Introductory Remarks:
In chapter seven we left the crowd following Jesus after He had healed the deaf and dumb man. This chapter could be outlined as follows: the feeding of the four thousand vv. 1-10; the demand for a sign vv. 11-13; the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod vv. 14-21; the healing of a blind man at Bethsaida vv. 22-26; Peter's declaration about Jesus vv. 27-30; Jesus foretells His death and resurrection vv. 31-38.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
(Matt. 15:32-39)
Verse 1, "In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,"
LGT "In those days, the crowd being very great, and not having what they may eat, having called to [Him] the disciples, He says to them,"
The crowd had followed Jesus and His disciples into the wilderness where was no place to get food enough for all.
Verse 2, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:"
LGT "I am moved with compassion for the crowd, because already three days they continue with Me, and they have not what they may eat:"
The crowd had followed Jesus and had been listening to Him teach for three days, and had obviously run out of food, and the Lord had tender mercy for them, and did not want to send them away hungry.
Verse 3, "And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from afar."
LGT "And if I shall send them away fasting into their home, they will faint in the way: and some of them have come from afar."
The Lord felt compassion for the crowd, that some had to travel a long distance, and would need food to sustain their travels.
Verse 4, "And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?"
LGT "And his disciples answered Him, Where shall any one be able to satisfy any of these with bread in a desert?"
They ask almost the same identical question as when Christ fed the five thousand; they were perplexed, not having faith either time; their question would be somewhat legitimate, if this were the first time they ever saw Christ perform a great miracle.
Verse 5, "And he asked them How many loaves have ye" And they said, Seven."
LGT "And He asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven."
These seven loaves were evidently what was left of the provisions of the twelve and Christ.
Verse 6, "And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people."
LGT "And He commanded the crowd to recline upon the ground: and He having taken the seven loaves, having given thanks, He broke and gave to His disciples, in order that they might set before [them], and they set [it] before the crowd."
Christ was teaching His disciples more than one lesson; in preparing them for their Apostolic Mission, they were to distinguish needs of people, and in turn answer those needs. He also was teaching them to give public thanks to their Heavenly Father, in order that they would not get carried away and forget where their power came from. It is a good thing the Spiritual Gifts are not operative today, for the so-called pastor teachers of today have big enough heads as it is; we can dismiss the so-called faith healers, because they are simply pretending to have the gifts, and they are easy as pie to figure out.
Verse 7, "And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them."
LGT "And they had a few small fishes: and having blessed [them] commanded the same be set before [them]."
Christ repeated the same lesson with the fishes.
Verse 8, "So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets."
LGT "And they ate and were satisfied, and they took up, over and above, seven baskets of fragments."
These fragments were not bits and pieces, but left over surplus, that would be eaten later.
Verse 9, "And they that had eaten were about four thousand; and he sent them away."
LGT "And there were about four thousand. And He sent them away."
The people were satisfied, and now Christ sends them to their homes.
Verse 10, "And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha."
LGT "And immediately, having entered the boat with His disciples, He came into the parts of Dalmanutha."
"The location of Dalmanutha cannot be ascertained accurately. Apparently it was on the coast of the Sea of Galilee and they had to cross the sea to get to it, which means they came to the west side. They traveled by boat and evidently the spot was somewhere on the northwest coast. Now the bloodhounds of hate are on His trail again" (McGee).
The Demand for a Sign
(Matt. 16:1-4)
Verse 11, "And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him."
LGT "And the Pharisees went out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from the heaven, tempting Him."
"And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him,"
Matthew 16:1 adds that the Sadducees joined the Pharisees in their disputing with the Lord; this is the first time these two parties of the Sanhedrin joined forces with each other, for they were diametrically opposed to each other religiously; however, when it came to get rid of the Christ, they were bosom buddies.
"Seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him."
The term 'tempting Him' meant to test Him. These religious phonies had no intention on believing anything concerning Christ.
"There had been signs enough in the miracles of Jesus to convince an open mind, but these [miracles] they had attributed to the prince of demons, Beelzebub. A sign from heaven would be different. If He would make a rainbow span the world; or like Joshua make the sun stand still; call down thunder or hail like Samuel, or fire and rain like Elijah; or if He would make the sun turn back like Isaiah, they would believe that the King-Messiah had come" (Shepherd - The Christ).
Verse 12, "And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why does this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation."
LGT "And having groaned in His spirit, He says, Why [does] this generation seek a sign? Verily I say to you, If there shall be given to this generation a sign."
The last phrase if there shall be given to this generation a sign is a "conditional clause with the conclusion unexpressed" (Robertson). The conclusion was expressed when Jesus groaned in His spirit; what Christ is expressing in this verse is that He refuses to give these hair-splitters another sign.
Verse 13, "And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side."
LGT "And having left them, having entered again, went away to the other side."
Disgusted with the Pharisees and Sadducees, he left them and sailed to the other side of the sea.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod
(Matt. 16:5-12)
Verse 14, "Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf."
LGT "And they forgot to take loaves, and they had except one loaf with them in the boat."
The forgetfulness of the disciples seems to suggest a rather relaxed attitude while the Master was with them, that is, take no thought for the morrow, for the morrow will take care of itself.
Verse 15, "And he charged them saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod."
LGT "And He charged them saying, See, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod."
Leaven in Scripture represents evil; the leaven of the Pharisees represents bad theology; the leaven of Herod represents bad politics. The disciples were brought up on the leaven of the Pharisees, and Christ warns them continually against the leaven of their traditions. Herod had rejected the message of John the Baptist and had him put to death; the Pharisees are rejecting the message of Jesus, and are plotting His death.
Verse 16, "And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread."
LGT "And they reasoned with one another, because we have not loaves."
Christ was preoccupied with the false teachings of the Pharisees, and the disciples were alone reasoning among themselves about the loaves of bread.
Verse 17, "And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened?"
LGT "And Jesus knowing [it] says to them, Why reason because ye have not loaves? Do you not perceive nor understand? Have you hardened your hearts?"
Jesus rebukes His disciples for not thinking any deeper than the physical bread they were preoccupied with. It is easy for us to sit back and read the finished product and become judgmental over the ignorance of the disciples; remember, they were with Christ before His death and resurrection, and this can account for their thinking after His ascension and resurrection things did change drastically.
Verse 18, "Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember?"
LGT "Having eyes; do ye not see? And having ears, do ye not hear? And do ye not remember?"
Here again Christ displays His disappointment with His chosen few, but we must not get self-righteous realizing that this was all new to them; it took us years to learn the Word of God, and we are still learning.
Verse 19, "When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve."
LGT "When I broke the five loaves to the five thousand, how many hand-baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say to Him, Twelve."
Jesus reminds them of how He performed the miracle of feeding the five thousand, and that everyone was filled and there was food left over. It is the Lord's desire that these chosen disciples learn to get their minds set on the spiritual matters, and away from the mere physical.
Verse 20, "And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven."
LGT "[And] when the seven to the four thousand, how many baskets, fillings of fragments, took ye up? And they answering [Him], Seven."
He now reminds them of the very recent feeding of the four thousand [vv. 1-6] with the same results of seven baskets full of broken bread left over.
Verse 21, "And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?"
LGT "And He said to them, How do ye not understand?"
Jesus ends His personal teaching session with His disciples with this stinging rebuke that they should have understood Him, because they were eyewitnesses of His Father's glory in working these wonderful miracles. Today we have the Word of God to feed on daily, and if we refuse, we will not grow spiritually strong; there is no other way.
The Healing of the Blind Man at Bethsaida
Verse 22, "And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him."
LGT "And He comes into Bethsaida. And they bring to Him a blind [man] and begged Him, in order that He might touch him."
Because of the opposition in Magadan Jesus and His disciples leave by boat to Bethsaida; He never stays where He is not wanted, and He never forces Himself on anyone; as Bob Theime said repeatedly, "He is a perfect Gentleman."
The first thing He faces is a crowd bringing a blind man to Him, and pleading that He might touch him, in order that he might see.
Verse 23, "And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught."
LGT "And taking hold of the hand of the blind [man], He brought him away, out of the village and having spit upon his eyes, having laid [His] hands upon him, He asked him if he beholds anything?"
Jesus uses an unprecedented procedure here with this blind man. "As in the case of the deaf and dumb demoniac given also alone by Mark (7:31-37), so here Jesus observes the utmost secrecy in performing the miracle for reasons not given by Mark. It was the season of retirement and Jesus is making the fourth withdrawal from Galilee. That fact may explain it. The various touches here are of interest also. Jesus led him out by the hand, put spittle on his eyes (using the poetical and Koine papyri word ommata instead of the usual opthalmous for eyes), and laid His hands upon him, perhaps all this to help the man's faith" (Robertson).
Verse 24, "And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking."
LGT "And having looked up, he said, I behold the men, for as trees I see [them] walking around."
The reason for this gradual healing process by Jesus is not given. "He applied saliva to the man's eyes and asked him if he could see. The man replied that he could see people who looked like trees. This revealed that the ability to see had been restored, but the man was not able yet to focus so as to see more than an outline. He could not yet distinguish details. In this the man's sight was like that of any newborn babe who can see shapes but is not able to focus to see details" (Pentecost). This could suggest that the man was blind from birth, and therefore needed time to focus.
Verse 25, "After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly."
LGT "Then again He laid [His] hands upon his eyes, and looked steadfastly and he was restored and he saw, and continued to see all things clearly."
The phrase "And made him look up" is literally, and looked steadfastly; he fixed his eyes ahead on objects, and tried to focus his eyes. The last phrase "and saw every man clearly" is in the imperfect tense, and it is literally, and continued to see all clearly. Jesus touched the man's eyes the second time, and now he could see clearly. McGee attempts to make a spiritual application to all of us, but really misses the boat; this type of Bible interpretation is reminiscent of the first century Alexandrian school of allegory, and Prairie Bible Institute's method of letting the Word speak to you; what the Word says, the Word says; it does not say one thing to one man, and another thing to another man; what the Word says to one, it says to all. Here we have a blind man who once was blind, but now he sees, rejoice in this wonderful miracle of our Lord.
Verse 26, "And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town."
LGT "And He sent him to his house, saying, Nether into the village may you enter."
Jesus did not want him to enter the village and create a commotion over his being healed, but He commanded him to go home and receive a joyful reception from his family and friends; now Jesus moves on to Caesarea Philippi.
Peter's Declaration about Jesus
(Matt. 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-21)
Verse 27, "And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?"
LGT "And Jesus and His disciples went away into the village of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way He was questioning His disciples, saying to them, Whom do men pronounce Me to be?"
"And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi:"
"The conjunction and connects very loosely with what goes before, but presumably egzelthen (went out from) refers to Bethsaida. They leave it and go northwards towards Caesarea Philippi, up the Jordan Valley, a distance of some twenty-five or thirty miles - the fact that Jesus is here expressly named is a hint that something very important is to be narrated, and the mention of the disciples along with Him indicates that it closely concerns them. They traveled to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, not to Caesarea Philippi itself. Apparently they did not enter the city itself. Jesus seems to have avoided the towns in which the Herodian passion for ambitious architecture was displayed. Besides at this time He desired solitude." (The Expositor's Greek Testament)
"And by the way he asked them, whom do men say that I am?"
Jesus was heading toward Jerusalem, and as soon as He departed from Bethsaida, He began questioning his disciples as to whom people were saying that He was. He had offered Himself as the Messiah, but they were not, as a whole, accepting him as such. This question is the most important question a man can answer his entire life, whom do you say that He is?
Verse 28, "And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets."
LGT "And they told Him, saying, John the Baptist, and others, Elias, and others that one of the prophets."
Even though these men that the people supposed Christ to be, were men of high repute, they came short of the desired response.
Pentecost writes on this verse:
"Christ had been offering Himself as Messiah, and people were responsible to make a decision concerning the evidence He presented. Now He questioned the Twelve as to the responses that His presentation had elicited. Some like Herod thought that Jesus was John the Baptist. They could see the identity in the message that both preached. Others likened Jesus to Elijah, who in days of apostasy had stood before the nation as God's spokesman to condemn the people because of unrighteousness and call them to repentance in view of coming judgment. The nation rejected his message. Others compared Jesus to Jeremiah, who on the eve of the Captivity had announced coming judgment and denounced the people for their sins. The people rejected his message. All of the aforementioned were recognized as prophets from God; and so these interpretations inferred that the people likewise reckoned that Jesus was a prophet from God. But Christ rejected those interpretations, although for most persons it would be an honor to be classed with God's prophets."
Verse 29, "And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ."
LGT "And He questioned them, But whom do ye pronounce Me to be? Peter answering says to Him, You are the Christ."
Peter uses His title, not His name; Jesus is His name; Christ is His title; Christ means 'the Anointed One.' Mark gives an abbreviated form of his confession of which is, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matt. 16:16).
Shepherd writes:
"The great confession of Peter, as the representative Apostle, had the foundation of the Church as such. In contradistinction to the varying opinions of even those best disposed towards Christ, it openly declared that Jesus was the Very Christ of God, the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy, the heir of Old Testament promise, the realization of the Old Testament hope for Israel, and, in Israel, for all mankind. Without this confession, Christians might have been a Jewish sect, a religious party, or a school of thought, and Jesus a Teacher, Rabbi, Reformer, or Leader of men. But the confession, which marked Jesus as the Christ, also constituted His followers the Church. It separated Him, from all around; it gathered them into one, even Christ; and it marked out the foundation on which the building made without hands was to rise. Never was illustrative answer so exact as this 'On this Rock' [Christ] - bold, outstanding, well defined, immovable - 'will I build My Church' (Matt. 16:18)."
Verse 30, "And he charged them that they should tell no man of him."
LGT "And He strictly charged them that they should tell no one concerning Him."
Jesus charged them that they must wait until the gospel story was complete before they go out into all the world as the Church with the Gospel of Grace; it was not until after His ascension that they were to spread the Good News; the Church began in infancy, in the Apostolic Church with the spiritual gifts, and then matured under the tutelage of the Word of God alone, when the Word of God became complete, as it exists today in this Age of Grace.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
(Matt. 16:21-28; Luke 9:22-27)
Verse 31, "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."
LGT "And He began to teach them that it is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days to rise [again]."
Christ now begins to teach His disciples the particulars surrounding His rejection, death and resurrection. Christ reveals that He must go to Jerusalem where He would be put on trial before the Sanhedrin, and that they would take Him and kill Him, and that He would rise again the third day.
Verse 32, "And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him."
LGT "And openly He spoke the word. And Peter, having taken [Him], began to rebuke Him."
This verse means that Christ no longer spoke to the disciples in parables, that is, in mysteries, but He spoke very plainly so they could not misunderstand Him. The imperfect tense is used, showing He repeatedly spoke to them, that is, He kept on speaking the plain Truth. Peter proved he understood, for he begins to rebuke the Lord for what He was saying. Peter proves that his mind was not ready for the truth.
Verse 33, "But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."
LGT "But He, turning and seeing His disciples, and He rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind Me, Satan, because your thoughts are not of the things of God, but the things of men."
Peter had taken Jesus aside but in full view of the other disciples (vs. 32) when He rebuked the Lord; now our Lord turns around facing His disciples and rebukes Peter. "Peter no doubt felt that it was his duty as a leader of the Twelve to remonstrate [protest] with the Master for this pessimistic utterance" (Swete). "It is even possible that the others shared Peter's views and were watching the effect of his daring rebuke of Jesus. It was more than mere officiousness on the part of Peter. He had not risen above the level of ordinary men and deserves the name of Satan whose role he was now acting. It was withering, but it was needed. The temptation of the devil on the mountain was needed. The temptation of the devil on the mountain was here offered by Peter. It was Satan over again (See on Matt. 16:23)" (Robertson).
Verse 34, "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me."
LGT "And having called the crowd together with His disciples, He said to them, If anyone wills to follow Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and let him follow Me."
Jesus now speaks to the crowd along with His disciples and gives them the true test of discipleship. There are those who apply this to salvation, as if we need to deny our selves and follow Christ to be saved; however, this is not the context. The context is discipleship, big difference!
Pentecost adds:
"In the light of Jesus' own revelation concerning His approaching death, it was evident that one must pay a costly price to become His disciple. Christ made high demands on those who would be His true disciples. Such a one 'must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me' (Luke 9:23). The Gospels reveal three stages in the development of a disciple. (1) Multitudes were attracted to Jesus to hear His words and see His works. They came out of curiosity. Such ones are called His disciples (Matt. 5:2). We would call these the curious. (2) From among the curious there were many who came to put faith in Jesus Christ (John 2:11). We would call such ones the convinced. (3) But now Christ demanded that the convinced make a commitment. We would call these the committed.
In order to be a true disciple one must submit himself completely to the will of Jesus Christ. Such a one must deny himself, that is, set aside his own will and his own rights to his own life; he must then submit himself completely to the will of Christ. The cross in the life of Christ was the test of His obedience to the will of God. It was to Him what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was to Adam in the Garden of Eden. One who would be Christ's true disciple must be willing to submit himself to the will of God, whatever it entails."
Verse 35, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it."
LGT "For whoever may will to save his life shall lose it; and whoever may lose his life on account of Me, and of the Good News, shall save it."
This verse is not a condition for salvation; some in the early Church thought they had to give their life up in order to be saved; that is not at all what this verse teaches; this verse teaches the response from one who is saved, and is a true disciple, that is, he will prize the Gospel above his own life.
Verses 36, 37, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
LGT "For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul? For what shall a man give an exchange for his soul?"
Christ sets in front of these people the facts of what this world offers compared to eternity. It is better for a man to shun the way of the Pharisees, and accept His eternal way, that is, to reject the offer of the physical for the eternal; only those who are truly born again will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Verse 38, "Whosever therefore shall be shamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
LGT "For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this sinful and adulterous generation, also the Son of Man will be ashamed of him, when He comes into the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
Christ is speaking about those ones right there and then who are making a decision as to whether to follow Him or to follow the Pharisees. Chapter nine, verse one should be read with this verse, for there were those standing there who would experience seeing the glorified Christ after His ascension.
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