Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 16:20-23)

October 10, 2021 

(Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. After Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah, how did His mission change?
2. What are the four things in today’s study that Jesus tells His disciples concerning the end of His mission on earth.
3. Why did Jesus restrain the disciples from going out immediately to proclaim the good news about Him?
4. What role does the Holy Spirit play in the presentation of the gospel?
5. What is the only way we can indeed have a relationship with God?
6. Why is it essential that believers have a time of prayer and Bible study daily?
7. What happens if believers don’t consistently seek God’s Holiness?
8. In what sense did Jesus refer to Peter as Satan?
9. What does it mean to be in front of Jesus?
10. What is the danger of not knowing God’s interests through a thorough knowledge of the Bible?
11. What should be the primary goal of every believer?
12. What happens when our minds are set on what we want instead of what God wants for us?
13. What is the only way we can change from our selfish ways.
14. How does the fear of death enslave believers?
15. Why should believers not fear death?

Introduction

We ended our study last week at verse 20 of Matthew chapter 16. Jesus was commanding His disciples to tell no one He was Christ. This declaration of Jesus came after Peter declared Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of God. Usually, we would think the next step would be to go forward proclaiming Jesus to the world, but that was not Jesus’ plan. It would be that way in the future, but it was not yet time. The Pharisees were already in mind to kill Jesus. So. Jesus would need to be careful because it was not yet His time to be crucified. He had not yet completed His mission on earth. Neither had he finished teaching His disciples and preparing them for their mission as the leaders of the New Testament church.

The disciples would have gone out and continued to declare to Israel that Jesus was the Messiah, but Jesus was no longer trying to convince Israel or offer them the kingdom; that open window had come and gone. That would have been the wrong message because the leaders of Israel had already rejected Jesus. The mission had changed; Jesus was now preparing His disciples to be the Church’s leaders after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The message also had changed from receiving the Messiah and His kingdom to repent and be saved. The audience had also changed from including the religious leaders to expanding into the gentile territory. Another essential feature of the mission would consist of the Holy Spirit coming on the day of Pentecost to prepare people’s hearts to receive Jesus as savior. Peter’s message on the very day the Holy Spirit descended on the 120 resulted in 3,000 coming to Jesus for salvation.

So, the reason Jesus had told His disciples not to go out telling others He was the Christ was that was the wrong message at the wrong time to the wrong people. In today’s study, Jesus explains why the delay was necessary:

Matthew 16:21-23, “From that time forth began Jesus to shew 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. 22Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, LORD: this shall not be unto thee. 23But 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.”

The verses above reveal for the first time that Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth included His suffering, death, and resurrection. He had alluded to it earlier when He said no sign would be given except the sign of Jonah that the Messiah must spend three days in the heart of the earth. Peter did not understand this and began to rebuke Jesus, “saying, Be it far from thee, LORD: this shall not be unto thee.” Jesus replied to Peter in verse 23: “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest, not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

In the passage above, Jesus, for the first time, revealed to the disciples His impending death on the cross, and they did not understand it, and Peter rebelled at the idea of Jesus dying. Jesus is revealing four things in His teaching to the disciples. First, He tells them His mission as the Messiah will end at Jerusalem at His death on the cross. Second, Jesus must suffer many things at the hands of Israel’s religious leaders. The Pharisees did their best to persuade the crowd in chapter 12 to reject Jesus as the Messiah, and some did, but there were still many who believed in Him and followed Him; this posed a threat to the Pharisees and their power over the people. So, eventually, they will go to the Romans in their attempt to bring Jesus down. Third, Jesus tells His disciples that he will be killed; this was not an upset in God’s plan; it was always a part of it. His substitutionary death on the cross was necessary for the forgiveness of man’s sins. Some may wonder if Israel had accepted Jesus as their Messiah and King, except the scribes and Pharisees, would that have not upset God’s plan for redemption through the death of His Son. The answer is no because Jesus would still have gone to Jerusalem to die first before He became their King. The death of Christ was unavoidable. Fourth, and finally, Jesus assures His disciples that the grave shall not hold Him that He would be resurrected after three days. The kingdom program, first and foremost, was about the good news, the gospel, which good news would not be possible without the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. So, His death was not the end, but was the beginning of God’s plan of redemption for the world: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” John 3:16 (KJV).

Christ’s completion of the requirements of the gospel, His death, burial, and resurrection, along with completing His instructions to the disciples, was the primary purpose for a delay in going out immediately to proclaim the plan of salvation widely. In a short time, Jesus would consummate the plan of salvation by His death. The disciples thought when Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, it was time to go forth teaching salvation through their Lord, but there was still much for them to learn. Mainly they did not understand why Jesus must die and rise from the grave. They did not understand the resurrection until they saw it with their own eyes. They did not understand the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would be God’s messenger to invite the lost to Jesus. Also, they did not understand that there would be 2,000+ years before Jesus would return from heaven after His ascension to set up the kingdom. They did not realize that the Church and kingdom would include the Gentiles and that the kingdom push would focus primarily on the Gentiles and not the Jews. Although we have a lot more information today through the completed New Testament, we still have more to learn. We may know Jesus’ plan but knowing and understanding are two different things. How much do we understand about God’s plan for this world, His plan for the Church, or for that matter, his plan for believers in general? On top of that, how much do we understand about God’s plan for our own life?

There is an excellent contrast between God and us, who are ignorant and finite in comparison. So, how are we to have a relationship with an infinite God? We do so by following the instructions given in the Bible, His word to us. Jesus set the example for us to follow. We are to walk in His footsteps. We may also wonder how that is possible since He was perfect in actions and deeds. The only way we can indeed have a relationship with God is when we submit ourselves to Jesus, and He lives through us, and it is His righteousness that dominates our lives. The Bible calls this abiding in Jesus. It is not our righteousness; it is the righteousness Jesus imputes to us when we receive Him into our lives as Savior and Lord.

It is of an essence that we set aside time daily to read God’s Word, pray, and fellowship with the Lord. If we don’t do that, our service to God is in vain. Our responsibility toward the Lord is like that of the disciples. We are to learn what Jesus is teaching us and abide by it. That is the only way we can live the Christian life. The Bible shows us the way: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV).

When we pursue God daily and His holiness, we keep in harmony with His purpose for us in life. If we don’t, we are likely to be on the opposite side of His goal, as we see in the following verses: Matthew 16:22-23, “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, LORD: this shall not be unto thee. 23But 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.”

Peter and the disciples did not understand the essentials of the gospel at this time. Hearing the news of Jesus’ impending death made no sense at all to them. They depended on Jesus and His leadership for the success of the Church and the kingdom. How could that be if He died? So, Peter speaks out against it in verse 22. Did Peter think he was now important enough since Jesus had given him the keys to the kingdom to advise the Lord on what He should do? Did Peter think he was sparing Jesus the embarrassment by taking Him aside from the other disciples to correct Him? Matthew says that Peter rebuked the Lord. “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, LORD: this shall not be unto thee.” Peter goes beyond just advising Jesus. That word rebuke means to warn or censure sternly. Ironically, Peter should do this considering a few minutes before he had declared Jesus to be the all-knowing divine and powerful God of heaven, and now he is saying God is mistaken; what Jesus is saying will never happen. Was Peter that ignorant as to what it meant to be the Son of God?

Jesus returns Peter’s rebuke in verse 23: “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest, not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” “Get thee behind me means to get in line with my authority over you instead of usurping my authority. How foolish for Peter to think he knew God’s plan better than Jesus. That is a good picture for us to see how foolish pride is; it is not only foolish but also presumptuous to assume we know more than we do, making ourselves look ridiculous in the eyes of God.

Jesus called Peter Satan. In what sense could Peter be referred to as Satan? In the sense that he was tempting Jesus to take another course other than that prescribed by the heavenly Father. Remember Jesus was 100% man as well as 100% God. So, in the flesh of man, Jesus did not want to suffer the pain of death by crucifixion no more than any man would have. In His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to the Father, “Let this cup pass from me but they will be done.” So, Peter was working on behalf of Satan to thwart Almighty God’s plan and forward Satan’s goal.

Jesus said in Matthew 12, “He who is not with Me is against Me.” So, Peter, on this occasion, was against Jesus and God’s plan. Since Peter’s interest was not in line with that of Jesus, Jesus says to him, “for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” The Bible says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 2:5 (KJV). In other words, we are to think like Jesus, not as the world. The world is me first, and what I want matters most.

Peter’s earlier confession of who Jesus was is one of faith to be a model for the Church, and so is Peter’s mistake. We must realize there is a God, and we do not share His decisions or His plan for us. We are to follow Him, not try to lead him or exalt ourselves and our desires above Him and His plan for us. We are to seek God’s will in everything we do rather than doing something then asking His blessings on it as if we are the initiator. That is what it means to be in front of Jesus rather than following Him. God already has a plan for our lives; it is our responsibility to seek it. Believers are not so privileged that they can overlook God’s plan and insert their own.

It is easy to further Satan’s goal when we are out of God’s will, even in ignorance, as was Peter. If we are not very careful about how we speak and live, we can become what Satan prefers rather than what God desires for us. That is why it is so important to learn the Bible so that we are not living in ignorance because we do not know what we should know. By not knowing God’s interests, we forward those of Satan. It is easy to promote our selfish ideas all the time, thinking we are in God’s will. False teaching gets started from selfish thoughts. God does not help those who help themselves; He helps us before we help ourselves. 

Our primary goal in life is not to always be trying to make ourselves happy; it is to do God’s will whether we are happy or not. We cannot always be happy because happiness depends on happenstance and life’s incidents are not always in line with happiness. However, we can always be in the peace and joy of the Lord when we are in His will, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and bearing the fruit of the Spirit. We cannot trust our plan; we must always trust God’s plan even when we don’t understand the course our life is taking. Anything less than that is taking Satan’s way. Walking with God is a matter of saying to God, I accept your will no matter where it leads me, even unto death. 

Peter’s problem was that he was too busy thinking about what he wanted rather than understanding what God wanted. When our mind is set on the things we want, as was Peter, rather than what God has in mind for us, we are leaning toward following Satan and his destructive desire for us. That’s the nature of human pride and selfishness. God’s interests and His plan for us are clearly expressed in the Bible. It is only through the knowledge of God’s Word that we can transform the way we think, deny the flesh, and center our lives on God’s priorities. The only way we can ever know what God’s priorities are is through prayer and knowledge of the Bible, and that is how we shift from self to God.

The Christian life is about shifting from the old self to the new self that we have become in Jesus; that is the objective of sanctification. Peter’s response to Jesus concerned Jesus’ death. Our attitude toward death is avoiding it at all costs and anticipating it with fear and trembling. According to the Bible, the fear of death is Satan’s way to enslave people to do his desires instead of God’s. King David once feared death; he said, “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 5The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress, I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears,” Psalm 18:4-6(KJV). Instead of living in fear of death, which is the natural way, we are to shift to the Biblical way, as did King David, when he sought the Lord in prayer. The fear of death enslaves people to self-interest while the Bible turns our interest towards God. Paul got it right when he said, “For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain.” Paul’s #1 priority in life was carrying out the commission appointed unto him by Jesus even unto death. When he was stricken blind on the road to Damascus, Jesus said of Paul, “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name,” Acts 9:15-16 (KJV).

On the cross, Jesus defeated Satan and death and took away the power of death. So, we no longer need to fear it; it has no control over the believer: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage,” Hebrews 2:14-15 (KJV). In Hebrews 2:15 (KJV), we have a promise: “…and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” At the core of Peter’s disobedience was the death of Jesus and an end to his dreams and aspirations. In verse 24, Jesus told Peter if he wanted to be a disciple, he would have to deny himself and his desires. Peter listened and became a strong advocate of Jesus as he matured in Christ and finally laid his life down in the service of his savior.

We also need to take his example to heart and put Jesus and His commission first before anything else. Today would be an excellent time to examine ourselves to see just how much of our life is concerning our desires and how much is concerned with serving our Lord and carrying out His will. Peter made the shift and paid the ultimate price with his life but also received the ultimate prize, heaven. He learned what Jesus meant when He said, “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”  At the end of his life, Peter, according to tradition, requested his excursioners to crucify him upside-down, feeling unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord and savior. Would to God, every Christian’s commitment was like that of the Apostle Peter.