Matthew 16–17

Debate Over a Sign from Heaven

Mark 8:11, 12

16Then the ^aPharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. ²He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; ³and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ¹Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ^4bA wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of ²the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

Withdrawal of Jesus

Mark 8:13–21

⁵Now ^cwhen His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶Then Jesus said to them, ^d“Take heed and beware of the ³leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

⁷And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”

⁸But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you ⁴have brought no bread? ^9eDo you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ^10fNor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the ⁵leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹²Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the ⁶doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Revelation of the Person of the King

Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–21

¹³When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ^g“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴So they said, ^h“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or ⁱone of the prophets.”

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

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

¹⁷Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, ^lfor flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but ^mMy Father who is in heaven.

Revelation of the Church

¹⁸And I also say to you that ⁿyou are Peter, and ^oon this rock I will build My church, and ^pthe gates of Hades shall not ⁷prevail against it. ^19qAnd I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth ⁸will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

^20rThen He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Revelation of Jesus’ Death

Mark 8:31–33; Luke 9:22

²¹From that time Jesus began ^sto show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

²²Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ⁹“Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

²³But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^tSatan! ^uYou are ¹an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Revelation of Jesus’ Reward

Mark 8:34–37; Luke 9:23–25

^24vThen Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and ^wfollow Me. ²⁵For ^xwhoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶For what ^yprofit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or ^zwhat will a man give in exchange for his soul?

The Prophecy of the Second Coming

Mark 8:38–9:1; Luke 9:26, 27

²⁷For ^athe Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father ^bwith His angels, ^cand then He will reward each according to his works. ²⁸Assuredly, I say to you, ^dthere are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

The Transfiguration

Mark 9:2–13; Luke 9:28–36; 2 Pet. 1:17, 18

17Now ^aafter six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; ²and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. ³And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, ¹let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

^5bWhile he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ^c“This is My beloved Son, ^din whom I am well pleased. ^eHear Him!” ^6fAnd when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. ⁷But Jesus came and ^gtouched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” ⁸When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

⁹Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”

¹⁰And His disciples asked Him, saying, ^h“Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming ²first and will ⁱrestore all things. ^12jBut I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they ^kdid not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise ^lthe Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” ^13mThen the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

Instruction About Faith

Mark 9:14–29; Luke 9:37–42

¹⁴ⁿAnd when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is ³an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷Then Jesus answered and said, “O ⁴faithless and ^operverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸And Jesus ^prebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ⁵unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, ^qif you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹⁶However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Instruction About Jesus’ Death

Mark 9:30–32; Luke 9:43–45

^22rNow while they were ⁷staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, ²³and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly ^ssorrowful.

Instruction About Taxes

^24tWhen they had come to ⁸Capernaum, those who received the ⁹temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”

²⁵He said, “Yes.”

And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from ^ustrangers?”

²⁶Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”

Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a ¹piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”