Pharisees and Sadducees Test Jesus

16 (A)The (B)Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and putting Jesus to the test, they (C)asked Him to show them a [a]sign from heaven. But He replied to them, [b](D)When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ (E)You know how to discern the [c]appearance of the sky, but are you unable to discern the signs of the times? (F)An evil and adulterous generation wants a [d]sign; and so a [e]sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and (G)beware of the [f]leaven of the (H)Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, (I)You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand nor remember (J)the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? 10 Nor (K)the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up? 11 How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But (L)beware of the [g]leaven of the (M)Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the [h]leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the (N)Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

13 (O)Now when Jesus came into the region of (P)Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that (Q)the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say (R)John the Baptist; and others, [i](S)Elijah; and still others, [j]Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” 15 He *said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are (T)the [k]Christ, (U)the Son of (V)the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, (W)Simon [l]Barjona, because (X)flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are [m](Y)Peter, and upon this [n]rock I will build My church; and the gates of (Z)Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you (AA)the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and (AB)whatever you [o]bind on earth [p]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you [q]loose on earth [r]shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 (AC)Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was (AD)the [s]Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death

21 (AE)From that time [t]Jesus began to [u]point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to (AF)suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. 22 And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “[v]God forbid it, Lord! This shall never [w]happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, (AG)Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on [x]God’s purposes, but men’s.”

Discipleship Is Costly

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, (AH)take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For (AI)whoever wants to save his [y]life will lose it; but whoever loses his [z]life for My sake will find it. 26 For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but [aa]forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the (AJ)Son of Man (AK)is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and (AL)will then repay every person according to his [ab]deeds.

28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the (AM)Son of Man (AN)coming in His kingdom.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 16:1 I.e., confirming miracle
  2. Matthew 16:2 Early mss do not contain the rest of v 2 and v 3
  3. Matthew 16:3 Lit face
  4. Matthew 16:4 I.e., confirming miracle
  5. Matthew 16:4 I.e., confirming miracle
  6. Matthew 16:6 I.e., fermented dough
  7. Matthew 16:11 I.e., as a symbol of corruption
  8. Matthew 16:12 I.e., fermented dough
  9. Matthew 16:14 Gr Elias
  10. Matthew 16:14 Gr Jeremias
  11. Matthew 16:16 I.e., Messiah
  12. Matthew 16:17 I.e., son of Jonah
  13. Matthew 16:18 Gr Petros, a stone
  14. Matthew 16:18 Gr petra, massive rock formation; bedrock
  15. Matthew 16:19 I.e., forbid
  16. Matthew 16:19 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
  17. Matthew 16:19 I.e., permit
  18. Matthew 16:19 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
  19. Matthew 16:20 I.e., Messiah
  20. Matthew 16:21 Two early mss Jesus Christ
  21. Matthew 16:21 Or show
  22. Matthew 16:22 Lit (God be) merciful to You
  23. Matthew 16:22 Lit be
  24. Matthew 16:23 Lit the things of God
  25. Matthew 16:25 Or soul
  26. Matthew 16:25 Or soul
  27. Matthew 16:26 I.e., suffers the loss of
  28. Matthew 16:27 Lit activity

Demand for a sign

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. In order to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

But he replied, “At evening you say, ‘It will be nice weather because the sky is bright red.’ And in the morning you say, ‘There will be bad weather today because the sky is cloudy.’ You know how to make sense of the sky’s appearance. But you are unable to recognize the signs that point to what the time is. An evil and unfaithful generation searches for a sign. But it won’t receive any sign except Jonah’s sign.” Then he left them and went away.

Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

When the disciples arrived on the other side of the lake, they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

They discussed this among themselves and said, “We didn’t bring any bread.”

Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “You people of weak faith! Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves that fed the five thousand and how many baskets of leftovers you gathered? 10 And the seven loaves that fed the four thousand and how many large baskets of leftovers you gathered? 11 Don’t you know that I wasn’t talking about bread? But be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he wasn’t telling them to be on their guard for yeast used in making bread. No, he was telling them to watch out for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s declaration about Jesus

13 Now when Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Human One[a] is?”

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

15 He said, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Then Jesus replied, “Happy are you, Simon son of Jonah, because no human has shown this to you. Rather my Father who is in heaven has shown you. 18 I tell you that you are Peter.[b] And I’ll build my church on this rock. The gates of the underworld won’t be able to stand against it. 19 I’ll give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Anything you fasten on earth will be fastened in heaven. Anything you loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered the disciples not to tell anybody that he was the Christ.

First prediction of Jesus’ death and resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and legal experts, and that he had to be killed and raised on the third day. 22 Then Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him: “God forbid, Lord! This won’t happen to you.” 23 But he turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a stone that could make me stumble, for you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”

Saving and losing life

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. 25 All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them. 26 Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives? 27 For the Human One[c] is about to come with the majesty of his Father with his angels. And then he will repay each one for what that person has done. 28 I assure you that some standing here won’t die before they see the Human One[d] coming in his kingdom.”

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 16:13 Or Son of Man
  2. Matthew 16:18 Peter means rock.
  3. Matthew 16:27 Or Son of Man
  4. Matthew 16:28 Or Son of Man