MattheW 16:13 | 1563 sat down . 30 Great crowds came to him , bring ing the lame , the blind , the crip pled , the mute and many oth ers , and laid them at his feet ; and he healed them . 31 The peo ple were amazed when they saw the mute speak ing , the crip pled made well , the lame walk ing and the blind see ing . And they praised the God of Is ra el .
32
Jesus called his dis ci ples to him and said , “ I have com pas sion for these peo ple ; they have already been with me three days and have noth ing to eat . I do not want to send them away hun gry , or they may col lapse on the way .”
33
His dis ci ples an swered , “ Where could we get enough bread in this re mote place to feed such a crowd ?”
34
“ How many loaves do you have ?” Jesus asked . “ Sev en ,” they re plied , “ and a few small fish .”
35
He told the crowd to sit down on the ground .
36
Then he took the sev en loaves and the fish , and when he had giv en thanks , he broke them and gave them to the dis ci ples , and they in turn to the peo ple .
37
They all ate and were sat is fied . Af ter ward the disci ples picked up sev en bas ket fuls of bro ken piec es that were left over . 38 The num ber of those who ate was four thou sand men , be sides wom en and children . 39 Af ter Jesus had sent the crowd away , he got into the boat and went to the vi cin i ty of Mag a dan .
The Demand for a Sign
16:1-12pp — Mk 8:11-21
16
The Phar i sees and Sad du cees came to Jesus and test ed him by ask ing him to show them a sign from heav en .
2
He re plied , “ When eve ning comes , you say , ‘ It will be fair weath er , for the sky is red ,’ 3 and in the morn ing , ‘ To day it will be stormy , for the sky is red and over cast .’ You know how to in ter pret the ap pearance of the sky , but you can not in ter pret the signs of the times . a 4 A wick ed and adul ter ous gen er a tion looks for a sign , but none will be giv en it ex cept the sign of Jo nah .” Jesus then left them and went away .
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5
When they went across the lake , the dis ci ples for got to take bread . 6 “ Be care ful ,” Jesus said to them . “ Be on your guard against the yeast of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees .”
7
They dis cussed this among them selves and said , “ It is be cause we didn ’ t bring any bread .”
8
Aware of their dis cus sion , Jesus asked , “ You of lit tle faith , why are you talk ing among your selves about hav ing no bread ? 9 Do you still not un derstand ? Don ’ t you re mem ber the five loaves for the five thou sand , and how many bas ket fuls you gathered ? 10 Or the sev en loaves for the four thou sand , and how many bas ket fuls you gath ered ? 11 How is it you don ’ t un der stand that I was not talk ing to you about bread ? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees .” 12 Then they un der stood that he was not tell ing them to guard against the yeast used in bread , but against the teach ing of the Phar i sees and Sad du cees .
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
16:13-16pp — Mk 8:27-29 ; Lk 9:18-20
13
When Jesus came to the re gion of Caes a rea Phi lip pi , he asked his dis ci ples , “ Who do peo ple say the Son of Man is ?”
a
2,3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes . . . of the times .
15:32 – 39 This passage presents the second mass feeding in Matthew ’ s Gospel . This account , coupled with vv . 29 – 31 , mirrors 14:13 – 21 . See the table “ Miracles of Jesus ” on p . 1741 .
15:37 seven basketfuls The number seven is frequently used to express totality or completeness . See 14:20 . 15:39 the vicinity of Magadan The location is unknown , but it might be an alternate name for Magdala on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee .
16:1 – 4 The Pharisees and Sadducees — who were often opposed to each other — unite in order to test Jesus . They demand a sign to authenticate his credentials as Messiah . Having already performed many signs , he refuses their request , instead choosing to comment on their spiritual blindness .
16:1 Pharisees See note on Jn 1:24 . Sadducees See note on Mk 12:18 . a sign from heaven A means of authentication . Prophets who claimed to speak on God ’ s behalf often had to prove their assertions ( see Ex 4:1 – 9 ; 7:8 – 13 ). “ Heaven ” is likely a figurative reference to God , although the Jewish leaders may have wanted to see a celestial sign ( e . g ., Mt 24:27,30 ). 16:3 you cannot interpret the signs Jesus ’ point is that the Jews could predict the weather based on simple observations , but they could not discern the presence of the kingdom of heaven through his miracles (“ the signs of the times ”; compare 4:17 ). 16:4 sign of Jonah See note on 12:39 .
16:5 – 12 Jesus warns his disciples about the misguided teachings of the Jewish leaders . He speaks metaphorically , and , as usual , the disciples misunderstand . Jesus then warns them plainly and reminds them that he can meet their needs .
16:5 across the lake Refers to the Sea of Galilee . 16:6 yeast Yeast or leaven typically symbolizes sin or impurity in the Bible , though Jesus used it earlier as a positive metaphor ( 13:33 ). 16:12 teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees Likely a reference to their oral traditions ( see 15:2 and note ), as well as their opposition to Jesus .
16:13 – 20 Peter reaffirms Jesus ’ identity as Messiah ( compare 14:33 and note ). In response , Jesus promises to establish his church in an enduring way through Peter .
16:13 Caesarea Philippi City about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee , at the base of Mount Hermon and near the source of the Jordan River . In NT times , a cult