²He replied, “In the evening you look at the sky. You say, ‘It will be good weather. The sky is red.’ ³And in the morning you say, ‘Today it will be stormy. The sky is red and cloudy.’ You know the meaning of what you see in the sky. But you can’t understand the signs of what is happening right now. ⁴An evil and unfaithful people look for a miraculous sign. But none will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.”

Then Jesus left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵The disciples crossed over to the other side of the lake. They had forgotten to take bread. ⁶“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷The disciples talked about this among themselves. They said, “He must be saying this because we didn’t bring any bread.”

⁸Jesus knew what they were saying. So he said, “Your faith is so small! Why are you talking to each other about having no bread? ⁹Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the 5,000? Don’t you remember how many baskets of pieces you gathered? ¹⁰Don’t you remember the seven loaves for the 4,000? Don’t you remember how many baskets of pieces you gathered? ¹¹How can you possibly not understand? I wasn’t talking to you about bread. But watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

¹²Then the disciples understood that Jesus was not telling them to watch out for the yeast used in bread. He was warning them against what the Pharisees and Sadducees taught.

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Christ

¹³Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. There he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

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

¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! No mere man showed this to you. My Father in heaven showed it to you. ¹⁸Here is what I tell you. You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell will not be strong enough to destroy it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.”

²⁰Then Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus Tells About His Coming Death

²¹From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples what would happen to him. He told them he must go to Jerusalem. There he must suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. He must be killed and on the third day rise to life again.

²²Peter took Jesus to one side and began to scold him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are standing in my way. You do not have in mind the things of God. Instead, you are thinking about human things.”

²⁴Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. He said, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must pick up his cross and follow me. ²⁵If he wants to save his life, he will lose it. But if he loses his life for me, he will find it.

²⁶“What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses his soul? Or what can anyone trade for his soul? ²⁷The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory. His angels will come with him. And he will reward everyone in keeping with what they have done.

²⁸“What I’m about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Jesus’ Appearance Is Changed

17After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James with him. He led them up a high mountain. They were all alone. ²There in front of them his appearance was changed. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became as white as the light. ³Just then Moses and Elijah appeared in front of them. Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus.

⁴Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

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

⁶When the disciples heard this, they were terrified. They fell with their faces to the ground. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹They came down the mountain. On the way down, Jesus told them what to do. “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen,” he said. “Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰The disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah has to come first?”

¹¹Jesus replied, “That’s right. Elijah is supposed to come and make all things new again. ¹²But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People didn’t recognize him. They have done to him everything they wanted to do. In the same way, they are going to make the Son of Man suffer.”

¹³Then the disciples understood that Jesus was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy Who Had a Demon

¹⁴When they came near the crowd, a man approached Jesus. He got on his knees in front of him. ¹⁵“Lord,” he said, “have mercy on my son. He shakes wildly and suffers a great deal. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶I brought him to your disciples. But they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷“You unbelieving and evil people!” Jesus replied. “How long do I have to stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”

¹⁸Jesus ordered the demon to leave the boy, and it came out of him. He was healed at that very moment.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus in private. They asked, “Why couldn’t we drive out the demon?”

^20/21He replied, “Because your faith is much too small. What I’m about to tell you is true. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it is enough. You can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there.’ And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

²²They came together in Galilee. Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men. ²³They will kill him. On the third day he will rise from the dead.”

Then the disciples were filled with deep sadness.

Jesus Pays the Temple Tax

²⁴Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum. There the tax collectors came to Peter. They asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

²⁵“Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke first. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “Who do the kings of the earth collect taxes and fees from? Do they collect from their own sons or from others?”

²⁶“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the sons don’t have to pay,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷“But we don’t want to make them angry. So go to the lake and throw out your fishing line. Take the first fish you catch. Open its mouth. There you will find the exact coin you need. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

Who Is the Most Important Person in the Kingdom?

18At that time the disciples came to Jesus. They asked him, “Who is the most important person in the kingdom of heaven?”

²Jesus called a little child over to him. He had the child stand among them. ³Jesus said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You need to change and become like little children. If you don’t, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Anyone who becomes as free of pride as this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

⁶“But what if someone leads one of these little ones who believe in me to sin? If he does, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and be drowned at the bottom of the sea.

⁷“How terrible it will be for the world because of the things that lead people to sin! Things like that must come. But how terrible for those who cause them!

⁸“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of heaven with only one hand or one foot than to go into hell with two hands and two feet. In hell the fire burns forever. ⁹If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It would be better for you to enter the kingdom of heaven with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The Story of the Lost Sheep

^10/11“See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. Here is what I tell you. Their angels in heaven can go at any time to see my Father who is in heaven.

¹²“What do you think? Suppose a man owns 100 sheep and one of them wanders away. Won’t he leave the 99 sheep on the hills? Won’t he go and look for the one that wandered off? ¹³What I’m about to tell you is true. If he finds that sheep, he is happier about the one than about the 99 that didn’t wander off. ¹⁴It is the same with your Father in heaven. He does not want any of these little ones to be lost.

When Someone Sins Against You

¹⁵“If your brother sins against you, go to him. Tell him what he did wrong. Keep it between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won him back.

¹⁶“But what if he won’t listen to you? Then take one or two others with you. Scripture says, ‘Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷But what if he also refuses to listen to the witnesses? Then tell it to the church. And what if he refuses to listen even to the church? Then don’t treat him as your brother. Treat him as you would treat an ungodly person or a tax collector.

¹⁸“What I’m about to tell you is true. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.

¹⁹“Again, here is what I…

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