Matthew 16 Study Notes

16:17-18 Simon understood Jesus’s identity due to divine revelation (11:25-27), which is why Jesus nicknamed him Peter. Although Matthew previously referred to Simon as Peter, this is the first time in the Gospel that Jesus did so. Jesus identified Peter (Gk petros) as the rock (Gk petra) on which his church would be founded. Peter and the other apostles’ proclamation of Jesus’s messiahship laid the foundation for the church (Eph 2:19-20; Rv 21:14). I will build demonstrates that Jesus is ultimately responsible for the growth and expansion of the church. The word church was the word used in the OT to describe sacred Jewish assemblies. Jesus’s use of the word implies that his followers constitute the new Israel, the true people of God who submit to his kingly reign.

16:19 The keys are a symbol of authority. The rabbis used the words bind and loose to denote decisions about what was or was not permitted. Note that Peter will permit or prohibit only what had already been permitted or prohibited in heaven. Peter was an agent of divine revelation.

16:20 Jesus’s contemporaries, even his disciples, were slow to understand the nature of his messiahship.

16:21-22 On the significance of the words from then on Jesus began to, see “Structure” in the Introduction to Matthew. Jesus referred to his death and resurrection earlier (12:40), but this is the first of three major predictions from this point on (see 17:22; 20:17-19). Peter could not accept the warning because his messianic expectations did not include a suffering, executed Messiah.

16:23 The cross was central to Jesus’s purposes on earth. Because Peter’s statement essentially tempted Jesus to evade the cross, he unwittingly became a spokesman for Satan.

16:24-26 Take up his cross refers to the death march of the Christian disciple, who is figuratively sentenced to crucifixion over his decision to follow Christ. The Christian must be prepared to give his life for Jesus. Follow me requires the disciple to follow the example of his Master, emulating Jesus’s character and behavior.

16:27 Jesus applied to himself Ps 62:12 and Zch 14:5, statements which referred to the Lord. On the title Son of Man, see note at 8:18-20.

16:28 This promise refers to Jesus’s transfiguration, which foreshadowed his resurrection and glorification (2Pt 1:16-18).