Jorge Shailer Baker
Member
Study Bible - "Mundo Hispano" (Hispanic World)
Editorial: Mundo Hispano (Hispanic World)
Baptist Publishing House
Gospel of Matthew - Chapter 16
TEXTUAL NOTES
16:3 The best Greek manuscripts omit this verse.
The external evidence of its omission is very strong.
For example, it is missing from the Sinaitic and Vatican codices.
Possibly a late insertion to harmonize with Luke 12:54-56, or the passage from Luke itself but adjusted for particular weather signs.
16:18 Aramaic Peter and rock are the same word (cephas); and in Greek are analogous terms that were used interchangeably at the time (petros/petra).
CULTURAL NOTES
16:13 Caesarea Philippi was pagan territory, near the grotto dedicated to the worship of the Greek god Pan.
Herod also dedicated a temple there to the worship of Caesar.
It was forty kilometers from the Lake of Galilee.
It was the ancient territory of Dan, the border of ancient Israel.
This is the only recorded trip of Jesus to this territory, apparently the least propitious for a divine revelation.
16:22, 23 One of the first rules of a disciple in ancient times was: Never criticize the teacher, especially in public.
Here Pedro breaks that rule from a cultural point of view.
Jesus identifies Peter with Satan because he proposes a temptation: the kingdom without a cross.
The rabbis eventually played puns; here the rock (Matt. 16:18) becomes a stumbling block.
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
16:14 Peter has the correct title, but the wrong meaning of Messiah (cf. Matt. 16:22).
David's royal line was adopted by God (2 Sam. 7:14), so it was natural that the ultimate successor to the throne should be called the Son of God (Ps. 2:7; 89:27), as some interpreters have observed.
Jews in this period, as discovered in the Qumran caves, which is an Essene commentary on 2 Samuel 7.
HERMENEUTICAL NOTES
16:28 The text does not tell us about the final return of Jesus Christ.
Rather, it is a reference to the transfiguration of Jesus, an immediate theme in the synoptic narrative.
It is verified by the testimony and later description of Peter (2 Pet. 1:16-18) around the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with power.
In addition, the word kingdom can be translated as "royal splendor"; and of this the disciples, Peter, James and John will testify six days later, as described in the Gospel of Matthew (7:1).
ARTICLE - THE SADDUCEES
It was a sociopolitical rather than a religious group that originated in the intertestamental period.
Historically they arose from the priestly adherents of the Hasmonean dynasty.
There are various opinions regarding the origin of its name.
It is thought to come from Zadok, the high priest at the time of the united Hebrew monarchy.
Others think that it derives from the word zedekah which means justice.
Although a conjugation of the two sources is possible, due to the character and purpose of their actions.
They were a minority compared to the Pharisees, but they surpassed them by their wealth, power and strategic political authority.
They were formed around the priests with the highest hierarchy and influence, in addition to monopolizing the rich and the secular Jewish nobility.
It is believed that the association between the high priesthood and the Sadducees can be traced back to the Jewish nationalist government of John Hyrcanus.
In them the political and religious power of the Jewish society of the first century was concentrated.
They presided over the Sanhedrin and the high priesthood in the Temple.
Due to their great wealth and political power they had a lot to lose, so they became a subservient group and collaborator of the Roman power.
They were skilled and political opportunists who did not mind colluding with anyone in order to protect their privileges and hegemony in Jewish society.
However, they ceased to exist as a group after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. c.
They had big differences with the Pharisees, to begin with, because they did not accept the oral traditions that they developed.
Yet despite their differences and rivalry, they banded together to attack Jesus in a pathetic display of his thoughtless, visceral attitude (Matt. 16:1, 12; 22:34).
Furthermore, they only believed in the first part of the Hebrew Bible, the Pentateuch, and privileged its authority over the Prophets and Writings.
However, his doctrine was very rationalistic and materialistic.
They did not believe in angels or demons, in the immortality of the soul, in the resurrection of the dead, in anything supernatural, or in a coming Messiah (Matt. 22:23; Mark 12:18-27).
APOLOGETICAL ARTICLE
16:17 Jesus is the rock on which the church is built.
Peter himself will argue that Jesus is the Living Stone (1 Pet 2:4-7).
Paul will reply that no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).
Another underlying and valid argument is to consider that the church is built on the content of Peter's confession, or with a faith like the one expressed by him.
Paul also specifies that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20; 2 Pet. 3:2), like living stones (1 Pet. 2:5).
Thus, the beatitude of Peter consists in the fact that his confession did not come from human reflection, but from divine revelation.
Editorial: Mundo Hispano (Hispanic World)
Baptist Publishing House
Gospel of Matthew - Chapter 16
TEXTUAL NOTES
16:3 The best Greek manuscripts omit this verse.
The external evidence of its omission is very strong.
For example, it is missing from the Sinaitic and Vatican codices.
Possibly a late insertion to harmonize with Luke 12:54-56, or the passage from Luke itself but adjusted for particular weather signs.
16:18 Aramaic Peter and rock are the same word (cephas); and in Greek are analogous terms that were used interchangeably at the time (petros/petra).
CULTURAL NOTES
16:13 Caesarea Philippi was pagan territory, near the grotto dedicated to the worship of the Greek god Pan.
Herod also dedicated a temple there to the worship of Caesar.
It was forty kilometers from the Lake of Galilee.
It was the ancient territory of Dan, the border of ancient Israel.
This is the only recorded trip of Jesus to this territory, apparently the least propitious for a divine revelation.
16:22, 23 One of the first rules of a disciple in ancient times was: Never criticize the teacher, especially in public.
Here Pedro breaks that rule from a cultural point of view.
Jesus identifies Peter with Satan because he proposes a temptation: the kingdom without a cross.
The rabbis eventually played puns; here the rock (Matt. 16:18) becomes a stumbling block.
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
16:14 Peter has the correct title, but the wrong meaning of Messiah (cf. Matt. 16:22).
David's royal line was adopted by God (2 Sam. 7:14), so it was natural that the ultimate successor to the throne should be called the Son of God (Ps. 2:7; 89:27), as some interpreters have observed.
Jews in this period, as discovered in the Qumran caves, which is an Essene commentary on 2 Samuel 7.
HERMENEUTICAL NOTES
16:28 The text does not tell us about the final return of Jesus Christ.
Rather, it is a reference to the transfiguration of Jesus, an immediate theme in the synoptic narrative.
It is verified by the testimony and later description of Peter (2 Pet. 1:16-18) around the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with power.
In addition, the word kingdom can be translated as "royal splendor"; and of this the disciples, Peter, James and John will testify six days later, as described in the Gospel of Matthew (7:1).
ARTICLE - THE SADDUCEES
It was a sociopolitical rather than a religious group that originated in the intertestamental period.
Historically they arose from the priestly adherents of the Hasmonean dynasty.
There are various opinions regarding the origin of its name.
It is thought to come from Zadok, the high priest at the time of the united Hebrew monarchy.
Others think that it derives from the word zedekah which means justice.
Although a conjugation of the two sources is possible, due to the character and purpose of their actions.
They were a minority compared to the Pharisees, but they surpassed them by their wealth, power and strategic political authority.
They were formed around the priests with the highest hierarchy and influence, in addition to monopolizing the rich and the secular Jewish nobility.
It is believed that the association between the high priesthood and the Sadducees can be traced back to the Jewish nationalist government of John Hyrcanus.
In them the political and religious power of the Jewish society of the first century was concentrated.
They presided over the Sanhedrin and the high priesthood in the Temple.
Due to their great wealth and political power they had a lot to lose, so they became a subservient group and collaborator of the Roman power.
They were skilled and political opportunists who did not mind colluding with anyone in order to protect their privileges and hegemony in Jewish society.
However, they ceased to exist as a group after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. c.
They had big differences with the Pharisees, to begin with, because they did not accept the oral traditions that they developed.
Yet despite their differences and rivalry, they banded together to attack Jesus in a pathetic display of his thoughtless, visceral attitude (Matt. 16:1, 12; 22:34).
Furthermore, they only believed in the first part of the Hebrew Bible, the Pentateuch, and privileged its authority over the Prophets and Writings.
However, his doctrine was very rationalistic and materialistic.
They did not believe in angels or demons, in the immortality of the soul, in the resurrection of the dead, in anything supernatural, or in a coming Messiah (Matt. 22:23; Mark 12:18-27).
APOLOGETICAL ARTICLE
16:17 Jesus is the rock on which the church is built.
Peter himself will argue that Jesus is the Living Stone (1 Pet 2:4-7).
Paul will reply that no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).
Another underlying and valid argument is to consider that the church is built on the content of Peter's confession, or with a faith like the one expressed by him.
Paul also specifies that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20; 2 Pet. 3:2), like living stones (1 Pet. 2:5).
Thus, the beatitude of Peter consists in the fact that his confession did not come from human reflection, but from divine revelation.