MATTHEW CHAPTER SUMMARY Matt. 16:1–4 The Pharisees require a sign. Matt. 16:5–12 Jesus warns his disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and explains his meaning. Matt. 16:13–20 The people’s opinion, and Peter’s confession, of Christ. Matt.

What these Pharisees and Sadducees were we have had an occasion to show before in our annotations on Matt. 3:7, See Poole on “Matt. 3:7”. There was a great opposition between them, as we may learn from Acts 23:7–8.

You can, saith our Saviour, make observations upon the works of God in nature and common providence, and from such observations you can make conclusions; if you see the sky red in the evening, you can conclude from thence that the morrow will be fair, because you think that the redness of the sky…

We meet with the same answer given to the Pharisees, Matt. 12:39. You pretend yourselves to be the children of Abraham, but you are bastards rather than his children; he saw my day afar off and rejoiced, you will not believe though you see me amongst you, and at your doors; he believed without any…

Mark saith, Mark 8:14–16, Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. And he charged them, saying, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.

Mark, giving us an account of this passage, Mark 8:17–19, useth some harsher expressions: And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your eyes yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye…

This, and the following part of this discourse, is related both by Mark and Luke. Mark hath it, Mark 8:27, And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the…

Mark saith, Mark 8:29, Thou art the Christ. Luke saith, Luke 9:20, Peter answering said, The Christ of God, that is, the Messiah. You that are my disciples and apostles, what is your opinion of me? Our Lord expects not only faith in our hearts, but the confession of our lips, Rom. 10:10.

Our Lord appeareth here to be mightily pleased with this confession of Peter and the rest of his disciples, (for we shall observe in the Gospel, that Peter was usually the first in speaking, John 6:68), he pronounces him blessed, and giveth the reason of it afterward.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter: Christ gave him this name, John 1:42, when his brother Andrew first brought him to Christ. I did not give thee the name of Cephas, or Peter, for nothing, (for what Cephas signifieth in the Syriac Peter signifieth in the Greek), I called thee Cephas and…

And I will give unto thee; not unto thee exclusively, that is, to thee and no others; for as we no where read of any such power used by Peter, so our Saviour’s first question, Whom think you that I am? Letteth us know that his speech, though directed to Peter only, (who in the name of the rest…

We met with some charges of this nature before, given to those whom he had miraculously cured, that they should tell no man of it, Matt. 8:4, Matt. 9:30; but this seemeth to differ from them.

Our Lord taught his hearers by degrees, as they were able to hear and to bear his instruction. He therefore first instructs them in the truth of his Divine nature, and bringeth them to a firm and steady assent to this proposition, That he was the Christ, the Son of God.

Peter took our Lord aside, as we do our friend to whom we would speak something which we would not have all to hear, and began to rebuke him; epitiman, to reprove him, as men often do their familiar friends, when they judge they have spoken something beneath them, or that might turn to their…

Peter, thou thinkest that by this discourse thou showest some kindness unto me, like a friend, but thou art in this an adversary to me; for so the word Satan doth signify, and is therefore ordinarily applied to the devil, who is the grand adversary of mankind.

Mark hath the same, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23; only Mark saith, when he had called the people unto him with his disciples; Luke saith, he said to them all. He spake it to his disciples, but not privately, but before all the rest of the people, who at that time were present.

We met with these words in Matt. 10:39. See Poole on “Matt. 10:39”.

Our interpreters, by translating the same word soul in this verse which they had translated life Matt. 16:25, let us know that they understood it here of that essential part of man which we call the soul, in which sense it could not be understood in that verse, for it is impossible in that sense to…

This verse makes it plain, that our Saviour by ψυχη in the former verse understood the soul of man, or eternal life, that blessed state which is prepared for the saints of God; for he here minds them that there shall be a last judgment, and gives them a little description of it. 1.

Mark saith, Mark 9:1, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power; Luke 9:27, saith no more than till they see the kingdom of God. There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, that is, that shall not die. Heb. 2:9. It is the same with not seeing death, John 8:51–52, Heb.