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.

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

(Matthew 15.32-39)

8 One day another large crowd gathered around Jesus. They had not brought along anything to eat. So Jesus called his disciples together and said, ² “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me for three days, and they don't have anything to eat. ³ Some of them live a long way from here. If I send them away hungry, they might faint on their way home.”

⁴ The disciples said, “This place is like a desert. Where can we find enough food to feed such a crowd?”

⁵ Jesus asked them how much food they had. They replied, “Seven small loaves of bread.”^[a]

⁶ After Jesus told the crowd to sit down, he took the seven loaves and gave thanks. He then broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples, who passed them out to the crowd. ⁷ They also had a few little fish, and after Jesus had blessed these, he told the disciples to pass them around.

^8-9 The crowd of about 4,000 people ate all they wanted, and the leftovers filled seven large baskets.

As soon as Jesus had sent the people away, ¹⁰ he got into the boat with the disciples and crossed to the territory near Dalmanutha.^[b]

A Sign from Heaven

(Matthew 16.1-4)

^11 (A) The Pharisees came out and started an argument with Jesus. They wanted to test him by asking for a sign from heaven. ^12 (B) Jesus groaned and said, “Why are you always looking for a sign? I can promise you that you will not be given one!” ¹³ Then he left them. He again got into a boat and crossed over to the other side of the lake.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod

(Matthew 16.5-12)

¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ^15 (C) Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”^[c]

¹⁶ The disciples talked this over and said to each other, “He must be saying this because we don't have any bread.”

¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you talking about not having any bread? Don't you understand? Are your minds still closed? ^18 (D) Are your eyes blind and your ears deaf? Don't you remember ¹⁹ how many baskets of leftovers you picked up when I fed those 5,000 people with only five small loaves of bread?”

“Yes,” the disciples answered. “There were twelve baskets.”

²⁰ Jesus then asked, “And how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up when I broke seven small loaves of bread for those 4,000 people?”

“Seven,” they answered.

²¹ “Don't you know what I am talking about by now?” Jesus asked.

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² As Jesus and his disciples were going into Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man. ²³ Jesus took him by the hand and led him out of the village, where he spit into the man's eyes. He placed his hands on the blind man and asked him if he could see anything. ²⁴ The man looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Once again Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes, and this time the man stared. His eyes were healed, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus said to him, “You may return home now, but don't go into the village.”

Who Is Jesus?

(Matthew 16.13-20; Luke 9.18-21)

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the town of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “What do people say about me?”

^28 (E) The disciples answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah.^[d] Others say you are one of the prophets.”

^29 (F) Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?”

“You are the Messiah!” Peter replied.

³⁰ Jesus warned the disciples not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

(Matthew 16.21-28; Luke 9.22-27)

³¹ Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.” ³² Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. ³³ But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.”

^34 (G) Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. ^35 (H) If you want to save your life,^[e] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me and for the good news, you will save it. ³⁶ What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? ³⁷ What could you give to get back your soul?

³⁸ Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Who Is Jesus?

(Matthew 16.13-19; Mark 8.27-29)

¹⁸ When Jesus was alone praying, his disciples came to him, and he asked them, “What do people say about me?”

^19 (A) They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist or Elijah^[a] or a prophet from long ago who has come back to life.”

^20 (B) Jesus then asked, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah sent from God.”

²¹ Jesus strictly warned his disciples not to tell anyone about this.

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death

(Matthew 16.20-28; Mark 8.30—9.1)

²² Jesus told his disciples, “The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. They will reject him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”

^23 (C) Then Jesus said to all the people:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross every day and follow me. ^24 (D) If you want to save your life,^[b] you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. ²⁵ What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life? ²⁶ If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of his Father and the holy angels. ²⁷ You can be sure some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom.