Matthew 16

1 – 3

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. They wanted to trap him. So they asked him to show them a miracle to prove that he was from God.

Jesus answered, “When you see the sunset, you know what the weather will be. If the sky is red, then you say we will have good weather. And in the morning if the sky is dark and red, then you say that it will be a rainy day.

You see these signs in the sky, and you know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that are happening now. But you do not know their meaning.

God loves people and He will show many warnings in the sky to get people to pay attention. These things will cause some people to start looking for God and other people will believe that these happen for some other reason.

This is why the world wants to make people believe that there are other kinds of life on other planets. This way they can explain away everything that God does and say that these things came from somewhere else. Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

4. Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign. But they will have no sign—only the sign of Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.

If you need a miracle before you will believe God then you are not living by faith or trust. People say, “How can you believe in Jesus without any proof of who He is?” We say, “How can you not believe in Jesus when you have not found any proof that He is not who He says He is?”

5 – 7

Jesus and his followers went across the lake. But the followers forgot to bring bread. Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” The followers discussed the meaning of this. They said, “Did Jesus say this because we forgot to bring bread?”

Jesus was warning them about how the Jewish leaders will try to plant an evil seed in their minds. The Jews had just made a suggestion that Jesus could do some miracles but maybe these things were not from God.

The devil will attack you in the same way. When you do not know what to think then go back to what you do know and remind yourself of Bible verses that God has proven to be true in your life.

8 – 12

Jesus knew that they were talking about this. So he asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. You still do not understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the 5,000 people?

And remember that you filled many baskets with bread after the people finished eating? And remember the seven loaves of bread that fed the 4,000 people? Remember that you filled many baskets then also?

So I was not talking to you about bread. Why do you not understand that? I am telling you to be careful and guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” Then the followers understood what Jesus meant.

He was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread. He was telling them to guard against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

When you are not reading the Word and spending time with God you are spiritually weak. When you weak in this way you thinking can be confused and you can forget what God has already done. You will not be ready when you are attacked by people or demons. This leads to fear and more problems!

13 – 16

Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, “I am the Son of Man. Who do the people say I am?”
They answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah. And others say that you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

After all the years that Jesus was with them He never said that He was the Messiah. He wanted His life to show it without saying it. His followers should now be able to see it for themselves.

17 – 18

Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. So I tell you, you are Peter. And I will build my church on this rock. The power of hell will not be able to defeat my church.

Jesus was saying that the words of Peter about who Jesus was are the rock that He builds His church on. The powers of hell will not able to stop the church!

19. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The things you do not allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow. The things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.”

The Holy Spirit will lead us to keep working with someone to come to Jesus. If someone turns away the Gospel then the Lord may also lead us to back off and leave this person to face God Himself.

This verse does not mean that whatever we decide is what God will do with someone. There is no Scripture that says that we control God this way!

20. Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus told them not to tell anyone because they did not completely understand. God does not want us to give a confused message. If the people were told that Jesus was going to die then they would lose hope that He was the Messiah. It is better to be quiet when you are not sure what you are talking about!

21 – 23

From that time on Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. He explained that the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And he told them that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death.

Peter took Jesus aside and began to criticize him. Peter said, “God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!”

Then Jesus said to Peter, “Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You do not care about the things of God. You care only about things that men think are important.”

The devil says that you can have a ministry without needing to suffer. Real ministry costs you something. If you just go to church or stay away from doing hard things for the Lord then you are not doing what He told you to do.
The devil can suggest ideas in our minds and if we are not spiritually awake we will say these things with our mouths. This is what happened to Peter.

24. Then Jesus said to his followers, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say ‘no’ to the things he wants. He must be willing even to die on a cross, and he must follow me.

Why should we give up the things we want? How else can we show that we are living for Him and not for ourselves? The world says that we should push ourselves to get what we want. The secret of life with God is that if we put His things first He will give us what we need without having to fight for it. Matthew 6:33

25 – 26

Whoever wants to save his life will give up true life. And whoever gives up his life for me will have true life. It is worth nothing for a man to have the whole world if he loses his soul. He could never pay enough to buy back his soul.

What kind of a deal is Satan offering you for your soul? What if you could have anything you wanted but you lost your soul? There is a man who has been going around saying he will give $100,000 if you will give him your wife. Even if the victim only stops to think about it, and tries to find some way to do this, he has lost his marriage.

27 – 28

The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. At that time, he will reward everyone for what he has done. I tell you the truth. There are some people standing here who, before they die, will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.”

The Lord let them see what it will be like when Jesus returns. Sometimes God lets us see His power to make us strong for hard times that are coming. He also shows us our weakness so that we will not become proud of what He has shown us. 2 Corinthians 12:7 Corinthians 12:7