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| Chapter 16 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and testing, desired Him that He would show them a sign from Heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, "When it is evening ye say, ’It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ’It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering.’ O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed. 5 ¶ And when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." 8 But when Jesus perceived this, He said unto them, "O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, ’because ye have brought no bread’? 9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spoke it not to you concerning bread, but that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees?" 12 Then understood they that He bade them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 13 ¶ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 And they said, "Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said unto them, "But who say ye that I am?" 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father who is in Heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." 20 Then He charged His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Christ. 21 ¶ From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples that He must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not happen unto Thee." 23 But He turned and said unto Peter, "Get thee behind Me, Satan! Thou art an offense unto Me; for thou savoriest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." 24 ¶ Then Jesus said unto His disciples, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He shall reward every man according to his works. 28 Verily I say unto you, there are some standing here who shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom." |
v1-12 The Pharisees need a sign from Jesus. Mark 8:10-12. Compare Luke 12:54-56. v1 The Pharisees had made a similar request earlier, Matt 12:38ff. This time they are joined by the Sadducees. These two groups hated each other but were united in a common hatred of Jesus. They cannot accept the signs of the miracles, they wanted a spectacular display that was obviously from heaven. They were tempting Jesus to prove His divine power, or use His refusal to prove that He was not from God, just as Satan did at the temptation. The message from John, the miracles and signs from Jesus plus the various prophecies like Daniel should have allowed them to read the signs. Jesus points out that they can tell the coming weather by the signs in the sky yet cannot see the signs of spiritual events. The only sign Jesus said that they would get was the sign of Jonah. Jonah was swallowed by a large fish, he was "dead" inside the fish for three days and then came back to life. Just as Jesus would do after the cross. Compare John 2:18-21; Matt 12:40. v6 In the New Testament the word "leaven" is usually referring to something bad. Compare 1 Cor 5:8. v5-12 Jesus departs the region and goes into the more Gentile areas. Read Mark 8:15-27. During this journey we see that the disciples were still not able to see the spiritual meaning of His words, they thought Jesus was telling them off for not bringing food. v9-11 Jesus reminds them of the feeding of the five and four thousand and that more was leftover than they started with. The disciples were concerned with the requirements of living when Jesus could supply far more than they needed. v12 The teaching of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, as religious leaders of Israel, were spiritually dead and should be avoided. v13-20 The confession of Peter. Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21. Caesarea Philippa, about twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus does not appeared to have entered the city, just the region as such. v13 Jesus asked a question, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" v14 The different opinions showed that though the people connected Jesus with the coming of the Messiah prophecy, few realized He was the Messiah. Elijah was expected to come before the "Day of the Lord," Malachi 4:5,6. Some thought John the Baptist was Elijah, some thought Jesus was. Jeremiah was expected to reappear to reveal the location of the Ark that he had hidden, as recorded in 2 Maccabees 2:1-8. (A history work covering the period 175 to 134 B.C. Found in the Apocrypha, certain books in the Jewish Old Testament collection, not accepted for public use.) v15 Jesus asks the disciple for their opinion. v16,17 Similar statements had been made earlier, John 1:41,49. Peter responds for the other disciples, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." The result of being with Jesus and seeing Him at work and hearing His words. A solemn statement of faith revealed by spiritual power showing the spiritual state of Peter. See Gal 1:15,16; Eph 6:12; 1 Cor 2:10-14. v18 Jesus seems to make a play on words, "Peter" (Petros) means "a piece of a rock or rocky object." The spiritual body of Christ, the church, first mentioned here, is to be built upon the divine fact stated by Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," 1 Cor 3:11; 1 Peter 2:4-6. There is only one confession we should make "Jesus is Lord," 1 Cor 12:1-3; Rom 10:9-10. "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it." "Hell" the realm of the dead. "Gates" The way into hell, normally death. The Church of Christ, to start on the day of Pentecost, will not be subject to physical death, the resurrection of Jesus will show that believers can also be resurrected. In addition, believers who die before the return of Christ will go to be with Christ, not wait in Hades. Note Phil 1:21-24; 2 Cor 5:8 . v19 See Isaiah 22:22 "Keys," this indicates the power to open the way. "To thee," indicating that it applies to Peter alone. Peter is to be the first among the disciples to open the kingdom at Pentecost. Peter is to play a leading role during the early church. The title "stone" also applies to Jesus. See the following references 1 Peter 2:6-8; Eph 2:20; Matt 21:42; Romans 9:32,33; 1 Cor 3:6-11. However, at this time it is Peter who is involved in this promise, there is no indication that it also applies to any successors in any office Peter held. This instruction also involves all the other disciples with Peter as the leader, as occurred in the early church recorded in Acts. "And whatsoever thou shalt....." This promise does not mean that God will be bound, controlled by Peter’s statements, all must be according to the will of God. v20 It was not yet time to make this promise known by others. v21 Jesus now has a group of people who believe in Him as the Messiah, v16. Jesus now starts teaching about His future plans, reasons, opposition and events which will lead to His redeeming work on the cross. v22 Peter thinks that he is in a senior position following the verses 18,19, he feels it is his responsibility and duty to keep Jesus safe. It is obvious that though they recognized the divine personality of Jesus they did not understand that the Jewish Messiah must suffer first, Isaiah 53. Jesus therefore tells Peter off, not to interfere with God’s plan. v23 "Get thee behind Me, Satan!" Peter is being used by Satan as a tool to turn Jesus away from His purpose. Satan was using the human mind and aims in an attempt to interfere with the plans of God. v24 Mark 8:34 tells us that up to now Jesus and the disciples have been in isolation, now Jesus calls the crowd to join. v24 The follower must be of the same mind as the "Master," saying "no" to personal independence. "Take up his cross," indicating a daily death to the world, Christ must come first in all things. v25 If your not willing to take on the demands of believing and following Christ then you will eventually lose any possibility of salvation. The heart of the person was not really in Christ. See the story of the seed being sown, Matt 13:3-23. v26 There is nothing in the world which can replace sins forgiven, salvation and eternal life. v27 The rewards will be given for faith when He returns, "He shall reward every man according to his works." v28 This verse has caused some Bible students a problem, we know that all who were present on this day are now dead. The question is when did the Son of Man come in His Kingdom? On His resurrection? The start of the church at Pentecost? Or was it when John while on Patmos saw the future and the New Kingdom. How about when some of the disciples saw a preview of Christ in all His glory on the mount of transfiguration, which occurs soon after this statement. See 2 Peter 1:16-18. The passage in Mark 8:38 indicated that the ultimate date Jesus is referring to is His Second coming. |
Easy English Translation
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