Matthew 16–18

The Yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees

16The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, ^wand as a test, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. ^x

²He answered them: “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ ³And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You ^yknow how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. ^z4An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of ^aJonah.” ^bThen He left them and went away.

⁵The disciples reached the other shore, ^cand they had forgotten to take bread.

⁶Then Jesus told them, “Watch out and beware of the yeast ^dof the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^e

⁷And they discussed among themselves, “We didn’t bring any bread.”

⁸Aware of this, Jesus said, “You of little faith! ^fWhy are you discussing among yourselves that you do not have bread? ⁹Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you collected? ¹⁰Or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many large baskets you collected? ^g11Why is it you don’t understand that when I told you, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,’ it wasn’t about bread?” ^{h 12}Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the yeast in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ⁱ

Peter’s Confession of the Messiah

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, ^jkHe asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the ^•Son of Man is?” ^l

¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ^m

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

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

¹⁷And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah, ^opyou are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven. ^q18And I also say to you that you are Peter, ^rand on this rock ^sI will build My church, ^tand the forces ^uof ^•Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, ^vand whatever you bind on earth is already bound ^win heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed ^xin heaven.”

²⁰And He gave the disciples orders to tell no one that He was ^ythe Messiah. ^z

His Death and Resurrection Predicted

²¹From ^athen on Jesus began to point out to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. ^b22Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, “Oh no, ^cLord! This will never happen to You!”

²³But He turned and told Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, ^dbut man’s.” ^e

Take Up Your Cross

²⁴Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. ^f25For whoever wants to save his ^•life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. ^g26What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? ^h27For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, ⁱand then He will reward each according to what he has done. ^28•I assure you: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” ^j

The Transfiguration

17After six days ^kJesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ^l2He was transformed ^min front of them, and His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as the light. ⁿ³Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

⁴Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here! If You want, I will make ^othree tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ^p

⁵While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered ^qthem, and a voice from the cloud said:

This is My beloved Son.

I take delight in Him.

Listen to Him! ^r

⁶When the disciples ^sheard it, they fell facedown and were terrified.

⁷Then Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.” ^t8When they looked up they saw no one except Him ^u—Jesus alone. ⁹As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^v“Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the ^•Son of Man is raised ^wfrom the dead.”

¹⁰So the disciples questioned Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ^x

¹¹“Elijah is coming ^yand will restore everything,” He replied. ^za12“But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ^bc13Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.

The Power of Faith over a Demon

¹⁴When they reached the crowd, ^da man approached and knelt down before Him. ¹⁵“Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son, because he has seizures ^eand suffers severely. He often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶I brought him to Your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.” ^f

¹⁷Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious ^ggeneration! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ^h18Then Jesus rebuked the demon, ⁱand it ^jcame out of him, ^kand from that moment ^lthe boy was healed.

¹⁹Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰“Because of your little faith,” He ^mtold them. “For ^•I assure you: If you have faith the size of ⁿa mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. ^oNothing will be impossible for you. ^p[²¹However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting.]” ^q

The Second Prediction of His Death

²²As ^rthey were meeting ^sin Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. ²³They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.

Paying the Temple Tax

²⁴When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the double-drachma tax ^tapproached Peter and said, “Doesn’t your Teacher pay the double-drachma tax?” ^u

²⁵“Yes,” he said.

When he went into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, ^v“What do you think, Simon? Who do earthly kings collect tariffs or taxes from? From their sons or from strangers?” ^wx

²⁶“From strangers,” he said. ^y

“Then the sons are free,” Jesus told him. ²⁷“But, so we won’t ^•offend them, go to the sea, cast in a fishhook, and take the first fish that you catch. When you open its mouth you’ll find a coin. ^zTake it and give it to them for Me and you.” ^a

Who Is the Greatest?

18At that time ^bcthe disciples ^dcame to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ^e

²Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. ³“^•I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted ^fand become like children, ^gyou will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ^h4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵And whoever welcomes ⁱone child like this in My name welcomes Me.

⁶“But whoever ^•causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone ^jwere hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea! ^k7Woe to the world because of ^•offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes. ^l8If your hand or your foot causes your downfall, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire. ^m9And if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, rather than to have two eyes and be thrown into ^•hellfire! ^no

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰“See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones, ^pbecause I tell you that in heaven their angels ^qcontinually view the face of My Father in heaven. ^r [¹¹For the ^•Son of Man ^shas come to save the lost.] ^t12What do you think? ^uIf a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, won’t he leave the 99 on the hillside and go and search for the stray? ^v13And if he finds it, I assure you: He rejoices over that sheep ^wmore than over the 99 that did not go astray. ¹⁴In the same way, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Restoring a Brother

¹⁵“If your brother sins against you, ^xgo and rebuke him in private. ^yIf he listens to you, you have won your brother. ^z16But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony ^aof two or three witnesses every fact may be established. ^bc17If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. ^deBut if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever ^fand a tax collector to you. ^g18I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound ^hin heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed ⁱin heaven. ^j19Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you ^kpray for, it will be done for you ^lby My Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave

²¹Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ^m

²²“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven. ⁿ²³For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his ^•slaves. ²⁴When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents ^owas brought before him. ²⁵Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the…