The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory

A ^(A)Michtam of David.

Prayer with Confidence in Final Salvation

A Prayer of David.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Seek a Sign^(A)

16 Then the ^(B)Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. ² He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; ³ and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^[a]Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ^4 (C)A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of ^[b]the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees^(D)

⁵ Now ^(E)when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, ^(F)“Take heed and beware of the ^[c]leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

⁷ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”

⁸ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you ^[d]have brought no bread? ^9 (G)Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ^10 (H)Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹ How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the ^[e]leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the ^[f]doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ^(I)

¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ^(J)“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴ So they said, ^(K)“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or ^(L)one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do ^(M)you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, ^(N)“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, ^(O)for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but ^(P)My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that ^(Q)you are Peter, and ^(R)on this rock I will build My church, and ^(S)the gates of Hades shall not ^[g]prevail against it. ^19 (T)And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth ^[h]will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

^20 (U)Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(V)

²¹ From that time Jesus began ^(W)to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

²² Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ^[i]“Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, ^(X)Satan! ^(Y)You are ^[j]an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him^(Z)

^24 (AA)Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and ^(AB)follow Me. ²⁵ For ^(AC)whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ²⁶ For what ^(AD)profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or ^(AE)what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For ^(AF)the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father ^(AG)with His angels, ^(AH)and then He will reward each according to his works. ²⁸ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AI)there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount^(AJ)

17 Now ^(AK)after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; ² and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, ^[k]let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

^5 (AL)While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ^(AM)“This is My beloved Son, ^(AN)in whom I am well pleased. ^(AO)Hear Him!” ^6 (AP)And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. ⁷ But Jesus came and ^(AQ)touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” ⁸ When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

⁹ Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”

¹⁰ And His disciples asked Him, saying, ^(AR)“Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming ^[l]first and will ^(AS)restore all things. ^12 (AT)But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they ^(AU)did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise ^(AV)the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” ^13 (AW)Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

A Boy Is Healed^(AX)

^14 (AY)And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is ^[m]an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “O ^[n]faithless and ^(AZ)perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus ^(BA)rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your ^[o]unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, ^(BB)if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ^21 [p]However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection^(BC)

^22 (BD)Now while they were ^[q]staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, ²³ and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly ^(BE)sorrowful.

Peter and His Master Pay Their Taxes

^24 (BF)When they had come to ^[r]Capernaum, those who received the ^[s]temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”

²⁵ He said, “Yes.”

And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from ^(BG)strangers?”

²⁶ Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”

Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. ²⁷ Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a ^[t]piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”