Matthew 16:13-28; Matthew 17:1-20

13 Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. There he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ. You are the Son of the living God."

17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! No mere man showed this to you. My Father in heaven showed it to you.

18 Here is what I tell you. You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell will not be strong enough to destroy it.

19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven."

20 Then Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples what would happen to him. He told them he must go to Jerusalem. There he must suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. He must be killed and on the third day rise to life again.

22 Peter took Jesus to one side and began to scold him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This will never happen to you!"

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are standing in my way. You do not have in mind the things of God. Instead, you are thinking about human things."

24 Then Jesus spoke to his disciples. He said, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must pick up his cross and follow me.

25 If he wants to save his life, he will lose it. But if he loses his life for me, he will find it.

26 "What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses his soul? Or what can anyone trade for his soul?

27 The Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory. His angels will come with him. And he will reward everyone in keeping with what they have done.

28 "What I'm about to tell you is true. Some who are standing here will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James with him. He led them up a high mountain. They were all alone.

2 There in front of them his appearance was changed. His face shone like the sun. His clothes became as white as the light.

3 Just then Moses and Elijah appeared in front of them. Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus.

4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters. One will be for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

5 While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud surrounded them. A voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!"

6 When the disciples heard this, they were terrified. They fell with their faces to the ground.

7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid."

8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

9 They came down the mountain. On the way down, Jesus told them what to do. "Don't tell anyone what you have seen," he said. "Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

10 The disciples asked him, "Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah has to come first?"

11 Jesus replied, "That's right. Elijah is supposed to come and make all things new again.

12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come. People didn't recognize him. They have done to him everything they wanted to do. In the same way, they are going to make the Son of Man suffer."

13 Then the disciples understood that Jesus was talking to them about John the Baptist.

14 When they came near the crowd, a man approached Jesus. He got on his knees in front of him.

15 "Lord," he said, "have mercy on my son. He shakes wildly and suffers a great deal. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

16 I brought him to your disciples. But they couldn't heal him."

17 "You unbelieving and evil people!" Jesus replied. "How long do I have to stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."

18 Jesus ordered the demon to leave the boy, and it came out of him. He was healed at that very moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private. They asked, "Why couldn't we drive out the demon?"

20 He replied, "Because your faith is much too small. What I'm about to tell you is true. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it is enough. You can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there.' And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."