Matthew 16:13–28

Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus—Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–21

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 

¹⁴They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

¹⁵He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” 

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! No human revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed it to you. ¹⁸You are Peter, and I can guarantee that on this rock^aI will build my church. And the gates of hell will not overpower it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.” 

²⁰Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. 

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Mark 8:31–33; Luke 9:22

²¹From that time on Jesus began to inform his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem. There he would have to suffer a lot because of the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be brought back to life. 

²²Peter took him aside and objected to this. He said, “Heaven forbid, Lord! This must never happen to you!” 

²³But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get out of my way, Satan! You are tempting me to sin. You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.” 

What It Means to Follow Jesus—Mark 8:34–9:1; Luke 9:23–27

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. ²⁵Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will find them. ²⁶What good will it do for people to win the whole world and lose their lives? Or what will a person give in exchange for life? ²⁷The Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory. Then he will pay back each person based on what that person has done. ²⁸I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”