View Matthew 16 in the note window.Chapter 16 goes farther than the revelation of the simple grace of God.
Jesus reveals what was about to be formed in the counsels of that grace,
where He was owned, shewing the rejection of the proud among His people,
that He abhors them as they abhor Him. (Zech. 11). Shutting their eyes
(through perversity of will) to the marvellous and beneficent signs of His
power, which He constantly bestowed on the poor who sought Him, the
Pharisees and Sadducees-struck with these manifestations, yet unbelieving
in heart and will-demand a sign from heaven. He rebukes them for their
unbelief, shewing them that they knew how to discern the signs of the
weather; yet the signs of the times were far more striking. They were the
adulterous and wicked generation, and He leaves them: significant
expressions of what was now passing in Israel.
He warns His forgetful disciples against the devices of these subtle
adversaries to the truth, and to Him whom God had sent to reveal it. Israel
is abandoned, as a nation, in the persons of their leaders. At the same
time in patient grace He recalls His disciples to the remembrance of what
explained His words to them.
Afterwards He questions His disciples as to what men in general said of
Him. It was all matter of opinion, not of faith; that is, the uncertainty
that belongs to moral indifference, to the absence of that conscious need
of soul which can rest only in the truth, in the Saviour one has found. He
then inquires what they themselves said of Him. Peter, to whom the Father
had deigned to reveal Him, declares his faith, saying, "Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God." No uncertainty, no mere opinion is
here, but the powerful effect of the revelation, made by the Father
Himself, of the Person of Christ, to the disciple whom He had elected for
this privilege.
Here the condition of the people displays itself in a remarkable manner,
not, as in the preceding chapter, with respect to the law, but with respect
to Christ, who had been presented to them. We see it in contrast with the
revelation of His glory to those who followed Him. We have thus three
classes: first, haughty unbelieving Pharisees; next, persons conscious and
owning there was divine power and authority in Christ, but indifferent;
lastly, the revelation of God and divinely given faith.
In the fifteenth chapter, grace towards one who had no hope but in it, is
put in contrast with disobedience to and hypocritical perversion of the
law, by which the scribes and Pharisees sought to cover their disobedience
with the pretence of piety.
The sixteenth chapter, judging the unbelief of the Pharisees respecting the
Person of Christ, and setting aside these perverse men, brings in the
revelation of His Person as the foundation of the assembly, which was to
take the place of the Jews as the witness for God in the earth; and
announces the counsels of God with respect to its establishment. It shews
us, in adjunction to this, the administration of the kingdom, as it was now
being established on the earth.
Let us consider, first, the revelation of His Person.
Peter confesses Him to be the Christ, the fulfilment of the promises made
by God, and of the prophecies that announced their realisation. He was the
One who should come, the Messiah whom God had promised.
Moreover, He was the Son of God. The second Psalm had declared that, in
spite of the schemings of the leaders of the people, and the haughty
animosity of the kings of the earth, God's King should be anointed on the
hill of Zion. He was the Son, begotten of God. The kings and judges of the
earth
[see note #42] are called to submit themselves to Him, lest they should be
smitten with the rod of His power, when He takes the heathen for His
inheritance. Thus the true believer waited for the Son of God born in due
time upon this earth. Peter confessed Jesus to be the Son of God. So had
Nathanael also: "Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel."
And, still later, Martha did the same.
Peter however, especially taught of the Father, adds to his confession a
word simple, yet full of power: "Thou art the Son of the living God." Not
only He who fulfils the promises, and answers to the prophecies; it is of
the living God that He is the Son, of Him in whom is life and life-giving
power.
He inherits that power of life in God which nothing can overcome or
destroy. Who can vanquish the power of Him-of this Son-who came forth from
"Him that liveth"? Satan has the power of death; it is he who holds man
under the dominion of this dreadful consequence of sin; and that, by the
just judgment of God which constitutes its power. The expression "The gates
of hades," of the invisible world, refers to this kingdom of Satan. It is
then on this power, which leaves the stronghold of the enemy without
strength, that the assembly is built. The life of God shall not be
destroyed. The Son of the living God shall not be overcome. That; then,
which God founds upon this rock of the unchangeable power of life in His
Son shall not be overthrown by the kingdom of death. If man has been
overcome and has fallen under the power of this kingdom, God, the living
God, will not be overcome by it. It is on this that Christ builds His
assembly. It is the work of Christ based on Him as Son of the living God,
not of the first Adam nor based on him-His work accomplished according to
the power which this truth reveals. The Person of Jesus, the Son of the
living God, is its strength. It is the resurrection that proved it. There
He is declared to be the Son of God with power. Accordingly it is not
during His life, but when raised from the dead, that He begins this work
Life was in Himself; but it is after the Father had burst the gates of
hades-nay, He Himself in His divine power had done so and was risen-that He
begins to build by the Holy Ghost as ascended on high, that which the power
of death or of him who wielded it-already overcome-can never destroy. It is
His Person that is here contemplated, and it is on His Person that all is
founded. The resurrection is the proof that He is the Son of the living
God, and that the gates of hades can do nothing against Him; their power is
destroyed by it. Hence we see how the assembly (though formed on earth) is
much more than a dispensation, the kingdom is not.
The work of the cross was needed; but it is not the question here of that
which the righteous judgment of God required, or of the justification of an
individual, but of that which nullified the power of the enemy. It was the
Person of Him whom Peter was given to acknowledge, who lived according to
the power of the life of God. It was a peculiar and direct revelation from
heaven by the Father. Doubtless Christ had given proofs enough of who He
was; but proofs had proved nothing to man's heart. The Father's revelation
was the way of knowing who He was, and this went far beyond the hopes of a
Messiah.
Here, then, the Father had directly revealed the truth of Christ's own
Person, a revelation which went beyond all question of relationship with
the Jews. On this foundation Christ would build His assembly. Peter,
already so named by the Lord, receives a confirmation of that title on this
occasion. The Father had revealed to Simon, the son of Jonas, the mystery
of the Person of Jesus; and secondly, Jesus also betokens, by the name He
gives him,
[see note #43] the steadfastness, the firmness, the durability, the
practical strength, of His servant favoured by grace. The right of
bestowing a name belongs to a superior, who can assign to the one who bears
it his place and his name, in the family or the situation he is in. This
right, where real, supposes discernment, intelligence, in that which is
going on. Adam names the animals. Nebuchadnezzar gives new names to the
captive Jews; the king of Egypt to Eliakim, whom he had placed on the
throne. Jesus therefore takes this place when He says, The Father hath
revealed this unto thee; and I also give you a place and a name connected
with this grace. It is on that which the Father hath revealed unto thee
that I am going to build My assembly,
[see note #44] against which (founded on the
life that comes from God) the gates of the kingdom of death shall never
prevail; and I who build, and build on this immovable foundation-I give you
the place of a stone (Peter) in connection with this living temple. Through
the gift of God thou belongest already by nature to the building-a living
stone, having the knowledge of that truth which is the foundation, and which
makes of every stone a part of the edifice. Peter was pre-eminently such by
this confession; he was so in anticipation by the election of God. This
revelation was made by the Father in sovereignty. The Lord assigns him,
withal, his place, as possessing the right of administration and authority
in the kingdom He was going to establish.
Thus far with respect to the assembly, now mentioned for the first time,
the Jews having been rejected because of their unbelief, and man a
convicted sinner.
Another subject presents itself in connection with this of the assembly
that the Lord was going to build; namely, the kingdom which was going to be
established. It was to have the form of the kingdom of heaven; it was so in
the counsels of God; but it was now to be set up in a peculiar manner, the
King having been rejected on earth.
But, rejected as He was, the keys of the kingdom were in the Lord's hand;
its authority belonged to Him. He would bestow them on Peter, who, when He
was gone, should open its doors to the Jews first, and then to the
Gentiles. He should also exercise authority from the Lord within the
kingdom; so that whatsoever he bound on earth in the name of Christ (the
true King, although gone up to heaven) should be bound in heaven; and if he
loosed anything on earth, his deed should be ratified in heaven. In a word,
he had the power of command in the kingdom of God on earth, this kingdom
having now the character of kingdom of heaven, because its King was in
heaven
[see note #45] and heaven would stamp his acts with its authority. But it
is heaven sanctioning his earthly acts, not his binding or loosing for
heaven. The assembly connected with the character of Son of the living God
and built by Christ, though formed on earth, belongs to heaven; the
kingdom, though governed from heaven, belongs to earth-has its place and
ministration there.
These four things then are declared by the Lord in this passage:-First, the
revelation made by the Father to Simon; Second, the name given to this
Simon by Jesus, who was going to build His assembly on the foundation
revealed in that which the Father had made known to Simon; Third, the
assembly built by Christ Himself, not yet complete, on the foundation of
the Person of Jesus acknowledged as Son of the living God; Fourth, the keys
of the kingdom that should be given to Peter, that is to say, authority in
the kingdom as administering it on the part of Christ, ordering in it that
which was His will, and which should be ratified in heaven. All this is
connected with Simon personally, in virtue of the Father's election (who,
in His wisdom, had chosen him to receive this revelation), and of Christ's
authority (who had bestowed on him the name that distinguished him as
personally enjoying this privilege).
The Lord having thus made known the purposes of God with regard to the
future-purposes to be accomplished in the assembly and in the kingdom,
there was no longer room for His presentation to the Jews as Messiah. Not
that He gave up the testimony, full of grace and patience towards the
people, which He had borne throughout His ministry. No; that indeed
continued, but His disciples were to understand that it was no longer their
work to proclaim Him to the people as the Christ From this time also He
began to teach His disciples that He must suffer and be killed and be
raised again.
But, blessed and honoured as Peter was by the revelation which the Father
had made to him, his heart still clung in a carnal manner to the human
glory of his Master (in truth, to his own), and was still far from rising
to the height of the thoughts of God. Alas! he is not the only instance of
this. To be convinced of the most exalted truths, and even to enjoy them
sincerely as truths, is a different thing from having the heart formed to
the sentiments, and to the walk here below, which are in accordance with
those truths. It is not sincerity in the enjoyment of the truth that is
wanting. What is wanting is to have the flesh, self, mortified-to be dead
to the world. We may sincerely enjoy the truth as taught of God and yet not
have the flesh mortified or the heart in a state which is according to that
truth in what it involves down here. Peter (so lately honoured by the
revelation of the glory of Jesus, and made in a very special manner the
depositary of administration in the kingdom given to the Son-having a
distinguished place in that which was to follow the Lord's rejection by the
Jews) is now doing the adversary's work with respect to the perfect
submission of Jesus to the suffering and ignominy that were to introduce
this glory and characterise the kingdom. Alas! the case was plain; he
savoured the things of men, and not the things of God. But the Lord, in
faithfulness, rejects Peter in this matter, and teaches His disciples that
the only path, the appointed and necessary path, is the cross; if any one
would follow Him, that is the path He took. Moreover what would it profit a
man to save his life and lose all-to gain the world and lose his soul? For
this was the question,
[see note #46] and not now the outward glory of the kingdom.
Having examined this chapter, as the expression of the transition from the
Messianic system to the establishment of the assembly founded on the
revelation of the Person of Christ, I desire also to call attention to the
characters of unbelief which are developed in it, both among the Jews and
in the hearts of the disciples. It will be profitable to observe the forms
of this unbelief.
First of all, it takes the grosser form of asking a sign from heaven. The
Pharisees and Sadducees unite to shew their insensibility to all that the
Lord had done. They require proof to their natural senses, that is, to
their unbelief. They will not believe God, either in hearkening to His
words or in beholding His works. God must satisfy their wilfulness, which
would be neither faith nor the work of God. They had understanding for
human things that were much less clearly manifested, but none for the
things of God. A Saviour lost to them, as Jews on earth, should be the only
sign granted them. They would have to submit, willing or not, to the
judgment of the unbelief they displayed. The kingdom should be taken from
them; the Lord leaves them. The sign of Jonah is connected with the subject
of the whole chapter.
We next see this same inattention to the power manifested in the works of
Jesus; but it is no longer the opposition of the unbelieving will;
occupation of heart with present things withdraws such from the influence
of the signs already given. This is weakness, not ill-will. Nevertheless
they are guilty; but Jesus calls them "men of little faith," not
"hypocrites," and "a wicked and adulterous generation."
We then see unbelief manifesting itself in the form of indolent opinion,
which proves that the heart and conscience are not interested in a subject
that ought to command them-a subject that if the heart would really face
its true importance, it would have no rest until it had arrived at
certainty with respect to it. The soul here has no sense of need;
consequently there is no discernment. When the soul feels this need, there
is but one thing that can meet it; there can be no rest till it is found.
The revelation of God that created this need, does not leave the soul in
peace until it is assured of possessing that which awakened it. Those who
are not sensible of this need can rest in probabilities, each according to
his natural character, his education, his circumstances. There is enough to
awaken curiosity-the mind is occupied about it, and judges. Faith has
wants, and, in principle intelligence as to the object which meets those
wants; the soul is exercised till it finds that which it needs. The fact is
that God is there.
This is Peter's case. The Father reveals His Son to him Though weak, living
faith was found in him, we see the condition of his soul when he says,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life; and we
believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Happy the man to whom God reveals such truths as these, in whom He awakens
these wants! There may be conflict, much to learn, much to mortify; but the
counsel of God is there, and the life connected with it. We have seen its
effect in the case of Peter. Every Christian has his own place in the
temple of which Simon was so eminent a stone. Does it then follow that the
heart is, practically, at the height of the revelation made to it? No;
there may be, after all, the flesh not yet mortified on that side where the
revelation touches our earthly position.
In fact the revelation made to Peter implied the rejection of Christ on
earth-necessarily led to His humiliation and death. That was the point. To
substitute the revelation of the Son of God, the assembly and the heavenly
kingdom, for the manifestation of the Messiah on earth-what could it mean,
except that Jesus was to be delivered up to the Gentiles to be crucified,
and after that to rise again? But morally Peter had not attained to this.
On the contrary, his carnal heart availed itself of the revelation made to
him, and of that which Jesus had said to him, for self-exaltation. He saw,
therefore, the personal glory without apprehending the practical moral
consequences. He begins to rebuke the Lord Himself, and seeks to turn Him
aside from the path of obedience and submission. The Lord, ever faithful,
treats him as an adversary. Alas! how often have we enjoyed some truth, and
that sincerely, and yet have failed in the practical consequences that it
led to on earth! A heavenly glorified Saviour, who builds the assembly,
implies the cross on earth. The flesh does not understand this. It will
raise its Messiah to heaven, if you will; but to take its share of the
humiliation that necessarily follows is not its idea of a glorified
Messiah. The flesh must be mortified to take this place. We must have the
strength of Christ by the Holy Ghost. A Christian who is not dead to the
world is but a stumbling-stone to every one who seeks to follow Christ.
These are the forms of unbelief that precede a true confession of Christ,
and that are found alas! in those who have sincerely confessed and known
Him (the flesh not being so mortified that the soul can walk in the height
of that which it has learnt of God, and the spiritual understanding being
obscured by thinking of consequences which the flesh rejects).
But if the cross was the entrance into the kingdom, the revelation of the
glory would not be delayed. The Messiah being rejected by the Jews, a title
more glorious and of far deeper import is unfolded: the Son of man should
come in the glory of the Father (for He was the Son of God), and reward
every man according to his works. There were even some standing there who
should not taste of death (for of this they were speaking) till they had
seen the manifestation of the glory of the kingdom that belonged to the Son
of man.
We may remark here the title of "Son of God" established as the foundation;
that of Messiah given up so far as concerned the testimony rendered in that
day, and replaced by that of "Son of man," which He takes at the same time
as that of the Son of God, and which had a glory that belonged to Him in
His own right. He was to come in the glory of His Father as Son of God, and
in His own kingdom as Son of man.
It is interesting to remember here the instruction given us in the
beginning of the Book of Psalms. The righteous man, distinguished from the
congregation of the wicked, had been presented in the first Psalm. Then, in
the second, we have the rebellion of the kings of the earth and the rulers
against the Lord and against His Anointed (that is, His Christ). Now upon
this the decree of Jehovah is declared. Adonai, the Lord, shall mock at
them from heaven. Further, Jehovah's King shall be established on Mount
Zion. This is the decree: "Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou art my Son: this
day
[see note #47] have I begotten thee." The kings of the earth and the judges
are commanded to kiss the Son.
Now in the Psalms that follow, all this glory is darkened. The distress of
the remnant, in which Christ has a part, is related. Then, in Psalm 8, He
is addressed as Son of man, Heir of all the rights conferred in sovereignty
upon man by the counsels of God. The name of Jehovah becomes excellent in
all the earth. These Psalms do not go beyond the earthly part of these
truths, excepting where it is written, "He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh at them"; while in Matthew 16 the connection of the Son of God
with this, His coming with His angels (to say nothing of the assembly), are
set before us. That is to say, we see that the Son of man will come in the
glory of heaven. Not that His dwelling there is the truth declared; but
that He is invested with the highest glory of heaven when He comes to set
up His kingdom on earth. He comes in His kingdom. The kingdom is established
on the earth; but He comes to take it with the glory of heaven. This is
displayed in the following chapter, according to the promise here in verse
28.
In each Gospel that speaks of it, the transfiguration immediately follows
the promise of not tasting death before seeing the kingdom of the Son of
man. And not only so, but Peter (in his second Epistle, 1: 16), when
speaking of this scene, declares that it was a manifestation of the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He says that the word of prophecy was
confirmed to them by the view of His majesty; so that they knew that
whereof they spoke, in making known to them the power and the coming of
Christ, having beheld His majesty. In fact it is precisely in this sense
that the Lord speaks of it here, as we have seen. It was a sample of the
glory in which He would hereafter come, given to confirm the faith of His
disciples in the prospect of His death which He had just announced to them.
