²Jesus answered, ⁿ “At sunset you say we will have good weather, because the sky is red. ³And in the morning you say that it will be a rainy day, because the sky is dark and red. You see these signs in the sky and know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that I am doing now, but you don’t know their meaning. ⁴Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign, but they will not be given any sign, except the sign of Jonah.” ⁿ Then Jesus left them and went away.

Guard Against Wrong Teachings

⁵Jesus’ followers went across the lake, but they had forgotten to bring bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

⁷His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we forgot to bring bread.”

⁸Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. ⁹Do you still not understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the five thousand? And remember that you filled many baskets with the leftovers? ¹⁰Or the seven loaves of bread that fed the four thousand and the many baskets you filled then also? ¹¹I was not talking to you about bread. Why don’t you understand that? I am telling you to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” ¹²Then the followers understood that Jesus was not telling them to beware of the yeast used in bread but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ

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

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

¹⁵Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you say I am?”

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because no person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. ¹⁸So I tell you, you are Peter. ⁿ On this rock I will build my church, and the power of death will not be able to defeat it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow, and the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.” ²⁰Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone he was the Christ.

Jesus Says that He Must Die

²¹From that time on Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem, where the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. He told them he must be killed and then be raised from the dead on the third day.

²²Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that. He said, “God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!”

²³Then Jesus said to Peter, “Go away from me, Satan! ⁿ You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his followers, “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me. ²⁵Those who want to save their lives will give up true life, and those who give up their lives for me will have true life. ²⁶It is worthless to have the whole world if they lose their souls. They could never pay enough to buy back their souls. ²⁷The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. At that time, he will reward them for what they have done. ²⁸I tell you the truth, some people standing here will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom before they die.”

Jesus Talks with Moses and Elijah

17Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, up on a high mountain by themselves. ²While they watched, Jesus’ appearance was changed; his face became bright like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³Then Moses and Elijah ⁿ appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

⁴Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put up three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵While Peter was talking, a bright cloud covered them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!”

⁶When his followers heard the voice, they were so frightened they fell to the ground. ⁷But Jesus went to them and touched them and said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” ⁸When they looked up, they saw Jesus was now alone.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰Then his followers asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹Jesus answered, “They are right to say that Elijah is coming and that he will make everything the way it should be. ¹²But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him. They did to him whatever they wanted to do. It will be the same with the Son of Man; those same people will make the Son of Man suffer.” ¹³Then the followers understood that Jesus was talking about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Sick Boy

¹⁴When Jesus and his followers came back to the crowd, a man came to Jesus and bowed before him. ¹⁵The man said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has epilepsy ⁿ and is suffering very much, because he often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶I brought him to your followers, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷Jesus answered, “You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong. How long must I put up with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” ¹⁸Jesus commanded the demon inside the boy. Then the demon came out, and the boy was healed from that time on.

¹⁹The followers came to Jesus when he was alone and asked, “Why couldn’t we force the demon out?”

²⁰Jesus answered, “Because your faith is too small. I tell you the truth, if your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. All things will be possible for you. ²¹That kind of spirit comes out only if you use prayer and fasting.” ⁿ

Jesus Talks About His Death

²²While Jesus’ followers were gathering in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to people, ²³and they will kill him. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” And the followers were filled with sadness.

Jesus Talks About Paying Taxes

²⁴When Jesus and his followers came to Capernaum, the men who collected the Temple tax came to Peter. They asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

²⁵Peter answered, “Yes, Jesus pays the tax.”

Peter went into the house, but before he could speak, Jesus said to him, “What do you think? The kings of the earth collect different kinds of taxes. But who pays the taxes—the king’s children or others?”

²⁶Peter answered, “Other people pay the taxes.”

Jesus said to Peter, “Then the children of the king don’t have to pay taxes. ²⁷But we don’t want to upset these tax collectors. So go to the lake and fish. After you catch the first fish, open its mouth and you will find a coin. Take that coin and give it to the tax collectors for you and me.”

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Footnotes

nanswered Some Greek copies do not have the rest of verse 2 and verse 3.
nsign of Jonah Jonah’s three days in the fish are like Jesus’ three days in the tomb. The story about Jonah is in the Book of Jonah.
nPeter The Greek name “Peter,” like the Aramaic name “Cephas,” means “rock.”
nSatan Name for the devil, meaning “the enemy.” Jesus means that Peter was talking like Satan.
nMoses and Elijah Two of the most important Jewish leaders in the past. God had given Moses the Law, and Elijah was an important prophet.
nepilepsy A disease that causes a person sometimes to lose control of his body and maybe faint, shake strongly, or not be able to move.
nThat … fasting. Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.