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: EASY
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MissionAssist 2018
Matthew 16
16
A demand for a sign from heaven
(Mark 8.11-13; Luke 12.54-56)
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tried to test him by asking for a sign from heaven.#Mt 12.38; Lk 11.16. 2He told them:
If the sky is red in the evening, you say the weather will be good. 3But 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.#16.2,3 If the sky is red…what is happening now: The words of Jesus in verses 2 and 3 are not in some manuscripts. 4You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will be given is what happened to Jonah.#16.4 what happened to Jonah: Jonah was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights. See 12.40.#Mt 12.39; Lk 11.29.
Then Jesus left.
The yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
(Mark 8.14-21)
5The disciples had forgotten to bring any bread when they crossed the lake.#16.5 crossed the lake: To the east side. 6Jesus then warned them, “Watch out! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”#Lk 12.1.
7The disciples talked this over and said to each other, “He must be saying this because we didn't bring along any bread.”
8Jesus knew what they were thinking and said:
You don't have much faith! Why are you talking about not having any bread? 9Don't you understand? Have you forgotten about the five thousand people and all those baskets of leftovers from just five loaves of bread?#Mt 14.17-21. 10And what about the four thousand people and all those baskets of leftovers from only seven loaves of bread?#Mt 15.34-38. 11Don't you know by now that I am not talking to you about bread? Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!
12Finally, 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)
13When Jesus and his disciples were near the town of Caesarea Philippi, he asked them, “What do people say about the Son of Man?”
14The disciples answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptist or perhaps Elijah#16.14 Elijah: Many of the Jewish people expected the prophet Elijah to come and prepare the way for the Messiah. or Jeremiah or some other prophet.”#Mt 14.1,2; Mk 6.14,15; Lk 9.7,8.
15Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter spoke up, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”#Jn 6.68,69.
17Jesus 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. 18So 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. 19I 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 that you don't allow.#Mt 18.18; Jn 20.23.
20Jesus told his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Jesus speaks about his suffering and death
(Mark 8.31—9.1; Luke 9.22-27)
21From 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.”
22Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. He said, “God would never let this happen to you, Lord!”
23Jesus 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.”
24Then 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.#Mt 10.38; Lk 14.27. 25If you want to save your life,#16.25 life: In verses 25 and 26 the same Greek word is translated “life”, “yourself”, and “soul”. you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it.#Mt 10.39; Lk 17.33; Jn 12.25. 26What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul?
27The 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.#Mt 25.31; Ps 62.12; Ro 2.6. 28I promise you that some of those standing here will not die before they see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012