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Matthew Chapter
Sixteen
I. Content of the Chapter
Spiritual Revelations
I. The obstruction of heavenly revelations:
A. False pursuit ------they asked for a sign
(v.1-4).
B. Slow understanding of hearts------they
did not know the Lord’s words or remember His deeds (v.5-12).
II. The procedure of heavenly revelations:
A. Know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
the Living God (v.13-17).
B. Know the edification and authority of the
church (v.18-20).
C. Know that the way of cross is the way to
be glorified (v.21-28).
II. Verse by Verse commentary
Matt. 16:1 “Then the Pharisees and
Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from
heaven.”
YLT: “And the Pharisees and Sadducees having come,
tempting, did question him, to shew to them a sign from the heaven,”
Meaning of Words: “sign”: indication.
The Background:
“the Pharisees” originally were a group of
people who loved the country and were pious to God. Because the chief priest
Simon was not for God, they separated from the
Maccabean Party and therefore their rivals called them “the Pharisees” (it
means “separation”). They tried their best to keep the Law and traditions and
made themselves higher than common people. Therefore the word Pharisees became their
religious aim. Because they stressed on the Law, gradually they inclined to
appearance instead of the reality. They prayed on the crossing, enlarged the
borders and looked up at heaven least they may see women. They were strict to
others and obstinately clung to regulations. However their hearts were still corruptible
and therefore later generations explained “the Pharisees” as “hypocrites”.
“Sadducees” were the name of the High
Priest Zadok in the age of Solomon. The latter generations called their party
with this name. They opposed the behaviors of the Pharisees who only stressed
on fervency and neglected morality. They stressed on moral behaviors and
inclined to another extreme: they stressed on behaviors and neglected faith. They
only received the Pentateuch and did not receive prophets or tradition.
Therefore they did not believe in devils, angels, resurrection and other truths
and they were indifferent to the
Literal Meaning: “came, and testing
Him” “testing” shows their unbelief towards the Lord.
“Asked that He would show them a sign
from heaven”: they wanted Him to prove that He was sent from God through signs.
Spiritual Meaning: “the Pharisees”
could symbolize conservative fundamentalism in Christianity. “Sadducees”
symbolizes futuristic Liberalism in Christianity.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Pharisees and Sadducees were originally
incompatible as fire and water. Now they actually associated together to come
to tempt Jesus, showing that those who did not know the Lord did not have any
principle.
2) Religious believers stressed on outward phenomenon
and marks (“signs”) and neglected the inner connotation and reality.
Matt. 16:2 “He answered and said to
them, ‘When it is evening you say,
‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red';”
YLT: “and he answering said to them, `Evening having
come, ye say, Fair weather, for the heaven is red,”
Matt. 16:3 “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.”
YLT: “and at morning, Foul weather to-day, for the
heaven is red gloomy; hypocrites, the face of the heavens indeed ye do know to
discern, but the signs of the times ye are not able!”
Literal Meaning: “the face of the sky”:
the appearance of the sky.
“The signs of the times” indicates that
the indications manifested in the times shows that it was wicked and adulterous
and its only need is Jesus who had died and had risen again (See v.4).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Natural men only know to discern natural signs (“the
face of the sky”) and couldn’t discern spiritual signs (“the sings of the times”)
because they do not have spiritual sights (See 1Cor. 2:10-15).
2) On the spiritual way, sometimes it is “fair
weather” (v.2) ------everything is peaceful and all right and it is full of the
Lord’s presence and blessing. Sometimes it is “foul weather” ------Satan stirs
up trouble and we continuously encounter ailments and sufferings. However we
have to hold fast Christ anyhow.
Matt. 16:4 “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.”
YLT: “`A generation evil and adulterous doth seek a
sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the
prophet; `and having left them he went away.”
Meaning of Words: “left”: to give up,
to abandon, and to go off in a huff.
The Background:
“the sign of the prophet Jonah”: Jonah was
in the belly of the fish three days and nights (Jon. 1:17) and then was vomited
out by the fish and survived (Jon. 2:10).
Literal
Meaning: “a wicked and
adulterous generation,” “wicked” indicates the inner corruptible disposition; “adulterous”
indicates the outward corruptible behaviors; “generation” indicates the age at
the moment.
Spiritual Meaning: “a wicked and
adulterous generation,” “wicked”: “backsliding”, “faithless” (See Hos. 4:12).
“The sign of the prophet Jonah” typifies
that the Lord was buried after His death and then rose the third day. Only
Christ who had died and risen again is the greatest sign shown to men from God
and Christ is also the greatest salvation given by God to men.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Lord Himself is the sign of this generation.
Only Christ who had died and had risen again is able to solve the problems of
this corruptible and disorderly generation.
2) “And He left them and departed.” The wrong
pursuit and uninitiated pursuit (asking for signs) contrarily obstructed them
to receive revelations. Any pursuit that is not with the aim of Christ is vain
and fruitless.
3) Religious believers did not think good to have
God in knowledge (See Rom. 1:28) and therefore the Lord abandoned them.
Matt. 16:5 “Now when His disciples
had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.”
YLT: “And his disciples having come to the other side,
forgot to take loaves,”
Matt. 16:6 “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
the Sadducees.’”
YLT: “and Jesus said to them, `Beware, and take heed of
the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees;’”
Literal Meaning: “take heed and beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and the Sadducees.” “Leaven” is the unicellular thallus which is able
to make bread to ferment and bread that has been fermented becomes more
delicious.
Spiritual Meaning: “take heed and
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” “Leaven” indicates
evil things (See Exod. 12:20, 1Cor. 5:7-8) and evil teachings (See v.12, Gal.
5:8-9).
Enlightenment in the Word: “leaven” is hidden in bread and makes the bread
more delicious. Today in Christianity, many teachings of men which are covered
by God’s words (bread) seem to be helpful and easy to be accepted. But actually
they corrupt men who eat them and therefore we should beware of the leaven.
Matt. 16:7 “And they reasoned among
themselves, saying, ‘It is because we have taken
no bread.’”
YLT: “and they were reasoning in themselves, saying,
`Because we took no loaves.’”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) It is a fact that the disciples had taken no
bread (See v.5). Paying attention to subjective facts overly will make men misunderstand
God’s words.
2) The Lord talked about spiritual things (See v.6)
and the disciples thought about material things. If men’s spiritual understanding
has not been opened (See Luke. 24:45), they still live in earthly realm and are
unable to understand the Lord’s words.
3) Material concepts and earthly cares usually are
the shadow of spiritual understanding.
Matt. 16:8 “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?”
YLT: “And Jesus having known, said to them, `Why reason
ye in yourselves, ye of little faith, because ye took no loaves?”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Lord has perspective sight and He is God who
knows men’s reins and hearts.
2) “Men of little faith” walk by sight, not by
faith (See 1Cor. 5:7).
Matt. 16:9 “Do you not yet
understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many
baskets you took up?”
YLT: “do ye not yet understand, nor remember the five
loaves of the five thousand, and how many hand-baskets ye took up?”
Literal Meaning: please see Matt.
14:13-21.
Matt. 16:10 “Nor the seven loaves of
the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?”
YLT: “nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how
many baskets ye took up?”
Literal Meaning: please see Matt.
15:32-39.
Enlightenment in the Word: it is a great sign that the Lord had changed bread
two times to feed several thousands of people. However, the disciples had
forgotten it only after several days. It shows that it is not helpful for men
to know Christ by seeking charismatic and stressing on signs and wonders.
Matt. 16:11 “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.’”
YLT: “how do ye not understand that I did not speak to
you of bread to take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?’”
Enlightenment in the Word: in spiritual things, we are always like the
disciples who called bread the leaven, called a stag a horse and were deceived
by backsliders because they lacked spiritual discernment (See Rom. 16:17-18,
Eph. 4:14).
Matt. 16:12 “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.”
YLT: “Then they understood that he did not say to take
heed of the leaven of the bread, but of the teaching, of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.”
Literal Meaning: “of the doctrines of
the Pharisees and Sadducees.” “Doctrine of the Pharisees” indicates to pay
attention to external forms, hypocrisy, affectation, and gaining false
reputation of piety; “doctrine of the Sadducees” indicates to study religious
philosophy but not to believe in God’s power of resurrection.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Any doctrine that misleads men to “have a form
of piety but deny the power of it” (2Tim. 3:5) is the doctrine of the
Pharisees.
2) The Liberalism boosts Christ’s philanthropy and
does not believe that He is the Son of God and the Savior who had died and had
risen again. This kind of doctrine is the doctrine of the Sadducees.
3) Wrong doctrines will become the veils on men’s
face to lift themselves up against the knowledge of God (See 2Cor. 3: 13-16).
Matt. 16:13 “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?’”
YLT: “And Jesus, having come to the parts of Cesarea
Philippi, was asking his disciples, saying, `Who do men say me to be the Son of
Man?’”
Literal Meaning: “came into the
region of Caesarea Philippi.” It is located on the north of the Sea of Galilee,
near to the roots of the
“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man,
am?” The Lord called Himself “the Son of Man”. This appellation shows that: 1)
though He is God, He is genuinely a “man” when He is manifested before men; 2)
He was rejected by the Jews.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Caesarea Philippi” is the place far away from
religious atmosphere and sphere. The Lord specially brought the disciples there
to ask them this personal and important question because traditional religious
knowledge and concepts always deceive men and make it difficult for them to
receive spiritual revelations.
2) Knowing Jesus Christ is the access to spiritual
realm. Anyone who does not know Jesus Christ will not partake in the assembly
and the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 16:14 “So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”
YLT: “and they said, `Some, John the Baptist, and
others, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’”
Literal Meaning: the testimony of
life is the feature of “John the Baptist” (See Matt. 3:4); being jealous for
God is the feature of “Elijah” (See 1Kings. 19:14); lamenting for God’s people
is the feature of “Jeremiah” (See Lam.); “one of the prophets,” the feature of “prophets”
is to speak for God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah and prophets
were all servants used by God and all spoke for God. Many aspects of them were
like Christ. However, they were not Christ. Men are unable to know Christ completely
without revelations.
2) Even the disciple who were with the Lord all the
day seemed not to know Christ clearly. Those who speak Christ with their mouth
may not truly know Christ.
Matt. 16:15 “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’”
YLT: “He saith to them, ‘And ye who do ye say me to
be?’”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The hearsay and secondhand knowledge (“some say”)
do not count. Only the personal and firsthand knowledge (“do you say”) counts. What’s
important is whether we have true knowledge of the Lord.
2) Knowing the Lord is the starting point for men
to forsake everything and pursue and obtain Christ (See Pill. 3:8-12).
Matt. 16:16 “Simon Peter answered and
said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God.’”
YLT: “and Simon Peter answering said, `Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God.’”
Literal Meaning: “you are the Christ,”
“Christ” means the anointed one (Dan. 9:26) and this is the Lord’s
administration from God. God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and sent Him
into the world to fulfill His mission (See Luke. 4:18-19).
“The Son of the living God,” “the Son”
bears resemblance to the image of His father and therefore “the Son of God”
indicates that He is the manifestation and declaration of God (See John. 1:18).
Here it shows the Lord’s identity.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) There are two aspects of the knowledge of
Christ------the administration and identity; both aspects of the knowledge are
indispensable
2) Only believing in Him is not enough, one has to
confess Him with his mouth (See
3) What we need is “the Son of the living God” instead
of the dead words and reasons.
Matt. 16:17 “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.”
YLT: “And Jesus answering said to him, `Happy art thou,
Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal [it] to thee, but my
Father who is in the heavens.”
Meaning of Words: “Simon”: listener; “Bar-Jonah”:
the son of Jonah, the son of the dove.
Literal Meaning: “for flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you,” means that “for neither did I receive them from
men, neither was I taught” (Gal. 1:12).
Spiritual Meaning: “Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah,” The Lord here called Peter the name “Simon Bar-Jonah”,
indicating that he was able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit (the dove),
i.e. the revelation of the Holy Spirit and therefore he was blessed.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Knowing that Jesus is Christ is not a small
thing and it is blessed.
2) No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but the
Holy Spirit (1Cor. 12:3).
3) The Father’s communion and revelation through
the Holy Spirit are the root for men to truly know Christ (See John. 16:13);
our knowledge of the Lord is that the Father has revealed His son in us (See
Gal. 1:16) through the interpretation of the Holy Spirit (See Eph. 1:17)
4) Except that Christianity is revealed by God, all
religions in the world are of men because they are made by the indication of
the flesh and blood to the flesh and blood by imagining a way to worship and
please God
Matt. 16:18 “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.”
YLT: “`And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and
upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it;”
Meaning of Words: “Peter”: petros; “church”:
a calling out, assembly; “rock”:
The
Background: “gates of Hades” In
ancient times, the broad places of the gates were the gathering for the public
and were also the places for judgment where officers sat in the gates. Therefore
“the gates” represents the authority.
Literal Meaning: “on this rock I will
build My church” implies that:
1) “I” shows that only the Lord Himself
instead of anyone else is able to build the church. This also shows that the
building of the church is after the death and resurrection of the Lord.
2) “My church” shows that the church is
not of anyone but the Lord Himself. Please note that in the four Gospels, “the
church” was only mentioned two times in the book of Matthew (v.16 and Matt.
18:17). Matt. 16 means the universal church and Matt. 18 means the local
church.
3) “On this rock” shows that the
foundation of the church is not Peter the “stone”, but the “rock” which Peter
had confessed (See 1Cor. 10:4, 3:11, 1Pet. 2: 7-8); in other words, “rock”
indicates Peter’s confession of faith towards Christ because of his revelation
from God and therefore it indicates “the teaching of the apostles” (See Eph.
2:20, Acts. 2:42).
“The gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it.” “Hades” are the destination for men’s souls after the death (See Job.
24:19). Here it indicates the power of darkness which rules death (See Rev.
6:8, 20:14).
Controversial Clarification:
Roman Catholic misused this verse,
considering that the church should be built on Peter the rock, and regarded
Peter as the first pope. Then they advocated “Papal infallibility” and the
church had to keep the will of the pope, otherwise it was to demolish the
building of the church. Any Christian with conscience must not agree with this statement.
(Note that Peter himself had made mistakes, pleas see Gal. 2:11-16).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Lord saved us in order that we, dust of
ground (Gen. 2:7) may be transformed into living stones (the meaning of Peter),
the material to build the church (See 1Pet. 2:5).
2) The church is built on the foundation------the
true knowledge of Christ. Any idea, concept, way and reason that are of men are
not the church but the meetings of men and man-made organizations.
3) “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it.” The life of resurrection that believers have received after they were born
from above cannot be closed by death. Only relying on this life will we prevail
against the gates of Hades.
4) A believer alone may be harmed by the power of
darkness and therefore in spiritual conflicts, if we want to be protected, we
have to be united to the body of Christ and do not leave the church.
5) What the Hades fear most is “the church that has
been built up”. We have to edify the body of Christ unto the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ (See Eph. 4:12-13). In this way, we are
accounted the invincible and successful spiritual soldiers (See Eph. 6:10-17).
6) The Father revealed Christ and Christ revealed
the church. Only those who have received the revelation by the Father’s mercy
are able to know Christ. And only those who know Christ are able to truly know
the church.
7) Knowing Christ without the Father’s revelation
must be of mind, letters and words. Without Christ’s revelation it is dangerous
and disorderly for someone to deal with the problems of the church.
Matt. 16:19 “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.’”
YLT: “and I will give to thee the keys of the reign of
the heavens, and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been
bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be
having been loosed in the heavens.’”
Meaning of Words: “bound”: impose
sanction against, declare to forbid (legal terms); “loose”: release the
punishment, declare to permit (legal terms).
Literal Meaning: “I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heavens,” “keys” symbolize the authority; “you”: Peter. The
entrusting of keys was fulfilled on the Pentecost (See Acts. 2:38-42) and in
the house of Cornelius (See Acts. 10:34-48). Peter had opened the door of the
kingdom of heaven for the Jewish and Gentile believers respectively.
“Whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
According to the original, the Lord did not give men the rights to condemn
whether it is guilty or not. The Lord gave men heavenly sight and enabled men
to declare the heavenly judgments. Moreover, according to the context, here it
was spoken for the authority and power of the glad tidings.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Only those who truly know Christ and the church
are able to hold “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” so as to open the heavenly
abundance for men and bring down heavenly blessing.
2) To anyone who truly knows Christ and the church,
his deeds accord with heavenly deeds and therefore he has the authority to bind
and loose.
3) The true spiritual authority comes from
revelations------revelations bring in knowledge, knowledge brings in
edification, and edification brings in authority.
Matt. 16:20 “Then He commanded His
disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”
YLT: “Then did he charge his disciples that they may say
to no one that he is Jesus the Christ.”
Literal Meaning: because the Jews had
wrong concepts towards “Christ” (the Messiah). They thought that the coming
Messiah is the salvation of the race and He would lead the Jews to rebel the
domination of the different race to build a kingdom of peace of the Jews. Therefore
if they had publicized that “He is Christ”, it is of no help to His work of
salvation and it may cause trouble.
Enlightenment in the Word: natural man does not receive the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are folly to Him (See 1Cor. 2:14) and therefore we
should not tell the experience and things of the Spirit of God to others
randomly (See Matt. 7:6).
Matt. 16:21 “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.”
YLT: “From that time began Jesus to shew to his
disciples that it is necessary for him to go away to
Literal Meaning: “from that time”
indicates the time after God had revealed Christ and Christ had revealed the
church (See v.16-19).
“He must go to
“Suffer many things from the elders and chief
priests and scribes”: to be persecuted by the Jewish council. “The elders and
chief priests” are the main members of the council.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) After the Lord had revealed that He would build
His church (See v.18), then He mentioned His cross, showing us that the cross
is the way to build the church.
2) One has to know Christ and the church first and
then knows the cross. The lessons of the cross are effective and positive to
someone only on the basis of the knowledge of Christ and the church.
3) The greatest cross of believers is not the
trouble from unbelievers but from those who have position in the assembly and
the knowledge of the Bible (“the elders and chief priests”) and the trouble is
many-sided (“many things”).
4) After men have known Christ with His divinity,
they have to know Christ who had redeemed men by death.
Matt. 16:22 “Then Peter took Him aside
and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord;
this shall not happen to You!’”
YLT: “And having taken him aside, Peter began to rebuke
him, saying, `Be kind to thyself, sir; this shall not be to thee;’”
Literal Meaning: “far be it from you”:
“be kind to yourself” or “may God forbid” in original.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Peter, relying on his natural thoughts and
feelings, dissuaded the Lord from the cross, showing that natural men do not
know or receive the cross.
2) Obviously Peter only heard the word “suffer many
things…and be killed” and did not hear the word “be raised the third day” (See
v.21). He, representing the common people, made the mistake: he only paid
attention to the negative words and neglected the positive words. Actually the
latter was more important.
Matt. 16:23 “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.’”
YLT: “and he having turned, said to Peter, `Get thee
behind me, adversary! thou art a stumbling-block to me, for thou dost not mind
the things of God, but the things of men.’”
Meaning of Words: “Satan”: the
adversary, the accuser; “offense”: stumbling block, obstacle, snare, trap; “mindful”:
to interest oneself in (with concern or obedience).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) One who has received God’s revelation (See v.17)
has to be mindful of the things of God and do the will of God.
2) Anyone who thinks on God is the one who is
mindful of the things of God. Only when someone thinks on God will he be
mindful of the things of God.
3) Once Peter was not mindful of the things of God,
but the things of men, he became “Satan”. It shows that things of men oppose (the
meaning of Satan) the will of God and block (“an offense to Me”) the Lord to
build His church.
4) Being mindful of the things of God, but the
things of men is to concern men’s gain and lose, but to sacrifice God’s profit.
5) Satan is good at utilizing the inclination of
human nature to “seek ease and comfort and be afraid of sufferings” and makes
men be its tools unconsciously.
6) Peter just said rightly and for a short while he
said wrongly. It shows that even if someone has received many revelations and
is of spiritual, once he is carless, he may be utilized by Satan.
7) Anyone who knows Christ is “blessed”. However,
once someone rejects the cross, he becomes “Satan” immediately. Here it shows
that we need to not only know Christ, but also know the cross (See 1Cor. 2:2). Anything
that holds someone back from taking his cross is of Satan.
8) Not only the serpent (which deceives men to
commit sins) is Satan, but also the natural love of men who do not understand
the will of God and things of men are Satan.
9) Once the enemy wants to usurp the worship that
God deserves, the Lord said immediately: “Get behind me, Satan!” (See Matt.
4:8-10). Once the enemy wants to hold up things of men and overshadow the will
of God, the Lord also said promptly: “Get behind me, Satan!” The reason why it
is called Satan is that it opposes God in these two things.
10) The greatest aim of Christ’s coming into the
world is to fulfill the salvation on the cross. Anyone who attempts to hold the
Lord back from fulfilling the salvation is of one mind with Satan and he will
be rebuked by the Lord.
Matt. 16:24 “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.”
YLT: “Then said Jesus to his disciples, `If any one doth
will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me,”
Literal Meaning: “let him deny himself,” “deny”: disown,
abstain. It means that not only denying the connection but also breaking off
the connection.
“Take up his cross” There are two kinds
of crosses: 1) Christ’s cross------it is for atonement (1Pet. 2:24); 2) the individual
cross of believers (his cross) ------it is for one to be crucified with the
Lord (
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Our “selves” are the greatest trouble to block
men to follow the Lord. Only when we have denied ourselves will we obey the
Lord’s guidance unconditionally and walk on the way of the Lord.
2) The slogan of the cross is to “take away” (John.
19:15) and therefore taking up the cross is taking away, that is to deny
oneself------being crucified to the world and to himself (Gal. 6:14).
3) If we want to follow the Lord, we have to deny
ourselves. If we want to deny ourselves, we have to take our own crosses. The
Lord has arranged different crosses for everyone and everyone has his own
cross.
Matt. 16:25 “For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find
it.”
YLT: “for whoever may will to save his life, shall lose
it, and whoever may lose his life for my sake shall find it,”
Meaning of Words: “loses”: die, miss,
destroy.
Literal Meaning: “life” is “soul” in
original. It includes thought, feeling and will.
This verse means that anyone who seeks
comfort and ease in this time and satisfies his soul will suffer in the coming
age and lose the enjoyment of soul. Anyone who suffers for the Lord’s sake will
receive the enjoyment of soul in the coming age.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The one who wants to save actually loses and the
one who wants to lose actually saves; the one who gains actually loses and the
one who wants to lose actually gain (See v.26). The knowledge of this principle
will save men from grudging eternally.
2) “Losing his life” in this verse is also “denying
oneself” and “taking up his cross”; what the cross deals with finally is the
self and the life of soul.
3) Taking up one’s cross and denying oneself always
make the soul suffer. Anything that is unable to make the soul suffer could not
be counted as the cross.
Matt. 16:26 “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?”
YLT: “for what is a man profited if he may gain the
whole world, but of his life suffer loss? or what shall a man give as an
exchange for his life?”
Literal Meaning: “loses his own soul”
means death.
If a man gains the whole world, he only
let his soul have short enjoyment. If someone loses his won soul, his soul will
suffer eternal losses. Everyone knows fairly well that which one is profitable
in these two conditions.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The world is useful when men are alive. However,
men are unable to exchange the world for life because life is more precious
than the world.
2) This verse shows that “the world” is opposite to
“life”. If someone loves the world, he will lose his life. Therefore we should
not love the world and should treasure the life.
Matt. 16:27 “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.”
YLT: “`For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory
of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to
his work.”
Meaning of Words: “works”: deeds.
Literal Meaning: “for” shows that
because the Lord Jesus will come to command judgments in the glory, He does not
consider His life and the enjoyment in this time.
“According to his works” “works” are not
sudden or accidental, but habitual deeds all one’s life. Therefore they will
receive eternal recompense.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The reward in the kingdom of a thousand years is
according to “his works” instead of the common identity when we were saved.
2) If believers want to know whether they have
reward in future, they should consider their ways (See Hag. 1:5, 2Cor. 13:5).
3) If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also
be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:17); however, if we enjoy the pleasure of sin, we
will receive the recompense which is fit.
4) The order of the revelations in this chapter is:
1) Christ; 2) the church; 3) the cross; 4) the glory. Christ is the center of
revelations; the church is the vessel to manifest Christ; the cross is the way
to manifest Christ; glory is at the peak of manifesting Christ.
5) Only knowing Christ, edifying the church and
walking on the way of cross will fully manifest Christ and it is the glory.
Matt. 16:28 “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.’”
YLT: “Verily I say to you, there are certain of those
standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man
coming in his reign.’”
Literal Meaning: “who shall not taste
death” means “before the departure”.
“The Son of Man coming in His kingdom”
means when He comes in His kingdom (See Luke. 23:42).
According to literal meaning, it is fulfilled
in the experience of the Mountain Hermon (See Matt. 17:1-8).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The cross makes believers partake in the glory
of the kingdom of heaven. If we are willing to take up the cross and deny
ourselves to edify the church of the Lord, we will see the glory of the kingdom
of heaven.
2) Though the overcoming believers will fully and
completely taste the glory of the kingdom of heaven in the coming age, they
have a foretaste of being glorified in this time.
III. Outlines of the Spiritual
Lessons
Spiritual Revelations
I. The obstruction
of revelations------the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees:
A. Religious believers do not know
the Lord:
1. They
only pay attention to the outward signs and makes (v.1).
2. They
are able to discern natural signs and unable to discern spiritual signs (v.2).
3. Only
Christ who had died and had risen again is able to solve the problems of this
wicked and adulterous world (v.3).
B. Teachings of men block men to
know Christ:
1. We
should take heed and beware of teachings of men (v.5-7).
2. We
should walk by faith not by sight (v.8-10).
3. What we
should beware of is the hypocritical and practical teachings (v.11-12).
II. The Father
revealed Christ:
A. Nobody could know Christ without revelations
(v.13-14).
B. One is able to know Christ truly with
revelations (v.15-17).
III. Christ revealed
the church:
A. The church is built on the foundation of the
knowledge of Christ (v.18a).
B. The power of darkness couldn’t prevail against
the church that has been built up (v.18b-20).
C. The cross is the way to build the church:
1. The cross is to suffer many things, be killed and be raised (v.21).
2. Natural men do not know the preciousness of the cross (v.22).
3. Satan utilizes things of men to block the Lord to build His church
(v.23).
4. If one is willing to partake in the Lord’s edification, he has to
deny himself, take up his cross and follow the Lord (v.24).
5. If someone is willing to take up his cross, deny himself so as to
build the Lord’s church, he will be glorified with the Lord (v.25-28).
Be not Foolish, but Understanding What the Will of
the Lord (Eph. 5:17)
I. The Pharisees and
Sadducees were foolish------they knew to discern “the face of the sky” but
could not discern “the signs of the times” (v.1-4).
II. The disciples
were foolish------they did not understand the Lord’s words or remember the Lord’s
deeds (v.5-12).
III. The Peter
living in spirit was wise------he received God’s revelation and knew Christ
truly (v.13-20).
IV. The Peter living
in soul was foolish------he “was not mindful of the things of God, but the
things of men” (v.21-28).
The Mystery of the
I. The foundation of
the building of the church------this rock------the faith Peter had declared: “Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v.16-18b).
II. The origin of
the faith of the church------flesh and blood has not revealed to you, but My
Father who is in heaven (v.17).
III. The material to
build the church------“you are Peter” (v.18a) ------living stones after someone
has been born from above (See 1Pet. 2:5)
IV. The builder of
the church------“I will build…” (v.18b) ------the Lord Himself.
V. The owner of the
church------“My church”------it belongs to the Lord instead of anyone else.
VI. The authority of
the church------“the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (v.19).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren