²² Then they came to Bethsaida; and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. ²³ Taking the blind man by the hand, He led him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking around.” ²⁵ Then again Jesus laid His hands on his eyes; and the man stared intently and [his sight] was [completely] restored, and he began to see everything clearly. ²⁶ And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Peter’s Confession of Christ

²⁷ Then Jesus and His disciples went out to the villages of ^[a]Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”^{(A) 28} They answered Him, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied to Him, “You [in contrast to the others] are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).” ³⁰ Then Jesus strictly warned them not to tell anyone about Him.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

¹³ Now when Jesus went into the ^[a]region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”^{(A) 14} And they answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or [just] one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered him, “Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, favored by God] are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood (mortal man) did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I say to you that you are ^[b]Peter, and on this ^[c]rock I will build My church; and the ^[d]gates of Hades (death) will not overpower it [by preventing the resurrection of the Christ].^{(B) 19} I will give you the keys (authority) of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth ^[e]will have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth ^[f]will have [already] been loosed in heaven.”^{(C) 20} Then He gave the disciples strict orders to tell no one that He was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

¹⁸ Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”^{(A) 19} They answered, “John the Baptist, and some say, Elijah; but others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “The Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God!”

³¹ And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must [of necessity] suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and must be put to death, and after three days rise [from death to life].^{(A) 32} He was stating the matter plainly [not holding anything back]. Then Peter took Him aside and began to reprimand Him. ³³ But turning around [with His back to Peter] and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan; for your mind is not set on God’s will or His values and purposes, but on what pleases man.”

³⁴ Jesus called the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and ^[a]take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. ³⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake and the gospel’s will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].^{(B) 36} For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God’s kingdom]? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

The Transfiguration

9 And Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are ^[b]some of those who are standing here who will not taste (experience) death before they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 [a]From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples [clearly] that He must go to Jerusalem, and endure many things at the hands of the elders and the chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be killed, and be raised [from death to life] on the third day.^{(A) 22} Peter took Him aside [to speak to Him privately] and began to reprimand Him, saying, “May God forbid it! This will never happen to You.” ²³ But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”

Discipleship Is Costly

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. ²⁵ For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity]. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory and majesty of His Father with His angels, and then He will repay each one in accordance with what he has done.^(B)

²⁸ “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, there are some of ^[b]those standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

²¹ But He strictly warned and admonished them not to tell this to anyone, ²² saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be put to death, and on the third day be raised up [from death to life].”^(A)

²³ And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. ²⁴ For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake, he is the one who will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]. ²⁵ For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the [heavenly] Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truthfully, there are ^[a]some among those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

² Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured (changed in form) before them [and began to shine brightly with divine and regal glory];^{(A) 3} and His clothes became radiant and dazzling, intensely white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were having a conversation with Jesus. ⁵ Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Rabbi (Master), it is good for us to be here; let us make three [sacred] tents—one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not [really] know what to say because they were terrified [and stunned by the miraculous sight]. ⁷ Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and ^[a]a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him and obey Him!” ⁸ Suddenly they looked around and no longer saw anyone with them, except Jesus alone.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus expressly ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they [carefully and faithfully] kept the matter to themselves, ^[b]discussing and questioning [with one another] what it meant to rise from the dead. ¹¹ They asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first [before the Messiah comes]?”^{(B) 12} He answered them, “Elijah does come first and restores and reestablishes all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things [grief and physical distress] and be treated with contempt [utterly despised and rejected]?^{(C) 13} But I say to you that Elijah has in fact come [already], and they ^[c]did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written [in Scripture] of him.”

The Transfiguration

17 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John the brother of James, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.^{(A) 2} And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. ⁴ Then Peter began to speak and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good and delightful and auspicious that we are here; if You wish, I will put up three [sacred] tents here—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^[a]a voice from the cloud said, “^[b]This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!”^{(B) 6} When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

⁹ And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” ¹⁰ The disciples asked Him, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not recognize him, but did to him as they wished. The Son of Man is also going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.^(C)

The Transfiguration

²⁸ Now about eight days after these teachings, He took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.^{(A) 29} As He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [actually transformed], and His clothing became white and flashing with the brilliance of lightning. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure [from earthly life], which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him. ³³ And as these [men, Moses and Elijah] were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is delightful and good for us to be here; we should make three [sacred] tents; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ But even as he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were [greatly] afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ Then ^[a]a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, My Chosen One; listen and obey and yield to Him!” ³⁶ When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept silent, and told no one at that time any of the things which they had seen [concerning the divine manifestation].^(B)