Matthieu 16

Asked for a sign from heaven

¹Pharisees and Sadducees came to put Jesus to the test. They asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ²He answered them, “In the evening you say, ‘It will be fine weather, because the sky is red.’^{a 3}And in the morning you say, ‘There will be a storm today, because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the face of the sky, but you cannot read the signs of the times.

⁴An evil, unfaithful generation goes looking for a sign, but the only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

Watch out for their yeast

⁵When the disciples reached the other side of the lake, they found that they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶Jesus told them, “Keep your eyes open, and guard yourselves against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷They talked it over among themselves and said, “He says that because we brought no bread.” ⁸Jesus knew what they were saying, and he said, “Why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread, you who have so little faith? ⁹Do you still not understand? Have you forgotten the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? ¹⁰Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many large basketfuls you gathered? ¹¹How can you fail to see that I was not talking to you about bread? Guard yourselves, I say, against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹²Then they realized that he was not warning them against the yeast used in bread, but against what the Pharisees and Sadducees taught.

Peter’s answer at Caesarea Philippi

¹³When Jesus reached the district around Caesarea Philippi, he put a question to his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or another of the prophets.” ¹⁵Then he asked them, “And you, who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷Jesus said to him in reply, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah! No human being showed you this; it was my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. The gates of the realm of the dead will not overpower it.^{b 19}I will hand you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”^{cd 20}Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Jesus speaks of his coming death

²¹From then on Jesus began to show his disciples plainly that he must go to Jerusalem. There he would suffer much from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes; he would be killed, and on the third day he would be raised. ²²Peter drew him aside and began to object. “God forbid it, Lord!” he said. “Nothing like this will ever happen to you!” ²³Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block in my way. Your mind is not on God’s purposes but on human ones.”

Taking up the cross

²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, “Anyone who wishes to come after me must say no to self, pick up their cross, and follow me. ²⁵Those who want to secure their own life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ²⁶Suppose someone gains the whole world but forfeits their life. What good will that do them? Or what could anyone give to buy back their life? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person for what they have done. ²⁸Truly I tell you, among those standing here are some who will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”^e