliberately set aside in order to advance political agendas within the church, such as was done by the Pharisees and Sadducees when they united against Jesus. This type of activity may hinder our unity and mission.

6. The closer and longer we walk with Jesus, the more clearly we will understand His teachings and be equipped to share them with others kindly, clearly, and accurately, opening the way for people to become citizens of the kingdom of heaven and heirs of eternal life (Matt 16:17–19; 19:28–29).

7. Peter’s sudden reversal from speaking the truth of the Father to urging Satan’s will upon Jesus warns us to remain His humble, teachable, and correctable followers (cf. Jas 4:6–10).

8. It would be well for us to contemplate how we may become more “mindful of the things of God” rather than “the things of men,” and what it would mean to lose one’s life for Jesus’ sake.which the church must be built is emphasized by Jesus’ use of the demonstrative pronoun this Rock.