Matthew 16
New American Standard Bible
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. 2 But He replied to them, “[b](D)When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 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? 4 (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.
5 And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and (G)beware of the [f]leaven of the (H)Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” 8 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? 9 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
- Matthew 16:1 I.e., confirming miracle
- Matthew 16:2 Early mss do not contain the rest of v 2 and v 3
- Matthew 16:3 Lit face
- Matthew 16:4 I.e., confirming miracle
- Matthew 16:4 I.e., confirming miracle
- Matthew 16:6 I.e., fermented dough
- Matthew 16:11 I.e., as a symbol of corruption
- Matthew 16:12 I.e., fermented dough
- Matthew 16:14 Gr Elias
- Matthew 16:14 Gr Jeremias
- Matthew 16:16 I.e., Messiah
- Matthew 16:17 I.e., son of Jonah
- Matthew 16:18 Gr Petros, a stone
- Matthew 16:18 Gr petra, massive rock formation; bedrock
- Matthew 16:19 I.e., forbid
- Matthew 16:19 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
- Matthew 16:19 I.e., permit
- Matthew 16:19 Gr fut. pft. pass. tense
- Matthew 16:20 I.e., Messiah
- Matthew 16:21 Two early mss Jesus Christ
- Matthew 16:21 Or show
- Matthew 16:22 Lit (God be) merciful to You
- Matthew 16:22 Lit be
- Matthew 16:23 Lit the things of God
- Matthew 16:25 Or soul
- Matthew 16:25 Or soul
- Matthew 16:26 I.e., suffers the loss of
- Matthew 16:27 Lit activity
Matthew 16
The Message
Some Bad Yeast
16 1-4 Some Pharisees and Sadducees badgered him again, pressing him to prove himself to them. He told them, “You have a saying that goes, ‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.’ You find it easy enough to forecast the weather—why can’t you read the signs of the times? An evil and wanton generation is always wanting signs and wonders. The only sign you’ll get is the Jonah sign.” Then he spun around and walked away.
5-6 On their way to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring along bread. In the meantime, Jesus said to them, “Keep a sharp eye out for Pharisee-Sadducee yeast.”
7-12 Thinking he was scolding them for forgetting bread, they discussed in whispers what to do. Jesus knew what they were doing and said, “Why all these worried whispers about forgetting the bread? Baby believers! Haven’t you caught on yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves of bread and the five thousand people, and how many baskets of fragments you picked up? Or the seven loaves that fed four thousand, and how many baskets of leftovers you collected? Haven’t you realized yet that bread isn’t the problem? The problem is yeast, Pharisee-Sadducee yeast.” Then they got it: that he wasn’t concerned about eating, but teaching—the Pharisee-Sadducee kind of teaching.
Son of Man, Son of God
13 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17-18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
20 He swore the disciples to secrecy. He made them promise they would tell no one that he was the Messiah.
You’re Not in the Driver’s Seat
21-22 Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!”
23 But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”
24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
27-28 “Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift. This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you standing here are going to see it take place, see the Son of Man in kingdom glory.”
Matthew 16
The Voice
16 They came to Him together, a band of Pharisees and a band of Sadducees, trying to trick and trap Him.
Now at this time in Judea, the Jews, the children of Israel, are a diverse bunch. One group of Jews, which Jesus has already encountered, is called the Pharisees. Another group of Jews is called the Sadducees. The two groups do not agree about how to read Scripture, they do not see eye-to-eye, and they do not get along. They rarely partner with each other, but here they are partnering—because they are so perplexed, befuddled, and panicked about this Jesus.
They asked Him for a sign from heaven.
Jesus: 2 At evening time, you read the sky as a sign—you say, “The weather will be fine because the sky is shading red,” 3 and in the morning, you read the sky as a sign, saying, “The red, stormy sky tells me that today we will have storms.” So you are skilled at interpreting the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times? 4 Only a cheating and evil generation such as this would beg for a miraculous sign from heaven. The only sign you will get will be the sign of Jonah.
And then Jesus left them and went away.
5 When next the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee, they forgot to bring any bread with them.
Jesus: 6 Be careful; avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
7 The disciples were not quite sure what Jesus meant, so they discussed His warning among themselves.
Disciples: He must mean not to buy any bread from a baker who associates with the Pharisees or Sadducees. He must have given us this warning because we showed up here without any bread.
8 Jesus knew what the disciples were saying among themselves, and He took them to task.
Jesus: You men of little faith, do you really think that I care which baker you patronize? After spending so much time with Me, do you still not understand what I mean? So you showed up without bread; why talk about it? 9-10 Don’t you remember that we fed 5,000 men with five rounds of flatbread? Don’t you remember that we fed 4,000 men with seven rounds of bread? Don’t you remember what excess, what abundance there was—how many broken pieces and crusts you collected after everyone had eaten and was sated? 11 So when I speak about leaven, I am not talking about what we will eat for dinner. I say again, avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
12 And then the disciples understood: Jesus was not talking about the bread you eat, but about the food that feeds your soul. He was speaking in metaphor; He was warning them against imbibing the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13 Jesus then went to Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus (to His disciples): Who do people say the Son of Man is?
Disciples: 14 Some say John the Baptist.[a] And some say Elijah. And some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.
Jesus: 15 And you? Who do you say that I am?
Peter: 16 You are the Anointed One. You are the Son of the living God.
Jesus: 17 Simon, son of Jonah, your knowledge is a mark of blessing. For you didn’t learn this truth from your friends or from teachers or from sages you’ve met on the way. You learned it from My Father in heaven. 18 This is why I have called you Peter (rock): for on this rock I will build My church. The church will reign triumphant even at the gates of hell. 19 Peter, I give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
With Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Anointed One, the foundation of the church is laid. In the days ahead, the church will storm the gates of hell and nothing will be able to stop it. No darkness, no doubt, no deception—not even death will be able to stand against it.
20 And Jesus ordered His disciples to keep these teachings secret.
Jesus: You must tell no one that I am the Anointed.
21 Then Jesus began to tell the disciples about what would happen to Him. He said He would have to go to Jerusalem. There the elders, chief priests, and scribes would meet Him; He would suffer at their hands; and He would be killed. But three days later, He would be raised to new life.
22 As Jesus spoke of the things to come, Peter took Him aside. Sad and confused, and maybe a little bit prideful, Peter chastised Jesus.
Peter: No, Lord! Never! These things that You are saying—they will never happen to You!
Jesus (turning to Peter): 23 Get away from Me, Satan!
This is the very thing He said to the devil during those wilderness temptations.
You are a stumbling block before Me! You are not thinking about God’s story; you are thinking about some distorted story of fallen, broken people. 24 (to His disciples) If you want to follow Me, you must deny yourself the things you think you want. You must pick up your cross and follow Me. 25 The person who wants to save his life must lose it, and she who loses her life for Me will find it. 26 Look, does it make sense to truly become successful, but then to hand over your very soul? What is your soul really worth? 27 The Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory, with His heavenly messengers, and then He will reward each person for what has been done. 28 I tell you this: some of you standing here, you will see the Son of Man come into His kingdom before you taste death.
Footnotes
- 16:14 Literally, John who immersed, to show repentance
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.