Mateus 16

¹ TheThe wicked who otherwise disagree with one another, agree well together against Christ, but do what they can, Christ is victorious, and triumphs over them.Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, andTo see whether he could do that which they desired, but their purpose was useless for they thought to find something in him by it, in which case they might have just occasion to reprehend him: or else distrust and curiosity moved them to do so, for by such means also is God said to be tempted, that is to say, provoked to anger, as though men would strive with him.tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

² But he answered, and said vnto them, When it is euening, ye say, Faire wether: for ye skie is red.

³ And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern theThe outward show and countenance, as it were, of all things, is called in the Hebrew language, a face.face of the sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times?

⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, butThe article shows how notable the sign is.the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

⁵ False teachers must be taken warning of.And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

⁶ Then Iesus said vnto them, Take heede and beware of the leauen of the Pharises & Sadduces.

⁷ And they reasoned among themselues, saying, It is because we haue brought no bread.

⁸ [Which] when JesusNot by others, but by virtue of his divinity.perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?

⁹ Do ye not yet understand, neither remember theThat five thousand men were filled with so many loaves?five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

¹⁰ Neither the seuen loaues when there were foure thousande men, and howe many baskets tooke ye vp?

¹¹ How is it that ye do notA demand or question joined with wonder.understand that I«Spake» for commanded.spake [it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

¹² Then vnderstood they that he had not said that they should beware of the leauen of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharises, and Sadduces.

¹³ There are many judgments and opinions of Christ, nevertheless he is known by his followers alone.When Jesus came into the coasts ofThere were two Caesareas, the one called Stratonis upon the Mediterranean Sea, which Herod built extravagantly in the honour of Octavius; Josephus lib. 15. The other was Caesarea Philippi, which Herod the great the Tetrarch's son by Cleopatra, built in the honour of Tiberius at the foot of Lebanon; Josephus lib. 15.Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

¹⁴ And they said, Some [say that thou art]As Herod thought.John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

¹⁵ He said vnto them, But whome say ye that I am?

¹⁶ Then Simon Peter answered, & said, Thou art that Christ, the Sonne of the liuing God.

¹⁷ Faith is of grace, not of nature.And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: forBy this kind of speech is meant man's natural procreation upon the earth, the one who was made, not being destroyed, but deformed through sin: So then this is the meaning: this was not revealed to you by any understanding of man, but God showed it to you from heaven.flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

¹⁸ That is true faith, which confesses Christ, the virtue of which is invincible.And I say also unto thee, That thou artChrist spoke in the Syrian tongue, and therefore did not use this discourse to distinguish between Petros, which signifies Peter, and Petra, which signifies a rock, but in both places used the word Cephas: but his meaning is what is written in Greek, in which the different word endings distinguish between Peter, who is a piece of the building, and Christ the Petra, that is, the rock and foundation: or else he named him Peter because of the confession of his faith, which is the Church's as well as his, as the old fathers witness, for so says Theophylact. That confession which you have made, shall be the foundation of the believers.Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and theThe enemies of the Church are compared to a strong kingdom, and therefore by «gates» are meant cities which are made strong with wise preparation and fortifications, and this is the meaning: whatever Satan can do by cunning or strength. So does Paul, calling them strongholds; (2Co_10:4).gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

¹⁹ The authority of the Church is from God.And I will give unto thee theA metaphor taken from stewards who carry the keys: and here is set forth the power of the ministers of the word, as (Isa_22:22) says, and that power is common to all ministers, as (Mat_18:18) says, and therefore the ministry of the gospel may rightly be called the key of the kingdom of heaven.keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shaltThey are bound whose sins are retained; heaven is shut against them, because they do not receive Christ by faith: on the other hand, how happy are they to whom heaven is open, who embrace Christ and are delivered by him, and become fellow heirs with him!bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

²⁰ Men must first learn, and then teach.Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

²¹ The minds of men are at this time to be prepared and made ready against the stumbling block of persecution.From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of theIt was a name of dignity and not of age: and it is used for those who were the judges, whom the Hebrews call the Sanhedrin.elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

²² Then PeterTook him by the hand and led him aside, as they used to do, which meant to talk familiarly with one.took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

²³ Against a preposterous zeal.But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me,The Hebrews call him Satan, that is to say an adversary, whom the Greeks call diabolos, that is to say, slanderer, or tempter: but it is spoken of them, that either of malice, as Judas, (Joh_6:70), or of lightness and pride resist the will of God.Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thouBy this word we are taught that Peter sinned through a false persuasion of himself.savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

²⁴ No men do more harm to themselves, than they that love themselves more than God.Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

²⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shallShall gain himself: And this is his meaning, they that deny Christ to save themselves, not only not gain that which they look for, but also lose the thing they would have kept, that is, themselves, which is the greatest loss of all: but as for them that doubt not to die for Christ, it goes well with them otherwise.find it.

²⁶ For what shall it profite a man though he should winne the whole worlde, if hee lose his owne soule? Or what shall a man giue for recompence of his soule?

²⁷ For the Son of man shall comeLike a King, as (Mat_6:29).in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

²⁸ Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in hisBy his kingdom is understood the glory of his ascension, and what follows after that, (Eph_4:10), or the preaching of the gospel, (Mar_9:1).kingdom.