Matthew 16:13-23

GOD’S WORD Translation

Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus^(A)

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

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

¹⁵ He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! No human revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed it to you. ¹⁸ You are Peter, and I can guarantee that on this rock ^[a] I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you imprison, God will imprison. And whatever you set free, God will set free.”

²⁰ Then he strictly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life^(B)

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to inform his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem. There he would have to suffer a lot because of the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be brought back to life.

²² Peter took him aside and objected to this. He said, “Heaven forbid, Lord! This must never happen to you!”

²³ But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get out of my way, Satan! You are tempting me to sin. You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.”