Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13 (A)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(B)John the Baptist, others say ^(C)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, ^(D)“You are ^(E)the Christ, ^(F)the Son of ^(G)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ^(H)“Blessed are you, ^(I)Simon Bar-Jonah! For ^(J)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^(K)but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, ^(L)you are Peter, and ^(M)on this rock^[a] I will build my church, and ^(N)the gates of ^(O)hell^[b] shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(P)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^(Q)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[c] in heaven.” ^20 (R)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21 (S)From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^(T)he must go to Jerusalem and ^(U)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(V)the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!^[d] This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, ^(W)“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^(X)a hindrance^[e] to me. For you ^(Y)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(Z)deny himself and ^(AA)take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For ^(AB)whoever would save his life^[f] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For ^(AC)what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^(AD)what shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27 (AE)For the Son of Man is going to come with ^(AF)his angels in the glory of his Father, and ^(AG)then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^(AH)taste death ^(AI)until they see the Son of Man ^(AJ)coming in his kingdom.”

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(A)this ministry ^(B)by the mercy of God,^[a] we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced ^(C)disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice^[b] cunning or ^(D)to tamper with God's word, but ^(E)by the open statement of the truth ^(F)we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even ^(G)if our gospel is veiled, ^(H)it is veiled to ^(I)those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case ^(J)the god of this world ^(K)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(L)the light of ^(M)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(N)who is the image of God. ⁵ For what ^(O)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(P)ourselves as your servants^[c] for Jesus' sake. ⁶ For God, who said, ^(Q)“Let light shine out of darkness,” ^(R)has shone in our hearts to give ^(S)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

⁷ But we have this treasure in ^(T)jars of clay, ^(U)to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸ We are ^(V)afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but ^(W)not forsaken; ^(X)struck down, but not destroyed; ^10 (Y)always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^(Z)so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So ^(AA)death is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³ Since we have ^(AB)the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^(AC)“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴ knowing that ^(AD)he who raised the Lord Jesus ^(AE)will raise us also with Jesus and ^(AF)bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵ For ^(AG)it is all for your sake, so that as ^(AH)grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^(AI)to the glory of God.

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. ^(AJ)Though our outer self^[d] is wasting away, ^(AK)our inner self ^(AL)is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For ^(AM)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ^18 (AN)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.