1  Some Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and asked him to perform a miracle that would prove that God had sent him. 2  He answered them, “ In this country, in the evening you say, ‘ It will be good weather tomorrow, because the sky is red.’ 3  Early in the morning you say, ‘It will be stormy weather today, because the sky is red, and dark clouds have formed.’ You understand how to predict the weather by looking at the sky, but you cannot seem to look at what is happening now, and by that understand what God is doing. 4  You evil people have seen me perform miracles but you do not faithfully worship God [MET]. You want to see me perform a miracle that would prove that God has sent me. But God will enable you to see only one miracle. It will be like what happened [MET] to Jonah, the prophet, who was inside a huge fish for three days and then came out of it to live again.” Then Jesus left them and sailed away, along with us disciples.

5  We forgot to take bread when we sailed to another edge of the lake. 6  Then Jesus said to us, “Beware that you do not accept the yeast [MET] that the Pharisees and Sadducees distribute.” 7  Then, not realizing that he was speaking figuratively, we said to one another, “ He must have said that because we forgot to bring any bread!” 8  Because Jesus knew what we were saying, he said to us, “◄I am disappointed that you are discussing among yourselves, thinking that it was because you did not bring any bread that I talked about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees./Why are you discussing among yourselves thinking that it was because you did not bring any bread that I talked about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees?► [RHQ] You believe only a little what I am able to do for you. 9 ◄You should understand that I can continue to do miracles to provide for what you need./Do you not yet understand that I can provide miraculously for you if you need food?► [RHQ] Do you not remember that 5,000 people ate when I multiplied the five small loaves and the two fish? And after everyone had enough to eat, you collected twelve baskets of left-over pieces [RHQ]! 10  Do you not remember [RHQ] that 4,000 people ate when I multiplied the seven small loaves and a few fish? And after everyone had enough to eat, you collected seven large baskets of left-over pieces 11 ◄You should have understood that I was not speaking about real bread that contains yeast./Why have you not understood that I was not speaking about real bread that contains yeast?► [RHQ] What I was saying was that you should not accept what the Pharisees and Sadducees say, because it would affect you like yeast affects [MET] dough.” 12  Then we understood that he was not talking about the yeast that is in bread. Instead, he was talking about the wrong teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13  When Jesus came with us disciples to the region near Caesarea Philippi town, he asked us, “Who do people say that I, the one who came from heaven, really am?” 14  We answered, “Some people say that you are John the Baptizer, who has come back to life again. Others say that you are the prophet Elijah, who has returned from heaven as God promised. Still others say that you are the prophet Jeremiah or one of the other prophets who lived long ago, who has come back to life again.” 15  Jesus said to us, “ What about you? Who do you say that I am?” 16  Simon Peter said to him, “You are the Messiah! You are the Son of the all-powerful God.” 17  Then Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of Jonah, God is pleased with you. What you just said was not [SYN] revealed to you by any human. Instead, it was my Father who lives in heaven who revealed this to you. 18  I will also tell you this: You are Peter, which means rock. You are like a rock. What you and your fellow apostles teach (OR, what you do) will be like a foundation on which I will create congregations of people who believe in me. And the demons [PRS], who live where the dead people who lived evil lives are, will not be able to come and prevent [MET] me from doing that.” 19  Then, speaking to all of us, he said, “I will enable you (pl) to have authority [MTY] over the groups of people over whose lives God rules. Whatever you forbid regarding those people [MTY], it will have been forbidden by God. Whatever you permit [MET] regarding them, it will have been permitted by God.” 20  Then Jesus warned us disciples strongly not to tell anyone at that time that he is the Messiah.

21  From that time Jesus began to teach us disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem city. There the ruling elders, the chief priests, and the men who taught the Jewish laws would cause him to suffer and ◄be killed/die►. Then on the third day after that, he would become alive again. 22  Because Peter assumed that the Messiah would not suffer and die, he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him for talking about suffering and dying. He said, “Lord, may God never permit that to happen to you! That must certainly not happen!” 23  Then Jesus turned to look at Peter, and he said to him, “Stop talking to me like that [MTY]! Stop saying what Satan [MET] would say, and stop trying to prevent from happening what God has planned! You are a hindrance to me, because you are not thinking like God thinks. Instead, you are thinking like people think!”

24  Then Jesus said to us disciples, “If any one of you wants to be my disciple, you must not do only what you yourself want to do. You must be willing to let people hurt you and disgrace you. That is like what they do to criminals whom they force to carry a cross [MET] to the place where the criminals will be executed. That is what anyone who wants to be my disciple must do. 25  You must do that, because those who try to save their lives by denying that they belong to me when people want to kill them for believing in me will not live eternally, but those who are killed because of being my disciples will live with God eternally. 26  People might get everything they want in this world, but ◄ if they do not become my disciples, they would really be gaining nothing because they would not get eternal life!/what would they gain if they do not become my disciples and thus do not get eternal life?► [RHQ] ◄There is absolutely nothing that people can give to God that would enable them to gain eternal life./What can people give to God that could enable them to gain eternal life?► [MTY, RHQ] 27  Listen carefully: I, the one who came from heaven, will leave this earth, but I will return, and the angels of heaven will accompany me. At that time I will have the glorious radiance that my Father has, and I will reward everyone according to what they did when they were living on earth. 28  Listen carefully! Some of you who are here now will see me, the one who came from heaven, when I return to rule. You will see this before you die!”