Peter confesses, the mountain shines, and the cross draws near.

Matthew 16

Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus begins to show that He must suffer, die, and on the third day be raised.

¹The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ²But he answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the signs of the times! ⁴An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

He left them and departed. ⁵The disciples came to the other side and had forgotten to take bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

⁷They reasoned among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.”

⁸Jesus, perceiving it, said, “Why do you reason among yourselves, you of little faith, because you have brought no bread? ⁹Don’t you yet perceive or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up, ¹⁰or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? ¹¹How is it that you don’t perceive that I didn’t speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

¹²Then they understood that he didn’t tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

¹³Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴They said, “Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

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

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” ²⁰Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

²¹From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.

²²Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This will never be done to you.”

²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? ²⁷For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will give to everyone according to his deeds. ²⁸Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

Matthew 17

On the mountain the Father commands the disciples to listen to the transfigured Son, and below it Jesus frees a boy His disciples could not help.

¹After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. ²He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. ³Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.

⁴Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

⁵While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

⁶When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. ⁷Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” ⁸Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.

⁹As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

¹⁰His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and will restore all things; ¹²but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they didn’t recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted to. Even so the Son of Man will also suffer by them.” ¹³Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptizer.

¹⁴When they came to the multitude, a man came to him, kneeling down to him and saying, ¹⁵“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.”

¹⁷Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” ¹⁸Jesus rebuked the demon, and it went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?”

²⁰He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹But this kind doesn’t go out except by prayer and fasting.”

²²While they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered up into the hands of men, ²³and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up.”

They were exceedingly sorry.

²⁴When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?” ²⁵He said, “Yes.”

When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”

²⁶Peter said to him, “From strangers.”

Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt. ²⁷But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”

Matthew 18

The greatest in the kingdom becomes like a child, the church is told how to pursue a sinning brother, and a forgiven servant is condemned for refusing to forgive.

¹In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

²Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them ³and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁴Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. ⁵Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me, ⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a huge millstone were hung around his neck and that he were sunk in the depths of the sea.

⁷“Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes! ⁸If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. ⁹If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire. ¹⁰See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. ¹¹For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.

¹²“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray? ¹³If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵“If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother. ¹⁶But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector. ¹⁸Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven. ¹⁹Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”

²¹Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

²²Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. ²³Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ ²⁷The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

²⁸“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’

²⁹“So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ ³⁰He would not, but went and cast him into prison until he should pay back that which was due. ³¹So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done. ³²Then his lord called him in and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due to him. ³⁵So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

Matthew 19

Jesus restores marriage to the Creator's will, blesses the children the disciples tried to turn away, and tells a rich man that eternal life means following Him.

¹When Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee and came into the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan. ²Great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there.

³Pharisees came to him, testing him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

⁴He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart.”

⁷They asked him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and divorce her?”

⁸He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. ⁹I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery.”

¹⁰His disciples said to him, “If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.”

¹¹But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but those to whom it is given. ¹²For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

¹³Then little children were brought to him that he should lay his hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But Jesus said, “Allow the little children, and don’t forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these.” ¹⁵He laid his hands on them, and departed from there.

¹⁶Behold, one came to him and said, “Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”

¹⁷He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder.’ ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ‘You shall not steal.’ ‘You shall not offer false testimony.’ ¹⁹‘Honor your father and your mother.’ And, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

²⁰The young man said to him, “All these things I have observed from my youth. What do I still lack?”

²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²²But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.

²³Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”

²⁵When the disciples heard it, they were exceedingly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁶Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

²⁷Then Peter answered, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”

²⁸Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰But many will be last who are first, and first who are last.

Matthew 20

The vineyard owner pays the last as the first, Jesus predicts His death a third time, and He defines greatness as serving and giving His life as a ransom.

¹“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. ⁴He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’

⁷“They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’

“He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’

⁸“When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’ ⁹“When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household, ¹²saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’

¹³“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you. ¹⁵Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’ ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

¹⁷As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, ¹⁹and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, to scourge, and to crucify; and the third day he will be raised up.”

²⁰Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him. ²¹He said to her, “What do you want?”

She said to him, “Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand, in your Kingdom.”

²²But Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They said to him, “We are able.”

²³He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

²⁴When the ten heard it, they were indignant with the two brothers.

²⁵But Jesus summoned them, and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶It shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. ²⁷Whoever desires to be first among you shall be your bondservant, ²⁸even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

²⁹As they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. ³⁰Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” ³¹The multitude rebuked them, telling them that they should be quiet, but they cried out even more, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!”

³²Jesus stood still and called them, and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

³³They told him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”

³⁴Jesus, being moved with compassion, touched their eyes; and immediately their eyes received their sight, and they followed him.