M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

14 At this time Herod the ruler heard of Jesus.

² He said to his servants, `This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from death. That is why he is able to do such great work.'

³ Herod had taken John and tied him up. He put him in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of his brother Philip.

⁴ John had said to Herod, `It is not right for you to have her for your wife.'

⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people. They thought John was a prophet, a man of God.

⁶ On Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for the people who were there. She pleased Herod.

⁷ He was so pleased that he promised to give her anything she asked for.

⁸ The girl's mother told her what to ask for. So she said, `Give me here, on a plate, the head of John the Baptizer.'

⁹ The king was very sorry to do this. But he had made a promise. And all the people who were there had heard him promise. So he gave orders to do it.

¹⁰ He sent someone to the prison to cut off John's head.

¹¹ John's head was brought on a plate. It was given to the girl. And she took it to her mother.

¹² Then John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. They went and told Jesus.

¹³ When Jesus heard this, he went away from there in a boat. He went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard that he went away and they followed him. They walked from the towns around there.

¹⁴ When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw many people. He was sorry for them and he healed those who were sick.

¹⁵ In the evening the disciples came to him. They said, `This is a lonely place. And the time is late. Send these people away so they can go to the farms and villages to buy food for themselves.'

¹⁶ Jesus said to them, `They need not go away. You give them food to eat.'

¹⁷ They said, `We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.'

¹⁸ Jesus said, `Bring them here to me.'

¹⁹ Then Jesus told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. The disciples gave it to the people.

²⁰ They all ate and had enough. They gathered twelve baskets full of pieces that were left.

²¹ The number of men who ate was about five thousand, besides some women and children.

²² Then Jesus told the disciples, `You get into the boat right away and go ahead of me to the other side of the sea. And I will send these people away.'

²³ After he had sent them away, he went up on the hill by himself to talk with God. Evening came and he was there alone.

²⁴ The boat was far out on the water by this time. The water was beating against the boat and the wind was blowing the wrong way.

²⁵ When it was almost morning, Jesus came to them. He was walking on the water.

²⁶ His disciples saw him walking on the water. They were afraid, and said, `It is a spirit!' Then they shouted loudly because they were afraid.

²⁷ Then Jesus spoke to them right away. He said, `Be glad! It is I. Do not fear.'

²⁸ Peter said, `Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.'

²⁹ Jesus said, `Come.' So Peter got out of the boat. He walked on the water and went toward Jesus.

³⁰ He saw what the wind did. Then he was afraid and began to go down in the water. He called out, `Lord, save me!'

³¹ Right away Jesus put out his hand and took hold of him. He said, `You do not believe very much in me! Why did you not believe?'

³² When they got into the boat, the wind stopped blowing.

³³ Then the men in the boat bowed down in front of Jesus. They said, `You really are the Son of God.'

³⁴ They crossed over the sea and came to the land at Gennesaret.

³⁵ The men there knew him and sent word to the people in all the country around. They brought all the sick people to him.

³⁶ They begged Jesus to let them touch his clothes. And all the people who touched him were healed.

14 In Iconium Paul and Barnabas did as they had done before in other places. They went into the Jews' meeting place and spoke. Many of the Jews and the other people believed.

² But the Jews who did not believe said wrong things about them. They spoiled the minds of those who were not Jews so that they hated the Christians.

³ Paul and Barnabas stayed there a long time anyway. They did not fear to talk about the Lord. The Lord proved that the message about his blessing was true. He worked through Paul and Barnabas. They did signs and wonderful things.

⁴ The people of the city were divided. Some of them agreed with the Jewish leaders. Some of them agreed with the apostles.

⁵ Then some of those people who were not Jews joined together with the Jews and their leaders. They made a plan to give the apostles much trouble and to kill them with stones.

⁶ Paul and Barnabas found out about this. So they left quickly. They went to Lystra and Derbe in the district of Lycaonia and the country around.

⁷ There they told people the good news.

⁸ At Lystra a man was sitting. He was not able to walk because he had no strength in his feet. He had never walked since he was born.

⁹ This man heard Paul speak. Paul looked at the man. He saw that the man believed he would be healed.

¹⁰ Paul said, `Stand up on your feet!' The man jumped up and walked.

¹¹ When the people saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their own language, `The gods have become like men! They have come down to visit us.'

¹² They named Barnabas, Jupiter. And they named Paul, Mercury, because he was the one who talked.

¹³ There was a temple of Jupiter in front of the city. The priest of the temple brought animals and flowers to the gates to make a sacrifice. All the people were with him.

¹⁴ But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes and ran in among the people shouting.

¹⁵ They said, `Why are you people doing this? We are only men like you. You should leave these gods which cannot help you. You should turn to the living God. He made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.

¹⁶ In the time that is past, God allowed all people to do what they wanted to do.

¹⁷ But even then he had some ways to make himself known. He did things that were good. He gave us rain from the sky and good harvests. And he gives you all the food you need and makes you very happy. Surely these things speak for him.'

¹⁸ By saying these things they stopped the people from making sacrifices to them.

¹⁹ Some of the Jewish leaders from Antioch and Iconium came to Lystra and won the people to their side. They threw stones at Paul. Then they carried him out of the city because they thought he was dead.

²⁰ But as the disciples gathered around him, he got up and they went back into the city. The next day Paul and Barnabas left and went to Derbe.

²¹ They told the good news to the people in Derbe. Many people believed what they taught. Then they went back to Lystra, to Iconium. and to Antioch.

²² They talked to the disciples to help them. They told them to keep on believing. They said, `We must go through much trouble to get into God's kingdom.'

²³ They chose leaders for them in every church. They talked with God and fasted. When they were finished, they gave the leaders over to the Lord's care, because they believed in him.

²⁴ They went through the district of Pisidia to Pamphylia.

²⁵ They told the good news to the people in Perga. Then they went to the town of Attalia.

²⁶ From there they went in a boat to Antioch. It was there that the people had given them over to God's care. They had asked him to bless them in this work. Now they had finished the work.

²⁷ When they reached the city, they called all the church people together. They told them all that God had done for them. They said, `Now God has opened the way to believe for those who are not Jews.'

²⁸ Paul and Barnabas stayed a long time with the disciples at Antioch.