This is the second aspect of His program that Jesus proceeded to explain to His believing disciples. He told them first about His coming passion.
16:21 This is only the second time in the Gospel that Matthew used the phrase apo tote erxato, "from that time"(cf. 26:16). The first time was in 4:17 where Jesus began to present Himself to Israel as her Messiah. Here it announces Jesus' preparation of His disciples for the Cross because of Israel's rejection and His disciples' acceptance of Him as the divine Messiah. Thus the evangelist signalled a significant turning point in Jesus' ministry.
Jesus had hinted at His death earlier (9:15; 10:38; 12:40). However this is the first time He discussed it with His disciples. He began "to show"or "to explain"(Gr. deikeyo) these things with His actions as well as His words, not just "to teach"(Gr. didasko) them.
Jesus said that He "must"(Gr. dei) go to Jerusalem. He had to do this because it was God's will for Messiah to suffer and die as well as to experience resurrection.642He had to do these things to fulfill prophecy (Isa. 53; cf. Acts 2:22-36). Jerusalem had been the site of the martyrdom of numerous Old Testament prophets (cf. 23:37).
". . . Jesus reveals to his disciples, in all he says and in all he does beginning with 16:21, that God has ordained that he should go to Jerusalem to suffer, and that his way of suffering is a summons to them also to go the way of suffering (i.e., the way of servanthood) (cf. 20:28). In other words, Matthew alerts the reader through the key passages 16:21 and 16:24 that suffering, defined as servanthood, is the essence of discipleship and that Jesus will show the disciples in what he says and does that this is in fact the case."643
Jesus identified three groups that would be responsible for His sufferings and death there: the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. Together these groups constituted the Sanhedrin, Israel's supreme religious body. One definite article describes all three groups and binds them together in a single entity in the Greek text (cf. 16:1, 6). This would be Israel's final and formal official rejection of her Messiah.644Jesus' announcement implied that a trial would take place.645However, Jesus also announced that He would arise from the dead on the third day (cf. 12:40).
Verse 21 "prepares the reader already for the resolution of Jesus' conflict with Israel in at least two respects: (a) It underscores the fact that there are three principals involved in Jesus' passion, namely, God (dei: it is necessary'), Jesus, and the religious leaders. And (b) it reminds the reader that while all three desire the death of Jesus, the objective the leaders pursue is destructive (12:14), whereas that intended by God and Jesus is to save (1:21)."646
16:22 Peter obviously understood that Jesus was predicting His death. He began to rebuke Jesus privately for thinking such a thing, but Jesus cut him off (v. 23). Apparently Peter's understanding of Messiah did not include a Suffering Servant, which almost everyone in Israel rejected as well.
"Like many modern readers of the Bible, Peter did not want to accept what did not agree with his hopes and ambitions."647
Peter used a very strong negative expression meaning "Never, Lord!"The Greek expression is ou me, and it is comparatively rare in the New Testament. Peter followed up his great confession (v. 16) with a great contradiction.
"Peter's strong will and warm heart linked to his ignorance produce a shocking bit of arrogance. He confesses that Jesus is the Messiah and then speaks in a way implying that he knows more of God's will than the Messiah himself."648
16:23 Evidently Jesus turned to confront Peter face to face. "Get behind me, Satan"probably means "do not stand in my way as a stumbling block."Jesus had used similar language when rebuking Satan himself (4:10). "Satan"means "adversary."Jesus viewed Peter's comment as coming from Satan ultimately.
"It does not matter how one interprets the rebuke to Peter. Jesus' main point is one that demands a response from his audience. Whether he said, Get out of my sight!' [NIV], Get behind me!' [AV], or Follow after me!'649, he intended to focus his attention on the necessity of unconditional obedience in discipleship."650
Jesus had recently called Peter a rock. Now He called him a different type of rock, a rock that causes someone to stumble (Gr. skandalon). Satan had offered Jesus messiahship without suffering (4:8-9), and now Peter was suggesting the same thing. The idea of a suffering Messiah caused Peter to stumble here, and after Jesus' resurrection the same concept caused many Jews to stumble (cf. 1 Cor. 1:23).
Peter was not thinking God's thoughts but man's. When he confessed that Jesus was the Messiah earlier (v. 16), he was thinking God's thoughts. Now he was not only thinking without regard to revelation but in opposition to revelation, as Satan does. The contrast between verses 13-20 and verses 21-23 clearly shows that the disciples' understanding was a matter of growth. As they accepted what they came to understand progressively by divine illumination, their faith also grew.
Jesus proceeded to clarify the way of discipleship. In view of Jesus' death His disciples, as well as He, would have to die to self. However, they could rejoice in the assurance that the kingdom would come eventually. Glory would follow suffering.651
16:24 Discipleship would require self-denial in the most fundamental areas of individuality. What Jesus said applies to anyone who really wants to follow Him. The Jews had renounced Jesus, but His disciples must renounce themselves (cf. 10:33; Rom 14:7-9; 15:2-3). The Romans customarily compelled someone condemned to crucifixion to carry at least part of his own cross. This act gave public testimony to his being under and submissive to the rule he had opposed. This was both a punishment and a humiliation. Likewise Jesus' disciples must publicly declare their submission to the One whom they formerly rebelled against.652
Jesus did not explicitly identify the method of His death until later (20:19), but the disciples understood at least initially what Jesus meant about the price they would have to pay.
"Death to self is not so much a prerequisite of discipleship to Jesus as a continuing characteristic of it . . ."653
Self-denial as Jesus taught it does not involve denying oneself things as much as it does denying one's own authority over his or her life (cf. 4:19; John 12:23-26). This is the great challenge. The three verbs in this challenge are significant. The first two, "deny"and "take up,"are aorist imperatives indicating a decisive action. The last one, "follow,"is a present imperative indicating a continuing action.
16:25-26 Verses 25, 26, and 27 all begin with "for"(Gr. gar). Jesus was arguing logically. Verse 25 restates the idea that Jesus previously expressed in 10:28. The Greek word translated "life"is psyche, translated some other places in the New Testament "soul."It means the whole person (cf. James 1:21; 5:20). Jesus was not talking about one's eternal salvation.654The point of Jesus' statement is that living for oneself now will result in a leaner life later whereas denying oneself now for Jesus' sake will result in a fuller life later. It pays to serve Jesus, but payday will come later. As the next verse explains, the later in view for these disciples was the inauguration of the kingdom.
Two rhetorical questions show the folly of earning great material wealth at the expense of one's very life (psyche, v. 26). Life in the physical sense is not all that Jesus meant. As He used the word, it includes one's existence, his or her entire being.
"For the world, there is immediate gain but ultimate loss: for the disciple, there is immediate loss but ultimate gain."655
16:27 God's future judgment of His disciples, as well as Jesus' example, should be an inducement to deny self, identify with Christ, and follow Him (v. 24; cf. 10:24-25). This verse teaches both eschatology and Christology. Jesus will come with the glory of His Father when He returns to earth at His second coming (Rev. 19:11-16). Jesus is the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13) who will come with the same glory that God enjoys. The angels will enhance His glory and assist Him in gathering people for judgment (13:41; 24:31; 25:31-32; Luke 9:26). The angels are under Jesus' authority. Then He will reward each person according to his deeds (conduct). Conduct demonstrates character. Again Jesus referred to the disciples' rewards (cf. 5:12). The prospect of reward should motivate Jesus' disciples to deny self and follow Him. The disciple who does so simply to obtain a reward has not really denied himself. Rewards are precisely that, rewards.
The rewards in view seem to be opportunities to glorify God by serving Him (cf. 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27). The disciple will have greater or lesser opportunities to do so during the millennial kingdom and forever after in proportion to his or her faithfulness on earth now. The New Testament writers spoke of these rewards symbolically as crowns elsewhere (cf. 1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10; 3:11). It is perfectly proper to serve Jesus Christ to gain a reward. We will one day lay our crowns at the feet of our Savior. The crown is an expression of a life of faithful service that we performed out of gratitude for God's grace to us (cf. Rev. 4:4, 10).656
Both Jesus and Paul urged us to lay up treasure in heaven, to make investments that will yield eternal rewards (6:19-21; Luke 12:31-34; 1 Tim. 6:18-19). It is perfectly legitimate to remind people of the consequences of their actions to motivate them to do what is right. That is precisely what Jesus was doing with His disciples here.
"By including this discussion here Matthew once more emphesized the program of the Messiah as it is based on Daniel's prophecy. The Messiah must first be cut off (Daniel 9:26), a period of intense trouble begins at a later time (Daniel 9:27), and finally the Son of Man comes in glory to judge the world (Daniel 7:13-14). Thus the disciples must endure suffering, and when the Son of Man comes in His glory, they will be rewarded."657
"In the third part of this story (16:21-28:20), Matthew describes Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and his suffering, death, and resurrection (16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). Jesus' first act is to tell his disciples that God has ordained that he should go to Jerusalem and there be made by the religious leaders to suffer and die (16:21). On hearing this, Peter rejects out of hand the idea that such a fate should ever befall Jesus (16:22), and Jesus reprimands Peter for thinking the things not of God, but of humans (16:23). Then, too, Peter's inability to comprehend that death is the essence of Jesus' ministry is only part of the malady afflicting the disciples: they are also incapable of perceiving that servanthood is the essence of discipleship (16:24)."658
