Matthew chapter 16
English Standard Version
1And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.
5When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6Jesus said to them, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 7And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." 8But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17And Jesus 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. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 20Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
21From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 23But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
New International Version
2He replied, "When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.
5When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
8Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, "You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 12Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
17Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
New American Standard Bible
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and putting Jesus to the test, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2But He replied to them, 'When it is evening, you say, ‘ It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3And in the morning, ‘ There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but are you unable to discern the signs of the times? 4An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign; and so a sign will not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah.' And He left them and went away.
5And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6And Jesus said to them, 'Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' 7They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, 'He said that because we did not bring any bread.' 8But Jesus, aware of this, said, 'You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9Do you not yet understand nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? 10Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up? 11How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' 12Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' 14And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.' 15He *said to them, 'But who do you yourselves say that I am?' 16Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' 17And Jesus said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.' 20Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ.
21From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. 22And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen 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 God’s purposes, but men’s.'
24Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.
Christian Standard Bible
1The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and tested him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven. 2He replied, "When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ 3And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. 4An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away.
5The disciples reached the other shore, and they had forgotten to take bread. 6Then Jesus told them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
8Aware of this, Jesus said, "You of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves that you do not have bread? 9Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you collected? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many large baskets you collected? 11Why is it you don’t understand that when I told you, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees,’ it wasn’t about bread?" 12Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the leaven in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
17Jesus responded, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven." 20Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
21From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. 22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!"
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? 27For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. 28Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
New Living Translation
2He replied, 'You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! 4Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ' Then Jesus left them and went away.
5Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6Watch out!' Jesus warned them. 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.'
7At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 8Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, 'You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? 9Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? 10Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? 11Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’'
17Jesus replied, 'You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.'
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 27For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. 28And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.'
King James Version
1The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. 2He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
6Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 7And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. 8Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread 9Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 10Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? 11How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
13When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am 14And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. 22Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 24Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. 28Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
New King James Version
1Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘ It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3and in the morning, ‘ It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.
5Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
8But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?— but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
17Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. 28“Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
What does Matthew chapter 16 mean?
Matthew 16 begins with another confrontation between Jesus and some of Israel's religious leaders. A group of Pharisees and Sadducees approach Jesus together. This is unusual, since the two sects don't agree on more than the most basic points of theology. Their demand to Jesus is for another sign from heaven (Matthew 12:13–14, 22). Jesus points out they can read basic signs in the skies to predict weather. However, they refuse to recognize obvious signs such as the many miracles He has already accomplished. He declares He will not give them any sign but that of Jonah (Jonah 1:17), who was swallowed by the great fish and restored on the third day (Matthew 16:1–4).Jesus and the disciples get in a boat again to cross the Sea of Galilee, perhaps to gain space away from Jewish religious leaders. The disciples realize they have forgotten to bring bread for this trip. Jesus, apparently still thinking about His exchange with the Pharisees and Sadducees, warns the disciples to watch out for the "leaven" of those religious leaders. Leaven, or yeast, was often used as a metaphor for sin: something tiny which could thoroughly infiltrate and change whatever it entered. The disciples wonder if Jesus is upset because they forgot the bread (Matthew 16:5–7).
Instead, Jesus becomes upset about their small faith and focus on earthly bread. He reminds them that they were present—twice—when He fed thousands of people from just a few loaves (Matthew 14:13–21; 15:34–38). There's no reason they should be so worried about food as to miss such an obvious metaphor. He warns them again about the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 16:8–12).
Jesus and the disciples travel north about 25 miles from the Sea of Galilee to Caesarea Philippi. There, Jesus asks them who the people say He is. By this, He means the general opinion of the public. The disciples report that some people think He is the return of a great prophet, others that He is somehow John the Baptist. Making an important contrast between "popular opinion" and "personal belief," Jesus asks who the disciples say He is. Peter answers for the group: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:13–16).
This results in an enthusiastic response, with Jesus saying God the Father has revealed the truth to Peter. Jesus then makes a wordplay out of Peter's name, using two different Greek words. One, referring to Peter, means "a stone or a rock." The other, referring to the substance on which the church will be built, refers to "rock" as a substance or a material. On Peter's statement—the belief he expressed—Jesus says He will build His earthly church. The gates of hell won't prevail against it. Jesus tells Peter he will be given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever the disciples bind or loose on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:17–19).
Surprisingly, Jesus then tells this group of men not to tell others about His role as Messiah, just yet. Jesus is aware that the people are hungry for a victorious, earthly Messiah. They are likely to revolt against Rome, based on how they've responded to Jesus in the past (John 6:15). For that reason, widespread proclamation of His role needs to wait (Matthew 16:20).
Jesus, who has limited His travels and ministry mostly to the region of Galilee in northern Israel, begins to show the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem. This is literally the headquarters—the home territory—of the enemies who hate Him the most. He predicts He will suffer many things from those elders, chief priests, and scribes. Ultimately, He will even be killed. Of course, Jesus also mentions that He will be raised on the third day (Matthew 16:21).
Peter seems to have gained too much confidence from Jesus' recent praise. He does not merely disagree with Jesus, he rebukes Him. Peter is scolding the same Man he recently identified as Messiah, because Jesus is not meeting Peter's expectations. In what must have been a devastating reply to Peter, Jesus shockingly refers to Peter as Satan. Peter's mind is set on human things, including human preferences and human traditions, and not the things of God (Matthew 16:22–23).
Jesus repeats an earlier message to those gathered nearby. Anyone who would come after Him must take up their cross of self-denial and follow Him. Crucifixion, in that era, evoked concepts like humiliation, dishonor, shame, agony, misery, and death. Christ is not speaking about tolerating minor inconvenience; He's speaking of willingness to sacrifice everything associated with the world. Those who live for themselves—clinging to worldly things and earthly ideals—will lose their eternal lives. Those who lose their earthly lives will find true eternal life. Jesus frames this in a common-sense rhetorical question: what good would it be to gain all the temporary things of the world, only to suffer an eternity of loss? Judgment will come, for all people, and those who reject Christ will be lost (Matthew 16:24–27).
The final comment made by Jesus in this chapter is a reference to "some" of these disciples seeing Him coming into His kingdom before they die (Matthew 16:28). This is a reference to the transfiguration: the very next thing described by Matthew (Matthew 17:1–2). In that event, Peter, James, and John will witness a glorified scene which foreshadows Jesus' rule on earth.
