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Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:16

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God - Every word here is emphatic - a most concise, and yet comprehensive, confession of faith. The Christ, or Messiah, points out his divinity, and shows his office; the Son - designates his person: on this account it is that both are joined together so frequently in the new covenant. Of the living God Του Θεου, του ζωντος , literally, of God the Living One. The C. Bezae has for Του ζωντος the Living One, Του σωζοντος , the Savior, and the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:17

Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona - Or Simon, son of Jonah; so Bar-jonah should be translated, and so it is rendered by our Lord, John 1:42 . Flesh and blood - i.e. Man; - no human being hath revealed this; and though the text is literal enough, yet every body should know that this is a Hebrew periphrasis for man; and the literal translation of it here, and in Galatians 1:16 , has misled thousands, who suppose that flesh and blood signify carnal reason, as it is termed, or the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:18

Thou art Peter - This was the same as if he had said, I acknowledge thee for one of my disciples - for this name was given him by our Lord when he first called him to the apostleship. See John 1:42 . Peter, πετρος , signifies a stone, or fragment of a rock; and our Lord, whose constant custom it was to rise to heavenly things through the medium of earthly, takes occasion from the name, the metaphorical meaning of which was strength and stability, to point out the solidity of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:19

The keys of the kingdom - By the kingdom of heaven, we may consider the true Church, that house of God, to be meant; and by the keys, the power of admitting into that house, or of preventing any improper person from coming in. In other words, the doctrine of salvation, and the full declaration of the way in which God will save sinners; and who they are that shall be finally excluded from heaven; and on what account. When the Jews made a man a doctor of the law, they put into his hand the key... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:16

Verse 16 16.Thou art the Christ. The confession is short, but it embraces all that is contained in our salvation; for the designation Christ, or Anointed, includes both an everlasting Kingdom and an everlasting Priesthood, to reconcile us to God, and, by expiating our sins through his sacrifice, to obtain for us a perfect righteousness, and, having received us under his protection, to uphold and supply and enrich us with every description of blessings. Mark says only, Thou art the Christ. Luke... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:17

Verse 17 17.Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona. As this is life eternal, to know the only true God, and him whom he hath sent, Jesus Christ, (John 17:3,) Christ justly pronounces him to be blessed who has honestly made such a confession. This was not spoken in a peculiar manner to Peter alone, but our Lord’s purpose was, to show in what the only happiness of the whole world consists. That every one may approach him with greater courage, we must first learn that all are by nature miserable and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:18

Verse 18 18.And I say to thee. By these words Christ declares how highly he is delighted with the confession of Peter, since he bestows upon it so large a reward. For, though he had already given to his disciple, Simon, the name of Peter, (Matthew 10:2; John 1:42,) and had, out of his undeserved goodness, appointed him to be an apostle, yet these gifts, though freely bestowed, (439) are here ascribed to faith as if they had been a reward, which we not unfrequently find in Scripture. Peter... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:19

Verse 19 19.And I will give thee the keys Here Christ begins now to speak of the public office, that is, of the Apostleship, which he dignifies with a twofold title. First, he says that the ministers of the Gospel are porters, so to speak, of the kingdom of heaven, because they carry its keys; and, secondly, he adds, that they are invested with a power of binding and loosing, which is ratified in heaven. (440) The comparison of the keys is very properly applied to the office of teaching; as... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 16:13-17

The great confession. Jesus had now reached a crisis in his ministry. Away from the scenes of his earlier labours, at the beautiful Roman colony by the foot of Mount Hermon, close to the famous altar of Pan, where the Jordan springs from the mountain side, he suddenly called upon his disciples to give a definite expression of their thoughts concerning himself. I. THE MOMENTOUS QUESTION . This was preceded by a less important inquiry—as to the various opinions of the world about... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 16:13-19

Caesarea Philippi. I. THE GREAT CONFESSION . 1 . The Lord ' s question. It was asked amid scenes of singular beauty; there was much to delight the eye: the gushing source of Jordan, the terraced heights on which the city was built, the majestic mass of Hermon with its crown of snow. But these fair sights were associated with sad thoughts of idolatry and sin. Dan was near at hand—the seat of the old worship of the golden calf. The city itself was more than half heathen; its... read more

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