American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Matthew 16
1
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 11:16
Acts 4:1
1 Corinthians 1:22
John 8:6
Acts 5:17
Luke 20:23
Resurrection
Matthew 16:6
Luke 20:27
2
He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3
And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky; but can you not discern the signs of the times?
Reference
4
A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Reference
5
And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
6
Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Reference
7
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8
Which when Jesus perceived, he said to them, O you of little faith, why reason you among yourselves, because you have brought no bread?
Reference
Faith
Matthew 6:30
Matthew 14:31
Mark 16:14
Matthew 8:26
John 16:30
Parallel theme
Revelation 2:23
Hebrews 4:13
9
Do you not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?
Reference
10
Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up?
11
How is it that you do not understand that I spoke it not to you concerning bread, that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
Reference
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.
Reference
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?
Reference
📍 Caesarea Philippi
Parallel theme
Daniel 7:13
Matthew 9:6
John 5:27
Matthew 12:8
Matthew 13:37
Acts 7:56
Mark 8:38
Mark 10:45
References Jesus
Matthew 8:20
Acts 10:38
14
And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
Reference
16
And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Reference
References Christ
John 11:27
Acts 9:20
Matthew 26:63
References God
Matthew 14:33
1 John 4:15
Matthew 27:54
1 Timothy 4:10
1 Thessalonians 1:9
Hebrews 10:31
1 John 5:5
17
And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven.
Reference
Blood
Galatians 1:16
1 Corinthians 15:50
Parallel theme
John 6:45
Isaiah 54:13
Ephesians 3:5
Ephesians 2:8
1 Peter 5:1
References Jesus
1 John 5:20
1 John 4:15
John 1:42
18
And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Reference
19
And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Reference
20
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 8:30
Luke 9:21
References Christ
John 1:41
References Jesus
Matthew 17:9
Matthew 8:4
21
From that time forth began Jesus to show to his disciples, how that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 17:12
Matthew 20:28
Luke 17:25
Matthew 26:47
Matthew 26:2
References Jerusalem
Luke 9:31
Resurrection
Matthew 27:63
Luke 24:46
22
Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be to you.
Reference
References Peter
Mark 8:32
23
But he turned, and said to Peter, Get you behind me, Satan: you are an offense to me: for you mind not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Reference
Parallel theme
Colossians 3:2
John 6:70
Romans 14:13
1 Chronicles 21:1
Genesis 3:17
2 Samuel 19:22
References God
Philippians 3:19
Mark 8:33
Matthew 4:10
Luke 4:8
24
Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Reference
Cross
Matthew 10:38
Luke 14:27
Mark 10:21
Mark 8:34
John 19:17
Mark 15:21
Parallel theme
Acts 14:22
Colossians 1:24
1 Thessalonians 3:3
References Jesus
2 Timothy 3:12
25
For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Reference
26
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Reference
27
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Reference
28
Truly I say to you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
Reference
Kingdom
Mark 9:1
Luke 9:27
Parallel theme
John 8:52
Matthew 26:64
Matthew 10:23
Mark 13:26
Luke 2:26
Hebrews 2:9
Summary of Matthew 16
Matthew 16 represents a major turning point in the Gospel, because Jesus moves from demonstrating His authority through teaching, healing, and miracles toward explicitly revealing to His disciples that His mission will lead through suffering, death, and resurrection.
The chapter begins with the Pharisees and Sadducees demanding a sign from heaven, but Jesus refuses to satisfy their demand for proof because they have already witnessed enough evidence to recognize the significance of His ministry, revealing that unbelief can remain even when evidence is abundant.
Jesus then warns His disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, using yeast as a picture of influence that spreads throughout a community, and He reminds the disciples of the miraculous feedings to show that their concern should not be about physical bread but about the spiritual danger of corrupt teaching.
At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks His disciples who people believe He is, and after hearing several answers, He asks them directly, leading Peter to make the foundational confession that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of the living God.
Jesus blesses Peter for this revelation and speaks about building His church, giving Peter significant kingdom authority and indicating that His followers will become a continuing community whose existence will ultimately overcome the power of death.
Immediately after this revelation, however, Jesus begins explaining something the disciples do not expect: the Messiah must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise again, showing that His mission will be accomplished through sacrificial suffering rather than political conquest.
Peter strongly objects because his understanding of the Messiah is still shaped by human expectations, but Jesus rebukes him because the idea of a Messiah who suffers is not a failure of God's plan but an essential part of it.
Jesus then expands the lesson from His own mission to the mission of His followers, explaining that anyone who wants to follow Him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him, making clear that discipleship involves sacrifice rather than simply receiving blessings.
The teaching reaches its deepest challenge when Jesus asks what benefit there would be in gaining the entire world while losing one's soul, establishing that spiritual life is infinitely more valuable than wealth, power, reputation, comfort, or worldly success.
The chapter closes with Jesus pointing toward His future coming in glory and the certainty of divine judgment, reminding His disciples that their decisions in the present have eternal significance.
The central message is that Matthew 16 reveals Jesus' true identity as the Messiah and Son of God while correcting the disciples' expectations about what the Messiah's mission will involve, showing that God's kingdom advances not through worldly power but through Christ's suffering, death, resurrection, and the faithful self-denial of His followers.
The chapter ultimately calls believers to recognize who Jesus truly is, reject distorted forms of religious thinking, trust God's purposes even when they differ from human expectations, and understand that following Christ requires placing Him above personal ambition, possessions, comfort, reputation, and even one's own life.
The chapter begins with the Pharisees and Sadducees demanding a sign from heaven, but Jesus refuses to satisfy their demand for proof because they have already witnessed enough evidence to recognize the significance of His ministry, revealing that unbelief can remain even when evidence is abundant.
Jesus then warns His disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, using yeast as a picture of influence that spreads throughout a community, and He reminds the disciples of the miraculous feedings to show that their concern should not be about physical bread but about the spiritual danger of corrupt teaching.
At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks His disciples who people believe He is, and after hearing several answers, He asks them directly, leading Peter to make the foundational confession that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of the living God.
Jesus blesses Peter for this revelation and speaks about building His church, giving Peter significant kingdom authority and indicating that His followers will become a continuing community whose existence will ultimately overcome the power of death.
Immediately after this revelation, however, Jesus begins explaining something the disciples do not expect: the Messiah must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and rise again, showing that His mission will be accomplished through sacrificial suffering rather than political conquest.
Peter strongly objects because his understanding of the Messiah is still shaped by human expectations, but Jesus rebukes him because the idea of a Messiah who suffers is not a failure of God's plan but an essential part of it.
Jesus then expands the lesson from His own mission to the mission of His followers, explaining that anyone who wants to follow Him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him, making clear that discipleship involves sacrifice rather than simply receiving blessings.
The teaching reaches its deepest challenge when Jesus asks what benefit there would be in gaining the entire world while losing one's soul, establishing that spiritual life is infinitely more valuable than wealth, power, reputation, comfort, or worldly success.
The chapter closes with Jesus pointing toward His future coming in glory and the certainty of divine judgment, reminding His disciples that their decisions in the present have eternal significance.
The central message is that Matthew 16 reveals Jesus' true identity as the Messiah and Son of God while correcting the disciples' expectations about what the Messiah's mission will involve, showing that God's kingdom advances not through worldly power but through Christ's suffering, death, resurrection, and the faithful self-denial of His followers.
The chapter ultimately calls believers to recognize who Jesus truly is, reject distorted forms of religious thinking, trust God's purposes even when they differ from human expectations, and understand that following Christ requires placing Him above personal ambition, possessions, comfort, reputation, and even one's own life.