Matthew 16:28-17:13, Catching Up so we can Move On

Let us take some time to remember our context in Matthew’s Gospel. 

Rejection of the King:

I. Rejection raised, 11:2-30. John the Baptist raised the issue by asking, Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?  It was also raised when Jesus noted certain cities that had not believe in Him, in spite of the many signs they had seen.

II.Rejection reasons, 12:1-21. The “reasons,” by which we mean the occasions when the leaders contended with Jesus, were “Sabbath controversies,” where Jesus did not act in accordance with the rabbinical traditions.  Another issue raised had to do with the relationship of Jews to the Gentiles.

III.Rejection route, 12:22-50. While Jesus did not say the leaders had rejected Him, He did warn them that they were headed in that direction.  He warned them of the “unpardonable sin,” blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

IV.Rejection remodeling, 13:1-16:12. While Jesus may not have said the leaders had rejected Him, He did know that the rejection was coming.  Therefore, He began to introduce to His disciples the fact of “two advents” and the nature of things during that time.  The emphasis throughout this section is on the disciples; Jesus is still ministering to the crowds but you can see the preparation of the disciples is front and center.  Jesus uses parable in Ch. 13 so His disciples understand but the crowds do not.  After the martyrdom of John the Baptist the miracles of feeding the 5000 and walking on the water are aimed at the disciples.  The events of Ch. 15 take place in Gentile areas, as does the exchange with the disciples at Caesarea Philippi.

V.Rejection revelations, 16:13-17:27.  We are now in the midst of various “revelations” related to Jesus’ rejection.

    A.Revelation of the Christ, 16:13-17.  In order to know Christ in the truth, God must reveal this to men.

    B.Revelation of the Church, 16:18-20.  Jesus, for the first time in Matthew, refers to the Church, the new “wineskin” for the age between the advents.

    C.Revelation of the Cross, 16:21-26.  For the first time Jesus declares to His disciples that they will be going to Jerusalem where He will suffer at the hands of men, be killed and raised the third day.

    D.Revelation of the Coming Again, 16:27-17:13.  In our next post, Lord willing, we will consider the amazing event on a high mountain in Israel (Mt. Hermon?) where Jesus was “transfigured” before Peter, James and John.

    E.Revelation of the Context, 17:14-27.  This passage will help put into the bigger context, all that is happening.  To the disciples it was confusing; we are not surprised they did not understand.  But if we see the big picture, it makes total sense.