Matthew 16:1
Καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ Σαδδουκαῖοι πειράζοντες ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν σημεῖον ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐπιδεῖξαι αὐτοῖς.
Matthew 16:2
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ὀψίας γενομένης λέγετε· Εὐδία, πυρράζει γὰρ ὁ οὐρανός·
Matthew 16:3
καὶ πρωΐ· Σήμερον χειμών, πυρράζει γὰρ στυγνάζων ὁ οὐρανός. τὸ μὲν πρόσωπον τοῦ οὐρανοῦ γινώσκετε διακρίνειν, τὰ δὲ σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν οὐ δύνασθε.
Matt 16:4
Γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ, καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ. καὶ καταλιπὼν αὐτοὺς ἀπῆλθεν.
Matt 16:5 Καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ εἰς τὸ πέραν ἐπελάθοντο ἄρτους λαβεῖν.
Matt 16:6
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ὁρᾶτε καὶ προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων.
Matt 16:7
οἱ δὲ διελογίζοντο ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λέγοντες ὅτι Ἄρτους οὐκ ἐλάβομεν.
Matt 16:8
γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· Τί διαλογίζεσθε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, ὀλιγόπιστοι, ὅτι ἄρτους οὐκ ἐλάβετε;
Matt 16:9
οὔπω νοεῖτε, οὐδὲ μνημονεύετε τοὺς πέντε ἄρτους τῶν πεντακισχιλίων καὶ πόσους κοφίνους ἐλάβετε;
Matt 16:10
οὐδὲ τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους τῶν τετρακισχιλίων καὶ πόσας σπυρίδας ἐλάβετε;
Matt 16:11
πῶς οὐ νοεῖτε ὅτι οὐ περὶ ἄρτων εἶπον ὑμῖν; προσέχετε δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων.
Matt 16:12
τότε συνῆκαν ὅτι οὐκ εἶπεν προσέχειν ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν ἄρτων ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τῆς διδαχῆς τῶν Φαρισαίων καὶ Σαδδουκαίων.
Paraphrase:
Comments:
Matthew 16:13
Ἐλθὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς τὰ μέρη Καισαρείας τῆς Φιλίππου ἠρώτα τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ λέγων· Τίνα λέγουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου;
Now Jesus, after coming into the region of Caesarea of Philippi, asked His disciples saying “Who do men say the Son of Man to be?”
Paraphrase: At this point, Jesus and His disciples had entered into the region of Caesarea of Philippi. Having paused for a moment to rest, Jesus began to ask them some questions. “Tell Me this,” He said, “What is the word on the street about My identity? What are people saying about Me? Who do they think I really am?”
Comments:
ἠρώτα is an imperfect. RWP says it is inchoative meaning a nuance of beginning an action “…and he began questioning His disciples…”
εἶναι a complementary infinitive with λέγουσιν.
There were two cities called Caesarea in Palestine. One was on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (see here and Acts 21:8). It was here that Paul presented his case to Felix (Acts 24) and then to King Agrippa (Acts 26). Herod also died in this city (Acts 12:21f). The Caesarea spoken of here is called Caesarea of Philippi and is in the Golan Heights (see here).
Matthew 16:14
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· Οἱ μὲν Ἰωάννην τὸν βαπτιστήν, ἄλλοι δὲ Ἠλίαν, ἕτεροι δὲ Ἰερεμίαν ἢ ἕνα τῶν προφητῶν.
and they said, “Some John the baptizer, but others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
Paraphrase: They thought for awhile. “Someone the other day told me You were John the Baptizer come back to life.” said John. Thomas said that he had recently attended a Bible study with some friends. They were studying the prophet Malachi, and several people suggested that Jesus was Elijah. (Malachi 4:5) All of the disciples had heard someone or other say that Jesus was one of the prophets, maybe Jeremiah.
Comments:
Matthew 16:15
λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;
He says to them, “but you, who do you say Me to be?”
Paraphrase: Then Jesus turned to them and very directly, “Now what about you? Enough about other folks; who do you think I am?”
Comments:
The pronoun υμεῖς is pushed out front for emphasis.
Matthew 16:16
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ Σίμων Πέτρος εἶπεν· Σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος.
and Simon Peter answering said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Paraphrase: At this, Simon Peter sat up straight. “Well,” he said, “That’s clear to all of us. We know very well that You are the Great Messiah King who was promised to our fathers and whom we have been expecting for millennia. You are not a mere prophet who has received a word from God; You are the Son of the living God for no one can do these miracles which You do unless He is from God.” (John 3:2)
Comments:
When a pronoun and noun are both together in an equative clause, then the pronoun is the subject (GGBB p43). When the PN is articular, see principle 10.
On the title “Son of God.”
Matthew 16:17
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Μακάριος εἶ, Σίμων Βαριωνᾶ, ὅτι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψέν σοι ἀλλ’ ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·
and answering, Jesus said to him, “Blessed you are, Simon Barjonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal to you but My Father who is in the heavens.
Paraphrase: Jesus placed His hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Blessed are you, Simon, for this beautiful confession which you have made. What you have stated is the truth, and what a blessing that God has given this to you. You did not come to this understanding by the use of your own reason. This truth was revealed to you by My Father in heaven, and you were brought to believe it by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (John 3:5-8) I tell you this; the True Light has come into the world, but the world did not believe Him. To as many, however, as embraced this Light, to them My Father has given the right to become members of His family, children by adoption. All this took place not because of their own decision or because of their ethnic origin but because they were given a new birth from heaven. Now this is why you were able to make such a wonderful confession as you have just done. (John 1:7-13)
Comments:
Another equative clause “Μακάριος…” (GGBB p310)
The article in ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς is the equivalent of a relative pronoun.
Matthew 16:18
κἀγὼ δέ σοι λέγω ὅτι σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς·
and I say to you that you are Peter and on this rock, I will build my ekklesia and the gates of Hades will not overcome her.
Paraphrase: Now I have come down from heaven to announce the good news of My kingdom. (Luke 4:43) You, Peter, yes you will be the foundation of My kingdom. You will go forth and lead My people out of their bondage to sin and misery and teach them to confess Me just as you have done now. My followers will gather together and take their stand on this glorious profession which you have just made, but be sure of this. When you confess Me before men, you will be severely persecuted. They will lay hands on you and persecute you; they will drag you to their courts and throw you into prison. Kings and governors will summon you to their tribunals and demand that you give an account. (Luke 21:12) Do not be afraid! The rage of the Serpent will not be enough to overcome the Seed of the woman. (Genesis 3:15) My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure. (Isaiah 46:10)
Comments:
A content οτι.
σὺ εἶ Πέτρος is another equative clause where the pronoun is clearly the subject (GGBB 43).
ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ is a prepositional phrase answering the where question.
ἐκκλησία is the term Jesus chose to replace the Hebrew word קהל; see lecture 1.
In the term πύλαι ᾅδου, we see the great antithesis between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. πύλαι ᾅδου refers to the powers of death; Jesus preached eternal life.
Clarke’s paraphrase (p68) of this verse is:
By your constancy therefore in this good confession, you shall eminently be what your name signifies a rock: that is, you shall after my resurrection and ascension be a firm unshaken, and immoveable professor of the truth: You shall be the first preacher of my true religion to the gentile world; and so become as it were the first part that is laid of that foundation, upon which my church shall begin to be built; which shall afterwards, as a well-proportioned building, be continued and increased by the addition of sincere converts in their several degrees; and all the powers of death and hell shall never be able to utterly destroy it.
For an exhaustive answer to the Roman Catholic exegesis of this verse, see Barrow or here.
Matthew 16:19
δώσω σοι τὰς κλεῖδας τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν δήσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν λύσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
I will give to him the keys of the kingdom of the heavens and whoever you might bind on the earth, he will be bound in the heavens and whoever you might loose on the earth, he will be loosed in the heavens.
Paraphrase: Furthermore, I am giving to you the keys to My kingdom. This means that I am delegating to you, My authority. Whatever decision you make on earth, it will be seconded in heaven. Behold, I am with you to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)
Comments:
Edersheim (p85): “no other terms were in more constant use in Rabbinic Canon-Law than those of ‘binding’ and ‘loosing.’ The words are the literal translation of the Hebrew equivalents Asar (אָסַר), which means ‘to bind,’ in the sense of prohibiting, and Hittir (הִתִּיר, from נָתַר) which means ‘to loose,’ in the sense of permitting.
Matthew 16:20
τότε διεστείλατο τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἵνα μηδενὶ εἴπωσιν ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ χριστός.
Then,
Paraphrase:
Comments:
Matthew 16:21
Ἀπὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς δεικνύειν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ἀπελθεῖν καὶ πολλὰ παθεῖν ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ ἀρχιερέων καὶ γραμματέων καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθῆναι.
Matt 16:22
καὶ προσλαβόμενος αὐτὸν ὁ Πέτρος ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾶν αὐτῷ λέγων· Ἵλεώς σοι, κύριε· οὐ μὴ ἔσται σοι τοῦτο.
Matt 16:23
ὁ δὲ στραφεὶς εἶπεν τῷ Πέτρῳ· Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, Σατανᾶ· σκάνδαλον εἶ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι οὐ φρονεῖς τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Matt 16:24
Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· Εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν, ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι.
Matt 16:25
ὃς γὰρ ἐὰν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν.
Matt 16:26
τί γὰρ ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ; ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ;
Matt 16:27
μέλλει γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ, καὶ τότε ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτοῦ.
Matt 16:28
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι εἰσίν τινες τῶν ὧδε ἑστώτων οἵτινες οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ.