Savage Street Church of Christ

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05_23_2018_Matt16_DonRuhl

Matthew 16

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • May 23, In the year of our Lord, 2018

1. Matthew 16.1–4 | Discerning Signs

   1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you 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 threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.
   

   1. Why did they want a sign?
   2. What kind of sign were they wanting?
   3. What does a red sky mean at different times of the day?
      1. They knew how to tell the difference in the red sky.
      2. They had observed the time of day and the weather and knew how to predict the weather to a certain degree.
   4. Yet, what could they not discern?
      1. They wanted a sign from heaven, but
      2. they could not discern the signs of the times.
         1. They knew the signs of the red sky during various times of the day, but
         2. they had not considered how the biblical signs of the Messiah’s arrival worked in conjunction with the times.
   5. What kind of a generation seeks after a sign?
      1. Why is that?
      2. How does His declaration fit the context?
         1. The Holy Spirit had already given them signs in the prophecies.
         2. Jesus had already performed many signs of heaven.
            1. Would more signs persuade them of His true identity?
            2. What sign would He give them?
2. Matthew 16.5–12 | It Is an Issue of Faith

   5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” 8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
   

   1. Do you ever forget to bring along something?
      1. Why did John introduce the point that they had forgotten to bring bread?
      2. It must be that they were thinking of bread or of eating.
   2. Jesus uses on what their mind to warn them of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
      1. Were they bakers?
      2. If not, why then did He give this warning?
      3. What is leaven?
      4. How did this illustrate the teaching of these two Jewish sects?
   3. After His warning where was the mind of the apostles?
   4. Why did Jesus bring up their faith?
      1. Since they had no bread, it did not occur to them that the Lord provides.
      2. Why did He bring up the two times He multiplied food for the multitudes?
   5. Notice in verse 11, that He spoke plainly that He did not speak of bread, but then He still used the “leaven,” analogy.
   6. Finally, the apostles got the message.
3. Matthew 16.13–19 | Who Is the Son of Man?

   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 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
   

   1. What did Jesus want His disciples to tell Him?
      1. Should we also learn what people think about the church?
      2. Should we also learn what people think of us?
   2. What was the ongoing public opinion about the identity of Jesus?
      1. Why do you think people compared Him to John, Elijah, Jeremiah, or other prophets?
      2. It was good that people thought highly of Jesus, but they did not yet think of Him high enough.
   3. Why did Peter have the right knowledge of the identity of Jesus?
      1. How had the Father revealed the truth about Jesus to Peter?
      2. Why did Peter see this, but others in Israel had not?
   4. Why did Jesus confess Peter?
      1. Matt 10.32–33
      2. Was the conversation about Peter or Jesus?
   5. If the conversation was about Jesus and the truth of His identity, then on what rock would Jesus build His church?
      1. He would build it on the deity of Jesus.
      2. The deity of Jesus and not the identity of Peter is that upon which Jesus would build His church.
   6. The gates of Hades would not prevail against what?
      1. Jesus building His church.
      2. Jesus did not say:
         1. The gates of hell would not prevail against the building of the church
         2. Hell would not prevail against the church
      3. The Greek has Hades rather than Hell.
         1. What is Hades?
         2. What is the purpose of gates?
            1. What then did Jesus mean?
            2. Not even death itself could prevent Him from building His church.
               1. He would die and go through the gates of Hades.
               2. However, He would come back through the gates and reenter His body, and then build His church, starting on Pentecost.
   7. What would Jesus give to Peter and the apostles?
      1. Jesus would give the keys of the kingdom.
      2. Why would Jesus speak of the kingdom of heaven when He had just spoken of the church?
         1. Did Jesus indicate that heaven would follow Peter’s lead?
         2. Consider the Greek:
            1. The text teaches that what Peter or the apostles bound and loosed on the earth was something that had already been done in heaven.
            2. The NASV and the ESV have footnotes that give this indication.
      3. The apostles functioned as official ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven.
4. Matthew 16.20–21 | Jesus Foretold His Death and Resurrection

   20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. 21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
   

   1. Why would Jesus command His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ?
      1. To answer that question, consider what He told them next.
      2. What did He say?
   2. His death was to happen at a precise time and not any earlier.
      1. If they went out preaching His true identity, which people should have already seen, then the opposition would have grow faster and they would have killed Him sooner.
      2. However, would He later tell them to announce who He was?
5. Matthew 16.22–23 | Peter’s Interference

   22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
   

   1. Why did Jesus say, “Bet behind Me, Satan”?
   2. What had Peter become to Jesus?
   3. What kind of thinking had Peter adopted?
      1. Is this not interesting in light of what Jesus told Peter in verse 17?
      2. See how fast we can go from learning from the Father and then not learning from Him?
   4. What does this show you in regard to Peter’s thinking about the death of Jesus?
6. Matthew 16.24–28 | What It Means to Follow Jesus

   24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
   

   1. Why did Jesus then give this teaching?
      1. Of course, Peter and the rest would want to mind the things of God.
      2. If they wanted to mind the things of God, that required willingness to suffer along with Jesus.
   2. We have the tendency to think, Save your life at all costs.
      1. However, are there not things and people for whom we deem it is worthy to die for them?
      2. Is it worthy to die for our Creator and Savior?
   3. How is it that saving our life means that we will lose it and how is it that losing our life means we will save it?
      1. The latter happens when we do it for His sake.
      2. Following Jesus is an all or nothing proposition.
   4. How valuable is the whole world?
      1. Is that value greater than your soul?
      2. What good is owning the world if we lose our souls?
   5. How does Jesus explain Himself in verse 27?
   6. All these things being true, including giving them the keys to the kingdom, what did He say about the timing of the arrival of the kingdom?