Matthew 16 - Summary

Pharisees and Sadducees demand a sign from heaven, receiving only the sign of Jonah, while Jesus warns disciples against the leaven of these religious leaders' teaching. At Caesarea Philippi, Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, elicits Jesus' declaration that upon this rock He will build His church against which the gates of Hades shall not prevail, accompanied by the keys of the kingdom. Jesus then begins explicitly predicting His passion, death, and resurrection, rebuking Peter as Satan for opposing this divine necessity, and teaching that discipleship requires cross-bearing self-denial with eschatological reward.