Matthew 16
16
Chapter 16
The Pharisees ask again to see a miracle
1Some Pharisees and Sadducees went to see Jesus. They wanted to test him to see what he would do. They asked him, ‘Do something powerful for us to see. Then we will believe that God has sent you.’
2Jesus answered them, ‘Sometimes the sky is red in the evening. Then you say, “Tomorrow the weather will be good.” 3Sometimes in the morning the sky is red and there are dark clouds. Then you say, “Today there will be a storm.” So you look at the sky and you know what the weather will be. But special things are happening now. And you do not understand what they mean. 4The people who are alive today are very bad. They do not obey God. They want God to show them something powerful. But God will not do this for them. They will only see the same powerful thing that God did for Jonah.’
Then Jesus went away and left them.
Jesus talks about the Pharisees and the Sadducees
5Jesus and his disciples sailed over to the other side of the lake. His disciples forgot to take any bread with them. 6Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful! Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’
7The disciples began to talk to each other about this. ‘Jesus is saying this because we did not bring any bread with us,’ they said.
8Jesus knew what they were talking about. So he said to them, ‘You should not be arguing with each other about the bread. You should trust me more than you do. 9You still do not understand. You should remember that I used five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men. Think about how many baskets you filled with pieces of food after the meal. 10Also remember that I used seven loaves of bread to give food to 4,000 men. And think about how many baskets you filled with pieces of food then. 11I spoke to you about the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I said that you must not accept it. You should understand now that I was not speaking about bread.’
12Then the disciples understood what Jesus was talking about. They did not need to be careful about the yeast that they used in their bread. Instead, they must be careful about what the Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching. They must not accept it. #16:12 People put yeast into flour and water to make bread. The yeast grows in the bread and it makes the bread rise. The Pharisees were doing wrong things. The people saw what the Pharisees did. And then the people did the same bad things. This is like yeast that is growing through the bread.
Peter says who Jesus is
13Jesus went into the part of the country near Caesarea Philippi. While he was there, he asked his disciples, ‘When people talk about the Son of Man, who do they say that he is?’
14They replied, ‘Some people say that you are John the Baptist. Other people say that you are Elijah. And some other people say that you are Jeremiah, or another prophet of God.’
15‘But what do you think?’ Jesus asked them. ‘Who do you say that I am?’
16Simon Peter answered him. ‘You are the Messiah. You are the Son of God, the God who lives for ever.’
17Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, God has blessed you! No person on earth taught you that. God, my Father in heaven, has shown you this. 18I tell you this. You are called Peter, which means a rock. And I will build my church on this rock. #16:18 Jesus used a house that someone builds on a rock as a picture. The house is like the church. The things that Peter would teach are like the stones under the house. One day soon, Jesus would go back to live in heaven again. Then Peter would be a leader of the disciples to teach the people the true things about God. The people who obeyed Jesus' words would be called the church. Not even the power of death will destroy my church. 19I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. You will tell people here on earth what is right for them to do. And you will tell them what is not right for them to do. God in heaven will give you this authority. He will agree with what you say.’
20Then Jesus said strongly to his disciples, ‘Do not tell anyone that I am the Messiah.’ #16:20 The people were waiting for God to send someone special to them. They called this person the Messiah. Jesus knew that the people had wrong ideas about this person. They thought that he would save them from the Roman government. They thought that he would be a great soldier. So Jesus wanted to teach the people what the Messiah would really do. Then they would understand about the way in which God rules his people. They would also understand that Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus tells his disciples how he would die
21After this, Jesus began to explain everything to his disciples. He told them, ‘I must go to Jerusalem. There, I will suffer in many ways. The important Jews, the leaders of the priests, and the teachers of God's Law will hurt me. Then people will kill me. But three days later, God will cause me to become alive again.’ #16:21 Jesus told his disciples what would happen to him. This is the first time that he told them. But they did not understand his words.
22Then Peter took Jesus away from the other disciples. He began to tell Jesus that he must not say things like that. ‘No, Lord! God will never let this happen to you!’ he said to Jesus.
23Jesus turned round and said to Peter, ‘Satan, go away from me! I must obey God. But you are trying to stop me. Your thoughts do not come from God. Instead, you are thinking like men think.’
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘A person who wants to come with me must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. He must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come with me as my disciple. 25Whoever wants to keep his life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me will have true life. 26A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him. There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life. 27I tell you all this because I, the Son of Man, will come back to this earth with God's angels. When I come, I will have the powerful beauty of my Father. I will see what each person has done on earth. Then I will pay them what is right. 28I tell you this: When I, the Son of Man, come with power, some people who are standing here will see me at that time. Before they die, they will see me begin to rule in my kingdom.’
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Matthew 16
16
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, wanting to trick him. So they asked him to show them a miracle from God.
2Jesus answered, “At sunset you say we will have good weather, because the sky is red. 3And in the morning you say that it will be a rainy day, because the sky is dark and red. You see these signs in the sky and know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that I am doing now, but you don’t know their meaning. 4Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign, but they will not be given any sign, except the sign of Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings
5Jesus’ followers went across the lake, but they had forgotten to bring bread. 6Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
7His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we forgot to bring bread.”
8Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. 9Do you still not understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the five thousand? And remember that you filled many baskets with the leftovers? 10Or the seven loaves of bread that fed the four thousand and the many baskets you filled then also? 11I was not talking to you about bread. Why don’t you understand that? I am telling you to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 12Then the followers understood that Jesus was not telling them to beware of the yeast used in bread but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ
13When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his followers, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah, and still others say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15Then Jesus asked them, “And who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because no person taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. 18So I tell you, you are Peter. On this rock I will build my church, and the power of death will not be able to defeat it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things that God does not allow, and the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.” 20Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone he was the Christ.
Jesus Says that He Must Die
21From that time on Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem, where the Jewish elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. He told them he must be killed and then be raised from the dead on the third day.
22Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that. He said, “God save you from those things, Lord! Those things will never happen to you!”
23Then Jesus said to Peter, “Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important.”
24Then Jesus said to his followers, “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me. 25Those who want to save their lives will give up true life, and those who give up their lives for me will have true life. 26It is worthless to have the whole world if they lose their souls. They could never pay enough to buy back their souls. 27The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. At that time, he will reward them for what they have done. 28I tell you the truth, some people standing here will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom before they die.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.