Matthew Chapter 16
Showing all 28 verses for Matthew Chapter 16.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. "
"Religious leaders who normally disagreed with each other — Pharisees and Sadducees — teamed up to test Jesus, demanding he prove himself with a miraculous sign from the sky."
I don't perform for people who have already made up their minds not to believe me. If you're testing someone just to catch them out rather than genuinely learn something, you've stopped being honest with yourself.
"He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. "
"He replied: when it's evening and the sky is red, you say tomorrow's weather will be fine."
I like to start with something simple you already understand before pointing you towards something harder to face. Familiar things can become the doorway into seeing something new about yourself.
"And 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? "
"And in the morning, when the sky is red and gloomy, you say it will storm today. You hypocrites — you know how to read the sky, but you can't read the obvious signs of what's happening in your own time."
I call out double standards plainly, without softening the truth. If you're sharp and discerning everywhere else in life except where it costs you something, that's worth being honest with yourself about.
"A 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. "
"Jesus said a corrupt, unfaithful generation goes looking for a sign — but the only sign they'll get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Then he left them and walked away."
Sometimes I simply leave a conversation rather than keep arguing. Not every disagreement needs to be won, and walking away calmly can be a mark of strength, not defeat.
"And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. "
"When the disciples crossed to the other side of the water, they realised they'd forgotten to bring any bread."
I use even your everyday forgetfulness as an opening for a bigger conversation. Don't be embarrassed by small practical mistakes — they can become useful moments.
"Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. "
"Jesus told them to watch out and be careful of the 'yeast' of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
I'm not only warning you about big dramatic sins — I'm warning you about small attitudes that quietly spread until they've changed who you are. Notice what's shaping your thinking before it takes over.
"And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. "
"The disciples discussed it among themselves, assuming he'd said this because they had no bread."
When you're anxious about one thing, it's easy to assume everyone around you is talking about that same thing. I want you to widen your focus, not narrow it, when you're worried.
"Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? "
"Jesus, realising this, asked them why they were debating about having no bread — didn't they have more trust in him than that?"
I notice when your mind jumps straight to fear and scarcity. I want to remind you of what's already worked out before, so fear isn't your automatic default.
"Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? "
"Don't you remember the five loaves that fed five thousand people, and how many baskets of leftovers you gathered?"
I point you back to what you've personally lived through, not just what you've heard about secondhand. Your own memory of things working out is real evidence — use it against your fear.
"Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? "
"Or the seven loaves that fed four thousand people, and how many baskets you collected afterwards?"
I build your trust on a pattern, not just a single moment. Look for the repeated pattern in your own life, not just isolated incidents, when deciding what to trust.
"How 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? "
"How is it you still don't understand I wasn't talking about literal bread? I was telling you to beware the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
I keep explaining, plainly, until something lands — I don't give up on you understanding just because the first attempt missed. Don't be afraid to ask again either.
"Then 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. "
"Then they finally understood he wasn't warning them about yeast in bread, but about the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
I'm glad when understanding finally clicks, even if it took a while to get there. Don't measure your progress by how fast you understood something — measure it by whether you got there.
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? "
"When Jesus reached the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples: who do people say the Son of Man is?"
I care less about what people say about me in general than what you, personally, have decided for yourself. Don't just repeat what you've heard — work out what you actually think.
"And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. "
"They answered: some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
I'd rather you never undersell what you actually believe just to fit safely alongside popular opinion. Being broadly respected isn't the same as being truly understood.
"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? "
"He asked them directly: but who do you say that I am?"
I ask everyone this question eventually, in one form or another. What you believe about me has to become your own conclusion, not something you've simply absorbed from other people.
"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. "
"Simon Peter answered: you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
When Peter said this, he wasn't reciting a script — he'd worked it out for himself, in his own words. I want your convictions to be that real: yours, not borrowed from anyone else.
"And 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. "
"Jesus told him: you are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because no human being taught you this — my Father in heaven revealed it to you."
When something true clicks into place for you in a way you can't fully explain, don't dismiss it just because you can't trace the logic. Some understanding is given, not simply built.
"And 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. "
"Jesus continued: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my community, and the forces of death itself will never overpower it."
What I'm building isn't fragile. If you commit to living by what's true and good, no failure, opposition, or even death gets the final word over it.
"And 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. "
"Jesus told him: 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."
I entrust real responsibility to imperfect people — including you. Don't wait until you feel qualified; trust and responsibility are often given before you feel ready for them.
"Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. "
"Then he instructed his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah."
Not everything true needs to be announced immediately. Sometimes protecting the truth means waiting for the right moment to say it, rather than rushing to be understood.
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"From that point on, Jesus began telling his disciples plainly that he had to go to Jerusalem, suffer greatly at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes, be killed, and be raised to life on the third day."
I tell you the hard truth in advance rather than let you be blindsided by it. And I promise that suffering, even the worst of it, is never the final chapter.
"Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. "
"Peter took him aside and began to object strongly: never, Lord — this must never happen to you!"
I know your protection of me comes from love, but love that refuses to accept hard truths can actually work against what's needed. Support people through difficulty — don't try to talk them out of it.
"But 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. "
"Jesus turned and told Peter: get behind me, Satan — you are an obstacle to me, because you're not thinking about God's concerns, but human ones."
I can love someone deeply and still tell them plainly when their thinking is working against what matters. Correction isn't rejection — it's how I keep you from becoming an obstacle to your own growth.
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. "
"Then Jesus told his disciples: if anyone wants to follow me, they must set aside their own interests, take up their own cross, and follow me."
I'm honest that following me isn't comfortable or convenient. I ask you to put something bigger than your own comfort at the centre of your life, because that's where real freedom actually starts.
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. "
"Whoever tries to save their own life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."
The tighter you grip your own comfort and safety, the less alive you actually feel. Give yourself to something beyond yourself, and you'll find you gain far more than you gave up.
"For 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? "
"What good is it for someone to gain the whole world but lose their own soul? What could anyone possibly give in exchange for their soul?"
I ask you to weigh what you're chasing against what it might cost you inside. No achievement is worth trading away who you actually are.
"For 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. "
"The Son of Man will come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will repay everyone according to what they have done."
I want you to live as though your actions genuinely matter, because they do. Not to earn fear, but so you take seriously the difference between how you live and how you merely talk.
"Verily 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. "
"Jesus said solemnly: some of you standing here will not die before you see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
I sometimes give you a glimpse of something bigger before you fully understand it, to strengthen you for what's ahead. Pay attention — what looks like a strange promise today might be answered within days.