Matthew 16

¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to put him to the test they asked if he would show them asign from heaven.

² He replied, 'In the evening you say, "It wil be fine; there's a red sky,"

³ and in the morning, "Stormy weather today; the sky is red and overcast." You know how to read theface of the sky, but you cannot read the signs of the times.

⁴ It is an evil and unfaithful generation asking for a sign, and the only sign it wil be given is the sign ofJonah.' And he left them and went off.

⁵ The disciples, having crossed to the other side, had forgotten to take any food.

⁶ Jesus said to them, 'Keep your eyes open, and be on your guard against the yeast of the Phariseesand Sadducees.'

⁷ And they said among themselves, 'It is because we have not brought any bread.'

⁸ Jesus knew it, and he said, 'You have so little faith, why are you talking among yourselves abouthaving no bread?

⁹ Do you stil not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and thenumber of baskets you col ected?

¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and the number of baskets you col ected?

¹¹ How could you fail to understand that I was not talking about bread? What I said was: Beware of theyeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'

¹² Then they understood that he was tel ing them to be on their guard, not against yeast for makingbread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, 'Who dopeople say the Son of man is?'

¹⁴ And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'

¹⁵ 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?'

¹⁶ Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

¹⁷ Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency thatrevealed this to you but my Father in heaven.

¹⁸ So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I wil build my community. And the gates of theunderworld can never overpower it.

¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound inheaven; whatever you loose on earth wil be loosed in heaven.'

²⁰ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to say to anyone that he was the Christ.

²¹ From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go toJerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to deathand to be raised up on the third day.

²² Then, taking him aside, Peter started to rebuke him. 'Heaven preserve you, Lord,' he said, 'this mustnot happen to you.'

²³ But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, becauseyou are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.'

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wants to be a fol ower of mine, let him renounce himselfand take up his cross and follow me.

²⁵ Anyone who wants to save his life wil lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.

²⁶ What, then, wil anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyoneoffer in exchange for his life?

²⁷ 'For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he wilreward each one according to his behaviour.

²⁸ In truth I tel you, there are some standing here who wil not taste death before they see the Son ofman coming with his kingdom.'