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Matthew 16:1. And the Pharisees and Sadducees came and, tempting Him, asked to show them a sign from heaven. Although the Pharisees and Sadducees differed from each other in dogmas, they acted in agreement against Christ. They ask for a sign from the sky, such as for the sun or moon to stop. For they thought that signs on earth were performed by the devil and Beelzebub. The foolish ones did not know that Moses also did many signs on the earth in Egypt; the fire that came down from heaven onto Job’s property was from the devil. Therefore, not everything that is from heaven is from God, and not everything that happens on earth is from demons. Matthew 16:2. He answered and said to them: in the evening you say: there will be a bucket, because the sky is red; Matthew 16:3. and in the morning: today there is bad weather, because the sky is purple. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot recognize the signs of the times. The tempting question exposes them, calling them hypocrites, and says: just as one of the phenomena in heaven serves as a sign of bad weather, and the other - a bucket, and there is no one who, seeing a sign of bad weather, would expect a bucket, and there is no one who, seeing a sign of a bucket, would expect bad weather, so one should think about Me: one is the time of My first coming, and the other - the coming one. Now signs are needed on earth, but heavenly signs are reserved for the time when the sun will darken, the moon will darken and the sky will change. Matthew 16:4. An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. And, leaving them, he went away. The generation is evil because they tempt Him, and the generation is adulterous because they depart from God and cleave to the devil. Although they ask for a sign from heaven, He does not give them, except for the sign of Jonah, that is, that after spending three days in the belly of the great whale - death, he will rise again. Regarding this sign, you can say that it is from heaven, for at His death the sun was darkened and the whole creation was changed. Pay attention to the objection: “no sign will be given to him except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Signs were given to them, that is, they happened for their sake, although the Jews did not believe. Therefore, leaving them as incurable, the Lord left. Matthew 16:5. Having crossed to the other side, His disciples forgot to take the loaves. Matthew 16:6. Jesus said to them: Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Just as leaven can be sour and old, so the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which became sour and introduced the ancient traditions of the elders, wounded souls. And just as leaven is a mixture of water and flour, so the teaching of the Pharisees is a mixture of words and corrupt life. He did not tell them clearly: beware of the teaching of the Pharisees - in order to remind them of the miracles over the loaves. Matthew 16:7. They thought within themselves and said: this means that we did not take the bread. Matthew 16:8. Having realized this, Jesus said to them: Why do you think within yourselves, you of little faith, that you did not take the loaves? Matthew 16:9. Do you still not understand and remember about the five loaves of bread for five thousand people, and how many boxes you collected? Matthew 16:10. nor about seven loaves for four thousand, and how many baskets did you pick up? Matthew 16:11. How do you not understand that I did not tell you about bread: beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? Matthew 16:12. Then they realized that He was telling them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They thought that it was He who told them to beware of desecration by Jewish food, which is why they reasoned among themselves about the fact that they did not take the loaves. The Lord reproaches them as foolish and lacking in faith. They are foolish because they did not remember how many loaves and how many He fed. Since they did not believe that although they did not buy bread from the Jews, He could go further, they were called of little faith. When the Lord exposed him more strongly (for meekness is not good everywhere), they immediately realized that He called teaching leaven. A prudent reproach has such great power everywhere. Matthew 16:13. Having come to the countries of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples: Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am? The Apostle Matthew mentions the one who built the city because there is another Caesarea - Strato, but not in this one, but in that one the Lord asks them. He leads the disciples far from the Jews so that, fearing no one, they can speak boldly. First of all, he asks about the opinion of the people in order to raise the disciples to greater understanding and so that they do not fall into the same poverty of understanding that is noticed among many. And he does not ask who the Pharisees say I am, but the people. Sincere people understand. Matthew 16:14. They said: some for John the Baptist, others for Elijah, and others for Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Those who called Him John were from among those who, like Herod, thought that John, after his resurrection, received this gift (the gift of miracles). Others called Elijah because He rebuked and because they expected him to come; still others - by Jeremiah, because His wisdom was from nature and without teaching, and Jeremiah was appointed to the prophetic ministry while still a child. Matthew 16:15. He says to them: Who do you say that I am? Matthew 16:16. Simon Peter answered and said: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And again Peter, as passionate as he is, warns and truly confesses Him as the Son of God. Matthew 16:17. Then Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven; He blesses Peter as having received knowledge by God's grace; agreeing with him, shows, on the other hand, that the opinions of other people are false. “The son of Jonah” said to him, as if saying: just as you are the son of Jonah, so I am the Son of My Heavenly Father, His Only Begotten. Knowledge is called revelation, since the secret and unknown was revealed by the Father. Matthew 16:18. and I say to you: you are Peter ****, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. For His part, the Lord gives Peter a great reward; it is on him that the church will be founded. Since Peter confessed Him to be the Son of God, He says: this confession which you have confessed will be the foundation of those who believe, so that everyone who intends to build the building of faith will lay this confession as the foundation. If we have acquired thousands of virtues, but do not have a right confession as a basis, then we are creating something rotten. Saying “My church” indicates that He is the Lord of all, for everything serves God. The gates of hell are the persecutors who brought Christians down to hell. And heretics are also the gates leading to hell. So, the church defeated many persecutors and heretics. And each of us is a church, being the house of God. So, if we stand firmly on the confession of Christ, then the gates of hell, that is, sins, will not prevail against us. Being brought up from these gates, David said: He who lifts me up from the gates of death. From which gate, David? From two: from murder and adultery. Matthew 16:19. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. As God, Christ says with authority: “I will give it to you”; As the Father gave you revelation, so I am the keys. By keys we mean forgiveness or prohibition that loosens or binds sins, for those who, like Peter, have been awarded episcopal grace have the power to forgive and bind. Although to one, for only Peter it was said: “I will give it to you,” but it was given to all the apostles. When? When the Lord said to them: “Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven them,” for “I will give” signifies the time to come, that is, the time after the resurrection. The virtues are also called heaven, and their keys are works, since through doing, as if with the help of certain unlocking keys, we enter each of the virtues. If I do not do, but only know what is good, then I have only the key of knowledge and remain outside. He who does not walk in them is bound in heaven, in virtues, for he who is diligent is permitted in them. Let us not sin, lest we be bound by the bonds of our own sins. Matthew 16:20. Then Jesus forbade His disciples not to tell anyone that He was Jesus Christ. Christ wanted to hide His glory in the shadows until the cross. If people had heard before suffering that He was God, and then seen Him suffering, how would they not have been tempted? So, He hides Himself from many in order to be known without temptation after the resurrection, when the Spirit will smooth out everything through miracles. Matthew 16:21. From that time on, Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again. The Lord tells the disciples in advance about His suffering, so that when it comes unexpectedly, they will not be tempted, thinking that He did not foresee and suffered against His will. When they learned, thanks to Peter’s confession, that He is the Son of God, then He reveals to them about His sufferings. But to the sadness there is also the joyful thing that on the third day he will awaken from death. Matthew 16:22. And, calling Him back, Peter began to rebuke Him: Be merciful to Yourself, Lord! да не будет этого с Тобою! Что было открыто, это Петр исповедал верно, относительно же того, что не было открыто, ошибся, чтобы мы поняли, что помимо Бога он не изрек бы того великого. So, not wanting Christ to suffer, and not knowing the mystery of the resurrection, the apostle says: “Be merciful to yourself, Lord! Let this not happen to You." Matthew 16:23. He turned and said to Peter: get away from Me, Satan! ты Мне соблазн! because you think not about what is God, but about what is human. Because Peter said correctly, Christ pleases him, but because he unreasonably feared and wanted Him not to suffer, Christ reproaches him, saying: “Get away from Me, Satan! By “Satan” we mean the enemy. So, “depart from Me,” that is, do not resist, but follow My will. He calls Peter that because Satan did not want Christ to suffer. He says: for human reasons, you think that suffering is indecent for Me. But you do not understand that God accomplishes salvation through this and that this most befits Me. Matthew 16:24. Then Jesus said to His disciples: If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me, Then. When? When he rebuked Peter. Желая показать, что Петр, удерживая Его от страданий, погрешил, говорит: ты удерживаешь Меня, Я же говорю тебе, что не только то, что Я не пострадаю, вредно для тебя; но и ты не можешь спастись, если и сам не умрешь, как и всякий другой: мужчина или женщина, бедный или богатый. «Если кто хочет» – эти слова Господь сказал, чтобы показать, что добродетель есть дело свободного выбора, а не принуждения. Следует же за Иисусом не тот, кто только исповедует Его Сыном Божиим, но и проходит чрез все ужасы и переносит их. “Deny yourself,” he said, meaning with the pretext “from” complete renunciation. Например, пусть не имеет он ничего общего с телом, но презирает самого себя, как мы привыкли говорить: такой-то человек отказывается от такого-то, вместо – не имеет его ни другом, ни знакомым. Итак, каждый должен не иметь никакой любви к телу, чтобы взять крест, то есть избрать смерть и прилежно искать смерти, и смерти позорной. For such death was the cross among the ancients. But he says: “and follow Me,” for many robbers and thieves are crucified on the cross, but they are not My disciples. So, let him follow, that is, let him show every other virtue. He who yesterday was dissolute but today has become abstinent denies himself. Such was Paul, who denied himself according to the word: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” He chooses the cross, dying and crucifying himself for the world. Matthew 16:25. For whoever wants to save his soul will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it; Exhorts us to martyrdom. He who denies the Lord gains a soul for the present, that is, saves it, but he destroys it for the future. He who suffers for Him will destroy his soul for the sake of Christ; but he will find it in incorruption and eternal life. Matthew 16:26. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? or what ransom will a man give for his soul? Matthew 16:27. For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward everyone according to his deeds. Suppose, he says, that you have acquired the whole world, but what is the benefit of the body prospering if the soul is in a bad state? It is similar to the fact that the mistress of the house wears torn rags, and the maid wears shiny clothes. For in the future life no one can give ransom for his soul. Here you can give tears, lamentations, alms, but not there. There will come an incorruptible Judge, for He judges everyone according to their deeds, but also a terrible one, since He comes in His glory and with the angels, and not humiliated. Matthew 16:28. Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. He said that the Son of Man would come in His glory, and so that they would believe, he said that some of those standing here would see, as far as possible for them, in the transfiguration the glory of the second coming. At the same time, he shows what glory those who will suffer for Him will have. Just as His flesh shone then, so by analogy the righteous will be enlightened at that time. Here he means Peter, James and John, whom He took to the mountain and showed them His Kingdom, that is, the future state, when He will come and the righteous will be enlightened. Therefore he says: some of those standing here will not die until they see Me transformed. Pay attention that those who stand in goodness and are strong see the brightest transformation of Jesus and constantly succeed in faith and commandments. Peter (Greek, Lat.) – stone.