Matthew 16 - Signs of the Times, Knowing Jesus &
Heavens Plans
Text: Read Matthew 16
May 18, 2020
Discerning
the Signs of the Times
The religious leaders
were looking for a miraculous sign from heaven. Jesus told them that though they
were able to tell what was going to happen with the weather by the signs in the
sky, they were not able to see what was happening from heaven though He was
standing right in front of them. They did not want to see.
Asking for a
sign was a futile attempt to see something else that really wouldn’t cause them
to change anyway. Their hearts were not for the things of God, really. It was all
a mockery.
Jesus told them
what they would see and that would be sign enough. The only sign would be the
death and resurrection of Jesus. If that didn’t move them from their religious value
system, nothing would.
What Can
Ruin A Good Loaf of Bread? What Can Bring Bad Teaching to God’s People? A Ungodly
Leadership Can Spoil a Whole Group of People. Vs. 5-12
Leaven –
meaning, something that corrupts or depraves.
Leaving the
scene where Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus took the
opportunity to teach the disciples about the doctrines (teachings) of those
leaders.
When the
disciples discovered that they forgot to bring bread, it became the perfect
opportunity for Jesus to teach them about the people they had just seen Him
talking with. He likened their teachings to leaven in bread, and at the same
time addressed the disciples lack of faith when they were worried about not
having food.
First, the Lord
reminded them about the other miracles they had seen when the multitudes of
people had been fed on the previous occasions. It’s amazing how quickly we can
forget the former miracles when a new opportunity of need presents itself.
He was able to
turn their physical concerns into a faith building lesson while using the very
food being discussed as a teaching point of great significance. Jesus was more
concerned with their spiritual nutrition that day than their concern for
natural bread.
The Lord wanted
to show them, and us, that religious leaders and even people we know in our
lives today can lead people astray and make the whole batch bad. We can’t eat
good spiritual bread from that kind of teaching.
God would
always provide what they needed in the natural if they would only believe. But
they needed to learn of true spiritual things that would nourish their souls.
Recognizing
Jesus for Who He Really Is Vs. 13-18
The conversation
that begins in verse 13 about who Jesus is leads to a wonderful revelation
about the assignment on Peter’s life. When asked who Peter thought Jesus was he
gave the right answer, knowing that He is the Christ – the Son of the living
God.
Jesus told him
that it was only because the Father revealed this to him that he could truly
see this. Look at the cross reference to this that no man can come to the Lord
unless they are drawn by the Father in heaven.
John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent
me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
People won’t see Jesus for who He
really is unless the Father God in heaven reveals it to them. This is His grace
that draws us in like a magnet of love.
Jesus advised
Peter that he would be a rock on which He would build His church. The devil
would have no way to successfully stop it. The Lord was showing Peter that day
what God’s plan for his life was going to be. That was a good day for Peter in
light of his future failures that would cause him some serious grief. It would
surely be a foundation that would help him to repent and come back to the Lord
after having denied Him 3 times. When we know the plan of God for our lives, it
will sustain us in times of great trial.
Keys to
Unlock Heaven’s Kingdom on Earth Vs. 19-20
Jesus was
giving out keys that day. He advised the disciples that the key to the kingdom
of heaven would be according to what they would allow on earth, saying it would
be backed up in heaven. Also, that what they would not allow on earth would be
also be disallowed in heaven.
To summarize
this, God is saying to us that whatever we allow on this earth in our lives,
heaven will agree with it. Conversely, what we don’t allow will also be backed
up by heaven. It’s up to us to know our authority and take it. We should be taking
actions to stop the devil from stealing things from our lives.
Jesus did not
permit the disciples to tell others about who He truly is. It wasn’t time for
others to know that yet. Certain things would have to happen before they could
start spreading the word, and God didn’t want their words to stop what He had
set in motion for the plan of salvation for all mankind.
Getting His
Students Ready for What Was Ahead Vs. 21-23
When Jesus told
the disciples what He would have to suffer at the hand of the Jewish leaders,
Peter rose up and said he wouldn’t let that happen. But Jesus quickly rebuked
the devil working through him. Peter wasn’t speaking about the heavenly
purposes at that point. The devil can even use God’s people to try to get his
agenda spoken into the world to carry out his plans of destruction.
If the devil
can get us to think and talk like the ungodly world, he can bring his evil
plans to pass. Jesus knew immediately that this was satan at work and He
stopped it immediately. It really matters what we say and what we allow.
Look how quickly the enemy tried to destroy God’s
plan through Peter’s mouth following Jesus’ admonition. The devil was right
there looking for an opportunity to a man’s voice to speak it out. He used Peter’s
love for Jesus to act as a sounding board, playing on his emotions to say
something that would go directly against the plans of God. The devil knows that
when we speak, things happen according to our words. We are made in God’s
image, and when He speaks, things happen. It’s the same with us. Study Genesis
1 for further details on this subject.
Living for Jesus Vs. 24-26
The Lord went
on to further teach the disciples that anyone who wants to follow Him must lay
down their lives and carry their cross. What does this mean for us? Paul was a
great example of living for Jesus. Look at this in the book of Acts.
Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life
dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the
ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of
the grace of God.
Paul saw the
souls of mankind as a much greater value than living for himself in this life.
Does this mean we don’t have anything at all for ourselves? Not at all. It means
putting God’s things first in our hearts, our finances, our conversations, our work,
and relationships. In summary, everything in our lives as Christians should be
lived for the ultimate purpose of the advancement of the gospel in the way the
Lord calls each of us to do it.
We are
literally called to despise anything that will get in our way (even family) and
hinder us from carrying out God’s assignment for our lives.
Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father
and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he
cannot be My disciple.
Peter had a
great assignment to build the church after Jesus left to go back to heaven. We
also have an assignment specific to the gifts that have been given to each one
of us. No two calling assignments will be the same, and every human being alive
has a call on their life to serve the Lord. The question remains, how many will
carry it out?
Jesus was
showing them how to prioritize their lives in order to save their souls for
eternity. He is saying the same thing to you and me. To be heavenly minded and
not worldly minded would mean losing their own ways of doing things the way
Jesus did. When He came, He laid down His life and doing things like the
ungodly world so He could bring many to heaven in the end. He didn’t fulfill
the lusts of His flesh, but rather focused on the things of eternal value.
He went on to
show them that it would be of no profit whatsoever to try to save their lives in
living for themselves. According to Jesus, in trying to save our lives, we will
lose them. But in losing ourselves and our own ambitions for the sake of the
gospel, we will gain life for our souls which go on throughout eternity, either
in heaven or hell. Nothing is worth losing out on being with Jesus for eternity
– nothing!
Rewards in The
Kingdom Vs. 27-28
When Jesus
comes back in His glory, He will reward each of us according to our work. He
wants to give us rewards. That blesses Him and it will bless us. We want to go
for those rewards – there’s not a thing wrong with that.
The final
sentence in this chapter shows us how quickly things can change. Our lives are
short. For those standing there within the sound of Jesus’ voice that day, some
would see Him return in His kingdom. In other
words, as Simeon saw the baby Jesus, so the disciples and many followers
would see Him transfigured after His resurrection. In the future, the same
thing will happen when some of us are alive when Jesus returns to the earth the
second time. Some will still be living to see it while many will not.
Reflection
It’s always
amazing to me how the Lord brings things together to teach us. He uses our
circumstances and actions to show us the principles set forth in His eternal
word every day that we study. Yesterday’s church service was about this very
topic of eternal life and not seeking to save one’s own life, but to lose it
for Christ’s sake.
My husband and
I were considering making a sizable purchase for a personal item. It would be
more of a luxury than a necessity. During the church service we were both prompted
by the Holy Spirit of God to extend some financial resources to a sister in the
family of God and her children. We were delighted to be asked to do that and
responded cheerfully. The amazing thing was that we had both been prompted by
the Lord to do this individually, so we got the confirmation that God was
giving us an opportunity to sow into someone’s life.
Later in the
day, the person who received the blessing was moved to tears and so were we.
God had been so good to us in this season of Covid19, that it was our delight
to extend His provision to someone in need. We decided to get a less costly
item instead of the one we were discussing just yesterday, and we felt so good
about it.
There are many
ways we can lay down our lives and take up our cross to follow Jesus. For each
one of us, there will be different requirements. All we have to do is be willing,
and God will lead the way. I heard a song this morning titled “Heaven on Earth.”
In it, the words say, “Let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as
it is in heaven – heaven on earth.” That was God’s original plan when He
created the earth for us to begin with. Adam and Eve were placed in a perfect
place with every possible provision and then given the authority to take
dominion over it, to be fruitful and multiply.
All we need to
do is get a glimpse of eternity in light of how short our time on earth will
be. It really will matter in the end how we spend our time on earth, as brief
as it is. Look at the following verse to gain a deeper perspective. Just today,
I had distractions coming at me from every direction and I almost got busy
doing something else before this Bible study. But I grabbed myself and just
went to sit down and pray in the spirit for about 20 minutes. By the time I was
done, my priorities were back in line with God’s priorities and I was headed to
my office and the keyboard. Praise God!
2
Corinthians 4:17-18
For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do
not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are
not seen are eternal.
How About
You?
Isn’t this a
great time to look at your priorities in life and ask the Lord to help reassess
them? It’s never too late as long as we are alive to get started. Better late
than never, amen?
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