Chronological

16 Then some P’rushim and Tz’dukim came to trap Yeshua by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from Heaven. ² But his response was, “When it is evening, you say, ‘Fair weather ahead,’ because the sky is red; ³ and in the morning you say, ‘Storm today!’ because the sky is red and overcast. You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times! ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation is asking for a sign? It will certainly not be given a sign — except the sign of Yonah!” With that he left them and went off.

⁵ The talmidim, in crossing to the other side of the lake, had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ So when Yeshua said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against the hametz of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim,” ⁷ they thought he said it because they hadn’t brought bread. ⁸ But Yeshua, aware of this, said, “Such little trust you have! Why are you talking with each other about not having bread? ⁹ Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you filled? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you filled? ¹¹ How can you possibly think I was talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves from the hametz of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim!” ¹² Then they understood — they were to guard themselves not from yeast for bread but from the teaching of the P’rushim and Tz’dukim.

¹³ When Yeshua came into the territory around Caesarea Philippi, he asked his talmidim, “Who are people saying the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They said, “Well, some say Yochanan the Immerser, others Eliyahu, still others Yirmeyahu or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” ¹⁶ Shim‘on Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ “Shim‘on Bar-Yochanan,” Yeshua said to him, “how blessed you are! For no human being revealed this to you, no, it was my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ I also tell you this: you are Kefa,” [which means ‘Rock,’] “and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he warned the talmidim not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

²¹ From that time on, Yeshua began making it clear to his talmidim that he had to go to Yerushalayim and endure much suffering at the hands of the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that on the third day, he had to be raised to life. ²² Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him, “Heaven be merciful, Lord! By no means will this happen to you!” ²³ But Yeshua turned his back on Kefa, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God’s perspective!”

²⁴ Then Yeshua told his talmidim, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ What good will it do someone if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or, what can a person give in exchange for his life? ²⁷ For the Son of Man will come in his Father’s glory, with his angels; and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. ²⁸ Yes! I tell you that there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom!”

8 It was during that time that another large crowd gathered, and they had nothing to eat. Yeshua called his talmidim to him and said to them, ² “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them off to their homes hungry, they will collapse on the way; some of them have come a long distance.” ⁴ His talmidim said to him, “How can anyone find enough bread to satisfy these people in a remote place like this?” ⁵ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them. They answered, “Seven.” ⁶ He then told the crowd to sit down on the ground, took the seven loaves, made a b’rakhah, broke the loaves and gave them to his talmidim to serve to the people. ⁷ They also had a few fish; making a b’rakhah over them he also ordered these to be served. ⁸ The people ate their fill; and the talmidim took up the leftover pieces, seven large basketsful. ⁹ About four thousand were there. ¹⁰ After sending them away, Yeshua got into the boat with his talmidim and went off to the district of Dalmanuta.

¹¹ The P’rushim came and began arguing with him; they wanted him to give them a sign from Heaven, because they were out to trap him. ¹² With a sigh that came straight from his heart, he said, “Why does this generation want a sign? Yes! I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation!” ¹³ With that, he left them, got into the boat again and went off to the other side of the lake.

¹⁴ Now the talmidim had forgotten to bring bread and had with them in the boat only one loaf. ¹⁵ So when Yeshua said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves from the hametz of the P’rushim and the hametz of Herod,” ¹⁶ they thought he had said it because they had no bread. ¹⁷ But, aware of this, he said, “Why are you talking with each other about having no bread? Don’t you see or understand yet? Have your hearts been made like stone? ¹⁸ You have eyes — don’t you see? You have ears — don’t you hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” “Twelve,” they answered him. ²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they answered. ²¹ He said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”

²² They came to Beit-Tzaidah. Some people brought him a blind man and begged Yeshua to touch him. ²³ Taking the blind man’s hand, he led him outside the town. He spit in his eyes, put his hands on him and asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like walking trees.” ²⁵ Then he put his hands on the blind man’s eyes again. He peered intently, and his eyesight was restored, so that he could see everything distinctly. ²⁶ Yeshua sent him home with the words, “Don’t go into town.”

²⁷ Yeshua and his talmidim went on to the towns of Caesarea Philippi. On the way, he asked his talmidim, “Who are people saying I am?” ²⁸ “Some say you are Yochanan the Immerser,” they told him, “others say Eliyahu, and still others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ “But you,” he asked, “who do you say I am?” Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach.” ³⁰ Then Yeshua warned them not to tell anyone about him. ³¹ He began teaching them that the Son of Man had to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that after three days, he had to rise again. ³² He spoke very plainly about it. Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him. ³³ But, turning around and looking at his talmidim, he rebuked Kefa. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said, “For your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God’s perspective!”

³⁴ Then Yeshua called the crowd and his talmidim to him and told them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it. ³⁶ Indeed, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? ³⁷ What could a person give in exchange for his life? ³⁸ For if someone is ashamed of me and of what I say in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.

¹⁸ Once when Yeshua was praying in private, his talmidim were with him; and he asked them, “Who are the crowds saying I am?” ¹⁹ They answered, “Yochanan the Immerser; but others say Eliyahu, and others that some prophet of long ago has risen.” ²⁰ “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say I am?” Kefa answered, “The Mashiach of God!” ²¹ However, he, warning them, ordered them to tell this to no one, ²² adding, “The Son of Man has to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and he has to be put to death; but on the third day, he has to be raised to life.”

²³ Then to everyone he said, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake daily and keep following me. ²⁴ For whoever tries to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life on my account will save it. ²⁵ What will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but destroys or forfeits his own life? ²⁶ For if someone is ashamed of me and of what I say, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ I tell you the truth, there are some people standing here who will not experience death until they see the Kingdom of God.”