New Testament in a Year

Jesus Feeds More than Five Thousand^(A)

6 After this, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, to Tiberias). ² A large crowd kept following him because they had seen the signs that he was performing by healing the sick. ³ But Jesus went up on a hillside and sat down there with his disciples.

⁴ Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. ⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ Jesus^[a] said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii^[b] worth of bread isn’t enough for each of them to have a little.”

⁸ One of his disciples, Andrew, who was Simon Peter’s brother, told him, ⁹ “There’s a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish. But what are these among so many people?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was plenty of grass in that area, so they sat down, numbering about 5,000 men.

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He also distributed^[c] as much fish as they wanted. ¹² When they were completely satisfied, Jesus^[d] told his disciples, “Collect the pieces that are left over so that nothing is wasted.” ¹³ So they collected and filled twelve baskets full of pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ When the people saw the sign^[e] that he had done, they kept saying, “Truly this is the Prophet who was to come into the world!” ¹⁵ Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew^[f] again to the hillside by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Sea^(B)

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. Darkness had already fallen, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing, and the sea was getting rough. ¹⁹ After they had rowed about 25 or 30 stadia,^[g] they saw Jesus walking on the sea toward their boat. They became terrified. ²⁰ But he told them, “It is I. Stop being afraid!” ²¹ So they were glad to take him on board, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.