Discovery BoxMatthew 16:1-17
Context16:1 Now when the Pharisees 1 and Sadducees 2 came to test Jesus, 3 they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 4 16:2 He 5 said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ 16:3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ 6 You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, 7 but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times. 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then 8 he left them and went away.
16:5 When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread. 16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees 9 and Sadducees.” 10 16:7 So 11 they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” 16:8 When Jesus learned of this, 12 he said, “You who have such little faith! 13 Why are you arguing 14 among yourselves about having no bread? 16:9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 16:10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up? 16:11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 16:12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
16:13 When 15 Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, 16 he asked his disciples, 17 “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 16:14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, 18 and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16:16 Simon Peter answered, 19 “You are the Christ, 20 the Son of the living God.” 16:17 And Jesus answered him, 21 “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood 22 did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!
[16:1] 1 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
[16:1] 2 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
[16:1] 3 tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.
[16:1] 4 sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.
[16:2] 5 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” The construction has been simplified in the translation and δέ (de) has not been translated.
[16:3] 6 tn Or “red and gloomy” (L&N 14.56).
[16:3] 7 tn Grk “The face of the sky you know how to discern.”
[16:4] 8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[16:6] 9 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
[16:6] 10 sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.
[16:7] 11 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ saying about the Pharisees and Sadducees.
[16:8] 12 tn Or “becoming aware of it.”
[16:8] 13 tn Grk “Those of little faith.”
[16:13] 15 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[16:13] 16 map For location see Map1 C1; Map2 F4.
[16:13] 17 tn Grk “he asked his disciples, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has been left untranslated.
[16:14] 18 sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.
[16:16] 19 tn Grk “And answering, Simon Peter said.”
[16:16] 20 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
[16:17] 21 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of this phrase has been modified for clarity.
[16:17] 22 tn The expression “flesh and blood” could refer to “any human being” (so TEV, NLT; cf. NIV “man”), but it could also refer to Peter himself (i.e., his own intuition; cf. CEV “You didn’t discover this on your own”). Because of the ambiguity of the referent, the phrase “flesh and blood” has been retained in the translation.
