The Demand for a Sign (Mark 8:11–13; Luke 12:54–56)
1 UST Some Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus in order to investigate him. They said to him,“We want you to perform a miracle that shows that God sent you.” BSB BSB: Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 UST He answered them,“[When it is evening and the sky looks red, you know that there will be good weather{ the next day}. BSB BSB: But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’
3 UST When it is morning and the sky looks red and cloudy,{ you know that} there will be storms that day. So, you realize what it means when the sky looks a certain way. However, you do not{ realize} what God is doing right now.] BSB BSB: and 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 not the signs of the times.
4 UST You people who are alive right now are wicked and faithless. You want me to do a miracle{ that proves that God sent me}. However, the only miracle you will see is a miracle like the one that happened to{ the prophet} Jonah.” Then Jesus{ and his apprentices} departed from the Pharisees and Sadducees. BSB BSB: A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (Mark 8:14–21; Luke 12:1–3)
5 UST They sailed to the other side{ of the Sea of Galilee}. Then, the apprentices realized that they had not remembered to take any bread with them. BSB BSB: When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread.
6 UST At that point, Jesus said to them,“Be alert and watch out for the yeast that the Pharisees and Sadducees use.” BSB BSB: “Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 UST Then the apprentices told each other,“{ He must have said that} because we did not take any bread with us.” BSB BSB: They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”
8 UST Jesus realized{ what they were saying to each other}. He told them,“You should not be telling each other that you do not have bread. You should trust God more than you do! BSB BSB: Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread?
9 UST You should already remember and understand how I fed 5, 000 men with just five loaves of bread. Then you gathered the food that was left into{ 12} large containers. BSB BSB: Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?
10 UST { You should also remember and understand} how I fed 4, 000 men with just seven loaves of bread. Then you gathered the food that was left into{ seven} large containers. BSB BSB: Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?
11 UST I want you to understand that I am speaking about bread in a figurative way. So{ I say again}, watch out for the yeast that the Pharisees and Sadducees use.” BSB BSB: How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
12 UST After{ Jesus said that}, the apprentices realized that{ he was telling them to watch out for} what the Pharisees and Sadducees were teaching. He was not telling them to watch out for the yeast that people use to make bread. BSB BSB: Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter’s Confession of Christ (Mark 8:27–30; Luke 9:18–20; John 6:67–71)
13 UST Sometime later, Jesus{ and his apprentices} arrived in the area near the city of Caesarea Philippi. Then Jesus asked his apprentices,“Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, really am?” BSB BSB: When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 UST The apprentices replied,“People say that you are one of the prophets{ who has come back to life}.{ More specifically,} some people say that you are John the Baptizer. Other people say that you are the prophet Elijah. Other people say that you are the prophet Jeremiah.” BSB BSB: They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 UST Jesus asked,“As for you, who do you say that I really am?” BSB BSB: “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 UST Simon Peter replied,“You are the Messiah! You are the Son of the only real God.” BSB BSB: Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 UST Jesus responded,“Simon, descendant of Jonah, God my Father, who rules from heaven, has blessed you. He has made known to you what you said. In fact, no human could have made it known to you. BSB BSB: Jesus 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.
19 UST I will commission you to oversee God’ s heavenly kingdom. When you confirm something here on earth, God will confirm it in heaven. When you nullify something here on earth, God will nullify it in heaven.” BSB BSB: I 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.”
20 UST After that, Jesus ordered the apprentices not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. BSB BSB: Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.
Christ’s Passion Foretold (Mark 8:31–33; Luke 9:21–22)
21 UST From then on, Jesus the Messiah began to teach his apprentices that he had to travel to the city of Jerusalem. There, the Jewish leaders, the ruling priests, and the teachers of the Jewish law would hurt him very much and have people kill him. During the third day after he died, God would make him alive again. BSB BSB: From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 UST Then Peter spoke to Jesus privately. He began to scold Jesus,“My Lord, do not say those things! What you have spoken about will never happen to you.” BSB BSB: Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”
23 UST Then Jesus faced Peter. He said,“Do not try to stop me. You are behaving as Satan does! You are thinking about what humans care about instead of thinking about what God cares about. Because of that, you are trying to make me do what is wrong.” BSB BSB: But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Take Up Your Cross (Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–27)
24 UST Next, Jesus said to all his apprentices,“People who want to come with me and be my apprentices must refuse to do what they want to do. They must be willing to suffer or die, as if they were carrying their own crosses, when they come with me as my apprentices. BSB BSB: Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
25 UST { That is} because people who are willing to do anything to stay alive will not truly live. However, people who are willing to die because they are my apprentices will truly live. BSB BSB: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 UST Suppose that some people acquire everything they could possibly want. However, they can no longer truly live. That is not worth it! People cannot acquire anything that is as valuable as truly living. BSB BSB: What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 UST { That is important} because I, the Son of Man, will soon return with my angels. I will be as glorious as God my Father. At that time, I will{ justly} reward or punish people for whatever they have done. BSB BSB: For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
28 UST Some of you who are here with me will definitely see me, the Son of Man, ruling over my kingdom before you die. What I have said is true.” BSB BSB: Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”