Matthew 16:21

This is only the second time in his Gospel that Matthew used the phrase apo tote erxato, "from that time" (cf. Matthew 26:16). The first time was in Matthew 4:17, where Jesus began to present Himself to Israel as her Messiah. Here it announces Jesus’ preparation of His disciples for the Cross because of Israel’s rejection and His disciples’ acceptance of Him as the divine Messiah. Thus the evangelist signaled a significant turning point in Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus had hinted at His death earlier (Matthew 9:15; Matthew 10:38; Matthew 12:40). However this is the first time He discussed it with His disciples. He began "to show" or "to explain" (Gr. deikeyo) these things with His actions as well as His words, not just "to teach" (Gr. didasko) them.

Jesus said that He "must" (Gr. dei) go to Jerusalem. He had to do this because it was God’s will for Messiah to suffer and die as well as to experience resurrection. [Note: Lenski, p. 634.] He had to do these things to fulfill prophecy (Isaiah 53; cf. Acts 2:22-36). Jerusalem had been the site of the martyrdom of numerous Old Testament prophets (cf. Matthew 23:37).

". . . Jesus reveals to his disciples, in all he says and in all he does beginning with Matthew 16:21, that God has ordained that he should go to Jerusalem to suffer, and that his way of suffering is a summons to them also to go the way of suffering (i.e., the way of servanthood) (cf. Matthew 20:28). In other words, Matthew alerts the reader through the key passages Matthew 16:21 and Matthew 16:24 that suffering, defined as servanthood, is the essence of discipleship and that Jesus will show the disciples in what he says and does that this is in fact the case." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., p. 140.]

Jesus identified three groups that would be responsible for His sufferings and death there: the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes (cf. Matthew 27:41). Together these groups constituted the Sanhedrin, Israel’s supreme religious body. One definite article describes all three groups and binds them together in a single entity in the Greek text (cf. Matthew 16:1; Matthew 16:6). This would be Israel’s final and formal official rejection of her Messiah. [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 208.] Jesus’ announcement implied that a trial would take place. [Note: M’Neile, p. 244.] However, Jesus also announced that He would arise from the dead on the third day (cf. Matthew 12:40; Psalms 16:10-11; Psalms 118:17-18; Psalms 118:22; Isaiah 52:13-15; Isaiah 53:10-12).

Here, as in the following two announcements of Jesus’ death (Matthew 17:22-23; Matthew 20:18-19), the accompanying announcement of Jesus’ resurrection made no impression on the disciples. Apparently the thought of His dying so upset them that they did not hear the rest of what He had to say to them.

Matthew 16:21 "prepares the reader already for the resolution of Jesus’ conflict with Israel in at least two respects: (a) It underscores the fact that there are three principals involved in Jesus’ passion, namely, God (dei: ’it is necessary’), Jesus, and the religious leaders. And (b) it reminds the reader that while all three desire the death of Jesus, the objective the leaders pursue is destructive (Matthew 12:14), whereas that intended by God and Jesus is to save (Matthew 1:21)." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., p. 77.]