Opposition, Caution, and Mission: Matthew 16:1-20 (Sermon)

Children’s Message

I invite the children in 5th grade and under, come up front for a children’s message. You can make your way down now. I have several signs you can help me identify.

What are they?

Stop Sign
Railroad Crossing
Deer Crossing
Danger
Gas Station
Recycling Sign
The H stands for a hospital
Here is a tricky one - a telephone sign.
Cross

Nice job. What do signs do? They communicate. For example,

A stop sign displays a need to stop.
A train sign indicates that a train passes in that location.
This deer sign shows that deer are in the area.
This danger symbol communicates that the place may not be safe.
This means there is a gas station nearby
This is a recycling sign
This tells you there is a hospital nearby
This tells you there is a telephone nearby
I bring this up because of this last symbol, the cross, symbolizing Jesus. We are going to talk about him.

One day, the Pharisees and Sadducees asked him for a sign, a miracle from heaven. Do you think they genuinely want one? No. What did they want? They tried to trap him. They didn’t like him. Why? He was more powerful than them, and they were jealous and annoyed by his teaching.

How do you think he answered their desire for a miracle? He said the only sign he would give them was the sign of Jonah. Hmm. Do you remember Jonah from the Bible? A big fish swallowed him for three days and spit him out. He went to the land of God’s enemies. He told them to stop doing evil and follow God. They did, and God showed mercy.

How did that relate to Jesus? The people who wanted a sign also wanted Jesus dead. They got what they wanted eventually. That is what this cross was for. They buried him. But he showed them. He gave them the sign of Jonah. After three days, he rose again from the dead. Not only that, like Jonah, he will make a way to show mercy on everyone who believes in him, even God’s enemies. God is not just for the smart, powerful, and beautiful.

Jesus is our ultimate hero. We want to hear what he has to say and obey. You can be his followers, helping people see his compassion and the truth about Jesus. Listen to the words of the Bible today and follow Jesus. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Dear God, may the words of my mouth and the thoughts of our hearts be pleasing to you. You are our Rock and Redeemer. In Jesus’s name, we pray, amen.

You can return to your seats, and I will have S.O. come up here and read for us. Please stand with me, if you can, in honor of God’s Word.

TEXT

And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:1–20, ESV)

You may be seated.

CONTEXT

We are over halfway through Matthew as we preach verse by verse. Next week, we will take a break as some of us will be down at Waveland County Park in Indiana. The book of Matthew is about following the promised king into his kingdom. Much of it is chronological. Matthew writes in the first verse where the book is heading.

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” Matthew 1:1, ESV).

Matthew describes who Jesus was, what he taught, and what he did. Last week, we heard of him miraculously feeding 4,000 men and casting out a demon. He came to earth to save his people from their sins, and he would adopt people from every nation. He will do that through the church.

STRUCTURE

In our passage, Jesus moves from miracles to messages, from opposition to mission. The selection of verses that we are looking at has three scenes.

Scene 1 Chapter 16:1–4 - Opposition - The Pharisees and Sadducees test Jesus. Jesus will only give them the sign of Jonah.
Scene 2 Chapter 16:5–12 - Caution - The disciples forget their food and misunderstand Jesus. He warned them to beware of the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Scene 3 Chapter 16:13–20 - Mission - Jesus tested his disciples, and Peter, the son of Jonah, passed the test. Jesus pronounced Peter’s mission.

MAIN IDEA

Matthew highlights three groups of people: the religious leaders, the crowds, and the disciples. In our passage, we only have the leaders and the disciples. The main idea is that we understand

Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God, and to remember the mission to proclaim the way to heaven.

Again, Matthew wants us to realize that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and to consider the mission to proclaim the way to heaven.

POINT 1 - TESTING

Look back at the chapter again. Chapter 16,

“And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven” (Matthew 16:1, ESV).

This is the second time we see the Pharisees and Sadducees. The first was with John the Baptist in chapter 3, verse 7. If you have your Bible, you can turn to it—chapter 3, verse 7.

But when he [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7–10, ESV)

John the Baptist warned these Pharisees and Sadducees. They were not on good terms with each other. Who were these religious leaders?

PHARISEES

The Pharisees included local leaders as well as men from Jerusalem. They were devoted to the laws of the Old Testament and tradition.

SADDUCEES

On the other hand, the Sadducees came from Jerusalem, denied that people would be resurrected, and were political and priestly. They were devoted to the Temple more than the Law of Moses and tradition.

BOTH

Both usually didn’t agree with one another. Yet common enemies can make unlikely allies. Jesus was their enemy. Some traveled 70 to 90 miles from Jerusalem for this very confrontation.

TESTING

They wanted to trap him. They were like the prosecuting attorney leading the defendant down a line of questioning to get the jury to pronounce guilty as charged. The apostle John wrote that they wanted to bring a charge against Jesus in another trap (John 8:6). You may recall some of their accusations at his death sentence. Frequently, they accused him of blaspheming, seeking the destruction of the Temple, and being part of a rebellion against Rome. They were trying to trap him. He saw their request for what it was. They didn’t want a sign from heaven. They wanted him dead.

JEFF A.

I remember sharing my faith with a co-worker at a football game years ago. My friend said he had an issue with God creating the earth. I shared my perspective with him, trying to open the door for him to believe. My answer seemed reasonable and worth considering. He was open to it and didn’t know how to respond. Then, he shared another problem, the problem of evil. We spent some time talking about it. I think I covered some good ground and had some reasonable dialogue. We wouldn’t solve this age-old question in a quarter, let alone a game. That led us to another issue he had. And I realized that he had more problems than what meets the eye. His heart was not open to Jesus. He didn’t want answers. He was like the Pharisees in that sense. So, in my heart, I stopped trying to convince him and prayed for him instead. I don’t know what happened. I hope he has come around and changed his mind about Jesus. But I learned something. Not everyone who asks a question wants an answer. These Pharisees and Sadducees were not looking for Jesus to change their minds. They had already made up their minds. They were looking to test him, that he would fail the test and they could beat him down.

THE SIGN OF JONAH

So, how did Jesus respond to this opposition? Look at verse 2.

He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (Matthew 16:2–3)

I like other translations. If I remember correctly, the phrase goes:

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight,

Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.

Jesus told them that the signs he had already given were as apparent as the storm brewing in the sky. But this was a rebuke. They didn’t see who was before them.

DIDN’T GET IT

Jesus went on to describe these people in verse 4 in a more subtle way.

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign” (Matthew 16:4, ESV).

They were asking for a sign. Thus, it would follow that he was saying they were evil and adulterous. Those asking for a sign from heaven were wicked cheaters. They were blind to who was in front of them. We have already read, and they likely heard the reports that:

He had cast a demon of a girl without seeing her.
People touched his clothes and were healed miraculously.
He fed 4,000 to 20,000 people twice with food out of almost nothing.
He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, and the lame to walk.
He even raised the dead.

What more do they need? Him to walk on water? Ah. He did that, too. These religious gurus rejected God. They wanted Jesus to give them a sign from heaven, and God was right before them.

NO SIGN

Jesus kept rebuking them,

“But no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 16:4, ESV).

He said almost the exact thing to the Pharisees in chapter 12. Turn there with me. Move from chapter 16 to chapter 12.

“He answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah’” (Matthew 12:39, ESV).

What was this sign of Jonah? Why did he pick that? Well, the kids got it. What do we remember about Jonah? Jesus clues us in on the similarities in chapter 12.

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Matthew 12:40–41, ESV)

The religious leaders hated Jesus so much that they killed him, but he would defeat their death. He would show the resurrection deniers and Son of God-haters that the resurrection exists. He would blow open the closed click of the religious elites to make heaven a homeland for anyone who repents and believes. Matthew 16 verse 4 ends,

“So he left them and departed” (Matthew 16:4, ESV).

Mic drop. Jesus drops a bombshell of a clue of what comes next.

APPLICATION

As we pause to reflect on this encounter,

Are there ways or places we don’t want to listen to Jesus?
Or do we resist Jesus like the religious leaders?
I imagine some of us, that is where we are at. We have places in our lives where we won’t let God in. We won’t give up control. Let me ask, why? Why is that? Are we good with where we are at with Jesus?

Let’s take a moment to think about how we relate to Jesus. Let us not be another evil and adulterous generation. Let us pursue goodness, faithfulness, and Jesus instead.

WHAT NEXT: CAUTION

Jesus went away with the disciples. They followed him. They were different from the leadership. As we approach the second scene, Caution, look at verse 5.

When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” (Matthew 12:5–7, ESV)

While sometimes the disciples were role models, other times they were not. They got distracted and misunderstood. Jesus brought up teaching using leaven as a metaphor, and their minds fixated on food or their lack of food. While Jesus was talking about dangerous beliefs, they were thinking about eating. Jesus took a moment of theological caution to address a different danger. Look at verse 8.

But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 12:8–12, ESV)

Jesus noticed that they were not just misunderstanding him but not trusting his ability to provide for them. They were struggling with God’s provision. They didn’t have food or recall what God had been doing days before in making bread. They needed a reminder. Jesus gave them one. I am like them. My days go up and down. Sometimes, I am up, and other times, I am down. I despair when things look bad. In despair, I tend to lose perspective and need reminders. I thought this even this week; this is where my life connects with the text. I am like the disciples who quickly forget what they have seen and experienced. I need to remember that Jesus forgave, loves, and has a purpose for me. I need to remember he is here with me.

REMINDER

I talked with one of you at the BP station maybe a year ago. I was excited to catch up with this brother. I was at the pump. He commented to me that it didn’t register in my head. We kept talking. I grabbed the pump to put the gas in my car, and he made another comment that I didn’t understand. I held the pump while I worked to take off my gas cap. I looked at him. He was even more adamant and loud. “Green.” What? I went to put the hose in my car, and he said more adamantly, “Green. That is diesel.” Oh, he warned me not to put diesel in my car, which only takes gasoline.

I stopped what I was doing and thanked him profusely. The disciples were like that. They were hearing Jesus, but not really. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They had forgotten. Do you forget? I do. That is why I like robust songs with words that remind me of profound truths; I like biblical messages, Sunday school, Christian books, and spending time with other Christians talking about Jesus and life. I need reminders. Do you? This is part of the caution but not the focus of Jesus initially. He was cautioning his followers about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

TEACHING

What were they teaching? We just read a sample of it in chapter 15.

They had complained about handwashing while neglecting the weightier parts of the law of mercy.
Frequently, Jesus called them hypocrites. Outside, they looked like they had it all together, but inside, they were rotten.
Finally, they accused Jesus of operating by the power of the Devil. They resisted Jesus and his teaching.

What did Jesus teach? He taught people to live a different way, a way of mercy, poverty in spirit, sorrow, meekness, purity, peacemaking, and a longing for rightness before God. Don’t listen to those who would make life about themselves or a list of rules or easy answers at the neglect of the truths of the Bible. Beware the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Caution. This brings us to the last section and 35 miles north, a Mission.

MISSION

Our first section began with a test, and so will our last. Look at verse 13.

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’” (Matthew 12:13–20, ESV).

What was their answer?

“And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets’” (Matthew 16:14, ESV).

We have heard a few of those responses before this verse. Then, Jesus asked the same question with more of a personal point.

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (Matthew 16:15, ESV, italics mine).

FEDEX

I remember someone asking me what I thought was a general question and responding to it. Then, the person looked me in the eye, repeated the question, and wanted to know what I thought. Jesus was being that direct here. Who do you say that I am? Peter responded.

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16, ESV).

Was he? You bet. Jesus was more than a prophet. He was the Messiah. The Old Testament is pointing to him and predicting him. Jesus was, and is, more significant than Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Jonah, and Jeremiah. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

How did Jesus take it? Look at verse 17:

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:17–20, ESV)

Jesus blessed Peter with three things:

A nickname
A role
And authority

My study bible says, “This is one of the most controversial and debated passages in all of Scripture.”

NICK NAME

Simon’s new name was Petros in Greek and Cephas in Aramaic, meaning rock. That is a pretty sweet name. Yo, Rocky. That doesn’t seem controversial. But what Jesus said next was.

And on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:18–19, ESV)

ROLE AS FOUNDATION

Some traditions use this passage to justify a religious hierarchy and see it passed down through Peter. That is not the plain reading of the text. Jesus was saying that Peter would be primary in the church. But he said nothing of his successor. We read in Matthew and Acts, as well as other New Testament books, that he was a spokesperson, the first in some lists, and perceived as the leader. Being the “Rock” or foundation in this sense was not a matter of value but a role. “Value” and “role” are different. They are not the same. We can have the same value before God and various positions. And continuing to read, we will find that what Peter gains here is what the church has now.

AUTHORITY AND KEYS of the KINGDOM

Let me explain as we dig into the third blessing, the keys of the kingdom, with the authority of binding and loosening. What did that mean? I have heard various interpretations. The first thing we should look at is the context. Jesus says something very similar in chapter 18. Turn to chapter 18, verse 15.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:15–18, ESV, italics mine)

From chapter 18, we see what Jesus gave Peter; he conferred on others. The church will have the authority to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God through Jesus and discipline those who claim to be members of the Body of Christ but aren’t acting like it. This binding and loosening is similar to what Jesus said in John chapter 20.

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld’” (John 20:22–23, ESV).

Peter and the disciples didn’t have the superpower to forgive. They could not do what God would not do or the opposite. That was not what Jesus was saying. He was saying they would be his representatives pronouncing and proclaiming. They would be making declarations like little Jonah to Nineveh in the future. They will announce that God has already declared that the gate of heaven is open for all who repent of their sin and believe Jesus died and rose. Those who don’t won’t be forgiven or let into heaven. Justice and mercy will meet at the gate of the kingdom of heaven. Peter will get the keys. And they are passed down to the church in chapter 18.

Today, in our third scene, Mission, we have the power to represent God and proclaim who he is, what he did, and what he said. We want to spread the compassion and truth of the Bible to the world. That is why we have a budget of nearly 140k dollars for missions. Beyond financial support, what does it look like to share the good news of Jesus with those around you?

Back to our second scene of Caution. Do you personally trust Jesus with your day-to-day needs? Do you worry and fret or control and forget? Jesus wants us to remember what he has done and to beware of teaching that lacks mercy and grace. Beware. Our hearts are prone to wander away. We need reminders. Everywhere we look are distractions.

Back to scene one: Opposition. Jesus invites us to die to self or give up autonomy. He wants us to listen and follow him. He wants us to take his yoke or apprenticeship. That can be scary and hard, but it is light, easy, and good. We are not alone; he offers us compassion and presence. Turn to him. He is worth it.

Let’s pray.