Jesus continues to proclaim the truths of the kingdom as we also must do regardless of the outward circumstances.
Matthew 16: The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs
1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'
3 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.
4 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.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread.
6 Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread."
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?
9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
12 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.
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
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?"
14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 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.
18 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.
19 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."
20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Matthew 17: The Transfiguration
1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
4 And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah."
5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.
7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear."
8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead."
10 And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?"
11 He answered, "Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.
12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands."
13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him,
15 said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him."
17 And Jesus answered, "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me."
18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"
20 He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
21
Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection
22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men,
23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed.
The Temple Tax
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?"
25 He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?"
26 And when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.
27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself."
Things to think about…
1. Mt 16:1-4 and seeking a sign is often misunderstood. The Pharisees wanted a sign from heaven – like Manna from heaven. Jesus obviously rebukes their unbelief. Jesus reminds them again that the only sign that would be given is the sign of Jonah. He of course gave many signs that He was in fact the Christ. Signs and wonders done in ministry if they honour Christ within a biblical framework are to be sought after as they confirm the gospel and the power of the cross and the resurrection. If we are not seeing Christ’s miraculous power in our lives, we need to ask why. But even signs and wonders done in ministry is no guarantee of regeneration as Jesus had already affirmed this in Mt 7:22. It is interesting to note that Jesus refers to Jonah and the fish as a literal event, not allegory or myth. Jonah was in the fish 3 days and nights just as Jesus was in the tomb 3 days and nights.
2. Jesus’ teaching on the leaven of the Pharisees and false teaching, Mt 16:5-12 is still relevant today. Any teaching that follows a human format with the glory going to man does not honour Christ. E.g a person or a ministry that does not focus on sin, repentance and faith in Christ, is what Jesus is talking about here. Such teaching is not consistent with the gospel – it is the leaven of the Pharisees. Unfortunately, there is a lot of this in the western church.
3. Jesus says Peter is blessed by the Father because he acknowledges Jesus is the Christ, Mt 16:16, but then he is rebuked and called Satan because he does not acknowledge the way Christ will die and be raised, vs 23. Even blessed Christians need to be sharply rebuked at times. Mt 16:13-28 is all connected and leads into the Transfiguration in Chapter 17. Jesus says hell may assault the church, but it will not prevail. This assault is seen through compromise or moral failure. These are a grief to the Spirit. Yet the promise still stands “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”, Mt 16:16.
4. Jesus asks His disciples –“Who do you say I am”. Peter is commended for the right answer, but the wrong focus. The Saviour of Israel had to die on a cross. Jesus says that the church will be built upon him, but now Jesus tells Peter how this will happen,…through His death, Mt 16:21. This was too much for Peter to hear. Jesus rebukes Peter because he was using human logic that was influenced by Satan. The kingdom of Christ is not achieved with an earthly sword. Jesus says some of them would see Christ’s kingdom before they died – this would begin in a week’s time with the transfiguration. Remember the response Jesus gave to Pilate – “My kingdom is not of the world, otherwise I would fight”. Israel today still believes the kingdom of Israel is established through military might. This is where the Zionists have it grossly wrong. We see this playing out in real time with the Gaza and West Bank situation. Christ’s kingdom is inherited through faith, meekness, and righteousness - just as Jesus said it would be in the Beatitudes in Mt 5. He was about to show them what He meant.
5. Mt 16:24-28 are confronting words. Denying ourselves and picking up a cross was a very well-known reality for all those who heard Jesus. Those who picked up the cross were literally the walking dead. They were condemned to die under Roman law. They carried their cross to the place of execution. We are those who live in Christ but are to die to sin and this world’s desires. We live in the world, but it does not hold the same value as our soul, vss 25, 26. The soul lives on somewhere into eternity. This was good news for the hearers of Jesus that His kingdom would be seen as he rose from the dead and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is what He means in vss 28, and yet it still has meaning for the end of the age when he returns. Jesus says that there were some among His hearers who would indeed be saved and not taste death. They would experience life with Him in paradise until they “see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”, Mt 16:28. This is still a future experience for these folk and all those who are presently with the Lord.
6. The transfiguration was what Jesus was talking about regarding seeing the kingdom, Mt 17:1-8. Peter, James, and John were the ones that would not see death until this happened. Some have confused these words with the resurrection, Pentecost, or church growth (others have said it refers to AD70 or when Christ returns) – these were all part of it, but the Transfiguration was the immediate context. Moses (the law) and Elijah (the Prophets) appear to testify that this is the Christ and God the Father only says one thing, but it has timeless relevance “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him”. Good advice. Reading, studying and obeying the Word of God is putting this into practise. This passage also raises questions about how much the departed in Christ know about what is going on here on earth. We know there are special circumstances surrounding Moses and Elijah and how they departed this earth. But Christ is speaking with Elijah and Moses, likely within the hearing of Peter, James and John. Can departed souls reappear on earth and communicate with us? What about the story of the Witch of en Dor when she called up the spirit of Samuel, 1Sam 28:7-19. My comments on that passage are that it was indeed Samuel. God allowed it in that one instances, but Christians are not to call up any spirit, Dt 18:10, 11. In this passage we see it is literally Elijah and Moses. Many would say they still feel departed family or friends around them. Christ however is the closest and greatest friend. In heaven our focus is on Jesus and our communion with Him. This should also be our focus here.
7. In Mt 17:9-13 Jesus affirms that the Elijah to had come in the form of John the Baptist. We do however know that before the return of Christ there are two witnesses that will come to the earth, they will be killed and resurrected, Rev 11. Are these Moses and Elijah? We should not be dogmatic about it, even though there might be compelling arguments to say so, they are not conclusive.
8. Faith is certainly a gift, Mt 17:14-21. The demon could only be cast out by Jesus and not the disciples. We know they had completed some amazing ministry when they were sent out, Mt 10:5-8, including casting out demons and but could not do the same in this case. Yet Jesus says the faith of a mustard seed can move mountains. I still don’t have that faith it seems. Neither does anyone else I know. Lord grant it to us for Your glory. We say with this man - we believe, help our unbelief, Mark 9:24.
9. Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection, Mt 17:21-23. It says the disciples were “greatly distressed”. Yet it seems in their distress they did not want to know more. We can often be so overwhelmed with emotion that we do not want to seek more answers. Our Lord knows our weaknesses and takes us on a journey of greater discovery that is for our good and His glory. Eventually the disciples had to confront the reality of Christ’s words. But as is often the case, we are those who “sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy”, Ps 126:5.
10. Peter answered on Jesus’ behalf regarding the temple tax Mt 17:24-27. When Peter arrives at the house Jesus knows what is on Peter’s mind and speaks first about the tax, vs 25. We are the sons that Jesus is speaking about, yet not to cause offense we obey the law…pay your tax. You never know, you might be rewarded with a rebate this year.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer. Next week we consider Psalm 9.
Prayer Points
1. A new finance officer for CBC. Pray for God’s choosing in this role.
2. Prayer for Israel, Gaza and Lebanon for peace to descend over the region.
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
7. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
8. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Admin person sorted. Thanks Maddie
2. AGM was a joy. New member added. More to come
3. 2 more baptisms in the new year.
4. More new visitors on Sunday. Pray they feel welcomed in the church
5. Café, music, sound and technical team every week
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. PlayPatch Friday mornings – 9:30am. Contact Anna for details
2. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
3. Carols Sunday 22nd Dec starting from 3pm.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 26. Who tempted them to this sin? A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.
