Matthew XVI
1. The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting 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 to-day: 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 Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Lange says: “We would suggest that the Lord attached a symbolical meaning to what He said about the signs of the weather. The red at even of the Old Testament betokened fair weather at hand. Similarly, the red sky at the commencement of the New Testament indicated the storm about to descend on Israel.” This appears to be strained. Stier says: “Had He even done as many signs in the heaven as He did on earth they would assuredly have impudently come forward still more with the objection, — ‘What good is to be done to us by all these appearances and spectacles, which dazzle the mob, and which aerial spirits may produce for Him by magic? Let Him, instead of this, heal our sick, the lame, and the blind, as it is written in the prophets, that we may know that it is He! ‘” This interruptive interview shows: — 1. The difficulty of satisfying impracticable people. They always want something which lies beyond the point which has been attained. They are “ever learning, yet never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” The impracticability of the enemies of Christ arose from moral eccentricity. 2. The dangers of a half - educated sagacity. The opponents of Christ could read the signs of the weather, but not the signs of the times. Sharp people in one direction may be very obtuse in another. This should restrain those who have partially exercised their sagacity; because a man can foretell a storm, it does not follow that he can predict a revolution. 3. The right application of hard names. Hear what Christ calls these men, — “Hypocrites, wicked and adulterous generation.” An inquiry may be good, though the inquirer is bad. Let us beware of fair questions propounded with bad motives. Christ discerned the spirits of the inquirers; but we have not His penetration, let us therefore withhold the epithets until we acquire the discernment. 4. The demand of Christianity to be judged by a wide induction of facts. Christ points to “the signs of the times.” He saw Himself everywhere. The appeal of Christianity is the same to-day, — look at literature, science, politics, national development, and in all there are symptoms of a profound Christological influence. This is still an available plea on behalf of Christianity, viz., Look at men! Look at events!
Christ explains His own meaning about Jonah in
chapter xii., 40th verse.
5. And when his disciples were 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. Which when Jesus perceived, 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. Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
1 1. How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
12. Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
1. An instance of giving superficial interpretations of deep words. Christ’s thoughts have always been exposed to this peril; they have either been made so personal as to lose much of their comprehensiveness and dignity, or they have been so generalised as to lose all practical worth. 2. This incident shows the danger, too, of finding personalities where no personalities were intended. “It is because we have taken no bread,” say self-conceited men, even when the remotest personal reference is out of the question!
The spirit that is willing to apply truth to personal circumstances ought to be cultivated; but the spirit that narrows everything to insignificant ends is to be avoided. 3. The danger of literalising is also pointed out. The figure is not to be mistaken for a reality; when Christ says, “leaven,” He may mean “doctrine.” What need, then, of reflection, comparison, and devout inquiry!
13. When Jesus came into the coasts of Cassarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
I. Christ came to be the central subject of human inquiry. Compared with Him all other themes are trifles,
2. Being the central subject of human inquiry, each
MAN MUST HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT CHRIST. Must have.
Not to have any opinion is to have the opinion that other subjects have priority of claim, or superiority of fascination.
3. as each man must have an opinion about christ, Christ’s mode of revelation must have been adapted to all classes of intellect. How did He reveal Himself? In the flesh; as Son of man; as Son of God; as a Teacher; as a Sacrifice. 4. As Christ’s revelation was adapted to all classes of intellect, He will ultimately demand a verdict from every man. “Whom do ye say that I am?” On the answer, what issues hang!
14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
No being has so challenged the speculative faculties of men as Jesus Christ. All great natures excite speculation. A great man is a great problem. We naturally wish the wonder-worker to tell us his secret. While, however, Christ has awakened so much speculation, about no man have so many mistakes been made as about Himself, — witness the different answers just given.
1 6. 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-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock 1 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 charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Peter representative of inspired men. We cannot see the point of contact between Peter and God, yet by his words we know he had received a revelation from heaven. This circumstance shows: — 1. There is a communication between God and the human mind. 2. That special men are chosen for special communications. 3. That such chosen men are “blessed.” The practical lesson is, That though all may not be immediate receivers of the word, yet all may be doers of the word. Peter was one, but the Church is many.
The first man who was “called” gave the first complete statement of the person of Christ. Why should we hesitate to acknowledge the position which Jesus Christ Himself assigned to Simon Peter? A man was needed to stand first and highest among men as Christ’s representative; why should not Peter be that man? If Christ’s Peter fell, so did God’s Adam; what if this should but show the utter dependence of the highest forms of humanity upon Divine support? Was it more to be Peter than to be Adam? A beginning must be made somewhere; if Adam was to be the father of all living, why should not Peter be the rock on which the Church was to stand? God has built the whole human family upon Adam; and Christ proposed to build the whole human Church upon Peter; where is the incongruity? It is said that some men pretend to be successors of Peter; but are not all men successors of Adam? All who cherish the spirit and do the work of Peter are undoubtedly Peter’s successors, and will have the “power of the keys” quite as much as Peter had. There need not be any more difficulty in accepting Peter as “the rock” than in accepting Adam as the federal head of the world; no physical inconvenience arises from the latter; no spiritual inconvenience need arise from the former.
In the 17th verse Peter stands before his brethren as an inspired man; aaptj icat al/xa owe aireicakvtye croi aW 6 Traryjp fiov, 0 iv to£? ovpavols. Flesh and blood (o~ap ical alfia, a Hebrew idiom signifying man, generally) cannot reveal the higher truths; man, in other words, is not the source of his own highest conceptions. How the Father can communicate truths to the human mind is not revealed. “The wind bloweth where it listeth,” &c. Paul prays “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation” (Eph. i. 17); and James says that God giveth “wisdom liberally and upbraideth not.” The fact is stated, the process is unrevealed. God’s relation to the human mind will probably remain a mystery; but the instance now under notice, and others given in the Scriptures, show that God does communicate directly with men, and that not unfrequently He communicates to the most unlikely men His highest revelations. “Base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” “Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” In the inspired man we have: — 1. A correct reader of human character; and 2. A fearless speaker of
Divine convictions, Other men had been making mistakes respecting Christ; calling Him John the Baptist, Elias, Jeremias, or one of the prophets; but Peter announced Him by His true name. Peter was not pronounced an inspired man until he had pronounced inspired words: “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
In the 18th verse we find words which some have dreaded to interpret in a plain and natural way. Christ does not put Peter before Himself. He says, “/ will build,” and He calls the Church “my church.” Did God put Adam before Himself when He constituted him the father of all living? God is still the Creator of the human family; and Christ is still the Founder and Foundation, the Redeemer and Builder, of His Church. Our Christian relation may be the same to Peter that our physical relation is to Adam. Adam was the first man, Peter was the first Christian. Adam stands next to the Creator, Peter stands next to the Redeemer. Christ builds the Church upon Peter, and Peter is founded upon Christ; “for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;” and Peter himself describes Christ as the “living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious” (i Peter ii. 4).
“The gates of hell” (irvXat aSov), “the gates of Hades,” is an expression which may signify all the forces of evil. 1. The Church is opposed to evil. 2. Evil will be opposed to the Church. 3. In the contest the Church will not be injured.
The 19th verse sets forth the transcendent dignity of the inspired man. A new era opened upon the disciples at the moment that this confession was made — the era of immediate communication with Christ’s Father. Heaven and earth were felt to be in closer connection.
The inspired man, so long as he keeps up to the level of his inspiration, cannot do wrong: — what he binds on earth is bound in heaven, — what he looses on earth is loosed in heaven. This must be so; for, being inspired, he is in communication with Christ’s Father; the words that he hears he speaks, — the visions which he sees he reveals. Every inspired man has “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” by virtue of his inspiration; he is so far free of the dominion of the senses as to have distinct visions of truth which are not revealed to men who walk after the flesh. The Church need not have any fear of men who associate Peter’s inspiration with Peter’s authority; and as for those who boast his authority without his inspiration, they need not be feared, for their influence is comprehended under the expression “gates of hell.”
Figurative expressions are, of course, to be explained as such. In the case under review there is considerable mingling of figure; for example, in one place Christ is called the foundation, and in another He is called the builder; He is said to be “the chief corner-stone,” and yet in the 18th verse He says, “I will build my church;” how can the chief corner-stone build the Church? Manifestly the expressions are figurative, and must be explained accordingly.
Peter was confessedly the most inconstant disciple, yet the frailest man becomes a rock by Christ’s gracious influence! He may be cast down, but he shall not be destroyed; he shall stand the shock of the gates of hell. In making this promise Christ does two things: — 1. He asserts a moral power quite equal to the miraculous power which He had so often displayed. He says He will defend His Church, and defend it against enemies invisible, insidious, and persistent. 2. He specifies a body of men between whom and Himself the most vital association subsists: that body of men is called “my church.” In igO HOMILETIC ANALYSIS.
the expression, “I will build my church,” there is great sublimity. How little prospect there was of building a community; how few and poor the materials; how scanty the apparent resources of the builder! Speaking of the iKKkrjarla, Lange says: “The Church is not the kingdom of heaven itself, but a positive institution of Christ by which, on the one hand, the kingdom of heaven becomes directly manifest in the world by its worship, while, on the other hand, it spreads through the world by means of its missionary efforts. The Church bears the same relation to the kingdom of heaven as the Messianic state under the Old Testament to the theocracy, the two being certainly not identical.” Lange’s observation on “the gates of hell” is striking: “Throughout Scripture Hades means the kingdom of death; which is, indeed, connected with the kingdom of Satan, but has a more comprehensive meaning. Hades is described as having gates; it is figuratively represented as a castle with gates. These gates serve a hostile purpose, since they opened, like a yawning abyss of death, to swallow up Christ, and then Peter, or the apostles and the Church, in their martyrdom. For a long time it has seemed as if the Church of Christ would become the prey of this destroying Hades. But its gates shall not ultimately prevail, — they shall be taken; and Christ will overcome and abolish the kingdom of death in His Church.” Stier has some bold statements on the passage. He says, on verse 18th, “That this applies to Peter no longer merely in the name of all the apostles, but with a certain preference of his personality, — which the Protestant Church ought never to have denied to its own hurt, by an unnatural explanation of the words.”
Great fear has been expressed lest Peter should seem to have any supremacy, but the fact is, that supremacy is a law of life; men cannot all be first; men cannot all be
equal; in the Church, as in common society, there must be gradation. With regard, however, to the supposed supremacy of Peter, it should be remembered — 1. That after the resurrection the disciples were invested with equal authority — “Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John xx. 22, 23); and even before the crucifixion a promise of the same import was given to the disciples collectively — “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt, xviii. 18). Why not? The Holy Ghost directs the man, gives the man his power, and saves the man from committing blasphemy. The deed has no validity apart from the Holy Ghost. This fact is the explanation of the mystery. It should be remembered — 2. That Peter himself makes no undue assumptions of power; he recognises Jesus Christ as “the living stone,” “the chief corner-stone, elect, precious.” His sermons and letters contain many proofs of his humility and unpretending fellowship with the apostles (Acts xv. 7; x. 43, 44, 45).
On a review of the whole subject five things are evident: I. That a right apprehension of the Person of Christ is associated with “blessedness;” 2. That whoever has the clearest apprehension of the Person of Christ has a corresponding supremacy among men; 3. That supremacy among men is dependent entirely on the continuance of the inspiration which originated it; 4. That where the inspiration is equal the authority is equal; 5. That as all Christians are promised the Spirit of inspiration if they will “ask” for it, all Christians may, according to their personal capacity, share the spiritual authority which was first given to Peter.
This should be the basis of all power in the Church — viz.,
Inspiration. The man who walks most closely with God should wield, and will ultimately wield, the profoundest influence in the Church.
21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how 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 be unto thee.
23. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
24. Then said Jesus 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?
These words may be used as the basis of a discourse on Great Purposes and Interruptive Voices, or the Profound and the Superficial in human life. Christ says, “I must go to Jerusalem,” — that is a Great Purpose. Peter said, “Not so; be it far from thee,” — that is an Interruptive Voice. We see how necessary Inspiration is to Authority by comparing Christ’s address to Peter in this case with his address to Peter given immediately before. Put the two together: —
“Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona” (ver. 17).
“Get thee behind me, Satan” (ver. 23).
“Flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee” (ver. 17). “Thou savourest not the things that be of God” (ver. 23).
How the inspired man may fall!
Looking at the words homiletically, they suggest the following points: — 1. The greatness of a Purpose gives its
POSSESSOR CORRESPONDING TRANQUILLITY IN ANTICIPATION
of the severest trials. As Christ uttered this “must go,” He embodied the greatest purpose that ever actuated human life; and how calm He was! 2. Superficial natures cannot comprehend great purposes. Peter said, — “Be it far from thee.” Great ideas have always had to struggle for existence; they have been encountered by Peters who could not see through death to resurrection. Every man has a tempter on his way! 3. Great purposes
ARE NECESSARILY ASSOCIATED WITH SELF-SACRIFICE.” If
any man will come after me,” &c. These words acquire their true significance when regarded as the continuation of the discourse concerning what was awaiting the Saviour at Jerusalem. Thus the 21st and the 24th verses might be read without any break, and the sense would be this: — “From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must GO .... then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will COME AFTER ME.” First, Whoever follows a great leader must expect great sacrifices. Second, The spirit and example of a great moral leader must ever be reproduced by faithful followers. 4. Great purposes
ALWAYS CORRECTLY ESTIMATE THE VALUE OF MATERIAL
possessions. “What is a man profited,” &c. What may the word “soul” be taken to signify in this connection? It is equivalent to great purposes. Peter wished Christ to forego his great plan of life; and Christ asks, What shall it profit me if I gain the whole world and stifle my convictions, falsify my vows, quench my aspirations? 5. Superficial
NATURES ALWAYS PROCEED UPON A SELF-DEFEATING POLICY.
“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Look at Lot as an illustration. Peter wished for present ease, Christ showed him that the “soul” was of the first importance, and all else secondary or trivial.
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 be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
i. Exaltation after crucifixion; 2. The good man cannot be kept in the grave; 3. The man who has done most for the race will be its judge — service is the best qualification for criticism; 4. Dark sayings keep the mind from stagnation — how the 28th verse would startle the disciples! Why “some,” and not “all”? What is the “kingdom” of the Son of man? Hard words for ignorant men, yet much calculated to excite the mind in a course of devout and practical inquiry.