Matthew 16-17

Tree of Life Version

Religious Leaders Demand Signs

16 Now the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Yeshua, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. ² But He replied to them, “When evening comes, you say, ‘Fair weather coming, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Stormy weather today, for the sky is red and gloomy.’ You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times! ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation clamors for a sign, yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”^[a] And leaving them behind, He went away.

⁵ Now when the disciples came to the other side of the sea, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ “Watch out,” Yeshua said to them, “and beware of the hametz of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷ And they began to discuss among themselves, saying, “We didn’t bring any bread.”

⁸ But knowing this, Yeshua said, “O you of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? ⁹ You still don’t get it? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets of leftovers you gathered? ¹⁰ Or how about the seven loaves for the four thousand and all the baskets of leftovers you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you don’t understand that I wasn’t talking to you about bread? Now beware of the hametz of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” ¹² Then they understood that He wasn’t talking about the hametz in the bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The Father Reveals His Son

¹³ When Yeshua came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

¹⁴ They answered, “Some say John the Immerser, others say Elijah, and still others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

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

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

¹⁷ Yeshua said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven! ¹⁸ And I also tell you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My community^[b]; and the gates of Sheol will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will have been forbidden in heaven and what you permit on earth will have been permitted in heaven.” ²⁰ Then He ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah.

First Prediction: Death and Resurrection

²¹ From that time on, Yeshua began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and ruling kohanim and Torah scholars, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.

²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Never, Master! This must never happen to You!”

²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of men.”

²⁴ Then Yeshua said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then ‘He will repay everyone according to his deeds.’ ^{[c] 28} Amen, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Two Witnesses and a Voice from Heaven

17 After six days, Yeshua takes with Him Peter and Jacob and John his brother, and brings them up a high mountain by themselves. ² Now He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Yeshua. ⁴ Peter responded to Yeshua, “Master, it’s good for us to be here! If You wish, I will make three sukkot here—one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”^[d]

⁵ While He was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice from out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”^[e]

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down, terrified. ⁷ But Yeshua came and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Stop being afraid.” ⁸ And lifting their eyes, they saw no one except Yeshua alone.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, Yeshua commanded them, saying, “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples questioned Him, saying, “Why then do the Torah scholars say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Yeshua replied, “Indeed, Elijah is coming and will restore all things. ^{[f] 12} I tell you that Elijah already came; and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In the same way, 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 Immerser.

See What Faith Can Do

¹⁴ When they came to the crowd, a man came to Yeshua, falling on his knees before Him and saying, ¹⁵ “Master, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and suffers badly. For he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to Your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷ And answering, Yeshua said, “O faithless and twisted generation!^[g] How long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ Yeshua rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that very hour.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Yeshua in private and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ And He said to them, “Because you trust so little. Amen, I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (²¹ )^[h]

Second Prediction: Death and Resurrection

²² Now while they were gathering in the Galilee, Yeshua said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men; ²³ and they will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised.” And the disciples became greatly distressed.

²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the Temple tax,^[i] doesn’t He?”

²⁵ “Yes,” Peter said.

Now when Peter came into the house, Yeshua spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? The kings of the earth, from whom do they collect tolls or tax? From their sons or from strangers?”

²⁶ After Peter said, “From strangers,” Yeshua said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ But so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw out a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you’ll find a coin.^[j] Take that, and give it to them, for Me and you.”