Matthew 16

Just give me a sign!!
Up until this point we have seen that the Pharisees and religious leaders have all missed the boat concerning Jesus and His ministry. Even His disciples have misinterpreted some of His teachings and earned a rebuke from the Lord. Although later in this chapter Peter has a light bulb moment concerning Jesus, he still gets the overall arc of Jesus’ ministry wrong.

I read an interesting point in a commentary recently (http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Matt/Jesus-Opponents-Seek-Sign) that said that the Pharisees and Sadducees very seldom came together to agree on anything except under times of great threat. To them the ministry of Jesus was one of those moments as we read in verse one.

So here we are and once again the religious leaders are asking for a sign. This time though they ask for “a sign from heaven”. Some interpret this as meaning “a sign from the heavens meaning that the religious leaders were basically asking Jesus to read them the daily horoscope. He rebukes them and their weathermen and calls them a wicked and adulterous generation. They have all the prophecy and insight from the Law and the Prophets (the OT) and they just can’t get it through their thick heads. They can’t see what’s in front of them. Sometimes I think we are like that as well. Jesus works in our life and changes our hearts and our circumstances; He provides for us and leads us and guides us; He gives us new life and sets us free and we still “throw out the fleece” like Gideon (Judges 6:36-40) and ask God to “just give us a sign”. We second-guess and doubt clear signs that Jesus provides for us instead of listening to our heart and seeing the ministry of Jesus in our lives for what it is. Thank God that He is patient!!

The Disciples get it wrong again!!
In chapter 13 Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast; it can permeate everything just like yeast does in bread. Here Jesus says that the false teaching of the religious leaders is also like yeast. He warns the disciples to be on their guard against the “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. So do the disciples take this warning to heart?? No, they start bickering amongst themselves wondering if Jesus is angry with them for forgetting the bread!! I picture Jesus throwing His hands up in amazement as He puts them in their place. He asks them after all the miracles when He fed the thousands with a few crumbs, how they could misunderstand and think He was talking about bread? Finally they get it that Jesus was warning them about false teaching. I tend to be hard on the disciples because of their constant dim-wittedness but I must remember that I do the same thing. Only with the Holy Spirit in my corner, and my constant dependence on Him, can I truly understand the Word of God......and the disciples had yet to receive the counsel of the Spirit (Acts 2).

Peter
In this section we see Peter at his best and worst. First Jesus asks the 12 who they think He is and Peter boldly proclaims, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” YES!! Peter gets it!! The light switch was thrown on and a blinding light from heaven shines down upon him!! Jesus had given the disciples a whole list of choices of who He could be but Peter chose the only answer possible. The insight that Jesus is the promised Messiah and the Son of God comes from God Himself.

For a long time I misunderstood what Jesus says here. He says, “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.” Now this can mean that Jesus will actually build His church upon Peter himself. After all we do see in Acts 2 that Peter was the first one to stand up and preach the Gospel on the day of Pentecost, he had the Cornelius incident in Acts 10, and he had a general leadership position among the apostles. Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets”. This statement made by Jesus can also be seen to mean that the church is built on Christ Himself and/or Peter’s confession on who Jesus is as the Messiah. It can also be seen to mean that the church will be built on the teachings of Jesus. I personally think that the answer is.......all of the above. Jesus is the Messiah and the foundation, His teachings are to obeyed, and He will uses His disciples to carry out His work and teachings.

Jesus focuses on Eternity
When Jesus predicted His death Peter was aghast!! He went from being “The Rock” to being a stumbling block to Jesus. I can imagine that I probably would have felt the same as Peter did. Here is the leader, the Messiah, the One on who all hope hangs upon and He says He is going to be killed? I probably would have blurted out the same thing as Peter did, “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” I can’t blame Peter for feeling the way he felt and yelling out what he did.

But Jesus did have an issue with what Peter said. Jesus was focused on eternity and His perspective was expanded much farther than Peter’s was. He tells us that if we want to follow Him we must give up our selfish ways, take up our cross (for some we take up our cross daily for Christ, for others it is a minute by minute experience), and follow Him. It is Jesus’ desire that we have a rewarding and fulfilled life. It will be easier to adjust to our new life with Jesus if we remember that denying ourselves immediate pleasure will bring a harvest of rich rewards in this life and also in our eternal home with Jesus.

So do you want to have a successful walk with Jesus? Do you want victory? Then do as Jesus did, focus on eternity. Focus on your final destination instead of your current place in the muck and the mire of this world. Focus on the goodness and promises of Jesus Christ and all that He has waiting for you at your final destination.

Have a great day.

God bless.