Matthew 14:13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left
in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was
headed and followed on foot from many towns.
14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped
from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 That evening 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 food for themselves.”
16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t
necessary—you feed them.”
17 “But we have only five loaves of bread
and two fish!” they answered.
18 “Bring them here,” he said.
19 Then he told the people to sit down on
the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven,
and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to
the disciples, who distributed it to the people.
20 They all ate as much as they wanted, and
afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.
21 About 5,000 men were fed that day, in
addition to all the women and children!
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted
that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the
lake, while he sent the people home.
23 After sending them home, he went up into
the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble
far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy
waves.
25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus
came toward them, walking on the water.
26 When the disciples saw him walking on
the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t
be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here! ”
28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s
really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went
over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.
30 But when he saw the strong wind and the
waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and
grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
32 When they climbed back into the boat,
the wind stopped.
33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You
really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
34 After they had crossed the lake, they
landed at Gennesaret.
35 When the people recognized Jesus, the
news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people
were bringing all their sick to be healed.
36 They begged him to let the sick touch at
least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.
Matthew 15
1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious
law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him,
2 “Why do your disciples disobey our
age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing
before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your
traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?
4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your
father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother
must be put to death.’
5 But you say it is all right for people
to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to
God what I would have given to you.’
6 In this way, you say they don’t need to
honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own
tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he
prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach
man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ”
10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come
and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand.
11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that
defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and
asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted
by my heavenly Father will be uprooted,
14 so ignore them. They are blind guides
leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall
into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us
the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked.
17 “Anything you eat passes through the
stomach and then goes into the sewer.
18 But the words you speak come from the
heart—that’s what defiles you.
19 For from the heart come evil thoughts,
murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
20 These are what defile you. Eating with
unwashed hands will never defile you.”
21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north
to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to
him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is
possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a
word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,”
they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was
sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading
again, “Lord, help me!”
26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take
food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but
even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’
table.”
28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your
faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly
healed.
29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and
climbed a hill and sat down.
30 A vast crowd brought to him people who
were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They
laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.
31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t
been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were
walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told
them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three
days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry,
or they will faint along the way.”
33 The disciples replied, “Where would we
get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
34 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you
have?” They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down
on the ground.
36 Then he took the seven loaves and the
fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the
disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37 They all ate as much as they wanted.
Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food.
38 There were 4,000 men who were fed that
day, in addition to all the women and children.
39 Then Jesus sent the people home, and he
got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
Matthew 16
1 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came
to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to
prove his authority.
2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red
sky at night means fair weather tomorrow;
3 red sky in the morning means foul
weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but
you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!
4 Only an evil, adulterous generation
would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign
of the prophet Jonah. ” Then Jesus left them and went away.
5 Later, after they crossed to the other
side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any
bread.
6 “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware
of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7 At this they began to argue with each
other because they hadn’t brought any bread.
8 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he
said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about
having no bread?
9 Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you
remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you
picked up?
10 Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves,
and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up?
11 Why can’t you understand that I’m not
talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.’”
12 Then at last they understood that he
wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of
the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13 When Jesus came to the region of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of
Man is?”
14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the
Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other
prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say
I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon
son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not
learn this from any human being.
18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which
means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of
hell will not conquer it.
19 And 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.”
20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not
to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
21 From then on Jesus began to tell his
disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he
would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading
priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the
third day he would be raised from the dead.
22 But Peter took him aside and began to
reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This
will never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get
away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things
merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If
any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take
up your cross, and follow me.
25 If you try to hang on to your life, you
will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
26 And what do you benefit if you gain the
whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
27 For the Son of Man will come with his
angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their
deeds.
28 And I tell you the truth, some standing
here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his
Kingdom.”
Matthew 17
1 Six days later Jesus took Peter and the
two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.
2 As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance
was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as
white as light.
3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and
began talking with Jesus.
4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful
for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials —one for
you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 But even as he spoke, a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved
Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.”
6 The disciples were terrified and fell
face down on the ground.
7 Then Jesus came over and touched them.
“Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
8 And when they looked up, Moses and
Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.
9 As they went back down the mountain,
Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of
Man has been raised from the dead.”
10 Then his disciples asked him, “Why do
the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah
comes? ”
11 Jesus replied, “Elijah is indeed coming
first to get everything ready.
12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come,
but he wasn’t recognized, and they chose to abuse him. And in the same way they
will also make the Son of Man suffer.”
13 Then the disciples realized he was talking
about John the Baptist.
14 At the foot of the mountain, a large
crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said,
15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has
seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
16 So I brought him to your disciples, but
they couldn’t heal him.”
17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt
people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the
boy here to me.”
18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy,
and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.
19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus
privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus
told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard
seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would
move. Nothing would be impossible. ”
