A Demand for a Sign from Heaven

(Mark 8.11-13; Luke 12.54-56)

16 ^(A) The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tried to test him by asking for a sign from heaven. ² He told them:

If the sky is red in the evening, you say the weather will be good. ³ But if the sky is red and gloomy in the morning, you say it is going to rain. You can tell what the weather will be like by looking at the sky. But you don't understand what is happening now.^{[a] 4 (B)} You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will be given is what happened to Jonah.^[b]

Then Jesus left.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

(Mark 8.14-21)

⁵ The disciples had forgotten to bring any bread when they crossed the lake.^{[c] 6 (C)} Jesus then warned them, “Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷ The disciples talked this over and said to each other, “He must be saying this because we didn't bring along any bread.”

⁸ Jesus knew what they were thinking and said:

You surely don't have much faith! Why are you talking about not having any bread? ^9 (D) Don't you understand? Have you forgotten about the 5,000 people and all those baskets of leftovers from just five loaves of bread? ^10 (E) And what about the 4,000 people and all those baskets of leftovers from only seven loaves of bread? ¹¹ Don't you know by now that I am not talking to you about bread? Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!

¹² Finally, the disciples understood that Jesus wasn't talking about the yeast used to make bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Who Is Jesus?

(Mark 8.27-30; Luke 9.18-21)

¹³ When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, “What do people say about the Son of Man?”

^14 (F) The disciples answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah^[d] or Jeremiah or some other prophet.”

¹⁵ Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?”

^16 (G) Simon Peter spoke up, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus told him:

Simon, son of Jonah, you are blessed! You didn't discover this on your own. It was shown to you by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ So I will call you Peter, which means “a rock.” On this rock I will build my church, and death itself will not have any power over it. ^19 (H) I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and God in heaven will allow whatever you allow on earth. But he will not allow anything you don't allow.

²⁰ Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone he was the Messiah.

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

(Mark 8.31—9.1; Luke 9.22-27)

²¹ From then on, Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “I must go to Jerusalem. There the nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make me suffer terribly. I will be killed, but three days later I will rise to life.”

²² Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. He said, “God would never let this happen to you, Lord!”

²³ Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Satan, get away from me! You're in my way because you think like everyone else and not like God.”

^24 (I) Then Jesus said to his disciples:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. ^25 (J) If you want to save your life,^[e] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it. ²⁶ What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul?

^27 (K) The Son of Man will soon come in the glory of his Father and with his angels to reward all people for what they have done. ²⁸ I promise you some of those standing here will not die before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.

The People of Israel Are Counted

1 ^(A) The people of Israel had left Egypt and were living in the Sinai Desert. Then on the first day of the second month^[a] of the second year, when Moses was in the sacred tent the Lord said:

^2-3 I want you and Aaron to find out how many people are in each of Israel's clans and families. And make a list of all the men 20 years and older who are able to fight in battle. ^4-15 The following twelve family leaders, one from each tribe, will help you:

^16-17 Moses and Aaron, together with these twelve tribal leaders, ¹⁸ called together the people that same day. They were counted according to their clans and families. Then Moses and the others listed the names of the men twenty years and older, ¹⁹ just as the Lord had commanded. ^20-46 The number of men from each tribe who were at least 20 years old and strong enough to fight in Israel's army was as follows:

The total number of men registered by Moses, Aaron, and the twelve leaders was 603,550.

⁴⁷ But those from the Levi tribe were not included ⁴⁸ because the Lord had said to Moses:

⁴⁹ When you count the Israelites, do not include those from the Levi tribe. ^50-51 Instead, give them the job of caring for the sacred tent, its furnishings, and the objects used for worship. They will camp around the tent, and whenever you move, they will take it down, carry it to the new camp, and set it up again. Anyone else who tries to go near it must be put to death.

⁵² The rest of the Israelites will camp in their own groups and under their own banners. ⁵³ But the Levites will camp around the sacred tent to make sure that no one goes near it and makes me furious with the Israelites.

⁵⁴ The people of Israel did everything the Lord had commanded.

Instructions for Setting Up Israel's Camp

2 The Lord told Moses and Aaron ² how the Israelites should arrange their camp:

Each tribe must set up camp under its own banner and under the flags of its ancestral families. These camps will be arranged around the sacred tent, but not close to it.

^3-4 Judah and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the east side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 74,600 troops of the tribe of Judah will be arranged by divisions and led by Nahshon son of Amminadab. ^5-6 On one side of Judah will be the tribe of Issachar, with Nethanel son of Zuar as the leader of its 54,400 troops. ^7-8 On the other side will be the tribe of Zebulun, with Eliab son of Helon as the leader of its 57,400 troops. ⁹ These 186,400 troops will march into battle first.

^10-11 Reuben and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the south side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 46,500 troops of the tribe of Reuben will be arranged by divisions and led by Elizur son of Shedeur. ^12-13 On one side of Reuben will be the tribe of Simeon, with Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai as the leader of its 59,300 troops. ^14-15 On the other side will be the tribe of Gad, with Eliasaph son of Deuel as the leader of its 45,650 troops. ¹⁶ These 151,450 troops will march into battle second.

¹⁷ Marching behind Reuben will be the Levites, arranged in groups, just as they are camped. They will carry the sacred tent and their own banners.

^18-19 Ephraim and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the west side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 40,500 troops of the tribe of Ephraim will be arranged by divisions and led by Elishama son of Ammihud. ^20-21 On one side of Ephraim will be the tribe of Manasseh, with Gamaliel son of Pedahzur as the leader of its 32,200 troops. ^22-23 On the other side will be the tribe of Benjamin, with Abidan son of Gideoni as the leader of its 35,400 troops. ²⁴ These 108,100 troops will march into battle third.

^25-26 Dan and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the north side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 62,700 troops of the tribe of Dan will be arranged by divisions and led by Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ^27-28 On one side of Dan will be the tribe of Asher, with Pagiel son of Ochran as the leader of its 41,500 troops. ^29-30 On the other side will be the tribe of Naphtali with Ahira son of Enan as the leader of its 53,400 troops. ³¹ These 157,600 troops will march into battle last.

³² So all the Israelites in the camp were counted according to their ancestral families. The troops were arranged by divisions and totaled 603,550. ³³ The only Israelites not included were the Levites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁴ Israel did everything the Lord had told Moses. They arranged their camp according to clans and families, with each tribe under its own banner. And that was the order by which they marched into battle.

Everything Has Its Time

What God Has Given Us To Do

⁹ What do we gain by all our hard work? ¹⁰ I have seen what difficult things God demands of us. ¹¹ God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done, and he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. ¹² I know the best thing we can do is to always enjoy life, ¹³ because God's gift to us is the happiness we get from our food and drink and from the work we do. ¹⁴ Everything God has done will last forever; nothing he does can ever be changed. God has done all this, so that we will worship him.