Matthew 16:21

My Notes

What Does Matthew 16:21 Mean?

Matthew records the turning point of Jesus's ministry: from that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

From that time forth — a temporal marker indicating a new phase. The ministry shifts from Galilean teaching and miracles to the journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. The revelation of the cross follows Peter's confession of Christ (v.16: thou art the Christ). The identity must be established before the mission is revealed: you must know who I am before I tell you what I came to do.

Began Jesus to shew (deiknuo — to show, to make visible, to demonstrate, to explain clearly) — Jesus deliberately reveals what was previously hidden. The cross was not discovered by the disciples. It was shown by Jesus — intentionally, methodically, clearly. The showing is the beginning of a sustained teaching that continues through the journey to Jerusalem.

How that he must (dei — it is necessary, it is divinely required, it is the compulsion of divine plan) — the must is theological necessity. Not political inevitability. Not accidental misfortune. Dei — divine compulsion. The cross is not what happens to Jesus when things go wrong. It is what must happen because God's plan requires it. The suffering is the plan, not the interruption of the plan.

Go unto Jerusalem — the destination is specific. Jerusalem — the city where prophets are killed (23:37). The journey to Jerusalem is the journey to the cross. The geography is the theology: Jerusalem is where the sacrifice takes place.

Suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes — the suffering comes from the religious establishment. Not from Rome (at this point). Not from pagans. From the elders (lay leaders), chief priests (temple establishment), and scribes (legal scholars). The people who should have recognized the Messiah are the ones who cause his suffering.

And be killed — the suffering culminates in death. Not injury. Not humiliation alone. Killed (apokteino — to put to death, to execute). The plain statement: the Messiah will be killed. The disciples who just confessed him as Christ now hear that the Christ will die.

And be raised again the third day — the death is not the ending. The third day — the resurrection follows the killing. The must that governs the suffering also governs the rising. Both are divine necessity. Both are shown to the disciples. But Peter's response (v.22: be it far from thee, Lord) reveals that the disciples heard the killing and missed the rising. The death registered. The resurrection did not — yet.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Why does Jesus reveal the cross only after Peter's confession — and what does the sequence (identity before mission) teach?
• 2.What does 'must' (dei — divine necessity) establish about the cross being the plan rather than the interruption of the plan?
• 3.Why does the suffering come from the religious establishment (elders, chief priests, scribes) rather than from outsiders?
• 4.How did the disciples hear the 'killed' but miss the 'raised again the third day' — and where do you focus on the suffering while missing the resurrection?

Devotional

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. The turning point. The moment Jesus begins to reveal what the disciples are not ready to hear: the Messiah must die. The Christ you just confessed is heading toward a cross. The one you called the Son of the living God (v.16) is going to Jerusalem to be killed.

He must. Must — divine necessity. Not bad luck. Not the Pharisees being too powerful. Not political miscalculation. Must — the compulsion of God's plan, the requirement of divine purpose, the necessity built into the redemptive design from before the foundation of the world. The cross is not what happens when the plan fails. The cross is the plan.

Suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes. The suffering comes from the religious establishment — not from Rome, not from outsiders. The people who studied the Scriptures that predicted the Messiah are the people who cause the Messiah's suffering. The irony: the ones most prepared to recognize him are the ones who destroy him.

And be killed. The plain, unadorned statement. Be killed. The Messiah — the Christ Peter just confessed — will be executed. The disciples are hearing that the one they left everything to follow is walking toward death. The confession of v.16 and the prediction of v.21 do not contradict each other. They complete each other: the Christ is the one who must die.

And be raised again the third day. The sentence does not end at killed. It ends at raised. The third day — the resurrection follows the cross as certainly as the cross follows the journey to Jerusalem. The must that governs the dying also governs the rising. But Peter did not hear the rising (v.22: be it far from thee, Lord). The death was too loud. The resurrection was too incomprehensible. The disciples heard the killing and missed the hope.

The pattern: identity → suffering → death → resurrection. The Christ must die. And the Christ must rise. Both are shown. Both are must. Both are the plan. The cross without the resurrection is tragedy. The resurrection without the cross is fantasy. Together, they are the gospel: the Son of God must suffer, must be killed, must be raised. All three are the plan. And the plan is the point.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture