Matthew 16–18

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16^fAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^gto test him ^hthey asked him to show them ⁱa sign from heaven. ²He answered them,^{1 j}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^kYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^lthe signs of the times. ^4mAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ⁿhe left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^obeware of ^pthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸But ^qJesus, aware of this, said, ^r“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9sDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^tthe five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰Or ^uthe seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^oBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12vThen they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^wthe teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say ^yJohn the Baptist, others say ^zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter replied, ^a“You are ^bthe Christ, ^cthe Son of ^dthe living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, ^e“Blessed are you, ^fSimon Bar-Jonah! For ^gflesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^hbut my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, ⁱyou are Peter, and ^jon this rock² I will build my church, and ^kthe gates of ^lhell³ shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you ^mthe keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ⁿwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁴ in heaven.” ^20oThen he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21pFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^qhe must go to Jerusalem and ^rsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^sthe third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!⁵ This shall never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, ^t“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^ua hindrance⁶ to me. For you ^vare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^wdeny himself and ^xtake up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For ^xwhoever would save his life⁷ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For ^ywhat will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^zwhat shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27aFor the Son of Man is going to come with ^bhis angels in the glory of his Father, and ^cthen he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^dtaste death ^euntil they see the Son of Man ^fcoming in his kingdom.”

The Transfiguration

17^gAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^hPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ²And he was ⁱtransfigured before them, and ^jhis face shone like the sun, and ^khis clothes became white as light. ³And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^lElijah.” ⁵He was still speaking when, behold, ^ma bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^ma voice from the cloud said, ⁿ“This is my beloved Son,¹ with whom I am well pleased; ^olisten to him.” ⁶When ^pthe disciples heard this, ^qthey fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷But Jesus came and ^rtouched them, saying, “Rise, and ^shave no fear.” ⁸And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

^9tAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^u“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” ¹⁰And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^vthat first Elijah must come?” ¹¹He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^whe will restore all things. ¹²But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^xdid to him whatever they pleased. ^ySo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” ^13zThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

^14aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, ¹⁵said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he ^bhas seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, and ^cthey could not heal him.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^dtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^eHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸And Jesus ^frebuked the demon,² and it³ came out of him, and ^gthe boy was healed instantly.^{4 19}Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰He said to them, ^h“Because of your little faith. For ⁱtruly, I say to you, ^jif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^kyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^lnothing will be impossible for you.”⁵

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

^22mAs they were gathering⁶ in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, ²³and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ⁿthe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

^24oWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^pthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” ²⁵He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^q“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^rtax? From their sons or from others?” ²⁶And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.⁷ Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

Who Is the Greatest?

18^tAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^uturn and ^vbecome like children, you ^wwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^4xWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^wgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

^5y“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶but ^zwhoever causes one of these ^alittle ones who believe in me to sin,¹ it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷“Woe to the world for ^btemptations to sin!^{2 c}For it is necessary that temptations come, ^dbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ^8eAnd if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into ^fthe eternal fire. ^9eAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the ^fhell³ of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰“See that you do not despise ^gone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven ^htheir angels always ⁱsee the face of my Father who is in heaven.^{4 12j}What do you think? ^kIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So ^lit is not the will of my⁵ Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

^15m“If your brother sins against you, ⁿgo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ^ogained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established ^pby the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, ^qtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^rlet him be to you as ^sa Gentile and ^sa tax collector. ¹⁸Truly, I say to you, ^twhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁶ in heaven. ¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you ^uagree on earth about anything they ask, ^vit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are ^wgathered in my name, ^xthere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ^ywill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^zAs many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.⁷

²³“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ^ato settle accounts with his servants.^{8 24}When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ^bten thousand ^ctalents.^9…