Matthew 16

Chapter 16

Pharisees Test Jesus

^1aThe ^bPharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they ^casked Him to show them a ¹sign from heaven.

²But He replied to them, “^1aWhen it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

³“And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^aDo you know how to discern the ¹appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?

⁴“^aAn evil and adulterous generation seeks after a ¹sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

⁵And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread.

⁶And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and ^abeware of the ¹leaven of the ^bPharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.”

⁸But Jesus, aware of this, said, “^aYou men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?

⁹“Do you not yet understand or remember ^athe five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?

¹⁰“Or ^athe seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up?

¹¹“How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But ^abeware of the ¹leaven of the ^bPharisees and Sadducees.”

¹²Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the ^aPharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

^13aNow when Jesus came into the district of ^bCaesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that ^cthe Son of Man is?”

¹⁴And they said, “Some say ^aJohn the Baptist; and others, ^1bElijah; but still others, ²Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

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

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are ^1athe Christ, ^bthe Son of ^cthe living God.”

¹⁷And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, ^aSimon ¹Barjona, because ^bflesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

¹⁸“I also say to you that you are ^1aPeter, and upon this ²rock I will build My church; and the gates of ^bHades will not overpower it.

¹⁹“I will give you ^athe keys of the kingdom of heaven; and ^bwhatever you bind on earth ¹shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth ²shall have been loosed in heaven.”

^20aThen He ¹warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was ^2bthe Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21aFrom that time ¹Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and ^bsuffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

²²Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “¹God forbid it, Lord! This shall never ²happen to You.”

²³But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^aSatan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on ¹God’s interests, but man’s.”

Discipleship Is Costly

²⁴Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and ^atake up his cross and follow Me.

²⁵“For ^awhoever wishes to save his ¹life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

²⁶“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

²⁷“For the ^aSon of Man ^bis going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ^cwill then ¹repay every man according to his ²deeds.

²⁸“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the ^aSon of Man ^bcoming in His kingdom.”