The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^(A)At that time ^(B)Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, ² and he said to his servants, ^(C)“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ³ For ^(D)Herod had seized John and bound him and ^(E)put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,^{[a] 4} because John had been saying to him, ^(F)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ And though he wanted to put him to death, ^(G)he feared the people, because they held him to be ^(H)a prophet. ⁶ But when Herod's ^(I)birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, ⁷ so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. ⁸ Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹ And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. ¹⁰ He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, ¹¹ and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² And ^(J)his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, ^(K)he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he went ashore he ^(L)saw a great crowd, and ^(M)he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^(N)send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ^(O)you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(P)he looked up to heaven and ^(Q)said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^22 (R)Immediately he ^(S)made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, ^(T)he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When ^(U)evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way^[b] from the land,^[c] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And ^(V)in the fourth watch of the night^[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ^(W)they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^(X)“Take heart; it is I. ^(Y)Do not be afraid.”

²⁸ And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and ^(Z)walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind,^[e] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ^(AA)“Lord, save me.” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ^(AB)“O you of little faith, why did you ^(AC)doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, ^(AD)the wind ceased. ³³ And ^(AE)those in the boat ^(AF)worshiped him, saying, ^(AG)“Truly you are ^(AH)the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^34 (AI)And when they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(AJ)Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and ^(AK)brought to him all who were sick ³⁶ and implored him that they might only touch ^(AL)the fringe of his garment. And ^(AM)as many as touched it were made well.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^(A)He went away from there and came to ^(B)his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And ^(C)on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^(D)many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ^3 (E)Is not this ^(F)the carpenter, the son of Mary and ^(G)brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ^(H)they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(I)“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And ^(J)he could do no mighty work there, except that ^(K)he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And ^(L)he marveled because of their unbelief.

^(M)And he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^7 (N)And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to ^(O)wear sandals and not put on two tunics.^{[a] 10} And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^(P)shake off the dust that is on your feet ^(Q)as a testimony against them.” ^12 (R)So they went out and ^(S)proclaimed ^(T)that people should repent. ^13 (U)And they cast out many demons and ^(V)anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

^14 (W)King Herod heard of it, for Jesus'^[b] name had become known. Some^[c] said, ^(X)“John the Baptist^[d] has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ^15 (Y)But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^(Z)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” ^17 (AA)For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^(AB)bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. ^18 (AC)For John had been saying to Herod, ^(AD)“It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” ¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰ for Herod ^(AE)feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^(AF)heard him gladly.

²¹ But an opportunity came when Herod ^(AG)on his birthday ^(AH)gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²² For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^(AI)up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's^[e] head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his ^(AJ)disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

^30 (AK)(AL)The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and ^(AM)they had no leisure even to eat. ^32 (AN)And they went away in ^(AO)the boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³ Now many saw them going and ^(AP)recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore he ^(AQ)saw a great crowd, and ^(AR)he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ^36 (AS)Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered them, ^(AT)“You give them something to eat.” And ^(AU)they said to him, ^(AV)“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii^[f] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, ^(AW)“Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ^(AX)looked up to heaven and ^(AY)said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^45 (AZ)Immediately he ^(BA)made his disciples get into ^(BB)the boat and go before him to the other side, ^(BC)to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, ^(BD)he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ And when ^(BE)evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^(BF)the fourth watch of the night^[g] he came to them, walking on the sea. ^(BG)He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and ^(BH)were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^(BI)“Take heart; it is I. ^(BJ)Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for ^(BK)they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^(BL)were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^53 (BM)When they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(BN)Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately ^(BO)recognized him ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring ^(BP)the sick people ^(BQ)on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, ^(BR)they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even ^(BS)the fringe of his garment. And ^(BT)as many as touched it were made well.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

9 ^(A)And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, ^2 (B)and he sent them out to ^(C)proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. ^3 (D)And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, ^(E)no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.^{[a] 4} And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town ^(F)shake off the dust from your feet ^(G)as a testimony ^(H)against them.” ^6 (I)And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus

^7 (J)Now ^(K)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(L)John had been raised from the dead, ^8 (M)by some that Elijah had appeared, and ^(N)by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And ^(O)he sought to see him.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ On their return ^(P)the apostles told him all that they had done. ^(Q)And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹ When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he ^(R)welcomed them and ^(S)spoke to them of the kingdom of God and ^(T)cured those who had need of healing. ¹² Now ^(U)the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, ^(V)“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” ¹³ But he said to them, ^(W)“You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than ^(X)five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(Y)he looked up to heaven and ^(Z)said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^18 (AA)Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹ And they answered, ^(AB)“John the Baptist. But others say, ^(AC)Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, ^(AD)“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (AE)And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, ^22 (AF)saying, ^(AG)“The Son of Man must ^(AH)suffer many things and ^(AI)be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(AJ)the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(AK)deny himself and ^(AL)take up his cross ^(AM)daily and follow me. ²⁴ For ^(AN)whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ^25 (AO)For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For ^(AP)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ^(AQ)when he comes in ^(AR)his glory and the glory of the Father and of ^(AS)the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not ^(AT)taste death ^(AU)until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (AV)Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him ^(AW)Peter and John and James and ^(AX)went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was ^(AY)altered, and ^(AZ)his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,^[b] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and those who were with him ^(BA)were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake ^(BB)they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^(BC)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—^(BD)not knowing what he said. ³⁴ As he was saying these things, ^(BE)a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And ^(BF)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, ^(BG)my Chosen One;^{[c] (BH)}listen to him!” ³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. ^(BI)And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

^37 (BJ)On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸ And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for ^(BK)he is my only child. ³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. ⁴⁰ And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but ^(BL)they could not.” ⁴¹ Jesus answered, “O ^(BM)faithless and twisted generation, ^(BN)how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus ^(BO)rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and ^(BP)gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And all were astonished at ^(BQ)the majesty of God.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

^(BR)But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus^[d] said ^(BS)to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears: ^(BT)The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” ^45 (BU)But they did not understand this saying, and ^(BV)it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?

^46 (BW)An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(BX)“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and ^(BY)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For ^(BZ)he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us

^49 (CA)John answered, “Master, we saw someone ^(CB)casting out demons in your name, and ^(CC)we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, ^(CD)for the one who is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for ^(CE)him to be taken up, ^(CF)he set his face ^(CG)to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And ^(CH)he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of ^(CI)the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But ^(CJ)the people did not receive him, because ^(CK)his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell ^(CL)fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^{[e] 55} But he turned and rebuked them.^{[f] 56} And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going ^(CM)along the road, ^(CN)someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus^[g] said to him, “Leave ^(CO)the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^(CP)proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^(CQ)but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, ^(CR)“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”