Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him. They begged Jesus to touch him. ²³ He took the blind man by the hand. Then he led him outside the village. He spit on the man’s eyes and placed his hands on him. “Do you see anything?” Jesus asked.

²⁴ The man looked up. He said, “I see people. They look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened so that he could see again. He saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him home. He told him, “Don’t even go into the village.”

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say one of the prophets.”

²⁹ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah

¹³ Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. There he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

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

¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! No mere human showed this to you. My Father in heaven showed it to you. ¹⁸ Here is what I tell you. You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell will not be strong enough to destroy it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.” ²⁰ Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah

¹⁸ One day Jesus was praying alone. Only his disciples were with him. He asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

²⁰ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Jesus Tells About His Coming Death

³¹ Jesus then began to teach his disciples. He taught them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. He taught them that the elders would not accept him. The chief priests and the teachers of the law would not accept him either. He must be killed and after three days rise again. ³² He spoke clearly about this. Peter took Jesus to one side and began to scold him.

³³ Jesus turned and looked at his disciples. He scolded Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You are not thinking about the things God cares about. Instead, you are thinking only about the things humans care about.”

You Must Pick Up Your Cross

³⁴ Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me and for the good news will save it. ³⁶ What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul? ³⁷ Or what can anyone trade for their soul? ³⁸ Suppose anyone is ashamed of me and my words among these adulterous and sinful people. Then the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

9 Jesus said to them, “What I’m about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see that God’s kingdom has come with power.”

Jesus Speaks About His Coming Death

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples what would happen to him. He told them he must go to Jerusalem. There he must suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. He must be killed and on the third day rise to life again.

²² Peter took Jesus to one side and began to scold him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are standing in my way. You do not have in mind the things God cares about. Instead, you only have in mind the things humans care about.”

²⁴ Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul? Or what can anyone trade for their soul? ²⁷ The Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory. His angels will come with him. And he will reward everyone in keeping with what they have done.

²⁸ “What I’m about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Jesus Speaks About His Coming Death

²¹ Jesus strongly warned them not to tell this to anyone. ²² He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. The elders will not accept him. The chief priests and the teachers of the law will not accept him either. He must be killed and on the third day rise from the dead.”

²³ Then he said to all of them, “Whoever wants to follow me must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross every day and follow me. ²⁴ Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses or gives up their very self? ²⁶ Suppose someone is ashamed of me and my words. The Son of Man will come in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. Then he will be ashamed of that person.

²⁷ “What I’m about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see God’s kingdom.”

Jesus’ Appearance Is Changed

² After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him. He led them up a high mountain. They were all alone. There in front of them his appearance was changed. ³ His clothes became so white they shone. They were whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴ Elijah and Moses appeared in front of Jesus and his disciples. The two of them were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ Peter didn’t really know what to say, because they were so afraid.

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and covered them. A voice came from the cloud. It said, “This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to him!”

⁸ They looked around. Suddenly they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹ They came down the mountain. On the way down, Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen. He told them to wait until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept the matter to themselves. But they asked each other what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹ Then they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah has to come first?”

¹² Jesus replied, “That’s right. Elijah does come first. He makes all things new again. So why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and not be accepted? ¹³ I tell you, Elijah has come. They have done to him everything they wanted to do. They did it just as it is written about him.”

Jesus’ Appearance Is Changed

17 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James with him. He led them up a high mountain. They were all alone. ² There in front of them his appearance was changed. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then Moses and Elijah appeared in front of them. Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them. A voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they were terrified. They fell with their faces to the ground. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹ They came down the mountain. On the way down, Jesus told them what to do. “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen,” he said. “Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah has to come first?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “That’s right. Elijah is supposed to come and make all things new again. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People didn’t recognize him. They have done to him everything they wanted to do. In the same way, they are going to make the Son of Man suffer.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that Jesus was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus’ Appearance Is Changed

²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said this, he went up on a mountain to pray. He took Peter, John and James with him. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed. His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in shining glory. Jesus and the two of them talked together. ³¹ They talked about how he would be leaving them soon. This was going to happen in Jerusalem. ³² Peter and his companions had been very sleepy. But then they became completely awake. They saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter spoke up. “Master,” he said to him, “it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Peter didn’t really know what he was saying.

³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them. The disciples were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud. It said, “This is my Son, and I have chosen him. Listen to him.” ³⁶ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept quiet about this. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen.