Matthew 14:1-36; Mark 6:1-56; Luke
9:1-17 (New International Version)
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the
reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants,
"This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why
miraculous powers are at work in him." 3 Now Herod had
arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his
brother Philip's wife, 4 for John had been saying to him:
"It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 Herod
wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered
him a prophet. 6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias
danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised
with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her
mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the
Baptist." 9 The king was distressed, but because of his
oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and
had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on
a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.12 John's
disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he
withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds
followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and
saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As
evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote
place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to
the villages and buy themselves some food." 16 Jesus
replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to
eat." 17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and
two fish," they answered. 18 "Bring them here to
me," he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit
down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to
heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the
disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all
ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken
pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was
about five thousand men, besides women and children.
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into
the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the
crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a
mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but
the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves
because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of
the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When
the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a
ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus
immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be
afraid." 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied,
"tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," he
said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward
Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and,
beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately
Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little
faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 32 And
when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then
those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son
of God." 34 When they had crossed over, they landed at
Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized
Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their
sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the
edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown,
accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he
began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this
wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn't
this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph,
Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense
at him. 4 Jesus said to them,"Only in his hometown, among
his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5 He
could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and
heal them.
6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then
Jesus went around teaching from village to village.7 Calling the
Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil
spirits. 8These were his instructions: "Take nothing for
the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear
sandals but not an extra tunic. 10 Whenever you enter a house,
stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will
not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave,
as a testimony against them." 12 They went out and
preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many
demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name
had become well known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised
from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him." 15Others
said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a
prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago." 16 But
when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised
from the dead!" 17 For Herod himself had given orders to
have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because
of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. 18 For
John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your
brother's wife." 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against
John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because
Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy
man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to
him. 21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod
gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading
men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and
danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl,
"Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23 And
he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to
half my kingdom." 24 She went out and said to her mother,
"What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she
answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the
request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on
a platter." 26 The king was greatly distressed, but
because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So
he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man
went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his
head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On
hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and
reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because
so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to
eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place
and get some rest." 32 So they went away by themselves in
a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving
recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When
Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they
were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. 35 By
this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a
remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36 Send
the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and
buy themselves something to eat." 37 But he answered, "You
give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take
eight months of a man's wages ! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and
give it to them to eat?" 38 "How many loaves do you
have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found
out, they said, "Five--and two fish." 39 Then Jesus
directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So
they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the
five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke
the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He
also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and
were satisfied,43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of
broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who
had eaten was five thousand.
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into
the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After
leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 47When evening
came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He
saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake.
He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking
on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because
they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take
courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 51Then he climbed into the
boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52for
they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. 53 When
they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As
soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They
ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they
heard he was. 56 And wherever he went--into villages, towns or
countryside--they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let
them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.
1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he
gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and
he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He
told them: "Take nothing for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread,
no money, no extra tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay
there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome
you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony
against them." 6 So they set out and went from village to
village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere. 7 Now
Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed,
because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others
that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago
had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, "I beheaded
John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see
him.
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to
Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by
themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds
learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the
kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 12 Late
in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so
they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and
lodging, because we are in a remote place here." 13 He
replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered,
"We have only five loaves of bread and two fish--unless we go and buy food
for all this crowd." 14 (About five thousand men were
there.) But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups
of about fifty each." 15 The disciples did so, and
everybody sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish
and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to
the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and
were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces
that were left over.
