Matthew 16:1-21:46 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

Common⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He answered 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 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. ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed. ⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." ⁷ And they discussed among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, "O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How 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." ¹² Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. ¹³ When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" ¹⁴ And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others 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 the Christ, the Son of the living God." ¹⁷ And 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. ¹⁸ And I tell you, that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ 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." ²⁰ Then he strictly charged his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. ²¹ From that time Jesus began 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 on the third day. ²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying, "Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!" ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each man according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." ¹⁷ ¹ After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up 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, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make here three tabernaclesone for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." ⁵ While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!" ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Rise. Don't be afraid." ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. ⁹ And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." ¹⁰ And the disciples asked him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" ¹¹ Jesus replied, "Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands." ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. ¹⁴ And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him said, ¹⁵ "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me." ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment. ¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" ²⁰ So he said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." ²¹ (...) ²² Now while they were 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 he will be raised on the third day." And they were greatly distressed. ²⁴ When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not your teacher pay the temple 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 take customs or taxes, from their sons or from others?" ²⁶ And when Peter said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. ²⁷ Nevertheless, so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you open its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for me and you." ¹⁸ ¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" ² He called to him a little child, and put him in the midst of them, ³ and he said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. ⁶ "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of temptations to sin! For temptations must come, but woe to the man by whom the temptation comes! ⁸ And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. ¹⁰ "See that you do not 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. ¹¹ (...) ¹² What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. ¹⁴ 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 and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every matter may be established by the word of two or three witnesses.' ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." ²¹ Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" ²² Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began the settlement, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ And as he was not able to pay, his master ordered that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' ²⁷ The master of that servant took pity on him, released him, and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on 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, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.' ³⁰ But he refused, and went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and went and told their master all that had happened. ³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to each of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." ¹⁹ ¹ Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ² And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. ³ Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?" ⁴ And he answered them, "Have you not read that he who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' ⁵ and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." ⁷ They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" ⁸ He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." ¹⁰ The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." ¹¹ But he said to them, "Not all men can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For 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 have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it." ¹³ Then little children were brought to him that he might put his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went from there. ¹⁶ Now behold, one came up and said to him, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?" ¹⁷ And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments." ¹⁸ He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" ²⁰ The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" ²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." ²² But when the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." ²⁵ When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." ²⁷ Then Peter answered him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" ²⁸ Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and the last first. ²⁰ ¹ "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. ⁵ Again he went out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?' ⁷ They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' ⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' ⁹ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰ So when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, ¹² saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.' ¹³ But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as I gave to you. ¹⁵ Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' ¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first will be last." ¹⁷ Now as 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 betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn him to death, ¹⁹ and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." ²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons and, kneeling down, asked something of him. ²¹ And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." ²² But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." ²³ He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right or my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." ²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were indignant with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you must be your servant. ²⁷ And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ²⁹ And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ And behold, two blind men sitting by the roadside, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" ³¹ The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be quiet; but they cried out all the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, saying, "What do you want me to do for you? " ³³ They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." ³⁴ And Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. ²¹ ¹ Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If any one says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and he will send them immediately." ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying: ⁵ "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸ And a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went before him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" ¹¹ So the crowds said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." ¹² And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ And he said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of robbers.'" ¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant; ¹⁶ and they said to him, "Do you hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise'?" ¹⁷ Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and he lodged there. ¹⁸ In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the road he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And immediately the fig tree withered. ²⁰ And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" ²¹ And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be done. ²² And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." ²³ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" ²⁴ Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you one question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of Johnwhere was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' ²⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet." ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁸ "What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' ²⁹ He answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰ Then he went to the second and said the same thing. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him. ³³ "Hear another parable: there was a landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vine dressers and went into a far country. ³⁴ When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did the same to them. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them saying, 'They will respect my son,' ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' ³⁹ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" ⁴¹ They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." ⁴² Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? ⁴³ "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. ⁴⁴ [And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."] ⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ But when they tried to arrest him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a prophet.