Matthew 16

http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+16/

The Pharisees and Sadducees tried to test Jesus. They asked Him to give them a miraculous sign from Heaven since He is the Son of God after all.  He told them that they predict the weather based on the sky, but they cannot interpret the signs of the times. Signs don't have to come from Heaven. God is not limited: not by what we think He can dor nor by what we've seen Him do. He tells them evil and unfaithful people look for signs and miracles. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." The big deal about faith is that we put everything into it all of the time without ever seeing anything. Yet at the same time, we really do see the signs of God if we just watch. After Jesus finishes talking to the Pharisees, He just walks away and leaves them standing there.

The disciples are worried that they did not take enough bread along for the trip. While they discuss such matters, Jesus tells them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. He knows what the disciples have been discussing, and He asks them if they have not already seen what Jesus has done. He fed a lot more people with a lot less. He tells the disciples that it was never about bread. He has tried to warn them about the false teachings of the Pharisees. Jesus fed the people so that He could keep teaching them. He fed them with the yeast of His true teachings. His yeast is pure and holy, but the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees will ruin the bread. What a person believes will set all of who the person is, and if they don't place their faith in Jesus, they will give into their corrupt nature.

Jesus asks His disciples who they think He is. They reply that other say He is John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah, etc. But Jesus asks them what they think. Peter speaks up and says that he believes Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus is thrilled at his response. No person made him truly able to accept this truth. God the Father showed him who Jesus was, and Peter chose to believe it and act upon it. Jesus tells Peter that He will build the church on Peter as the rock, the foundation. Nothing, not even Hell, will knock it down. He will pass ultimate approval on Earth once Jesus has gone back to be with the Father. Then, He ordered the disciples not to tell anyone who He really is. This may seem odd, but I did some research and found that He wanted His true identity kept a secret because He wanted His works to prove who He was so people could not find fault in distortion of the word of mouth, He did not want anything to interfere with the cross, His endgame, and He wanted the ultimate miracle of the cross to occur before He sent the disciples out to teach.

Jesus tells His disciples clearly that He will go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and come back to life on the third day. Peter pulls Him aside and tells Him that they cannot allow this to happen. Jesus yells at Him that Satan is in Peter, tempting Jesus by not thinking the way God does but instead thinking the way humans do.

Jesus tells the disciples that in order to follow Jesus, we must lay down our lives. We cannot live in our old ways because it is in those ways that we let our corrupt nature control us. Say no to the things you want and pick up your cross. Nail the sins and evil desires to it and leave them hanging to die from you forever. Only the people who lay down their lives for Jesus will ever truly live. It will not matter in the end if you have everything if you lose your life. You can't take the treasures of this world to the next one.