Pharisees Test Jesus

16 ^(A)The ^(B)Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they ^(C)asked Him to show them a ^[a]sign from heaven. ² But He replied to them, “^[b](D)When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(E)Do you know how to discern the ^[c]appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? ^4 (F)An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a ^[d]sign; and a ^[e]sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.

⁵ And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and ^(G)beware of the ^[f]leaven of the ^(H)Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “^(I)You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand or remember ^(J)the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? ¹⁰ Or ^(K)the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? ¹¹ How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But ^(L)beware of the ^[g]leaven of the ^(M)Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the ^(N)Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

^13 (O)Now when Jesus came into the district of ^(P)Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that ^(Q)the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(R)John the Baptist; and others, ^[h](S)Elijah; but still others, ^[i]Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are ^[j](T)the Christ, ^(U)the Son of ^(V)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, ^(W)Simon ^[k]Barjona, because ^(X)flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are ^[l](Y)Peter, and upon this ^[m]rock I will build My church; and the gates of ^(Z)Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(AA)the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and ^(AB)whatever you bind on earth ^[n]shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth ^[o]shall have been loosed in heaven.” ^20 (AC)Then He ^[p]warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was ^[q](AD)the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (AE)From that time ^[r]Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and ^(AF)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. ²² Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “^[s]God forbid it, Lord! This shall never ^[t]happen to You.” ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^(AG)Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on ^[u]God’s interests, but man’s.”

Discipleship Is Costly

²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and ^(AH)take up his cross and follow Me. ²⁵ For ^(AI)whoever wishes to save his ^[v]life will lose it; but whoever loses his ^[w]life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the ^(AJ)Son of Man ^(AK)is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and ^(AL)will then ^[x]repay every man according to his ^[y]deeds.

²⁸ “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the ^(AM)Son of Man ^(AN)coming in His kingdom.”

The Transfiguration

17 ^(A)Six days later Jesus *took with Him ^(B)Peter and ^[a]James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ² And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, ^(C)I will make three ^[b]tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, ^(D)a voice out of the cloud said, “^(E)This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell ^[c]face down to the ground and were terrified. ⁷ And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and ^(F)do not be afraid.” ⁸ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

^9 (G)As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “^(H)Tell the vision to no one until ^(I)the Son of Man has ^(J)risen from the dead.” ¹⁰ And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that ^(K)Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did ^[d]to him whatever they wished. So also ^(L)the Son of Man is going to suffer ^[e]at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

The Demoniac

^14 (M)When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, ¹⁵ “^[f]Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a ^[g](N)lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured ^[h]at once.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” ²⁰ And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, ^(O)if you have faith ^[i]the size of ^(P)a mustard seed, you will say to ^(Q)this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and ^(R)nothing will be impossible to you. ²¹ [^[j](S)But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

^22 (T)And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be ^[k]delivered into the hands of men; ²³ and ^(U)they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Tribute Money

²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, those who collected ^(V)the ^[l]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay ^(W)the ^[m]two-drachma tax?” ²⁵ He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect ^(X)customs or ^(Y)poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” ²⁶ When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are ^[n]exempt. ²⁷ However, so that we do not ^[o](Z)offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find ^[p]a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Rank in the Kingdom

18 ^(A)At that ^[a]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “^(B)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And He called a child to Himself and set him ^[b]before them, ³ and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you ^[c]are converted and ^(C)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; ⁶ but ^(D)whoever ^(E)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it ^[d]would be better for him to have a ^[e]heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

⁷ “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For ^(F)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸ “^(G)If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than ^[f]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. ^9 (H)If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than ^[g]to have two eyes and be cast into the ^[h](I)fiery hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that ^(J)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹ [^[i](K)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

¹² “What do you think? ^(L)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³ If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will ^[j]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

¹⁵ “^(M)If your brother sins^[k], go and ^[l]show him his fault ^[m]in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ^(N)by the mouth of two or three witnesses every ^[n]fact may be confirmed. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, ^(O)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(P)let him be to you as ^[o]a Gentile and ^[p]a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I say to you, ^(Q)whatever you ^[q]bind on earth ^[r]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^[s]loose on earth ^[t]shall have been loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, ^(R)it shall be done for them ^[u]by My Father who is in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three have gathered together in My name, ^(S)I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

²¹ Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, ^(T)how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to ^(U)seven times?” ²² Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to ^(V)seventy times seven.

²³ “For this reason ^(W)the kingdom of heaven ^[v]may be compared to a king who wished to ^(X)settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴ When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ^[w]ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ But since he ^[x](Y)did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him ^(Z)to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. ²⁶ So the slave fell to the ground and ^(AA)prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ ²⁷ And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and ^(AB)forgave him the ^[y]debt. ²⁸ But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred ^[z]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ ³⁰ But he was unwilling ^[aa]and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. ³¹ So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. ³² Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ^33 (AC)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. ^35 (AD)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from ^[ab]your heart.”