MATTHEW LESSON 32

     Chapter 16 of Matthew is where we will begin this lesson.

     Matthew 16:1 "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and
tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven."

     These Pharisees and Sadducees were always trying to trap Jesus.
They would not have believed, regardless of how great the sign from
heaven.

     Matthew 16:2 "He answered and said unto them, When it is evening,
ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red."  Matthew 16:3
"And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is
red and lowring. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the
sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times?"

     Jesus was saying to them, signs that you can see with your eyes,
you understand; but the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures in your
Bible, you do not understand. Throughout the Old Testament, God warned
of the signs of the times. At least 37 times in the Old Testament,
there was prophecy about the coming of Jesus, and these learned men of
the Old Testament did not even realize that the fulfillment was
standing before them. These Pharisees and Sadducees could even predict
the weather by the physical signs in the sky; but had no spiritual
discernment at all.

     Matthew 16:4 "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a
sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the
prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."

     Jesus upbraided them for not understanding their own Scriptures
better. Abraham, their physical forefather, accepted on faith. This
was not good enough for them, they had to see the act with their very
own eyes. Followers of Jesus must accept on faith. Wicked people
refuse to believe. Jesus called them wicked and adulterous. Wicked
because of unbelief; adulterous, because they spiritually rejected Him
(spiritual adultery). The sign spoken of, that would be given, was
Jesus' body lying three days in the earth and rising again, as Jonah
spent three days in the whale's belly and was returned to the earth.
He knew that they would not receive or understand the message, so He
(as He has commanded us to do when they will not believe) left them
and went somewhere where they would receive the message.

     Matthew 16:5 "And when his disciples were come to the other side,
they had forgotten to take bread." Matthew 16:6  "Then Jesus said unto
them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the
Sadducees."

     These disciples were thinking of their physical needs. Jesus was
warning them about the sin (leaven) of the Pharisees and Sadducess.
Jesus was warning His disciples of the false doctrine of the Pharisees
and Sadducees. If you will, their spiritual blindness.

     Matthew 16:7 "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, [It is]
because we have taken no bread."

     Usually, when our mind or reasoning gets involved, we leave the
spiritual far behind.

     Matthew 16:8 "[Which] when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O
ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have
brought no bread?" Matthew 16:9 "Do ye not yet understand, neither
remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye
took up?" Matthew 16:10 "Neither the seven loaves of the four
thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?"

     Jesus was saying, have you forgotten so quickly about the miracle
of the feeding of the multitude? Jesus could not believe that they still
doubted for their physical food, when so great a miracle was performed
twice. Don't you know they felt ashamed when they were reminded?

     Matthew 16:11 "How is it that ye do not understand that I spake
[it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?"

     Jesus was saying to them. Look beyond the physical to the
spiritual.  Jesus is the Bread of Life. They need not fear hunger. He
is our very present help. Jesus was telling them that sin prevailed in
the Pharisees and Sadducees, because of lack of faith. Without faith,
it is impossible to please God.

     Matthew 16:12 "Then understood they how that he bade [them] not
beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees
and of the Sadducees." Matthew 16:13  "When Jesus came into the coasts
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say
that I the Son of man am?"

     This Caesarea Philippi was not the same as the Caesarea by the
Mediterranean Sea. Jesus asked the disciples an interesting question.
Many people, even today, are inquiring, who is this Jesus?

     Matthew 16:14 "And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the
Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets."

     You see, the interesting thing about Jesus then, as now, was that
He was a mystery; they could not figure Him out. They never denied
that He did the miracles, and that He was a great teacher and prophet.
We read where Herod believed He was John the Baptist, risen again
after Herod beheaded him. In Malachi, there was a promise of Elijah
Malachi 4:5  "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:" They could not deny
His miracles that were so numerous. The Word says if they were written
in a book, there would not be enough books in the world to contain
them (John 21:25). They just did not believe that He was, is, and
always will be the Word of God; who took on the form of flesh and
dwelt among us. God manifest in the flesh; God with us. That is where
false teaching comes in today. It all has to do with believing that
Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God; Emmanuel, God with us,
if we believe that Jesus was anything less than God the Son, who took
on the form of flesh and dwelt among us, we are in error. Only God
could wipe away your sins. No mere man could wipe away your sins.  The
whole thing comes down to, what do I believe about Jesus?

     Any teaching that lowers Jesus to the level of man, or any
teaching that raises man to the level of Jesus, is in error. Jesus is
the second personality in the Godhead. His body only was man. The
Spirit in the body was God. His body died on the cross. His Spirit is
eternal. John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God." He was with Father God, but He was in
fact God; the Son, the Word. The Word became the Son for His stay on
earth. Jesus never died. He dismissed His Spirit from His body on the
cross and commanded it to go to the Father. He went into hell
victorious, and took the keys of hell away from Satan. He preached in
hell and brought captivity out with Him. They were seen in Jerusalem
after His resurrection, when His Spirit reunited with His changed
body. Jesus is, was, and always will be God. He is the second person
in the Godhead. Who He is can only be spiritually discerned.

     Matthew 16:15 "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?"

     He was saying. I know what the world thinks, but what do you
ministers of mine think? Do you really know who I am?

     Matthew 16:16 "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God."

     This answer that Peter gave is the proper name of Jesus for His
stay here on this earth. He (Peter) was saying, You are the Anointed
One, the only Son, the Saviour of the world, The Life Everlasting.
Jesus answered Thomas and told him that He (Jesus) is Life. He went so
far as to say that no one comes to the Father, except by Him (Jesus).
To be saved we must know who He is and believe He is our Salvation.
(John 6:65)

     Matthew 16:17 "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

     You see, fleshly man does not have any idea who Jesus is. The
blessed of God (true believers) are the only ones who understand who
Jesus really is. Unless God reveals to us in our spirit, we will never
truly understand who Jesus really is. This is why it is so important
today to understand the person of Jesus. Most false doctrines are very
close to the truth. They are misled about the person of Jesus. False
doctrines teach that He became God when He rose again, some even teach
that He suffered in hell for us. None of these are true. We must
carefully weigh teachings with the Word of God. It must line up with
Scripture to be true.  Beware of teachings that elevate man.

     Next lesson will begin in Matthew 16:18.

                         Matthew 32 Questions

1.  What did the Pharisees and Sadducees ask Jesus to show them?
2.  What were they trying to do?
3.  Would they believe, if He gave them what they asked?
4.  What physical sign meant fair weather?
5.  How many times in the Old Testament were they told about Jesus?
6.  They could discern the physical, but could not discern what?
7.  Who seeketh a sign?
8.  What is the only sign that will be given?
9.  Their forefather, Abraham, accepted on what?
10. Why did Jesus call them adulterous?
11. What are we told to do when people will not hear?
12. What did Jesus warn the disciples of, pertaining to the Pharisees
    and Sadducees?
13. What was Jesus really warning them of?
14. Usually when we start to reason with our minds, we leave what
    behind?
15. What miracles did Jesus bring to their remembrance?
16. Jesus is the ______ of __________.
17. It is impossible to please God without what?
18. It was not the leaven of bread, but what of the Pharisees Jesus
    warned them about?
19. How is the only way to understand a hidden message?
20. What question did Jesus ask the disciples at Caesarea Philippi
    about the people?
21. What do people ask today?
22. What four answers did they give?
23. What things have never been denied about Jesus?