14 1 Herod’s judgment of Christ. 3 Wherefore John was bound, 10 and beheaded. 13 Jesus departeth. 18 Of the five loaves, etc. 23 Christ prayeth. 24 The Apostles tossed with the waves. 28 Faith. 30 Peter in jeopardy. 36 The hem of Christ’s garment.

At (A)[a]that time Herod the Tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,

And said unto his servants, This is that John Baptist, he is risen again from the dead, and therefore great [b]works are wrought by him.

(B)For Herod had taken John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.

For John said unto him, It is not (C)lawful for thee to have her.

And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a (D)Prophet.

But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased [c]Herod.

Wherefore he promised with an oath, that he would give her whatsoever she would ask.

And she being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a platter.

And the king was sorry: nevertheless, because of the oath, and them that sat with him at the table, he commanded it to be given her,

10 And sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

11 And his head was brought in a platter, and given to the maid, and she brought it unto her mother.

12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

13 (E)And when Jesus heard it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart. And when the multitude had heard it, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

14 [d]And Jesus went forth and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

15 ¶ And when even was come, (F) his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is already past: let the multitude depart, that they may go into the towns, and buy them vittles.

16 But Jesus said to them, They have no need to go away: give ye them to eat.

17 Then said they unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

18 And he said, Bring them hither to me.

19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

20 And they did all eat, and were sufficed, and they took up of the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full.

21 And they that had eaten, were about five thousand men, beside women and little children.

22 ¶ And straightway Jesus compelled his disciples to enter into a ship, and to go over before him, while he sent the multitude away.

23 And as soon as he had sent the multitude away, he went up into a mountain alone to pray: and (G)when the evening was come, he was there alone.

24 [e]And the ship was now in the midst of the sea, and was tossed with waves: for it was a contrary wind.

25 And in the [f]fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.

26 And when his disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a [g]spirit, and cried out for fear.

27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good comfort, It is I: be not afraid.

28 [h]Then Peter answered him, and said, Master, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.

29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw a mighty wind, he was afraid: and as he began to sink, he cried, saying, Master, save me.

31 So immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said to him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt.

32 And as soon as they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

33 Then they that were in the ship, came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

34 (H)And when they were come over, they came into the land of [i]Gennesaret.

35 [j]And when the men of that place knew him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were sick,

36 And besought him, that they might touch the hem of his garment only: and as many as touched it were made whole.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 14:1 Here is in John an example of an invincible courage, which all faithful Ministers of God’s word ought to follow: in Herod, an example of tyrannous vanity, pride and cruelty, and to be short, of a courtly conscience, and of their insufferable slavery, which have once given themselves over to pleasures: in Herodias and her daughter, an example of whore-like wantonness, and womanlike cruelty.
  2. Matthew 14:2 By works he meaneth that force and power, whereby works are wrought and not the works, as is seen oft before.
  3. Matthew 14:6 There were three Herods: the first of them was Antipater’s son, who is also called Ascalonius, in whose reign Christ was born, and he it was that caused the children to be slain. The second was called Antipas, Magnus his son, whose mother’s name was Malthace or Martaca, and this was called Tetrarch, by reason of enlarging his dominion, when Archelaus was banished to Vienna in France. The third was Agrippa, Magnus his nephew by Aristobulus, and he it was that slew James.
  4. Matthew 14:14 Christ refresheth a great multitude with five loaves and two little fishes, showing thereby, that they shall want nothing, which lay all things aside and seek the kingdom of heaven.
  5. Matthew 14:24 We must sail even through mighty tempests, and Christ will never forsake us, so that we go whither he hath commanded us.
  6. Matthew 14:25 By the fourth watch is meant the time near to day breaking: for in old time they divided the night into four watches, in which they scouted.
  7. Matthew 14:26 A spirit, as it is here taken, is that which a man imagineth to himself vainly in his mind, persuading himself that he seeth something, and seeth nothing.
  8. Matthew 14:28 By faith we tread under our feet even the tempests themselves, but yet by the virtue of Christ, which helpeth that virtue, which he of his mercy hath given.
  9. Matthew 14:34 This Gennesaret was a lake nigh to Capernaum, which is also called the Sea of Galilee, and Tiberias, so that the country itself grew to be called by that name.
  10. Matthew 14:35 In that that Christ healeth the sick, we are given to understand that we must seek remedy for spiritual diseases at his hands: and that we are bound not only to run ourselves, but also to bring others to him.

Herod Thinks Jesus Is John the Baptizer(A)

14 About that time, Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard what the people were saying about Jesus. So he said to his servants, “This man is really John the Baptizer. He must have risen from death, and that is why he can do these miracles.”

How John the Baptizer Was Killed

Before this time, Herod had arrested John. He had him chained and put in prison. He arrested John because of Herodias, the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. John had told him, “It is not right for you to be married to Herodias.” Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the people. They believed that John was a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him and his group. Herod was very pleased with her. So he promised that he would give her anything she wanted. Herodias told her daughter what to ask for. So she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptizer here on this plate.”

King Herod was very sad. But he had promised to give the daughter anything she wanted. And the people eating with Herod had heard his promise. So he ordered what she asked to be done. 10 He sent men to the prison, where they cut off John’s head. 11 And the men brought John’s head on a plate and gave it to the girl. Then she took the head to her mother, Herodias. 12 John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what happened.

Jesus Feeds More Than 5000(B)

13 When Jesus heard what happened to John, he left in a boat. He went alone to a place where no one lived. But the people heard that Jesus had left. So they left their towns and followed him. They went by land to the same place he went. 14 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd of people. He felt sorry for them, and he healed the ones who were sick.

15 Late that afternoon, the followers came to Jesus and said, “No one lives in this place. And it is already late. Send the people away so they can go to the towns and buy food for themselves.”

16 Jesus said, “The people don’t need to go away. You give them some food to eat.”

17 The followers answered, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”

18 Jesus said, “Bring the bread and the fish to me.” 19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked into the sky and thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread into pieces, which he gave to the followers, and they gave the food to the people. 20 Everyone ate until they were full. When they finished eating, the followers filled twelve baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 21 There were about 5000 men there who ate. There were also women and children who ate.

Jesus Walks on Water(C)

22 Then Jesus made the followers get into the boat. He told them to go to the other side of the lake. He said he would come later. He stayed there to tell everyone they could go home. 23 After Jesus said goodbye to the people, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. It was late, and he was there alone. 24 By this time the boat was already a long way from shore. Since the wind was blowing against it, the boat was having trouble because of the waves.

25 Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus’ followers were still in the boat. Jesus came to them. He was walking on the water. 26 When they saw him walking on the water, it scared them. “It’s a ghost!” they said, screaming in fear.

27 But Jesus quickly spoke to them. He said, “Don’t worry! It’s me! Don’t be afraid.”

28 Peter said, “Lord, if that is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 Jesus said, “Come, Peter.”

Then Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. 30 But while Peter was walking on the water, he saw the wind and the waves. He was afraid and began sinking into the water. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

31 Then Jesus caught Peter with his hand. He said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?”

32 After Peter and Jesus were in the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the followers in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “You really are the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals Many Sick People(D)

34 After they crossed the lake, they came to the shore at Gennesaret. 35 Some men there saw Jesus and knew who he was. So they sent word to the other people throughout that area that Jesus had come. The people brought all their sick people to him. 36 They begged Jesus to let them only touch the edge of his coat to be healed. And all the sick people who touched his coat were healed.

John the Baptist Beheaded(A)

14 At that time Herod(B) the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,(C) and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist;(D) he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison(E) because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,(F) for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”(G) Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.(H)

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 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(I) 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.(J) Then they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand(K)(L)

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(M) and healed their sick.(N)

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(O) 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.(P) Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They 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.

Jesus Walks on the Water(Q)(R)

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.(S) Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn 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,”(T) they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage!(U) It is I. Don’t be afraid.”(V)

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,”(W) 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.”(X)

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,(Y) and all who touched it were healed.