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Matthew 16:13-28

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13Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.”

15He said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?”

16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

20Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ.

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21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

25For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

26What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

28“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

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1)       According to verse 13 what was the question Jesus posed to his disciples?

o   Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

 

2)       According to verse 14 what was the disciples’ answer?

o   Some said John the Baptist.

o   And others, Elijah.

o   And still others,

§  Jeremiah.

§  Or one of the prophets.

 

3)       According to verse 15 what was the follow-up question Jesus posed to his disciples?

o   But who do you yourselves say that I am?

 

4)       According to verse 16 who did Simon Peter say Jesus is?

o   The Christ.

o   The Son of the living God.

 

5)       What is the significance for humanity of Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ?

o   Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ is the first such declaration of all humanity.

 

6)       Did the Jews in Jesus’ time think that the Christ was a human figure?

o   Yes.

 

7)       What did the Jews in Jesus’ time think that the Christ was going to do?

o   They thought that the Christ was going to

§  Deliver the Jews from the rule of the Romans.

§  And restore the kingdom to Israel.

 

8)       According to what Jesus said in verse 17 how did Peter know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?

o   It was not revealed to him

§  By

Ø  Flesh. 

Ø  And blood.

§  But by the Father in heaven.

 

9)       According to what Jesus said in verse 17 what was the spiritual condition of Peter as a result of his receiving the Father’s revelation?

o   Peter was blessed.

 

10)   What does the name Peter in the original language mean?

o   It means small stone.

 

11)   What does the rock in verse 18 mean in the original language?

o   It means large foundation rock.

 

12)   According to what Jesus said in verse 18 what will he build his church upon, given 1 Corinthians 3:11?

o   Jesus will build his church upon himself as the foundation rock.

 

·  The facilitator asks a specific participant to read out loud 1 Corinthians 3:11 that says,

+++++++++++++++++++++

11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

+++++++++++++++++++++

 

13)   What doesthis rock’ in verse 18 refer to in the context of the current passage?

o   This rock’ refers to ‘the Christ’ in verse 16.

 

14)   According to what Jesus said in verse 18 what does it mean that the gates of Hades will not overpower his church?

o   It means that the gates of Hades

§  Is only defensive.

§  And therefore will not overpower Jesus’ church.

 

15)   According to what Jesus said in verse 19 whom would he give the keys of the kingdom of heaven to?

o   To Peter.

 

16)   According to what Jesus said in verse 19 what activity in heaven would have preceded what Peter bound on earth?

o   Whatever Peter bound on earth would have been bound in heaven.

 

17)   According to what Jesus said in verse 19 what activity in heaven would have preceded what Peter loosed on earth?

o   Whatever Peter loosed on earth would have been loosed in heaven.

 

18)   According to what Jesus said in verse 20 what did he strictly order his disciples not to tell?

o   He strictly ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

 

19)   According to verse 21 what did Jesus begin to explain to his disciples from that time on would happen to him?

o   Jesus must

§  Go to Jerusalem.

§  Suffer many things at the hands of

Ø  The elders. 

Ø  The chief priests.

Ø  And the teachers of the law.

§  Be killed.

§  And be raised to life on the third day.

 

20)   According to verse 22 what was Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ revelation?

o   He

§  Took Jesus aside.

§  And began to rebuke him, vehemently saying that it would never happen to him.

 

21)   What was wrong with Peter’s attitude toward Jesus as the Christ?

o   Peter

§  Confessed Jesus as the Christ.

§  But was not willing to submit to the authority of the Christ.

§  Especially when

§  The Christ did not conform to his expectation.

 

22)   Why did Jesus call Peter Satan, given that Satan was trying to derail Jesus’ mission to die for the sins of the whole world and to rise again?

o   It is because Satan was speaking through Peter to derail Jesus’ mission.

 

23)   What did Jesus tell Peter to do in telling Peter to get behind him in verse 23?

o   Jesus told Peter to

§  Stop being a stumbling block.

§  Stop trying to lead in front of Jesus.

§  And resume his role as a following disciple.

 

24)   What were the human concerns for Peter as reflected in his dream that was aligned with what the Jews thought that the Christ was going to do?

o   The human concerns for Peter were

§  His national hope of deliverance from the rule of the Romans.

§  And his personal aspiration of playing a significant role in the kingdom.

§  That

§  The Christ was going to restore to Israel.

 

25)   What were the concerns of God for Jesus as reflected in his mission?

o   The concerns of God for Jesus were

§  The death of the Christ for the sins of the whole world.

§  And the resurrection of the Christ three days later.

 

26)   Why was Jesus’ prediction of his death deeply disappointing to the disciples, given that they had given up everything to follow him, to chase after their dream with him?

o   They had given up everything

§  To follow Jesus.

§  Only to have their dream dashed to pieces.

o   When

o   He died.

 

27)   What was the important thing about discipleship under Jesus that the disciples did not understand, given that they were only concerned about having their dream come true?

o   Discipleship under Jesus was about following Jesus into something infinitely more valuable than their dream.

 

28)   What is the good news in what Jesus said in verse 21 that the disciples missed?

o   They missed the good news.

o   That

o   Jesus would be raised to life on the third day.

o   After

o   He was killed.

 

29)   What does it mean for one to deny oneself in order to be Jesus' disciple, given that one has human concerns that hinder one’s following Jesus?

o   To deny oneself in order to be Jesus' disciple is to put aside one’s human concerns that hinder one’s following Jesus.

 

30)   Given Peter’s human concerns that also applied to the other disciples, how should the disciples deny themselves in order to be Jesus' disciple?

o   The disciples needed to put aside their human concerns that hindered their following Jesus, i.e.,

§  Their national hope of deliverance from the rule of the Romans.

§  And their personal aspiration of playing significant roles in the kingdom.

§  That

§  The Christ was going to restore to Israel.

 

31)   What does it mean that one must take up one’s cross in order to be Jesus' disciple, given that the cross is a symbol of suffering and death?

o   It means that one must be willing to suffer, even to the point of death if necessary, in order to be Jesus' disciple.

 

32)   Given that denying oneself and taking up one’s cross is the cost one must bear in order to be Jesus' disciple, what is the term we use for depicting that cost?

o   The cost of discipleship.

 

33)   According to what Jesus said in verse 25 what would happen to those who want to save their life?

o   They will end up losing it.

 

34)   According to what Jesus said in verse 25 what would happen to those who lose their life for him?

o   They will end up finding it.

 

35)   Did Jesus say that one must lose their life for him in order to find it and why?

o   No, because Jesus did not make losing one’s life for him a necessary condition for finding it.

 

36)   According to verse 26 how did Jesus compare the value of the soul of a person with the value of the whole world?

o   The whole world is not enough for exchanging a person’s soul. 

o   It is an infinite loss to

§  Gain the whole world.

§  Yet forfeit one’s soul.

 

37)   When is the Son of Man going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels?

o   The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels at the end of the age.

 

38)   According to verse 27 what will Jesus do when he comes in his Father’s glory with his angels?

o   Jesus will reward each person.

o   According to what

o   They have done.

 

39)   According to what Jesus said in verse 28 what would some of the disciples see before they tasted death?

o   They would see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

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Matthew 16:13-28

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