Historical
Rejection at Nazareth
6 Now[a] Jesus left that place and came to his hometown,[b] and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue.[c] Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas?[d] And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son[e] of Mary[f] and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him. 4 Then[g] Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.” 5 He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then[h] he went around among the villages and taught.
Sending Out the Twelve Apostles
7 Jesus[i] called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits.[j] 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff[k]—no bread, no bag,[l] no money in their belts— 9 and to put on sandals but not to wear two tunics.[m] 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there[n] until you leave the area. 11 If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off[o] your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So[p] they went out and preached that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with olive oil and healed them.
The Death of John the Baptist
14 Now[q] King Herod[r] heard this, for Jesus’[s] name had become known. Some[t] were saying, “John the baptizer[u] has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets from the past.” 16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!” 17 For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod[v] had married her. 18 For John had repeatedly told[w] Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”[x] 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But[y] she could not 20 because Herod stood in awe of[z] John and protected him, since he knew that John[aa] was a righteous and holy man. When Herod[ab] heard him, he was thoroughly baffled,[ac] and yet[ad] he liked to listen to John.[ae]
21 But[af] a suitable day[ag] came, when Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his court officials, military commanders, and leaders of Galilee. 22 When his daughter Herodias[ah] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 He swore to her,[ai] “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”[aj] 24 So[ak] she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother said,[al] “The head of John the baptizer.”[am] 25 Immediately she hurried back to the king and made her request:[an] “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” 26 Although it grieved the king deeply,[ao] he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests. 27 So[ap] the king sent an executioner at once to bring John’s[aq] head, and he went and beheaded John in prison. 28 He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s[ar] disciples heard this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
30 Then[as] the apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while” (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat). 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat[at] to some remote place. 33 But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot[au] from all the towns[av] and arrived there ahead of them.[aw] 34 As Jesus[ax] came ashore[ay] he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So[az] he taught them many things.
35 When it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is an isolated place[ba] and it is already very late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” 37 But he answered them,[bb] “You[bc] give them something to eat.” And they said, “Should we go and buy bread for 200 silver coins[bd] and give it to them to eat?” 38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” 39 Then he directed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He[be] gave them to his[bf] disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and they picked up the broken pieces and fish that were left over, twelve baskets full. 44 Now[bg] there were 5,000 men[bh] who ate the bread.[bi]
Walking on Water
45 Immediately Jesus[bj] made his disciples get into the boat[bk] and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dispersed the crowd. 46 After saying goodbye to them, he went to the mountain to pray. 47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. 48 He[bl] saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending,[bm] he came to them walking on the sea,[bn] for[bo] he wanted to pass by them.[bp] 49 When they saw him walking on the water[bq] they thought he was a ghost. They[br] cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them:[bs] “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 Then he went up with them into the boat, and the wind ceased. They were completely astonished, 52 because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Healing the Sick
53 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret[bt] and anchored there. 54 As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus.[bu] 55 They ran through that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever he was rumored to be.[bv] 56 And wherever he would go—into villages, towns, or countryside—they would place the sick in the marketplaces,[bw] and would ask him if[bx] they could just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Breaking Human Traditions
7 Now[by] the Pharisees[bz] and some of the experts in the law[ca] who came from Jerusalem gathered around him. 2 And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples[cb] ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing,[cc] holding fast to the tradition of the elders. 4 And when they come from the marketplace,[cd] they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches.[ce])[cf] 5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat[cg] with unwashed hands?” 6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart[ch] is far from me.
7 They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’[ci]
8 Having no regard[cj] for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”[ck] 9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up[cl] your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[cm] and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’[cn] 11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’[co] (that is, a gift for God), 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify[cp] the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”
14 Then[cq] he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand. 15 There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him.”[cr]
17 Now[cs] when Jesus[ct] had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 He said to them, “Are you so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him? 19 For it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer.”[cu] (This means all foods are clean.)[cv] 20 He said, “What comes out of a person defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. 23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.”
A Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 After Jesus[cw] left there, he went to the region of Tyre.[cx] When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know, but[cy] he was not able to escape notice. 25 Instead, a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit[cz] immediately heard about him and came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician origin. She[da] asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and to throw it to the dogs.”[db] 28 She answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then[dc] he said to her, “Because you said this, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” 30 She went home and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Healing a Deaf Mute
31 Then[dd] Jesus[de] went out again from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis.[df] 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking, and they asked him to place his hands on him. 33 After Jesus[dg] took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s[dh] ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue.[di] 34 Then[dj] he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”).[dk] 35 And immediately the man’s[dl] ears were opened, his tongue loosened, and he spoke plainly. 36 Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But as much as he ordered them not to do this, they proclaimed it all the more.[dm] 37 People were completely astounded and said, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
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