A Prophet Without Honor^(A)

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown,^(B) accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came,^(C) he began to teach in the synagogue,^(D) and many who heard him were amazed.^(E)

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon?^(F) Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.^(G)

⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”^{(H) 5} He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on^(I) a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve^(J)

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.^{(K) 7} Calling the Twelve to him,^(L) he began to send them out two by two^(M) and gave them authority over impure spirits.^(N)

⁸ These 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 shirt. 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, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet^(O) as a testimony against them.”

¹² They went out and preached that people should repent.^{(P) 13} They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil^(Q) and healed them.

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 that 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.”^(A)

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages^[a]! 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.”^(B)

³⁹ Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So 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.^(C) Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to 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.

Jesus Walks on the Water^(D)(E)

⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat^(F) and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,^(G) while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.^(H)

⁴⁷ Later that night, 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. Shortly before dawn 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.^(I) 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.”^{(J) 51} Then he climbed into the boat^(K) with them, and the wind died down.^(L) They were completely amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.^(M)

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.^{(N) 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,^(O) and all who touched it were healed.

Psalm 22^[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.