Insights on Matthew 16--28

Charles R. Swindoll

• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781496436153
• eBook ISBN: 9781496436177

Matthew's Gospel shows that Jesus was Israel's King and long-awaited Messiah. In Insights on Matthew 16–28, Chuck Swindoll unpacks the journey of Jesus from His transfiguration to His glorious resurrection. Chuck's deep insight, signature easygoing style, and humor bring a warmth and practical accessibility not often found in commentaries.

The 16-volume Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary series draws on 13-time Christian Book Award winner Chuck Swindoll's more than 50 years of studying and preaching God's Word. Each volume includes both the NLT and NASB translations of the Bible, verse-by-verse commentary, charts, maps, photos, key terms, and background articles with practical application. A must-have for pastors, teachers, and anyone else who is seeking a deeply practical resource for exploring God's Word.

OPPOSITION AND REJECTION OF THE KING (MATTHEW 16:1–25:46)

Convinced by His miraculous signs and His powerful preaching, Jesus’ closest disciples had no doubts about who He was: the King, their long-awaited Messiah. And more than that, the Spirit had opened their eyes to a deeper truth: Jesus was not just a great teacher, a gifted prophet, and the rightful king; He was also “the Son of the living God” (16:16). While this profound truth would be further illuminated by Jesus’ glorious transformation (17:1-13), it would appear to be contradicted by His disturbing predictions of His own betrayal, suffering, and death (16:21-23).

This section, which I’m calling Opposition and Rejection of the King (16:1–25:46), is characterized by these two contrasting themes in the life and ministry of Jesus —increased proof of His identity as the long-awaited Messiah and increased hostility against Him by those who had everything to lose at the coming of the King. The religious leaders’ hypocrisy and false teachings would be exposed by the incarnation of Truth itself. The corrupt priesthood would be toppled and replaced by the eternal High Priest. The illegitimate king over Judea and the Gentile rulers would be dethroned by the rightful Heir of the house of David and Ruler of heaven and earth.

As such, the opposition builds to a climax as the scribes and Pharisees, priests and Sadducees, governors and rulers band together to do away with public enemy number one —Jesus, a mere “carpenter’s son” from Nazareth (13:55).

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KEY TERMS IN MATTHEW 16:1–25:46

thlipsis (θλῖψις) [2347] “affliction,” “tribulation”

The Greek word thlipsis can refer to the coming Great Tribulation of the end times, leading up to Christ’s physical return as King (24:21, 29-31), but more commonly it refers to the general trials and persecutions experienced by Christians of every age (13:21; 24:9; John 16:33; Rom. 5:3). It could be that the ambiguity in how this term was used caused confusion among the Thessalonian believers, who may have believed the normal afflictions they were experiencing (1 Thes. 3:3-4; 2 Thes. 1:4-8) indicated that they were in the middle of the end-times Tribulation (Mark 13:19; Rev. 7:13-14).

ouai (οὐαί) [3759] “alas,” “woe”

Loud wailing during times of deep sorrow was common in the ancient world. In fact, funerals of the rich were sometimes accompanied by professional mourners, often to increase the perception of grief at the loss of a person who may have had more enemies than allies. The exclamation ouai! intends to mimic a cry of anguish. As opposition to Jesus intensified, Jesus’ words of lament for His critics also increased, finding their climax in His repeated “woes” against the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy (23:13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 25, 27, 29). These were not just cries of anguish for their stubborn, wicked hearts, but also of sorrow for the judgments they and their followers would suffer because of their rejection of the Messiah.

skandalizō (σκανδαλίζω) [4624] “to cause to stumble”
skandalon (σκάνδαλον) [4625] “cause of stumbling”

In English, the noun “scandal” and the related verb “scandalize” refer to the effect of an action of questionable morality that leads to a bad reputation, public anger or shame, or shock. However, in the New Testament, the Greek term from which we get “scandal” refers to “an action or circumstance that leads one to act contrary to a proper course of action or set of beliefs.”[1] In Matthew’s Gospel, Peter is famously called a skandalon for suggesting that Jesus should shirk His mission to suffer and die for sin (16:23). Jesus also warns against those people or things that cause us to stumble into temptation and sin (18:7-9).

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[1] Walter Bauer, William Arndt, et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, rev. and ed. Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 926.

TESTY CRITICS AND DULL DISCIPLES: MATTHEW 16:1-12

NASB

1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a [a]sign from heaven. 2 But He replied to them, “[a]When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the [a]appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a [a]sign; and a [a]sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

5 And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the [a]leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? 10 Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? 11 How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the [a]leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

16:1 [a]Or attesting miracle 16:2 [a]Early mss do not contain the rest of v 2 and v 3 16:3 [a]Lit face 16:4 [a]Or attesting miracle 16:6 [a]Or yeast 16:11 [a]Or yeast

NLT

1 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times![*] 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.[*]” Then Jesus left them and went away.

5 Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? 9 Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? 10 Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? 11 Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

12 Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

[16:2-3] Several manuscripts do not include any of the words in 16:2-3 after He replied. [16:4] Greek the sign of Jonah.

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I’ve witnessed a lot of arguments over my lifetime of ministry. At times, it seems that the favorite indoor sport of some Christians is arguing. I’m convinced that some Christians aren’t happy unless they have a theological question to bicker about or some church issue to debate. I’ve seen examples from the tragic to the ridiculous. Rarely do I see believers argue over essential doctrines of the Christian faith or clear matters of morality. Most often it’s the same old discussions that Christians have debated for centuries —predestination or free will; who, when, and how to baptize; what style of worship a church should have; what the right order of end-times events is.

When you analyze these arguments, you find that most oft...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Author’s Preface
• The Strong’s Numbering System
• Insights on Matthew 16–28
• Matthew: Introduction
• Opposition and Rejection of the King (Matthew 16:1–25:46)
• Passion and Triumph of the King (Matthew 26:1–28:20)