Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 16 as we continue our study through the Word of God. And keep in mind that as we left off last week, Jesus and His men were in Magdala which was located on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. That is where we will pick up our study this evening beginning in verse 1 of Matthew chapter 16, and let’s see what the Lord has for us tonight.
VERSE 1
1. These two religious groups hated each other but they were willing to come together for this cause, they both hated Jesus! The Pharisees were the traditionalists, they were into legalism. We would call it a works centered religion. On the other side were the Sadducees who were the liberal’s of their day. They didn’t believe in the resurrection, angels, spirits. And these two religious groups were the ones who the Jews went to for direction in life, and yet, they couldn’t even agree with each other except on this issue of destroying Jesus!
2. Now these religious leaders have traveled some 70 or 80 miles to get to Jesus, they wanted Him to show them a sign! Go figure. His whole life was a sign to them, from His birth to all the miracles He was doing. You see, there was more than enough signs for them to see, they just chose not to see them or acknowledge they were from God. And many today do the same, they call it "good luck" or something along those lines. Hard hearts will not see spiritual truths. And they will do anything to deny it. Let me give you an example of what I mean. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, listen to what the religious leaders wanted to do.
"But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus." John 12:10-11. They wanted to kill Lazarus because he authenticated the ministry of Jesus and many came to believe by it. You see, they were not interested in a sign, only to discredit Jesus in front of the people. And thus, they are once again going to try here, but it won’t work, you would think they would learn.
VERSES 2-3
1. Jesus nails them again by telling these religious leaders that they can look at the sky and tell what the weather will be like, but they can’t see the signs, they can’t discern that the Messiah has come! The evidence was all around them, and if they would have looked at Daniel chapter 9, they would have seen that the time of the Messiah had come!
VERSE 4
1. The greatest sign of all is the resurrection! But even then they came up with a story that His disciples stole the body. And I think the point is this, miracles don’t convert anyone, they may change a behavior for a time, but that is it. You see, that is the world’s philosophy. They say, "If I can see it, then I will believe it!" On the other hand, the Bible says "If you believe it, then you will see it!"
VERSES 5-7
1. They are on the move again, heading towards the east side of the Sea of Galilee. And they have departed quickly, and in their haste, the disciples forgot to pack food for the journey. So as Jesus speaks to them about the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they are thinking on the physical plain, while Jesus was trying to teach them spiritual things. So the disciples start arguing with each other. "I told you Peter to get the bread!" "You didn’t tell me, you told John, he forgot it!" "Great, now Jesus is mad at us again because you forgot the bread!" Now Mark tells us they had just one loaf of bread with them. Let’s see, one loaf for 13 people, I wonder if that is enough?
2. Of course it was enough, that was not the issue! On the physical level, they did not apply in this present situation the things they learned from the recent past, the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000 plus women and children with just a few fish and a few crackers. As a nurse, when someone has a cardio-respiratory arrest, I know what to do because I have learned in the past the things to do. Now all I have to do is apply those things to the present situation. And that is what the Lord wanted them to do, but they didn’t get it. And that is what the Lord wants us to do, apply the things He has taught us to our lives! And we will look at the spiritual level, the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in a minute.
VERSES 8-12
1. The leaven of the Pharisees is legalism and you can read about that in Galatians. The leaven of the Sadducees is liberalism and you can read of that in Colossians. And we see today these same doctrines floating through the church, and they still are wrong and dangerous. That is the spiritual truth that Jesus was trying to get across to them. And they finally understood. For us, God is doing the same, teaching us faith lessons so we can grow! The key, be open to Him and learn those faith lessons!
VERSE 13
1. Caesarea Philippi was located about 25 miles north of Bethsaida, by the slopes of Mount Hermon. It was gentile country with many pagan shrines, and the biggest was the Pan god which was located in a cave where the springs would flow which went into the Jordan River. And it is possible that as Jesus and His men walked by this shrine to Pan or Paneion, Jesus posed this question to them, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
VERSE 14
1. Some people said He was John the baptist, others said Elijah, and still others said Jeremiah or one of the prophets. The people were missing the point that Jesus is the Messiah, the fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets spoke of.
VERSES 15-16
1. That is the most important question you will ever be asked, and how you respond will have eternal consequences! For Peter, he got it right. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ! How about you? Who is Jesus to you?
VERSE 17
1. Peter, the son of Jonah, (Bar means "son of"), got a spiritual revelation. And I’m sure he felt pretty good at this point. "Hey guys, did you hear that? I got a spiritual revelation! I’m on my way to Pope-hood!" Well, in a few minutes we will see how fast that is going to change.
VERSE 18
1. The Catholic church gets this wrong by saying the church is built upon Peter. If that is true, we are in trouble! First of all Peter in the Greek is PETROS or a small stone. But the church is going to be built upon the Rock, PETRA or a massive stone! And keep in mind that Jesus is responding to Peter’s remarks that "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Thus, the church is built upon Jesus Christ and not upon a man!
VERSE 19
1. Please understand that Peter is not standing at the gates of heaven to let you in or keep you out, as the case may be. But to Peter and to us God has given the keys or the access or the entrance into heaven and we can share that with people, and that is Jesus! And the binding and loosening deals with prayer, that we can bind the powers of darkness and loose the powers of God through prayer!
VERSE 20
1. Why did Jesus say that? Because He came the first time not to set-up His kingdom on earth but to establish it in the hearts of men. But the day is coming when He will return to set-up His kingdom and what Jesus said to His disciples not to speak of, He is saying to us to go into all the world and tell people He is coming back, tell people they need to prepare to meet their God!
VERSE 21
1. The people were looking for a leader to remove the yoke of bondage that Rome placed upon them. And now Jesus is correcting them, saying He is going to Jerusalem to be put to death, and they kept missing that last point, that He is going to rise the third day! At this point the cross is only some 10 months away, and as we will see, they still didn’t get it.
VERSE 22
1. Here comes Rocky, or Peter telling Jesus He’s got this all wrong! He is rebuking the Lord. "No Lord, that is not the way we have it planned. Don’t talk so foolishly!" Please understand this, you can’t tell Jesus "No!" and then call Him "Lord!" Those are opposing views.
VERSE 23
1. Peter, who just had that spiritual revelation, is now called a worker of Satan, Why? Because Peter was self-centered, and Satan’s plan is to keep people from the cross because it is the only thing that can save them. And Peter wanted to go along with that plan, to keep Jesus from the cross, and if he did, we would still be lost in our trespasses and sins!
2. Now it is time to put into practice that which they have learned. Jesus is going to show them what this is all about!
VERSE 24
1. Jesus is speaking about the cost of discipleship. First, you most deny a life of self-centeredness. Then you must put to death those things that hinder your relationship with Him, identifying with His suffering and death. And lastly, you must willingly and obediently follow after Him. You see, there is always death before glory, even in this life. And you need to remember that you can’t follow Jesus from a distance, you will deny Him if you try. Stay close to Him, and feed the spirit, don’t fight the flesh!
VERSE 25
1. If you like to satisfy the flesh now, you will die apart from Christ losing that everlasting life. If you die to this life now, sacrificing all to follow Him, you will enter into life with Christ for eternity. It is as Paul said in Romans 8:16-18, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
VERSE 26
1. Isn’t that what man does today? He tries to gain the whole world, and even if he could, he would lose outside of Christ. People today are selling their soul’s for garbage and they will have a eternity to think about it!
VERSE 27
1. He spoke of His death and His resurrection and now of His return. He is coming back as Matthew 24:30 says, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
VERSE 28
1. Some find this passage difficult because all the disciples have died and the Lord has not returned. Is God wrong? No! Understand that the chapter divisions and the verses are not inspired but were added for our convenience. So let’s read on into chapter 17 and you will see clearly what Jesus was speaking of.
VERSES 1-2
1. This inner circle of the 12, Peter, James and John saw Jesus in all of His glory, we call it the transfiguration. And thus, before they died, actually, only 6 days after Jesus spoke that some will see Him in His glory before they die, they did see the glory of God! Now, where did it take place? Some argue it was on Mount Tabor some 10 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee. But this is not really a mountain, it’s elevation is some 1,000 feet. But tour groups like to go there because it is easy to get to as opposed to Mount Hermon, which is some 12 miles northeast of Caesarea Philippi and has an elevation of 9,200 feet. Tour groups don’t like to go there because it is very difficult to climb and now it is dangerous. But Mount Hermon is probably the area of the transfiguration, for that was the area they were in and it truly is a mountain.
2. One other point, the word "transfigured" speaks of a metamorphosis, like a caterpillar into a butterfly and that is what will happen to us at the rapture, we too shall be changed. Paul put it this way in I Corinthians 15:51-52, "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
VERSES 3-4
1. Now, along with Jesus were Moses representing the Law and Elijah who represented the prophets, and I believe it will be these two men that will come back as the two witnesses during the tribulation period! And you got to love Peter here, he wants to set-up shop on the mountain, set-up a little resort, remain up there. Mark tells us that he didn’t know what to say and that is what came out. A good practice to follow, if you don’t know what to say, don’t say anything. The problem about staying on the mountain top is there is a world of people that need to be touched by Jesus and we will see that as we move on. We will also see what is waiting for us as we come down from the mountain top experience!
VERSE 5
1. First of all the Lord does not even respond to Peter’s comments. But notice what He does say. He is telling them to listen to Jesus, focus on Him. Yes, Moses was the Lawgiver and Elijah a prophet, but now hear the words of Jesus. It is as Paul said in Hebrews 1:1-2, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds."
VERSES 6-8
1. When we are afraid, who comes with His touch of comfort? Jesus! And now, as everything returns to normal, when everything else was gone, who was still with them? Jesus! And He is with us, we need to remember that truth!
VERSE 9
1. Keep it a secret for now for it is not time. But since the Lord has risen, we are not to keep silent about His truths! We are to bring people to Jesus.
VERSES 10-13
1. As they are heading down from this mountain, which could take hours, the disciples are troubled by something the Scribes were saying, that before the Messiah comes, Elijah must come first. Thus, if Jesus is the Messiah, where is Elijah? Good question. What about John the baptist? Now some may say that is stretching it, but listen to what the angel told Zacharias about the son that was to be born to him. In Luke 1:13-17 we are told, "But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children," and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’" And Jesus says that Elijah has come, speaking of John the baptist, and Elijah will come before the Lord returns, one of the two witnesses during the tribulation period. Today, during Passover in the orthodox Jewish homes, they leave a chair open at the table for Elijah and will check the door to see if he is there, for if he is, then the Messiah is close behind!
VERSES 14-16
1. When you have those mountain top experiences in your life, coming home from a retreat for example, who is waiting for you as you arrive home? The Devil, and I am not talking about your wife or husband or children. But he will attack you through them, to try to discourage you. What can you do about it? James tells us "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Don’t let the enemy distract you or rip you off. Yes the battle may be intense but Jesus can handle the battle, draw close to Him.
2. Secondly, you can’t stay on the mountain top because in the valley, down below is a world of hurting people that need the touch of Jesus. Here we see a father in desperation because his son is demon possessed and the demon is trying to kill him. And that is what the enemy does, tries to destroy our lives, kill us. And Luke tells us this was his only son and he brought him to the 9 disciples who didn’t go up on the mountain, and they couldn’t do anything about it. And now he falls down before Jesus asking for help.
VERSES 17-18
1. Why couldn’t they heal this mans son? Maybe the violent actions this demon was manifesting in this man caused the disciples to take their eyes off of Jesus and focus it upon this hopeless situation. And that destroyed their faith and it will destroy yours if you let it. These 9 guys seem to be paralyzed in fear, which is the opposite of faith. And Jesus rebukes them for their lack of faith, trying to get them to not let the situation get their eyes off of God, the only one who could help. And now Jesus steps in and heals this mans son. And please understand that everything Satan does is limited to God allowing it. And we, as Christians, have the power of God given to us to do battle against the enemy. As John says "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." I John 4:4.
VERSE 19
1. They still couldn’t figure out why they could not cast this demon out of this mans son, so Jesus is going to tell them.
VERSES 20-21
1. Jesus says that is was due to unbelief. Again, they got their eyes focused on the situation instead of the Savior and so do we at times. A problem comes up, we can’t figure out what to do, how it will work out, and we give up. That is wrong. Trust in Him and His promises to us.
2. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds and yet it can grow into a large bush. And Jesus is saying that it is not the size of your faith but the object of your faith that is important. Secondly, faith is suppose to grow and it will as you study the Word of God and apply it to your life. You see, you can’t live off of yesterday’s blessings. They were powerless because they lacked the daily devotion of depending on Jesus, and that can also happen to us. And I believe Jesus is talking not only of those spiritual mountains in our lives that will be moved, but also the physical ones if we will let Him.
3. Now, in verse 21 is Jesus talking about the demon or the mountains? I think it can be both. We should be praying about things, both spiritual and physical. Prayer not only destroys the power of Satan, but it also can move mountains. Remember what we studied tonight, "...whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19. Let me ask you if you would do this for me. That as you pray before your meals, that you would also ask God to bless Calvary Chapel, that He would use us mightily, that we would have an impact on this community, and let’s see what He will do. And take a look at all He has done so far, I can’t wait to see what He is going to do next!
VERSES 22-23
1. He is heading towards Jerusalem, the cross is getting closer and He is trying to prepare His men for what was going to come, but they truly didn’t listen well. They heard Him speak of His death, but not His resurrection. I wonder how many of us miss what the Lord is saying because we are focused on the death of an issue instead of what God is going to bring to life?
VERSE 24
1. In Exodus chapter 30 we are told that all Jewish males 20 years old and up were to pay a half-shekel of silver for the tabernacle and now for the temple upkeep. And as they come to Capernaum, those in charge of collecting these taxes question Peter about Jesus paying these temple taxes.
VERSE 25
1. Peter spoke too quickly on the mountain top and was interrupted by the Father. Here he speaks again and is interrupted by the Son. And what Jesus is saying is that no king taxes his own children, but he taxes strangers, citizens, the nation.
VERSE 26
1. Do you see that Jesus is trying to draw these truths out from Peter instead of just speaking them forth. That is a great way to grow, when you see it for yourself. And the point is simple. Peter is a son, a child of the King. And Jesus is the King of kings. Thus, you don’t tax the King or his son, that would make no sense.
VERSE 27
1. I love this. Peter’s profession was a fisherman, and so Jesus sends Him out fishing and as he catches a fish, inside the fishes mouth is a stater or the exact temple tax for two, for both Peter and Jesus, a full shekel! God calls us into ministries that we can enjoy and He will use that to not only provide for us, but to touch others by. It is as Paul said in Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." May we not forget that truth! Never be ashamed at the gifts, the talents that God has given to you, for they are for the benefit of the body of Christ, and not to use them only hurts the body. Use them for the glory of God and the building up of the body. He wants to use you, if only you will let Him.