Matthew 16–17

The Demand for a Sign

¹⁶The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus^e they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.^{* 2}He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.^{f 4}An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.^*

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”^{* 7}They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” ⁸And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread?^{* 9}Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you gathered?^{* 10}Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered?^{* 11}How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” ¹²Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”^{* 15}He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,^g the Son of the living God.”^{* 17}And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.^{* 18}And I tell you, you are Peter,^h and on this rockⁱ I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.^{* 19}I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”^{* 20}Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was^j the Messiah.^k*

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

²¹From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.^{* 22}And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance^l to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

The Cross and Self-Denial

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.^{* 25}For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

²⁷“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.^{* 28}Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”^*

The Transfiguration

¹⁷Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.^{* 2}And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. ³Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I^m will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved;ⁿ with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”^{* 6}When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”^{* 8}And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”^{* 10}And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”^{* 11}He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things,^{* 12}but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.”^{* 13}Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Cures a Boy with a Demon

¹⁴When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, ¹⁵and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy and suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” ¹⁷Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked the demon,^o and it^p came out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment. ¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a^q mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”^r*

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

²²As they were gathering^s in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands,^{* 23}and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

Jesus and the Temple Tax

²⁴When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?”^{* 25}He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?”^{* 26}When Peter^t said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. ²⁷However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”^*