Matthew 16:15-16

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 16:15

He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am?Christ in that question came to the heart of his heavenly mission. Everything, repeat, EVERYTHING depends upon the answer to that question. Who is he? That was the question asked by Paul on the Damascus road when he said, "Who art thou, Lord?" (Acts 22:8). It is the question every man must ask, AND ANSWER CORRECTLY, before any such thing as salvation can be had. It is not enough to know the popular opinion of the Christ; the question demands, and... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 16:16

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.This is called the Great Confession. It is no mere acknowledgment that Jesus is the Messiah of the Hebrews but also declares Jesus' unique filial relationship to God. Dummelow aptly pointed this out, saying,Son of God, here, is no mere equivalent of "the Messiah." ... This is shown by the deep emotion with which the speaker makes, and Jesus receives, the confession; and the fact that the confession is perfectly... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 16:15

15. He saith unto them, But whom—rather, "who." say ye that I am?—He had never put this question before, but the crisis He was reaching made it fitting that He should now have it from them. We may suppose this to be one of those moments of which the prophet says, in His name, "Then I said, I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain" ( :-): Lo, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree; and what is it? As the result of all, I am taken for John the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 16:16

16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God—He does not say, "Scribes and Pharisees, rulers and people, are all perplexed; and shall we, unlettered fishermen, presume to decide?" But feeling the light of his Master's glory shining in his soul, he breaks forth—not in a tame, prosaic acknowledgment, "I believe that Thou art," c.—but in the language of adoration—such as one uses in worship, "THOU ART THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD!" He first owns... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 16:13-17

1. Instruction about the King’s person 16:13-17 (cf. Mark 8:27-29; Luke 9:18-20) read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 16:15-16

The "you" in Matthew 16:15 is in the emphatic first position in the Greek text, and it is plural. Peter responded, therefore, partly as spokesman for the disciples, again (cf. Matthew 15:15). Peter said he believed Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah that the Old Testament prophesied, the hope of Israel (cf. Matthew 1:1). Matthew’s only use of Peter’s full name here, Simon Peter, highlights the significance of the disciple’s declaration.He further defined Jesus as the Son of the living God. This... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 16:1-28

St. Peter’s great Confession1-4. A sign from heaven demanded (Mark 8:11 cp. Luke 11:16: see on Matthew 12:38). 1. Pharisees.. Sadducees] An unnatural and unholyalliance of men whose only bond of union was hatred of Jesus. The Sadducees had probably been sent from Jerusalem by the chief priests, but some regard them as the same as the Herodians mentioned by St. Mark, and, therefore, Galileans.From heaven] Jewish superstition held that the demons could work signs on earth, but that only God could... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Matthew 16:15

(15) Whom say ye?—The pronoun is doubly emphasised in the Greek, “But ye—whom say ye . . .?” The question is, as has been said, parallel in tone, though not in form, to that of John 6:67. Had they still a distinct faith of their own? or were they, too, falling back into these popular surmises? read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Matthew 16:16

(16) Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.—The variations in the other Gospels—St. Mark giving simply, “Thou art the Christ,” and St. Luke, “The Christ of God”—are interesting in their bearing on the question of literal inspiration, but do not affect the meaning; and the fullest of the three reports may be received without hesitation as the most authentic. The confession was made by Peter, partly, we may believe, as the representative of the others, partly, as the special promise that... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Matthew 16:1-28

Spiritual Discernment Matthew 16:3 Jesus Christ found that He was in the midst of a number of weather-wise people; they were quite experts in the reading of the cloudy signs, they knew what the weather would be Today and perhaps tomorrow, and they published their forecasts of the weather; but when it came to higher reading, reading on another level, they were as moles and bats from whom the genius of daylight penetration had been withheld. Do we make one another up? do we hold varied... read more

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